No Arms, No Legs, No Problem!

Hi Friends & Fans,

I just concluded my 13th season paying rugby. This season as always, was fun, hard hitting, success and one of my all-time favorites.

I got to start every game for the first time since the’04 season. This means I had to dedicate myself to a different approach than last year. My role when I start is to be defensively minded, the 3rd ball handler and team oriented in my thinking. This all starts with the understanding that during a game I need to know when to when to shift from being defensive minded to offensive minded. With our team being set with elite level players, I need to not be the weak link.

 First, I needed to be in physical condition so as to be able to play an hour and 20 minutes of rugby. To be on top of my fundamental skills like passing, catching and dribbling. Secondly, I needed to be in the right frame of mind so as to be coached. A player not allowing themselves to be coached is a player that is on the decline. I also needed to not be confrontation when players and coaches yell and scream at me. I never have taken any of that personally. Part of being a team player is knowing your roll on the team. I am not the main guy on offensive but I still need to be a threat when I have the ball. I am not our best defender, but I cannot allow myself to be a weak link on our defensive scheme. Most importantly, I know who those main guys are and if in the heat of competiton a player or coach needs to yell and scream at someone. I have no issue if it is me. This is my role and I still enjoy it.

Our team finished 3rd in the USQRA this year. This broke a string of 10 years of either being in first or second. I am very proud that despite my age and years of competiton, I have not lost that much ground on the elite level competiton. Although, I know that I am past my prime I know that I have not lost it all together. (at least physically)  

Finally, this was a great year because of the people I am associated with that are in our league and on our team. Kevin Orr, the coach who holds it all together. The support staff that goes over and beyond their responsibilities (Master & grasshopper). My team captain Bryan Kirkland, what a leader! Joel Wilmoth, the future of the league and the supersize version of me in my prime. (I guess that makes me his mini me). The team: Steady Eddie, Sulli, Willard, Jay, Aimee, Rock, Del and Tommy V. Thank you is not a big enough word and I love you is too small a word for what I feel. I am so blessed and Thankful to be a part of this team. You guys are the reason that I has a fun and successful season. This is why it is one of my all-time favorites. Take Care & God Bless.

Happy Easter to all those who believe Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on this day. Continued success in your walk of faith. Just remember how blessed we are to know this and believe without ever seeing it.

love, Bob

Hello People,

I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas & the best of the holiday season. I also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.  Now, just because we’ve all put on weight this holiday season let’s not go crazy and starve ourselves or attempt to swim the English channel in hopes of losing a bunch of weight. First throw away all your holiday candy. Then just ease back into a moderate consumption of food with 3 squares, water and light snacking. Also, begin your two 30 minute cardio workouts for the week. It can be bike, walk, run or swim. But start with 30 minutes. After two weeks of good healthy eating extend your 2 30minute cardios to 3 and throw in some light weights. By the end of the month you will notice changes. Good luck and God bless. Don’t forget to pray! Lord knows you’ll need the strength to use everything you have to lose weight and get through life.  Bob    Isaiah 7:14

In true American fasion I will make a non-traditional meal. I plan to make enchiladas. However, I will not break all my traditions as I will watch the Cowboys play. Go pokes!

Happy T-day!  Bob

It’s always great when we can sit down and turn on the tube and see what is going on in this world of ours. Well, I won’t depress you with all the talk of war, econonmy, pollution, gas prices, heat, politics and of course crime. But this isn’t even the greatest tragedy. I know you might feel depressed already. Please forgive me. Instead of being completely pessimistic,(remember I am a very positive person) I do want you to remember what my first statement was,”It is always great to sit down and turn on the tube.” How great is that! For who? Well, for you if you get the time to sit down. I know many people are either working 9am-9pm or they have two jobs covering even more time. Kids are either away at camp or home now to start school. Same story different year. The bottomline is this is your life right?  How is it that a person can go from rags to riches or even yet, riches to rags? Yet, this happens everyday. It seems as if you can go 100 mph without seeming to have moved an inch. You are where you were 5 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Now, I promised I would be pessimistic, however, did you ever stop to think, how great it all is? How worth it is to be going to the same ole job, with same ole pay and the same ole bills! Now, I know your asking where’s the optimism Bob? Be optimistic about this, Your moving forward. Yes, maybe at the pace of a snail or a turtle, but your moving forward!  Better yet, if you do want to move like a rabbit, then do it. Make that change. Take a different job. Leanr a new hobby. Listen to different music. Move to a different city. I was getting my haircut today and my barber said I have always wanted to move to Wyoming. I said, do it! Who cares that your 64 years old. Do it! Move forward to somewhere you always wanted to go or do something you’ve always seen your self doing. Work where you’ve always wanted to work. This world is a big world. It’s not going to visit you, you visit it. And not from your TV,  but actually go and find a way to get there. Don’t be a pessimist and say, but how? You know how? Better yet, if you truely want to make a change, it may be easier than you can imagine. More than anything it will be the most difficult thing you do. Is it worth it? Well, is it?? Times are a changing,… are they for you? 

