{"id":84414,"date":"2021-01-25T17:54:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T17:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84414"},"modified":"2023-04-14T15:00:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:00:24","slug":"like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/","title":{"rendered":"Like Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> <em>those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Every Sunday morning after reading the two local Sunday papers, I gather my wits, trudge up the steps to my office, and sit down to write my weekly blog.\u00a0 More often than not, I make the journey having no idea what I am going to write.\u00a0 I hope that Clio, the muse of writing, strikes me with some great idea as my computer lights up, ready for action.\u00a0 That was not the case this week.\u00a0 I knew what I was going to say.<\/p>\n<p>As this week unfolded, it became obvious to me what I thought about and what I would write about.\u00a0 Let me first mention the events:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Martin Luther King Day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The start of the <a href=\"https:\/\/epc18.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EPC<\/a> high school basketball season with three new head coaches, all of whom are black.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The inauguration of Kamala Harris as the most powerful woman in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The recommendation by President Biden to surround himself with the most diversified cabinet in our history (women, people of color, LGBT members, and a Native American). Sadly, many are accompanied by the label \u201cthe first\u201d in their positions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The death of the great Henry Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth\u2019s home run record (714) and went on to hit 755 career homers. During his run, he endured some of the most intense racism from people throughout the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This all occurred this week.<\/p>\n<p>These events took me back to my days in the classroom as an English teacher.\u00a0 I recalled vividly teaching two books:\u00a0 <u>Black Like Me<\/u> and <u>Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin.<\/u><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n<p>I taught a course called <em>Books That Changed the World<\/em>.\u00a0 Harriet Beecher Stowe\u2019s anti-slavery novel, <u>Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin, <\/u>was part of the course.\u00a0 It was published in 1852.\u00a0 Uncle Tom was a slave who suffered for decades.\u00a0 The novel depicts the reality of slavery with both triumphs and tragedies.\u00a0 Tom is eventually sold to a vicious plantation owner, Simon Legree, who eventually has Tom beaten to death.\u00a0 It was the second most popular book of the century, trailing only the Bible.\u00a0 <u>Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin<\/u> \u201cchanged the world\u201d by showing the atrocities of the slave trade and inspired the Civil War and the end of slavery.\u00a0 I wanted my students to understand this history and gain a perspective on the origin of race relations.<u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n<p><u>Black Like Me <\/u>is a nonfiction book written by a white journalist, John Howard Griffin.\u00a0 It was published in 1961.\u00a0 Griffin had his skin temporarily darkened so that he could pass through the southern part of the country as a black man.\u00a0 He did it for six weeks.\u00a0 He changed his skin, but he did not change his identity and when asked questions, he always told the truth about himself.\u00a0 As you might suspect, he faced racism from both white and black people for no other reason than the color of his skin.\u00a0 After writing the book and becoming a national celebrity, threats forced his family to move to Mexico.\u00a0 At one point, he was beaten by a group of white men with chains when they discovered who he was.\u00a0 Same man, different skin color led to much different experiences.<\/p>\n<p>My hope in teaching these two works of literature was that my students (overwhelmingly white) would understand that we are really not different.\u00a0 As I tried to pass on the message, I certainly did not believe I understood what it meant to be a minority in the United States, but I felt it was important for my students (and me) to begin to believe that we should do our best to treat everyone equally.\u00a0 The events of this past week give me hope that this country is moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p>I look forward to the day when \u201cblack\u201d, \u201clatino\u201d, \u201ctrans\u201d, etc. are no longer needed when describing anyone.\u00a0 Suffice it to say \u2013 they are \u201clike me\u201d or probably, because of their position, \u201cbetter than me.\u201d\u00a0 I am happy to accept that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Congratulations to Nigel Long (<a href=\"https:\/\/basdwpweb.beth.k12.pa.us\/liberty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Liberty<\/a>), Darnell Braswell (<a href=\"https:\/\/aln.allentownsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Allen<\/a>), and JT Randall (<a href=\"https:\/\/drf.allentownsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dieruff<\/a>) on their first week as head coaches in the EPC. I remember calling the high school games that both Nigel (<a href=\"https:\/\/basdwpweb.beth.k12.pa.us\/freedom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freedom<\/a>) and Darnell (Allen) played as teenagers.\u00a0 JT comes from a very successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingsd.org\/rhs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reading High School<\/a> program. I look forward to working with all of you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Major Leaguers and legends Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Lou Brock, Dick Allen, Don Sutton, and Tom Lasorda all died recently. Now add the name Ty Stofflet, our local softball pitcher who many thought was the greatest of all time, to the list of lost legends.\u00a0 He was inducted into the American Softball Hall of Fame, the International Hall of Fame, and the Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady are in the Super Bowl. Mahomes is the best young quarterback in the game and Brady is, well, simply the best ever. \u00a0It should make for a great matchup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>Speaking of NFL quarterbacks, the story of Washington\u2019s Alex Smith\u2019s return to the game after a horrific leg injury is both amazing and inspiring. Take a look at his <em>60 Minutes<\/em> interview:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/alex-smith-washington-football-team-60-minutes-2021-01-17\/\">https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/alex-smith-washington-football-team-60-minutes-2021-01-17\/<\/a><\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>Covid did not interfere with high school basketball this past week. With our fingers crossed, we will bring <a href=\"https:\/\/becahi.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bethlehem Catholic<\/a> at Liberty on Tuesday at 7:00pm and Allen at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parklandsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Parkland<\/a> on Thursday at 7:00pm.\u00a0 The Lafayette women return this Saturday after a 10-day quarantine when they take on American at 2:00pm and the men will play on Sunday against American at 2:00pm.\u00a0 The Nazareth at Bethlehem Catholic wrestling match postponed from last week will now be held on February 3.\u00a0 We will have that match for you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Gary\u2019s Guesses: NFL Picks \u2013 (LAST WEEK \u2013 0-2; OVERALL- 168-97-1 &#8211; 63%)<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <u>Super Bowl pick next week<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Every Sunday morning after reading the two local Sunday papers, I gather my wits, trudge up the steps to my office, and sit down&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Like Me - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Like Me - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Every Sunday morning after reading the two local Sunday papers, I gather my wits, trudge up the steps to my office, and sit down...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"headline\":\"Like Me\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":996,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Behind the Mic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/\",\"name\":\"Like Me - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/like\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\",\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gary Laubach\"},\"description\":\"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvgary\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Like Me - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Like Me - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Every Sunday morning after reading the two local Sunday papers, I gather my wits, trudge up the steps to my office, and sit down...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00","author":"Gary Laubach","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gary Laubach","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/"},"author":{"name":"Gary Laubach","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"headline":"Like Me","datePublished":"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/"},"wordCount":996,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Behind the Mic"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/","name":"Like Me - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-01-25T17:54:26+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T15:00:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/like\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming &amp; Astound Digital Cable, Internet &amp; Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee","name":"Gary Laubach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","caption":"Gary Laubach"},"description":"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvgary\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84415,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84414\/revisions\/84415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}