Plaschke nails the spirit of Thanksgiving without even trying . . . . .

No, TP, I'm just trying to get at the root of why some pieces work and some don't. I think it's important for writers to be able to articulate their arguments for and against certain techniques or topics. So I'm genuinely interested in everybody's response to this piece.

 

i thought we were just talking about that ... maybe the bullshit in between was too thick to read through. regardless, i think we came to the conclusion that some "guys" simply can write the shit out of that type of story while others can't.

 

I'm an occasional sucker/softie and these pieces give me diabetes. Enough, please.

Whoever's writing it, from Plaschke to the lesser and least skilled, has to /believe/ the bullshit they're writing. First and foremost.

They ought to have their own category come awards season.

 

have a happy jaded two days after thanksgiving.

 

Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without Plaschke's and Albom's pieces this time of year. Shit, I might think I'm stuck in the middle of April.

 

obviously you're drunk on the holiday.

 

Loved it. The description went into the details I absolutely had to have and no more, therefore making sure I didn't get away from the real story. BP could have gone on and on about his house life and school problems, but doing so would have taken you away from the relationship that formed. And that would have been a shame.

I also think that the "why" on stories like this is like the defintion of pornography in the 2 Live Crew case, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it."

 

you're like butter tonight, dawg.

 

Kindly: that phrase preceded As Nasty As They Wanna Be by a few decades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_it_when_I_see_it

 

Set aside Mr. Plaschke's inarguable competence for the moment, and let me reframe the question:

What is it about this young man's situation that moves you?

 

other than this kid's gig at usc, he has next to nothing, save for the love of his family. despite what the beatles sing, you do need more than love some days. life is too unpredictable, too imprecise, too _fill in the blank_. for a brief moment in this kid's life, he is more important than anyone figured he would be. this makes him feel special. i can't argue with that. how long this lasts nobody knows, but this kid will treasure it forever. all most of us want to be is happy. there's a bit of light in an otherwise dark situation.

while we may have seen the story before, this kid doesn't care. i don't know if i was moved, but i can be happy that this kid will do and see a few things that many of us take for granted.

 

I loved the story, but there's one more thing I'd like to find out ... Is USC finally paying him now? If not, maybe one of the USC/Reggie Bush boosters will find it in his or her hearts to help Ricky's family out ...