Driven to be Average: Part One

My favorite major league baseball team, as a boy, was the Detroit Tigers.  Growing up in Michigan in the 1960s and 70s, I spent many summer evenings listening to the static-filled sounds of the ballgame emanating through the lone earplug of my tiny battery-operated transistor radio.  The Tigers long-time announcer, Ernie Harwell, brought the game to life through the airwaves.  I loved drifting off to sleep while listening to the crack of the bat and the sounds of the game.  I was intrigued by the play-by-play drama unfolding on the ball field.  This, in turn, fueled my imagination - well beyond the game.

Major league radio announcers do what they do best.  They paint a picture.  They tap our imagination.  Throughout a game, they heighten interest by providing “facts, figures, and back stories”. They toss in tidbits between each pitch.  Statistics abound on every aspect of the game of baseball.  For hitters, there are batting averages, on-base averages, and slugging percentages.  For pitchers, there are earned-run averages, and pitch counts.  Much like “par” in golf, these averages and percentages provide benchmarks for assessment.  They help us measure performance, and know what to “normally expect” from a professional baseball player.  They also provide us with a way to distinguish between athletes who are struggling, those who are average, and those who are exceptional. 

In listening to the baseball games, the idea of something being “average” resonated within me.  ​

The notion of “average” meant that there was a middle ground.  It meant that it was a central place where the majority of people usually clustered.  It was a place that was common and predictable. It was where “normal” supposedly resided.  And because I felt that there was safety in numbers, that’s where I wanted to be.

I worked hard to blend in.  Not too high, and not too low. The idiom, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” did not apply to me.  I worked hard to not be squeaky in the first place.  The Chinese have an expression that is nearly the opposite in meaning.  They say, “The nail that sticks up, gets hammered down.”  In this aspect, I was much more comfortable with Chinese culture, than with its American counterpart.  I didn’t make waves.  I didn’t stand out.  I drove myself to be average.

The main body of evidence to support my drive to be average was my school report cards.  I was very content in my school years to be a “C” student.  There were a smattering of “Bs”, a couple of “Ds”, but I clearly recall that my academic ambition was to be – you got it – average.   This was long before I ever heard of “the bell curve” or statistical averages.  As I looked at life in my early years, my conscious goal was simply to blend in.  I didn’t want to excel too high.  I didn’t want to fail miserably either.   I was intentional.  I wanted to hide in the middle.

While growing up, life was patterned and predictable.  There wasn’t a lot of dramatic change.   I lived in the same house.  I had the same parents.  My dad worked the same job.  My mom stayed at home.  The size of our family didn’t change.  The only significant change was that my parents became Christians when I was five, and we started attending church.  But, after that, we attended the same church together.

Life was settled and fairly constant.  

After graduating from high school, I followed an “average” course.  I went away to school.  I worked, studied, dated, traveled, and generally tried to find my way.  There was no strategic planning nor long-term goals.  No driving passion, nor any particular skill.  I dabbled in a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.  I worked hard.  I tried to do a good job most of the time.  But, I didn’t excel, or stand out.  I didn't have a clear purpose beyond living life and “doing the next thing”.

By the time I had entered into my 20's, I had conditioned myself to seek the middle.  And, I was mostly content to be there.  Yet, my passion to travel, and desire for “hands-on learning” were beginning to stretch me beyond what was comfortable.  These two things were “itches that I needed to scratch”.  They were latent motivational forces that began to be stirred.

And, in the process, my thinking about myself began to get a bit stretched.... 

​

​

Note:  "Driven to be Average" will pick up again - with Part Two.  The year will be 1984, which is soon after I turned 30.  Within a 12-year period between 18 and 30, life marinates.  I grow.   I also  fumble, and use more than a decade to find my way.   All the time, God is at work.  

I apologize for the interruption.  Well, sort of.  A lot of things happen between "Driven to be Average: Part One" and "Part Two".    Stay with me.  The pause is important, and necessary.

And, the end result will be enlightening - at least I know it was for me.

Next Time: ​Dents, Flaws, & Character Development: Exhibit A

​​Oh, this is probably important to note, as well.   With a last name like Carr, be forewarned! Any references, or words, that use automobile imagery, are likely not accidental.  I enjoy having fun with words.  It is my attempt at humor.  Enjoy!  ​I hope my word choice always carries the intended message, and that it occasionally brings a chuckle or two in the process.