Breaking Through the Endless Cycle ... Cheer Them On!

You've got to rise above! Even more when it's your own flesh and blood.



Wanted to make a caption for tonight, with it being the college football national championship. It is a passion that is shared and passed down throughout the generations of fans. Along with that, many people also pass down their prejudices and biases, that go far beyond simple college rivalries.

With this picture, I originally was going to go for something that Annabelle's Family Traditions would post, as I've made captions like that before, and have fun making them, whether or not they star Annabelle. And the last few lines are definitely something she would have in her story.

I didn't plan on it being as dramatic as it turned out. I wrote the first paragraph and a half straight out, and was thinking along the lines of how Emilio Estevez' character felt with the pressure his father gave him, and made him do stupid things .. and how he would learn from it with his own son.

But the grandfather loomed large in my mind, and I knew there had to be some sort of confrontation, and that it wouldn't work like I wanted to without one to seal Arnie's resolve.

But in my mind, I saw what happened to friends of mine in my youth when they disappointed their old man, and how angry and violent they became. I couldn't let it go at a verbal confrontation .. and I just had to let what I had seen out somehow  especially with Adrian Peterson in the NFC playoffs, and how he seems to not have an ounce of remorse for the whipping he gave his 4 year old son.

Something that has stuck with me over the years is how Henry Rollins hated to look in the mirror every day, to see him age to a point where he looked exactly like his father, whom he had nothing but disgust and hatred for all he was and all he stood for. At some point, he learned to deal, but I thought about how that might make the story even more poignant for Arnie and Brent's story arc.

So I went fully into finishing the caption, without any fear about it's acceptance. It was cathartic to write, and my adaption made it a much better storyline. I hope you agree. I will certainly listen to anything you readers have to say in the comment section, especially since it's a blog exclusive.