What an interesting week in sports that we’ve just had!! Controversey, contraversey, contraversey! From Vick, Bonds, baseball & football hall of fame, NBA ref scandal. Whew! Almost too much info for any die hard sports nut….like myself. After a while, you just have to turn off the tube and realize two things. One, this sounds like the same ole’ song, different year. Secondly, there have got to better things going on other than overpriced athletes supposedly playing unfairly…And no, I don’t mean Lindsey and Paris either. That’s a different blog at some other time.

It’s funny how we are suppose to be shocked and disappointed when an athlete falls. I believe they are humans too? Folks, this has been going on for centuries. The 1919 World Series, Liston vs Ali part II, Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding, Pete Rose and now supposedly Barry Bonds. I won’t waste your time trying to prove the innoscence of a man that is supposedly already guilty or prove the guilt of a man who has not been convicted or tested positive of anything. The bottomline is Barry Bonds will hit more home runs than Hank Aaron.  You can decide if it’s legitimate or not. To me, I don’t care. This whole controversey is the very essence of sports. Supposedly, us fans are supposed to be worried, dismayed and outraged. About what? All we are talking about is Hank Arron’s homerun record. Is this some sacred holy grail that leads to the fountain of youth? All we are talking about is Barry Bonds breaking that record, like it’s going to somehow change this world. Like, it’s going to end the war in Iraq, cure aids and cancer. All we are talking about is baseball. Which is what the comissioner, owners, players and journalist want us to talk about. They are the ones who will financially benefit from all this. You and I will not receive dime one. It wouldn’t matter anyways if we did because there is always another controversey or story that is right around the corner which will benefit some other sport, to make more money for other owners and athletes. The bottomline to all Sports is money. Controversies come and go, just like the wind. Is this one concerning Bonds supposed to be the armageddon of all controversies? Who cares? Let him hit 1,000 home runs. I couldn’t careless if he took Flinstones vitamins, gatorade or illegal substances to do it. He’ll make his millions regardless. They say crime doesn’t pay. Maybe it pays a little… On a positive note, Kudos to all the athletes who like to play their sport, just because they love it. Are there anymore of those athletes out there?       

My birthday is on Sunday July 22. I will be a young 38 years old. Man, I’m old!  Seriously, I have not been a big fan of birthday’s just because it changes when you turn 15. Basically, birthday’s, like Christmas, were better when you were a child. At least it was for me.

I will never forget my 10th birthday in which I had what seemed to be 1,100 people in attendance. I did a little research and it was only about 200. Many were family and neighborhood friends. Still, to have that many people come to my birthday in the park was one birthday that I’ll never forget.  

As a child, you have all your family celebrating you for just being a child and the potential that you have. Not to mention most importantly that they love you. This is as sweet and as genuine as a birthday can get. However, as you get older, you have now hopefully fulfilled or completed that potential. Your life should be an expression of the love you’ve received. Who you are as a person is what is celebrated at your birthday. So, who are you? Who are you Bob Lujano?

I just came from my birthday party that was held at a favorite restaurant of mine called the Dragon. In which, co-workers and a hand full of friends attended. I recieved cards in which friends expressed their feelings. In the end, it was a very pleasant, humorous and enjoyable evening to say the least. It was bascially a smal look to who I was. I am a guy that has many admirers and well wishers, in which I am extremely grateful to have, but in the end, I have a few close friends and maybe only 1 or 2 best friends that are not family members. Of this, I am extremely grateful and very thankful! 

Overall, this is all that truely matters. That I am someone that has people that truley like me and care for me and even love me. For this I am extremely grateful. Life doesn’t offer any guarantees, so whenever you do have those few people that truely and sincerely love you, you are truely a blessed and better person for it. For all this I am very grateful. This is the best birthday gift that a person can have. It may not beat my 10th birthday, but it comes close.       

All through my youth, I have always loved sports. My cousins and I would get up early in the morning and play baseball from sun up to sun down. It was all we did during the summer. In the winter it was football and in the spring it was basketball. We stayed as active as we could be. We would even collect baseball cards and play baseball with the cards. We would cut out little bases, tape up a minature ball and use a pencil as the bat. We would place the baseball cards in the appropriate positons. We would set our batting order with the cards and just played baseball. I know it sounds ludacris, but that was how passionate we were with sports. It makes me laugh just thingking about it now.

