Blue Sky For A Dreary Day

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.” - Eleanora Duse

There is a great song many of you are probably familiar with. It is called Mr. Blue Sky and was written by Jeff Lynne and performed by his group Electric Light Orchestra.

In a BBC Radio interview, Jeff Lynne talked about how he came to write this particular song. He recalls he had been staying in a Swiss chalet trying to write his bands next album after having just released their New World Record album.

As he says, "It was dark and misty for 2 weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next 2 weeks."

Yes, a blue sky can lift and inspire when life seems most dark and dreary.

A blue sky is like the smile upon someone's face when they greet you. Kindness can make your day better. Kindness can once again make the sky blue in your life.

And while the sky might be overcast with clouds where you are, maybe I can put this song into your playlist as an act of kindness. And quite possibly make your day a "blue sky" kind of day.

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Radio announcer: Warning! today's forecast calls for blue sky's
Sun is shining in the sky there ain't a cloud in sight it's stopped raining,
Everybody's in the play
And don't you know it's a beautiful new day, Hey, Hey
Running down the avenue, see how the sun shines brightly,
In the city, on the streets where once was pity,
Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, Hey, Hey

Mr.Blue Sky, please tell us why,
You had to hide away for so long (So Long),
Where did we go wrong
Mr.Blue Sky, please tell us why,
You had to hide away for so long (So Long),
Where did we go wrong

Hey, you, with the pretty face, welcome to the human race
A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waiting,
And today is the day we've waited for, Oh-Oh

Hey, there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you,
Look around, see what you do, everybody smiles at you
Hey, there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you,
Look around, see what you do, everybody smiles at you

Mr. Blue Sky, Blue Sky, Blue Sky, Blue Sky, Blue Sky, yi
Mr. Blue, you'll get it right, but soon comes Mr. Night,
Creepin' over, now his hand is on your shoulder,
Never mind, I'll remember you this, I'll remember you this way

Mr.Blue Sky, please tell us why,
You had to hide away for so long (So Long),
Where did we go wrong
Mr.Blue Sky, please tell us why,
You had to hide away for so long (So Long),
Where did we go wrong

Stay inspired my friends!

Overcome The Obstacles

“If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, ''Here comes number seventy-one!''” - Richard M. DeVos

When the will to overcome an obstacle in our life becomes stronger then the obstacle itself, anything is achievable.

Perseverance will take hold as you battle setbacks to achieve a dream you've placed in your heart.

Take the story of Andy Kadavy, a senior football linebacker at the University of Nebraska. He always had a dream to play for his beloved Huskers while playing high school football in his hometown of Seward, Nebraska. When a few other large schools offered him scholarships to play, he developed a belief and vision that he could also play for Nebraska.

With that vision, he decided to walk-on and attempt to make the team's roster. But during this same time he began to develop a problem in his right eye. He kept this condition from most everyone including his coaches. He struggled, he had successes but then was let go. You can read more about the details of his story on Lincoln Journal-Star.

His story is one of perseverance, of never letting go of his dream. He stayed with his goal and his circumstances changed; opportunity came again. His reward for sticking with it was a scholarship earned in his senior year of university.

He believed in his vision, he acted upon his vision and finally realized his vision.

When it comes to your dreams, your visions, your goals - persevere and you too can achieve that which you seek.

Stay inspired my friends!

Service With A Smile

"Sow good services; sweet remembrances will grow them." - Madame de Stael

In the spirit of service to others, here is a story from quite some time ago told by Andy Andrews. Andy wrote of a person who had an unending spirit to serve others. I felt it was a good story so here I reshare his story with you.

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Goodbye, Mr. Foster

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I met him at least eight years ago—maybe ten—on Concourse A at the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. He wore black pants and a white shirt with a black tie and bib apron. "Let me carry that for you, young man," he said, noticing the balancing act I was performing with my luggage and the tray of food from Paschal's Restaurant that included iced tea and peach cobbler. He didn't wait for me to say yes or no. The old fellow just grabbed my tray with a smile and was off, limping heavily on one leg that was obviously shorter than the other.

