A Real American Hero

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

NEW YORK (AP) — Keith Fitzhugh chose operating trains over a shot at a Super Bowl.

The free-agent safety turned down an offer to join the New York Jets to remain a conductor with Norfolk Southern Railroad and stay on track financially while helping support his parents in Atlanta.

"I've got something now where I know every two weeks I'm getting a paycheck," Fitzhugh told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "That's what helps out the most right now. I don't knock the Jets at all. I highly appreciate them."
...

"You don't hear this too often and some people might think it's not a good idea," Fitzhugh said. "Some people might think it is. I don't know. I just have to look out for what's best for me and my family."
...

"To sacrifice what he did for his family is the most unselfish thing I've heard by a player in sports," said Daniel Rose, Fitzhugh's agent. "It's really impressive."

Fitzhugh's father, Keith Sr., is disabled and unable to work, while his mother, Meltonia, has been struggling to make ends meet.

"I know the Jets have a great opportunity of making the Super Bowl, and that's one dream that every child has is to play sports and make it to the Super Bowl or get to the World Series," Fitzhugh said. "But, there's a time when you have to think, 'Hey, you've only got one Mom and Dad.' They won't be here forever, and while they're here, you've got to cherish that time."

http://home.myhughesnet.com/news/re...ass&action=2&lang=en&_LT=HOME_FBNWR00L2_UNEWS

 

[kbate]

The Jets were not offering a large multi-year contract with guarantees and incentives.

League minimum to play out the 2010 season, compared to a Railroad career with one of the best pensions in the nation - a no-brainer, not necessarily heroic.

 

[tactful]

Jeter is probably going to need investment counseling, after he reads that article, yeah, sports fans, go team go.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Sorry, but we have a lot of me-too mentality and me-too would have taken a shot at the playoffs and the super-bowl hoping his dream turned to magic skittle and rainbows that would yield a proper contract in the long-run with some other team, maybe even the minor leagues...



THAT's what happens more often than naught.

This guy thought with a healthy, wholesome thought process and that's becoming pretty damned rare any more.

It takes all sorts of heroes for children to look up to...

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

The Jets were not offering a large multi-year contract with guarantees and incentives.

League minimum to play out the 2010 season, compared to a Railroad career with one of the best pensions in the nation - a no-brainer, not necessarily heroic.

Now you went and spoiled two of the Cap'n fantasies this morning.

Hell I would have opted for the railroad job too over a single year of pro ball.
It's comical to see the Cap'n praising someone for going to work in a field that now only exists due to "big government" intervention.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Explain how his job only exists because of government intervention. I'm in the mood for cartoons.




Keep in mind that it was government intervention which put the car before the train leading to killing Main Streets (which I know you hate) and rampant CO2 emissions which are causing climate change. But man, a me-first world LOVES its INterstates and hates mass transit...

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Anyone detect a streak of LT in U_D, claiming all sorts of "victories?"




... talk about your cartoonish mentality!



Of course, on a daily basis, he argues for the common man over the rich superstar.

Now you celebrate a common man as a hero, and he has a problem with it. Methinks, it's the SOURCE, not the story.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Explain how his job only exists because of government intervention. I'm in the mood for cartoons.




Keep in mind that it was government intervention which put the car before the train leading to killing Main Streets (which I know you hate) and rampant CO2 emissions which are causing climate change. But man, a me-first world LOVES its INterstates and hates mass transit...

How much federal grant money do you think is poured into rail travel to keep it alive? If not for that money that form of mass transit would have vanished decades ago along with conductor jobs that football "heroes" take over a single season no contract job.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Anyone detect a streak of LT in U_D, claiming all sorts of "victories?"

... talk about your cartoonish mentality!

Of course, on a daily basis, he argues for the common man over the rich superstar.

Now you celebrate a common man as a hero, and he has a problem with it. Methinks, it's the SOURCE, not the story.

Cap'n Ad Hominem to the rescue.

While you're destroying the straw man you so lovingly built..
I have no issue with the man taking a railroad job, great benefits. But you proclaiming him a hero for doing so? Now that makes me *laugh*. I mean, out loud.. srsly.

"Fitzhugh went undrafted after an outstanding career at Mississippi State and signed last year with the Jets as a free agent. He was later cut and signed to the practice squad before Baltimore signed him last December. He re-signed with the Jets in the offseason."

He made a good choice in taking a steady union job subsidized by the federal government. His football career apparently has been less than stellar. Not all college football stars can make it in the big leagues.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

How much federal grant money do you think is poured into rail travel to keep it alive? If not for that money that form of mass transit would have vanished decades ago along with conductor jobs that football "heroes" take over a single season no contract job.

How come you can't read with comprehension Willis?




WHO PUT THEM INTO THAT STATE?


Hint: It was the STATE. The interSTATE. That big project that's always cited to destroy Libertarians, we wouldn't have an Interstate if it was up to you guys. DAMNED SKIPPY! The railroad would still be King and Dagney would still be in charge!

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

He's a REAL hero.



Not a HERO.



There's a big difference there oh master of nuance...

