The Soft Side Of Hard Sell

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Deep inside all of us is a strong want, wish, or yearning. It can be as wide and general as wanting to live a good life or as narrow and specific as owning a fine home in the best part of town. Or maybe it’s a matter of personal achievement, becoming everything you could possibly be.

As you view it, three reasons are responsible for you being unable to satisfy that want. You either don’t have the right contacts, the know-how, or enough money to make it happen. 

What’s agonizing is that others seem to have overcome those obstacles, so … Read the rest “The Soft Side Of Hard Sell”

The Paper Cross

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I was lifting a pile of old and odd shaped papers from a long forgotten box when a piece of stiff paper in the shape of a cross fell to the floor.

On one side was a colorful artistic rendition of a cross. On the blank back side were these penciled in words: I wore this in the Easter program, 1944. Daddy put it on.

Then came this highly probable flashback: After making sure we were properly dressed for the occasion, our family of four would have driven to the other side of “town” (a scant three blocks) to … Read the rest “The Paper Cross”

You Just Never Know

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There I was, almost finished with military service at Ft. Riley, Kansas, but first having to suffer through one of the hottest and driest summers on record.

It was a sizzling Sunday afternoon and my buddy Roger and I were attempting to tough out the heat in the barracks with no air conditioning. Right then and there we decided enough was enough. We had to find some way to escape the heat. 

That’s when we got the idea of getting some leave time and going to Colorado. Roger didn’t have his car there, but I had mine. We found a … Read the rest “You Just Never Know”

Smoothing Regret’s Rough Edges

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Only rarely do we hear anyone say they have no regrets. That’s because it’s unthinkable that anyone could be so perfect as to never make a regrettable mistake.

Then again, it’s possible that such a person has some regrets but somehow has been so successful in making amends with themselves and others affected that the incidents have simply been forgotten.

Although it’s later in life when regrets plague us most, they can occur much earlier, right after we begin having to decide such issues as where we live, with whom, by what means, and to what end. Some decisions are … Read the rest “Smoothing Regret’s Rough Edges”

From Out Of The Shadows

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Here’s the story that unfolded.

During summer school at a distant college, the guy met a girl and they continued to date until the school session ended. 

It was, however, more than simply a summer romance. After they had each returned home, they were attracted to each other enough that three times over the next several months he drove the more than 200 miles to see her. The potential for something more serious was alive and well.

It all came to an end, however, when he had to leave to fulfill a two-year military commitment. Even before he had returned … Read the rest “From Out Of The Shadows”

This Ain’t No Dress Rehearsal!

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From somebody came a sperm and from another somebody came an egg. They got together and from that speck there soon began to sprout a head, arms, and legs. Soon it all got big enough, and out you plopped — wet, hungry, and squalling.

Some wildly anticipated your arrival, everybody else ho-hummed it. Whatever the welcome, there you were. Ready to live. Ready for a life. You could hardly wait.

If that happened back in the olden days, you were allowed to be a kid — get dirty and sunburned, jump off diving boards, climb trees, learn to ride a … Read the rest “This Ain’t No Dress Rehearsal!”

In A World Of Silence And Wonder

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In the middle of the night a wide band of snow began to whiten a broad swath of Dixieland’s northern parts.

As per no wind and the law of gravity, the flakes slowly eased straight down — wet flakes landing on almost every exposed surface, creating a myriad of miniature castles and cavities to muffle sounds coming from anything anywhere.

Sometime around daylight, the snowfall paused. About two inches had fallen. Then it resumed with even larger flakes.  Another inch fell, then another, and another, finally ending around noon.

By then, everyone had witnessed a rarity — enough snow to … Read the rest “In A World Of Silence And Wonder”

Repairing The Battered Realm Of Relating

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Just a few weeks ago a friend became teary eyed as he remembered the COVID pandemic and described how hopelessly frustrated he had been when not allowed to visit his dying uncle or even attend his funeral. 

It wasn’t just about him either. Millions of people have similar and often vivid stories about how they fared during those dark days.

Whether accidental, intentional, or by default, facts, common sense, and logic were shoved into the backseat while assumption, accusation, and ignorance drove the bus. Everyone in the work places, schools, churches, businesses and homes was frozen in place and deeply … Read the rest “Repairing The Battered Realm Of Relating”

Then There Is January

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It’s ten minutes after midnight. You decided to stay up long enough to see the ball drop in Times Square. Now, it feels good to turn out the light and slide under the covers. You feel relaxed even if some fireworks are still being set off by some of your neighbors. 

Then comes a lull followed a few seconds later by a dazzling flash of light and a really BIG BANG, then nothing but quiet. 

You smile as you realize the folks had purposely saved the loudest for the last. In dramatic fashion, it signaled that the old year was … Read the rest “Then There Is January”

Looking Ahead To A New Year

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It has likely happened to you as it has to millions of others after Christmas. 

As you begin catching up on everything that was put on hold before the holidays you can’t help looking ahead to a New Year — a good time to end some bad habits and begin doing whatever needs to be done to make your life better. So you confidently make a list of New Year’s resolutions and sincerely promise yourself that come New Year’s Day, you are going to begin making more of a difference.

That day soon arrives, but because it falls on a … Read the rest “Looking Ahead To A New Year”