A Wheezing Whizzer

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That’s what I would have called it, a two-wheeled powered scooter type of toy sitting outside the coffee shop defying anyone to call it less than a grown up.

As I entered, I looked for the likely rider, a studious type kid with sunglasses and long hair, or maybe somebody having all the outward appearance of being a daredevil in the making. None of the few inside even came close to either description. So passing it off as another one of life’s incidentals, I got my coffee and settled in with an article in the latest issue of Writer’s Digest… Read the rest “A Wheezing Whizzer”

Face Up, Brace Up, And Get With It

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Regardless of where in our society such words might be used, there’s a good chance too many people would consider them harsh, maybe even insulting. 

Yet, we have reached the point when such language should be considered not only in order, but encouraged when appropriate. They speak of courage, commitment, and a call to action at a time when hardness stemming from character is being replaced by permissive softness.

I need look no farther than myself to find a good example.

The small rural high school I attended fell far short in preparing me for the scholastic standards I was … Read the rest “Face Up, Brace Up, And Get With It”

31 Days That Led To This Question

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A few minutes after midnight, my wife fell on the way to the bathroom. She wasn’t able to move her left leg without pain, so my only option was to call 911—a personal first.

Hospital staff confirmed the expected—a fractured hip requiring immediate surgery. After four days of recovery in the hospital, she would then be moved to a rehabilitation facility for an extended stay.

Not until after I had returned to the now eerily quiet house shortly before daybreak was I able to think through what had happened in such a short time and try to get my arms … Read the rest “31 Days That Led To This Question”

The Retirement Myth

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What you are about to read might sound like a game but it isn’t. Instead, it’s a simple concept that could change your life, yet has never been explained before.

If you are sitting, stand, twist yourself to the left, and raise your extended left arm to about head high. Now move it slowly from the left around toward the center in front of you, then to the right as far as you can twist yourself.

You have just drawn an imaginary line from the point on your left that represents when you were born to the point on your … Read the rest “The Retirement Myth”

The Immediacy Of Everything

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From minute to minute, day to day, and year to year, everything in the world is changing. What is alive is dying. What is new becomes older. What is already old will eventually disappear or change into a form alien to the original.

We react with a mix of shock and sadness as we become painfully aware that everyone and everything everywhere are no longer what they were, nor will they ever be again.

Everything on earth is slip-sliding its way down a seemingly endless one-way street to be replaced by the same or something different.

We become depressed as … Read the rest “The Immediacy Of Everything”

The Logic In Standing Back

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Outwardly, Les was good at fitting in almost anywhere. Already well into his fifties, he had the smarts that one usually has by that time in life. He knew how to do his job and he did it well.

Not readily apparent, however, was a special talent I witnessed while attending a meeting as an observer. About a dozen people, including Les, were involved.

On the table was a proposed course of action that would affect a small but vitally important part of a much larger program of the organization. The group had been handed the responsibility of deciding if … Read the rest “The Logic In Standing Back”

In The Name Of Dignity

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It was 1953. A war had boiled up in Korea and we four, Morris, Wayne, Robert, and me, had been requested to help win it.

That had meant joining others from everywhere for sixteen weeks of basic infantry and artillery training. Ordinarily, that would have been enough, but we were among the select few who had volunteered for and had managed to survive eight weeks of leadership training, a grueling assault on both body and brain. All of it was to toughen our abilities and resolve, give us an edge on the battlefield, keep us from being shipped back home … Read the rest “In The Name Of Dignity”

Logic’s Erroneous Backside

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If you have ever wondered why the word “logic” is regarded as a positive element in our lives, know that the words good, rational, reasonable, sensible, sound, and valid mean the same thing.

In all of these columns, logic is portrayed as being a handy and useful tool in coping with life’s difficulties, a way to clear up confusing elements so a simpler answer can be applied to the question.

The problem lies in our tendency to misinterpret the word when it’s used in a certain situation. One of the best ways to understand that is to look at what … Read the rest “Logic’s Erroneous Backside”

Life’s Three Big A’s

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The first one is anticipating, because you will never have what you don’t strive for. The second is applying because you will never know what you can do unless you do it.  And the third one is the afterglow of a good life you won’t have if you haven’t lived it.

Yes, you think that’s too much to wrap your arms around, is much too simple to be believed, comes too late to make a difference. Logic, however, has no boundaries, and is so flexible and adaptable it can be applied no matter who or where you are, or … Read the rest “Life’s Three Big A’s”

It’s Over Miami And Everywhere Else

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The world often demands far too much of us. We feel as if we are spread-eagled on the bottom of an overturned life raft, hanging on for dear life against howling winds and turbulent seas. We keep looking for anything to logically ease the threat or pave the way for rescue.

Well, one need not look any farther than skyward and toward the moon. When spiced with only a small bit of imagination, it’s ready to sooth the soul, help verify a decision or even help one forget they had one to make.

Among those who have already figured that … Read the rest “It’s Over Miami And Everywhere Else”