The Encounter

My Check Out Supervisor unexpectedly approached me & asked me to work the front entry way at Sam's Club on North Oak Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri. Not that it was any big deal (a monkey could do it!) but I had never been asked to man the door before. The year was 1997 & I had just arrived in the City of Fountains to continue work on my Master's degree.

After only a few minutes patrolling the door there came an older gentleman accompanied by a younger man who was obviously helping him. I immediately recognized something wasn't right. The older gentleman needed a place to rest & was gasping for breath & bellowing quite loudly. I helped him find a chair & asked how I could assist. After a few seconds he said "I have severe Asthma" in between shallow breaths. "I'll be alright in just a minute. Just let me catch my breath."

After he was able to rest, his breathing improved with the help from a rescue inhaler. I was relieved. He introduced himself. "M' name's Blacky" He said as he extended his hand to me. I smiled. Interesting choice of name since he was a pasty Irish Caucasian with snow white hair. ;0)

We continued dialoguing & in the course of the conversation I told him I too suffered from Asthma.

He perked up & replied "Say, you wouldn't happen to need any prescription medications would you? I get mine through the Veteran's Hospital & don't use them up fast enough & I would gladly give them to you for next to nothing."

Time slowed dramatically. My hearing was significantly enhanced as I could not only feel but hear my heart beat. People around me became cardboard cutouts.

Less than 12 hours prior I was required to attend a late night meeting after our store closed & was experiencing my own bronchial spasms with no necessary medication, & no medical insurance. I became quite angry on the way to the meeting while struggling to breathe. I remember yelling at my maker at the top of what diminished lung power I had while alone in the car. At one point I exclaimed "It's not like breathing is optional!"

Time returned to it's normal pace as feelings of guilt, gratefulness & humility washed over me.

All a coincidence? I suppose it could be argued but those kinds of odds I would guess are even steep for the Vegas crowd.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:8 GWT

Three Minus Two

Silence has fallen over my home. My highly cranky youngest has just fallen back to sleep. The house permeates of bacon after this morning's hurried breakfast (remembers that there are leftovers on kitchen table & pauses writing to grab a piece). The sound of my morning coffee steadily percolates from the other room. It's Tuesday, which is trash day, which explains the sounds of heavy machinery running from several blocks away. This may all sound ho-hum to you the reader but I assure you something's quite different here. Alas, Summer has left the building! I repeat, Summer has left the building folks! Oh sure it's still 125 degrees outside with the humidity factor the closest it can possibly be to raining without actually raining, but say goodbye to what was, as the new school year just got under way a little over an hour ago.

After several weeks of carefully re-adjusting bed time schedules, & shopping for new school clothes & other necessary supplies that drain your bank account, the moment has finally arrived.

Such a bitter sweet feeling this is. On one hand I'm grateful for growth & progress. On the other hand everything within me wishes I could somehow postpone the inevitable. It would appear the only worthy option I have is to embrace the moment hook line & sinker.

"Grab the reigns, take the wheel. Lose what's not & keep what's real. It's not too late, It's not too late. Just close your eyes... & feel." -Danny Orton/Blair Daly

New Twist On An Old Classic

The cuddly fuzzy bunny says___. The furry squirrel goes____.
The threatened fire ant exclaims "____!" as it injects its mandibles full of poisonous flesh rotting venom into lil' "Jenny's ankle that only antibiotics will cure (hope her parents have good health insurance!). "____!" goes the electric eel "___, ___!" says the Pacific Northwest Mule Deer! The lethargic hermit crab says_____ , as she crawls along the warm Texas gulf coastline on a lazy, breezy summer's eve. Momma Plankton goes "____,_____,____!" as she puts her five hundred thousand offspring to bed. "___! ____!" goes Mr. Diamondback Terrapin in proud fashion. "____'' says grumpy & highly toxinous Mr. Japanese puffer fish!

