Wondrous Stories

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” ― Umberto Eco

I want to grow as old as my father has and many years beyond it. Today my Dad celebrates another birthday, well into his eighties and with stories to we each have to tell. And many stories I am sure he could tell as well.

All were adventures as I look back now, leading me to where I am today.

A story I wrote about in one of my books titled Changed Lives gives a glimpse into one such adventurous story.

"Take old oak doors for instance, the old heavy ones that you rarely find these days. There can be many uses for these doors if you put your mind to good use. These doors are also quite heavy for a young boy that didn’t have the physique of a football player.

We would find these doors at the old trash dumping location near our hometown. This dump was a ravine, back again during those times before much stricter regulations. That which we could not burn was taken to this dump.

Most times we returned with more then we took. This is the ‘new stuff’ I referred to earlier. My father had a great ‘eye’ for things that could be potentially used on our farm. He could spot an old oak door many yards away. One such day he found one laying about half way down the ravine. All we had to do was climb down, attach a rope and pull it back up.

I was the available son and was instructed to ensure that I tied up to it securely. So down I went, doing as I was told, never wanting to disappoint. All the while I kept wondering if the whole trash pile would give way and slide further down the ravine. God was watching over me I am sure; no scrapes, no bruises and another prized oak door was ours."

My Dad always took care of us, did a great job at it in fact and I am the person I am today because of him. To that I thank him for being Dad. Pretty simple idea but hard to execute on. But he has done it well as one can.

Happy birthday Dad and I look forward to more wondrous stories.



Stay inspired my friends!

Define Normal For Me

“Short is short and Tall is Tall. You are what you are. That is all!” ― Stephen Cosgrove

I was asked once what it was like to live a normal life. The person asking this question had experienced a fair amount of ups and downs in the past. I knew it was a rhetorical question but it did remind me of a quote from Wynonna Judd who said, "My mom always said normal is just a cycle on the washing machine."

Our lives are just that, anything but normal.

If we were to start detailing what a normal life is, most everyone would probably have a hard time coming close to it. I suppose what a normal life is could be defined as 'evening out the highs and lows.'

But like a roller coaster ride, ups and downs will occur.

To me that is what a normal life will consist of; ups and downs and circles and squares. The goal in respect to ups and downs is to create an attitude that will not drag you too low or too high when these things happen.

To ride through the best and worst of times will eventually cause the ride to even out over time. The lows will be easier to deal with and highs will seem som much better. We will get to live life more balanced, more normal in our own kind of way.

Normal is your life and how you react within it.

The roughness of circumstance will ease and if the right attitude grows, your life will lift a notch higher. Expect that life will have ups and downs; everyone else has them. Just know you will carry through and life will get better.

Normal is your normal.

Stay inspired my friends!

Light At The Beginning Of The Tunnel

“There is a light at the end of every tunnel. Some tunnels just happen to be longer than others.” ― Ada Adams

We always try to remind ourselves to keep our attitude positive and "looking for the light at the end of the tunnel." Well a great cartoon gives us an amusing idea of what it is like on the other end of that tunnel.

How great it would be if we just lived our lives on that end of the tunnel.

Keep in mind that regardless of what you are going through, things are better on the end where that light exists. Get to that end and live life where the "light is at the beginning of the tunnel."

Stay inspired my friends!

Your View Master

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol

There was a toy many years ago that people will remember. It was a child's toy called the View Master. It was a toy that could take you to the steamy jungles of the Amazon Jungle or high atop the Swiss Alps.

A new adventure awaited in every picture reel placed into the viewer.

The View Master would show you a world that existed beyond your own small space. It allowed you to dream of far off places which could one day be visited. It revealed everything which lay beyond your backyard, waiting out there for you.

It showed you the many possibilities awaiting you.

Your own eyes are like that View Master toy. All you see beyond the doors of your home, beyond the surface of first impressions and out past preconceived notions is possibility.

It is opportunity to see things not for what they are, but for what they can be.

One could say they have no need to see or lead our lives beyond the doors of our home. Yet, we lead ourselves in the very least. We lead ourselves to decisions made on what to eat, to wear or what to do, life starts with one. You also lead within family, work, church and in other aspects of life.

It means your view can lead to new possibility for you and those around you.

Do not see just whom you are. Better yet, look at what you can be. Look at what others can be. Through eyes of vision, your own View Master will give you a glimpse into the possibilities which exist. Use your vision to change the view you have in life.

Stay inspired my friends!