When I said earlier that I only like to come out a little ahead, that's what I meant. If I went into a poker game (which I gave up years and years ago) I didn't care if I won or lost, just that I broke even or better, came out with slightly more than I went in with. I don't need the "big prize" -- I'll settle for sixth place or, in some cases, just finishing the race at all.

I watched some of the Winter Olympics, and could only think, "Even those who got a place as a third assistant alternate on one of those squads has a reason to be proud."

The so-called "reality tv shows", where survival is posited as being "the last on the island" are true crocks of...dung. TRUE survival for a group means just the opposite. Group survival truly means cooperating towards a common goal, whether it's feeding the group or finding your way out of a bad spot.

Sometimes simple survival is winning the big pot or grabbing the brass ring. And we too often forget that when the group wins, we win.