I followed him around the escalator to an empty group of tables I had never noticed and it was only then when I realized that he had also brought napkins, a straw, and packages of salt and pepper ... items I usually forget. With a flourish, he wiped a table, removed my plate from the tray and arranged it carefully with the napkins and the iced tea. Pulling back my chair as I hurriedly retrieved three, one-dollar bills from my pocket, he smiled and said, "God bless you." His nametag read: FOSTER.

After I had eaten, I walked back around to the food court, curious to see if this was a new service the airport had put in place. Certainly, I had never been "helped" before. I saw several other men and women dressed like my new friend, loosely assembled, and talking with each other, waiting without enthusiasm for tables to come empty. At that point, one of them would disengage from the group, clear any trash left on the table, wipe it down and return to their coworkers.

Glancing around the huge area, I quickly spotted Foster. Smiling, laughing, and moving fast, he helped one person after another. Mothers traveling alone with children or elderly people seemed to catch his eye first. He never waited to be summoned. He went where he was needed. Most were like me—shocked at the help—and looked around as if there might be a hidden camera recording this amazing event. I watched for fifteen minutes before heading to my flight and counted six people or groups of people he had helped during that time.

I was back through the Atlanta airport the next day and couldn't wait to visit the food court again. Sure enough, there he was, the old man with the big smile. He didn't have time to talk, but he helped me to a table as he had the day before (with napkins, salt and pepper, and a straw) and said, "God bless you, young man," as he held out my chair.

I had a twenty folded and ready to place in his hand that day. I was impressed and inspired by this old man who struggled to walk, yet moved like a dervish as he cleaned empty tables and looked for people to serve. From that day forward, he was Mister Foster to me.

As the years rolled by, I developed a great admiration for Mr. Foster. I saw him several times each month and introduced him to my wife and boys along with anyone else with whom I might have been traveling. "Watch this guy," I would always instruct as he left our table. "And watch that bunch of other people over there dressed just like him." The contrast was clear.

I enjoyed contributing to his financial well being—especially during the holidays—because he worked hard helping those who needed help. I never once suspected Mr. Foster was making a play for tips. In fact, though I rarely slipped him less than twenty dollars, he often made me wait while he helped someone in obvious need of assistance. And whether they offered money or not, he always smiled, held their chairs and said, "God bless you."

And then he was gone.

About eighteen months ago, unable to find my friend in the crowd, I asked the ladies at Paschal's, "Where is Mr. Foster today?"

"Fired," they told me.

"What?" I asked, not believing what I had heard.

"That's right," the ladies all nodded. "They fired him. Humiliated him. Sent the man home!"

"Who fired him?" I said, stopping the buffet line in its tracks. "And for what?"

The Atlanta Airport Authority, I was told, had determined that Mr. Foster had become "a distraction". They ordered him to stop helping people. "Stand with everyone else," he was told, "and wait for the tables to empty like you are supposed to. You are a busboy…act like one."

But who can act like a busboy when your heart tells you that you're so much more? He couldn't and he didn't and they fired him.

A few months later, he was back (happy as ever) on a trial basis. But I never again let him carry my tray. I did, however, continue with the twenties. And the fifties. And sometimes more. He took the money because I made him take it. I was mad for him and he knew it. His "God bless you's" often came to me with a tear. His spirit was gone.

Today, I went by Paschal's—Concourse A in the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. Before I could even ask, one of the ladies on the serving line spotted me. "I been expecting you," she said. "Mr. Foster's gone. He quit. He told 'em he was old and sick and couldn't do the work no more." Then she cocked her head and added with a whisper, "He ain't sick. There ain't nothing broken about that old man."

Nope, I thought as I turned away, there ain't nothing broken about that old man. Nothing but his heart.

Mr. Foster, I miss you. I am one among many who do, I suspect. So wherever you are ... God bless you.

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Try to serve others in whatever capacity you can. Do not because you have to but because you want to. You will be remembered for years to come and have made the world a little bit better place for others and yourself.

Stay inspired my friends.

Make Them Laugh

“If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.” ― Robert Frost

Donald O'Connor had an amazing dancing ability and was a joy to watch.

Maybe today we can relax from the toil of politics and circumstance.

Maybe today we can just laugh.

Stay inspired my friends!