Country Boy Logic

What I first noticed about my airline’s seat mate was his neat appearance quickly followed by crisply delivered chit-chat and a business card verifying his name was Dean and that his corporate title was “Director of Sales.”

As we continued to visit, he revealed he had recently bought a new house in an upscale neighborhood in Boston, that he had two cars and a socially active wife, and was an anxious father about to see his two daughters off to college.

He then filled in the rest of the picture with other details and insights most of which were positive. … Read the rest “Two Versions Of Success”

Driven by a mix of fear and excitement, I said goodbye to my parents and hurried up the steps. I was fifteen years old and about to take my first ride in an airplane, an American Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Buffalo.

The whole way, I kept my nose pressed to the window, still not believing where I was and what I was seeing. Afterward, I had trouble realizing how fast all of it had happened, or for that matter, how airplanes can even fly.

That first trip was even more special because back then, not many people had ever … Read the rest “The Always Present Lust For Living”

After pouring your cup of coffee, you sit, get comfortable, and take a look at your surroundings.

On the right is the motel’s check-in counter. Straight ahead is a long hall off which are all the rooms on the ground floor. At the left is the complimentary breakfast buffet that brought you here a few minutes ago.

Two women, one older, the other appearing to be her adult daughter, are preparing to bake a waffle. The younger one spills some of the batter, first on the table, then a few drops on the floor. The older one’s eyes say “Why … Read the rest “A Morning Glimpse At Humanity”

As a sofa, I knew my life would eventually come to an end. Nothing lasts forever, not even furniture. Still, I never expected it to come so suddenly with screaming winds, blinding rain, and unprecedented angry surges from the sea.

Before I explain that sad part of my life, I must tell you my good life began when I was bought by an older couple. For many years, they owned a house in a quiet neighborhood in western New York. Then in 1968, they built a new home in Cape Coral, Florida, in which to spend their retirement years. I … Read the rest “Old Gold Goes To Sofa Heaven”

That morning in Iowa was beautiful — a bright and warm sun, the temperature just right, I and my car on a lonesome yet interesting highway. On the radio, the music ended and local news began.

Immediately disturbing was the lead story about an overnight fire which destroyed a convent in the eastern part of the state. The relatively small complex dating back to the 1890s consisted of a chapel to which was attached two small wings, one serving as a dormitory, the other housing the offices, a library, and some workrooms.

During the night, something had caused a spark … Read the rest “When Something Became Nothing”

Imagine this: You’re out in the country, driving across a rolling and open landscape that could be anywhere. This evening, however, you are somewhere on the western side of Mid-America, the vastness draped between the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Appalachians to the east.

It’s evening, the sun poised to dip below the horizon. It’s such an impressive sight that as you approach the top of a long hill, you pull off on the side of the gravel road, turn off the engine, get out, and lean against the front fender, hands relaxed in jean pockets, and legs … Read the rest “In The Quiet Of An Evening”

No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, everything that has happened to you, every incident and experience, has been tucked away.

Imagine that as each incident unfolds, all the information is packed in a box that’s covered with a lid and placed on a shelf in a large warehouse. There’s no index, no accounting of what’s in each box or on what shelf it will be found. That’s because retrieval will occur automatically.

First to be stored will be the events of your earliest years as a child, then your education, followed by the beginning of your working years. Next … Read the rest “Your Hidden Treasure”

The lonely and windswept road winds through low lying mountains in northern Scotland. In the distance and across a rocky field are the remains of what once was a castle. It’s easy to imagine banquets and dancing in sharp contrast with swords and shields, idealism and realism clashing with short lived victories. So much began here, traditions, stories, art, all reflecting history and heritage of tribes and dynasties, each attempting to dominate a landscape surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. Despite the rocks and other natural roughness, there’s a timeless quality here, a storybook … Read the rest “A Lifetime Of Shaping”

It was straight up 6 A.M. when my phone rang. On the other end was Morris Gordon, Director of Communications, Western Electric, in New York.

I was in Coral Gables, Florida, relaxing for a couple of days before attending my fourth annual Conference of Communication Arts held on the University of Miami campus, a magical gathering of some of the world’s best photographers, art directors, and editors. The event, intimate in size compared to most such meetings, was created and conducted by Morris and Wilson Hicks, former Executive Editor of Life Magazine.

Morris asked if I would like to … Read the rest “An Apprentice Goes To Sea”