REAL Heros make our world run everyday unsung and unpraised.

HEROs are the stuff of OchoCinco...

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

How come you can't read with comprehension Willis?

WHO PUT THEM INTO THAT STATE?

Hint: It was the STATE. The interSTATE. That big project that's always cited to destroy Libertarians, we wouldn't have an Interstate if it was up to you guys. DAMNED SKIPPY! The railroad would still be King and Dagney would still be in charge!

LMAO!

Damn the federal government for building up our infrastructure. If it weren't for them we would... What? Be taking trains everywhere? When was the last time you took a train? Ever? I've been on a passenger train exactly twice in my life. Once at the behest of the Federal Government on my way to Boot Camp, and once because it was a nice scenic ride through Alaska.

 

[kbate]

He's a REAL hero.

Not a HERO.

There's a big difference there oh master of nuance...

REAL Heros make our world run everyday unsung and unpraised.

HEROs are the stuff of OchoCinco...

That's not a very Rand attitude.

He chose the safety of a social institution (stable guaranteed pay and pension) over ability ( entrepreneurship). Surely he could have used his superior ability to leverage his prowess into an investment portfolio far exceeding annual railroad pay?

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Just less a month and a half ago, we took the Amtrack to Chicago.

I like traveling by rail. I grew up with rail. My dad worked for the Sante Fe.

The Interstate was part of the military industrial complex buildup that began under Ike. It was done at the expense of passenger rail and the environment; the unintended consequences of the positive interference of government (von Humbodlt).

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

That's not a very Rand attitude.

He chose the safety of a social institution (stable guaranteed pay and pension) over ability ( entrepreneurship). Surely he could have used his superior ability to leverage his prowess into an investment portfolio far exceeding annual railroad pay?

I'm sorry, but the "Rand Attitude" only applies to a very small percentage of people.

Most people, take lottery winners for example, having not been raised in a wealth management environment, usually manage to blow it, and that goes for a lot of our "superstar" heroes...

 

[kbate]

Just less a month and a half ago, we took the Amtrack to Chicago.

I like traveling by rail. I grew up with rail. My dad worked for the Sante Fe.

The Interstate was part of the military industrial complex buildup that began under Ike. It was done at the expense of passenger rail and the environment; the unintended consequences of the positive interference of government (von Humbodlt).

I like it when you travel by rail. I have railroad stocks. I make a nickel every time you go that way.

The interstate, would have developed regardless of the interference of the government. It only came about 2 decades after the nation rejected rail travel for the comfort of the car. Eisenhower only sped up the process, and few will deny that the interstates have made trade faster and more convenient. And interestingly, in most (or all) cases, the Federal Government gave operation of the roads back to the states and local jurisdictions after having built them, yet continues to pay for much of the upkeep.

 

[MeeMie]

The Jets were not offering a large multi-year contract with guarantees and incentives.

League minimum to play out the 2010 season, compared to a Railroad career with one of the best pensions in the nation - a no-brainer, not necessarily heroic.

That being said ....

there aren't many men who would put their personal financial responsibilities ahead of going for the chance for fame and fortune.

If he succeeded well with pro-football he would have been making millions.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

I like it when you travel by rail. I have railroad stocks. I make a nickel every time you go that way.

The interstate, would have developed regardless of the interference of the government. It only came about 2 decades after the nation rejected rail travel for the comfort of the car. Eisenhower only sped up the process, and few will deny that the interstates have made trade faster and more convenient. And interestingly, in most (or all) cases, the Federal Government gave operation of the roads back to the states and local jurisdictions after having built them, yet continues to pay for much of the upkeep.

That's right. It would have developed locally, it would have followed the rails, and it would have given them a chance to be more competitive. It would not have destroyed small town America by running the interstates where politics took it but it would have enhanced America by letting the markets demand infrastructure. Some of the Interstate is under-utilized because it was put in places where there was no need for it. But, once again, we wanted to be more like Europe and Hitler's Autobahn.

In short, to save the environment, we would STILL have a functional mass-transit system and the high gas proces and social concerns would have put bandwidth back into the rail system, now, we can't because the highways didn't follow the rails, they dug up new prairie and leveled new mountain passes...

And I KNOW about your overwhelming concern for the environment.



We did not reject it for the "comfort" of the car, but the "me-first" autonomy the car provided.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

That being said ....

there aren't many men who would put their personal financial responsibilities ahead of going for the chance for fame and fortune.

If he succeeded well with pro-football he would have been making millions.

Trü dat!

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Isn't Denzel in a new railroad movie?




That ought to help make them cool again...

 

[Saint Peter]

Isn't Denzel in a new railroad movie?




That ought to help make them cool again...

Rail travel never fell out of cool in Denver.

 

[Saint Peter]

Well, except for with this guy.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26051384/detail.html

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Rail travel never fell out of cool in Denver.

It just keeps gettin' lighter!

 

[Saint Peter]

It just keeps gettin' lighter!

I wonder if the trespassing ticket will be paid by his estate.

 

[hogjack]

The interstate, would have developed regardless of the interference of the government.

Nope.