The Cookin' Coach

The heavenly smell of Bar-B-Que smoke filled my nostrils when I met The Cookin' Coach. Dressed in shorts, a button up shirt, and a camouflage JEEP hat, he had his tongs in hand--the master of his domain. He is a little league tee-ball coach who took his team to the park to fill up on hot dogs, beef, and grilled onions. We chatted over flipping burgers.

"When I'm not a coach, I broker insurance...a lot of different stuff," he told me. He slapped on some cheese and flipped the onions. "I realized a few year ago that I just can't do 9 to 5." He grabbed a paper plate and unloaded about five hamburgers. "I'm not built that way...so I just work on my own and do whatever comes along!"

I was reminded of a quote by Yann Martel: "A tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful."

A lot of people might say The Cookin' Coach has it all wrong. Maybe you should work your way up the corporate ladder and run in the rat race everyday.

But it's hard to argue with how happy he looked: A tee-ball coach, dishing hot-dogs to pint-sized players in the park on a beautiful Thursday evening. Suddenly, a call came from the food table.

"I think we need a few more hot dogs!"

The Cookin' Coach yelled. "Perfect! I've got about eight sitting here on the grill."

...Perfect.