Yes my offspring are very well adjusted. Why do you ask? ;0)

They Cancel Each Other Out

Do your very best. Relax & have fun. Live every day like it's your last. Plan for the future. Save. Invest. Get enough sleep. Early bird gets the worm. There are no second chances. Tomorrow's a new day. Put others first. Take time for yourself. Work like it's all up to you. Pray like it's all up to God (that one's particularly annoying). Put your family first. Put your wife first. Put your children first. Put God first. If you don't put your career first you'll never have financial stability. Life is about having fun. "Life... is difficult" (opening line in the late Dr. M. Scott Peck's best seller "The Road Less Traveled") Make logical, calculated moves. Walk by faith. Play it safe. Be willing to take risks. Take your vitamins. Vitamins=expensive urine (my father-in-law the physician has stated that so take it up with him if you have a complaint ;-). Establish a quiet time early each morning. Establish a quiet time before bedtime. Be unique. Go with the flow. Stand out! Fit in! And last but not least...Be a leader! Be a team player!

I am reminded of a minister I know who once wisely stated "If you do everything in those expensive 3 day self improvement retreats you attend at the Posh Hyatt Regency that they tell you to do, you'll end up with a 36 hour work day. So...just live your life."

Alas, to that observation I can finally say..."Amen!"

End of An Era

As I write it's Tuesday morning, August 11th, 2009. The "tweet" heard 'round the world came quite early this day. Truly, the End of an era. After 28 years a musical giant has gracefully stepped down from arguably the most successful American rock band of all time, Chicago. And while I knew it was only a matter of time, my heart is still heavy to learn of his departure.

For almost 3 decades as I grew from a young man into the musician I am today, Bill Champlin has been the inspiring monstrous yin to Chicago's yang of lead vocalists. He was the successor to lead singer & guitarist Terry Kath after his untimely death in the late 70's. Bill's unmistakable gritty & soulful vocals are impossible to miss on any Chicago album, & a deadly knockout punch in concert. Champlin parted ways to pursue a solo career & play more intimate settings wanting to finish his career on his terms & at his pace.

God Speed Bill. I wish you nothing but the best. Thank you for laying it all on the line for so long. I couldn't have asked for a better musical backdrop through the years &... "Through It All."

Here She Comes

Late this afternoon my wife & I witnessed the transition of power from Alaska's most famous daughter to newly sworn in Sean Parnell in downtown Fairbanks. I can think of zero other people in my thirty something years of room & board on this big blue marble that evoke such intensely polarizing emotions as Governor Sarah Palin. I also continue to be astounded at the relentless calculated attacks on this woman & her family.

Beyond shameful & inexcuseable.

Good people will always disagree with one another on the issue of politics. No surprise there. Most however, (granted, not all, but most) will criticize a politician on their platform, NOT their latest irrelevant hairstyle, equally irrelevant wardrobe, or worst & most disturbing of all, sacred offspring.

A wise psychologist from the Amarillo, TX region once told me "People can't help but tell on themselves." So when these classless snipers continue to verbally as well as legally assault this brave woman & her children I cannot help but be reminded of the fact that no military commander would EVER use a highly mobile M1 Abrams tank to take out a mosquito. Translation: If she were genuinely no threat, the opposition wouldn't be wasting its time.

End of an era? Think again. Hell hath no furry like a provoked momma grizzly.

Act II: Scene II: "The Reckoning."

Here she comes.

Lawter Road

Lawter Road was an old country road just north of a small quiet western Oklahoma town in which I spent my college years.

When living the dream of a lowly freshman with a minuscule bank account & precious few resources, I quickly learned you must become creative in finding cheap alternatives to self coping mechanisms or risk sinking further into a dark, emotional abyss...at least that's what they tell me. ;-)

Many summer evenings, golden autumn mornings, bleak, snowy weekends & lazy spring Saturdays, would find me on this therapeutic pathway driving well under the speed limit playing music in my car stereo while trying to summon every free moment I could afford to gather myself, my thoughts, & the courage to dig back in to the never ending demands of college life.

Time always seemed to stand still on Lawter Road, giving no thought or concern to its travelers or their circumstances. That was the beauty of it. And from its vantage point one could always easily gaze back toward the community & see the college standing firmly on the hill. I admit it sounds too good to be true, but a simple change in perspective was often just the ingredient needed to gain fresh insight & motivation to confront lingering issues.

Some say western Oklahoma is a repulsive eyesore with its red dirt & pancake terrain. I've even heard it jokingly referred to as "The backside of Mars." I couldn't disagree more. While maybe an acquired taste for some, those harvested wheat fields & grain elevators provided the perfect backdrop in every season of my college experience. Everyone needs a Lawter Road at some point or another in their life. If you haven't found yours, I hope you do.