My first baseball game I ever attended was when we lived in Cincinati and I got to see the Reds play. Of course, I was so gung ho for Peter Edward Rose and Johnny Bench. Pete Rose was my favorite player of all-time. I would only watch a baseball game if Pete Rose was playing. I tried to copy everything he did from his batting stance, his hustle and of course his sliding head first into bases. I dreamed of being the next Pete Rose.

Today, I am not so sure if it is considered wise to be saying that Pete Rose was your favorite player. We all know about the being banned from baseball for betting. We all know about his conduct away from baseball. It is real easy to come to the conclusion that Pete Rose may not the best role model or hero for someone to emulate. I do agree with that statement. However, I only wanted to emulate the baseball player Pete Rose, not the everyday person that is Pete Rose. It is difficult enough being Bob Lujano, why would I want to try to be someone else in day to day living. My own struggles are enough for me to try to deal without wanting to handle somebody elses. Besides, my favorite people growing up are my Dad, my sister and my Grandmother Hope. Those are the people I try to emulate in everyday life. Not to mention I still adhere to God’s word when Christ says”Be perfect like your heavenly father is perfect.” (Math 5:8). These are my favorite players. This is how I have been raised. No, I will not ever claim to be perfect. I am thankful that I am not, but my effort in trying to be the best person that I can be will be perfect. Perfect in the sense that I will keep trying, that I will be relentless in my effort. What is my effort or goal? To be of service to all brothers and sisters. This is my passion! This is what I get up out of bed for! This is what I think about when I am trying to sleep or as I prepare to go to work. How can I be of better service to people?

People that do this already, they are and should be all our favorite players, the fire department, police officers, soldiers, doctors, nurses, clergy and all people who live their lives in service to others. These are the true heroes, the MVP’s of our society.

Use everythig you have, Take Care & God bless

With today being my only day off on a wekend during the month July, I decided to do something I rarely get to do…nothing. I am seriously thinking about not going outside, I am thinking about not going to the movies or to the mall. I am even seriously thinking about not working out! (although it will probably happen).

I am not a big believer in doing nothing. I feel that an object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. I do not want to stay at rest. However, in all do respects to the laws of physics, I think it is important to have a day of rest despite my fear of staying permanently at rest. The only reasons I would stay home is to either watch a big sporting event on TV, to clean my house and/or because I am sick. The latter has already happend. I had succomb to the pink eye about 2 weeks ago and I stayed home for 5 straight days. I will never scoff at anyone who has pink eye. I have never been so knockdown because of an illness in over 25 years. I literally visted the doctor everyday. I was simply miserable. However, Thanks be to God, I lived!

I feel compelled to say that as an athlete in training, it makes no sense to take a day off, simply because you feel the other athletes are not taking a day off. Why would you want to give them an edge? Why would you want to admitt that your getting old and slow? It is considered a sign of weakness to do nothing and take a day off from training.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Rest is extremely important to an athlete. Yes, it is possible to over train, burnout and injure your body due to lack of rest. This would set you back on your training plan. It would lead you to lose whatever conditioning you have already established. Although I am not a big believer in it, I will take a day off from training on oassion and on certain days……….It’s just that today is not that day!

I have about 5 months until the Paralympic tryouts. Now is the time to put in cardio vascular training to create a solid foundation for activities held in the next 5 months. Today is not the day rest…besides isn’t that why God created Sunday. Stay active and use everything you got. Take Care & God Bless. 

I gave an interview today for Citadel Broadcasting. The best part was meeting the interviewer. What an amazing woman! Amazing in the sense that she understands that we live our lives not to better ourselves, we can only hope to do that, but to make other’s lives better.

I was not having the best of weeks. I had actually missed the first scheduled interview. It would have been easy for this woman to unload on me about missing the first scheduled interview. Instead, she just greeted me with smiles, hugs and a great appreciation for me being there to be interviewed. That made all the difference in the world! It literally made my day that she extended so much kindness, generosity and appreciation that I was completely at ease and so ready to talk with her. I was now so ready for this interview. As a matter of fact, we spent more time talking off the air than on it. The 23 minutes just flew by.  It literally made my day. It made me ready to go back to work and to extend that same kindness, appreciation and generosity to others. It also just makes me realize how fortunate we are when we can take 2 minutes or 23 minutes to give a little bit of positive energy that we all have. We just need that someone to push that button to energize you. How great it is when your that person pushing the button. Better yet, how fortunate you are when your button is pushed. For me it was a radio interiew. Thanks Roxanne!