A Bear and a Beer…

Springtime is here; warmer weather; reminds us summer is on its way.  Summer makes me think of a cold beer on a hot day; which makes me think of my Dad.  He loved a cold beer on hot days. 

When I think about my Dad I can’t help but remember his perspective about how much things cost.  He’d always pine, “Oh, the cost of gas is outlandish!”  Or he would complain about the price of bananas; milk; bread; you name it.

I bet you’ve heard these complaints from the older generation.  They are “Depression Era Babies”; people who grew up in very different times than ours.  Now, I don’t like over spending any more than the next guy, but I know I am truly blessed.   Of course, I get that annual shock about this time of year when income taxes are filed.  Reminds me of the saying from our favorite, Unknown Sage,

When I first started working I used to dream of the day when I might be earning the salary I'm starving on now.

When my 401-k statement arrives?  Well, my Dad’s complaints on how far a dollar can’t go any more come back to mind.  I think of the,

Market Terminology for Dummies:

Bull Market - A random market movement causing the investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

Momentum Investing - The fine art of buying high and selling low.

Standard & Poor - Your investment strategy in a nutshell.

Mailbits.com

         

So it’s obvious that I’m going to be working for “a while”.  Let’s just say that I’m not quite to the point of being a Wal-Mart Greeter, but I am paying closer attention to where their employment application kiosks are located.  I’m trying not to let this get me down, though - I love my work, and I’m blessed with my income. 

I’d like to keep working as long as I’m physically (and mentally) able.  If you saw my golf game you’d tell me not to retire yet either.  However, like my Dad I confess that I’m starting to pay closer attention to how much things cost.  Norman Augustine, the former head of Martin Marietta Corporation did also.  He shared this story:

A bear who, displaying a $5 bill, had entered a bar and ordered a beer and; the owner of the bar directed the bartender to give the bear the beer, saying that since the bear didn't look very smart to only give it 25 cents in change.  Having done as he had been instructed, and having watched incredulously as the bear placidly sipped the beer, the bartender finally could no longer contain himself and sought to engage the bear in conversation.  You know, he said to the bear, we don't get many bears in this bar.  To which the bear is said to have replied, at $4.75 a beer, it's no wonder.

Funny thing about money; no matter how much we make, it’s not quite enough to take our minds off the price of things.  How we deal with the delta between our take home pay and our household budget has a lot to do with our daily outlook, yes?

“Houseless”, adj. 

Having paid all taxes on household goods.

Ambrose Bierce 

So whether it was my Dad’s watchful eye on prices; filing income taxes each year; or that bear placidly sipping his beer; all serve to remind me that my glass is truly half-full.

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Our Loans to Repay…

Happy Memorial Day in advance everyone! 

Next Monday is an occasion to celebrate America - our America - our nation of great opportunity and great diversity.  Even though we Americans are addressing many difficulties, Monday is a day to celebrate our blessings and our future possibilities.   

On any other day, it’s easy to get mired in everything that’s wrong with America.  What concerns you the most? Covid 19?  The economy?  Health care?  World peace?  Lots to complain about, true?

Conservation of our Earth for future generations is another difficulty - and a hotbed of debate.  Nothing new about this however; it is a topic dating back to our country’s original landlords:

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors – we borrow it from our children. 

Native American proverb

Do you believe we’re experiencing (and contributing to) global warming?  If we are, what can each of us do about it?  Will our children feel the same way about lending us their Earth as we do about inheriting the Social Security trust fund from our parents?  (Not much “trust” in the use of that trust fund, yes?)

Memorial Day is a day to remember and to honor the men and women of our armed forces who have preserved a country where cultures of diversity come together unlike any other place on Earth.  It’s a time to salute our service men and women; present and past; and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our way of life: 

We all benefit today from those who came before us.  But what are we making of our opportunities?  And what opportunities (and debts) will we leave for our future generations? 

In every community, there is work to be done. 

In every nation, there are wounds to heal. 

In every heart, there is the power to do it. 

Marianne Williamson

Monday is a holiday and a time for celebration not worries; for national pride not fear; for appreciation not anger.  Monday, Americans can celebrate the interesting, diverse, and humorous lifestyle others have enriched us with as noted by our favorite, Unknown Sage:

Only in America…

can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. 

Only in America…

are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.

Only in America…

do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. 

Only in America…

do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke. 

Only in America…

do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to  the counters. 

Only in America…

do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.                      

Only in America…

do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.  

Only in America…

do we use the word "politics" to describe the process so well: "Poli" in Latin meaning "many" and "tics" meaning  "bloodsucking creatures." 

Only in America…

do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

                             

Yes, remember “only in America” on Monday and enjoy the holiday.  Then we’ll go back to work Tuesday – working to overcome our difficulties; working to leverage our opportunities; working to preserve our way of life for future generations.

Let’s start working to pay back the loan on our planet Earth to our children and their children.

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

A Father’s principle…

In Principle-Based Leadership ©, Jim Anderson writes:

When one bases his life on principles, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.

My principle is I will take care of my family as best as I can for as long as I can - no matter what - until the last breath I take... for Eric among others:

I have known Eric for 44 years this coming Monday – his birthday.  Over that period Eric’s Mom and Dad have shared some of his most joyous occasions; and some of his most upsetting events; and in between these highs and lows Eric would tell you that he has been doing alright.  And for Eric, doing alright shows how amazing he truly is.

You see, Eric is the strongest person I know.  I’ll give you an example.  Close your eyes and return to the happiest day of your life – feel how you felt during your most exhilarating moments.  OK, now think back to how you felt on your saddest, darkest, most depressed day ever.  Just set those mental bookmarks in your mind’s eye.  There is an unbelievably wide and powerful range of human emotion, yes? 

For most of us, we migrate from our highest highs and our lowest lows slowly; with long, “recovery” spans of simply feeling average in between.  Unfortunately, Eric is different; his mood swings back and forth, between euphoric highs and debilitating lows in a matter of minutes - multiple times - every hour!  Now picture your life with his type of mood swings – as if our other challenges aren’t enough to deal with. 

Rapid Cycling – that’s the technical term for Eric and others who suffer from Bi-Polar Disorder.  And Eric lives every day with this unwelcome guest.  Medical science is not much help.  Bi-Polar Disorder is an affliction of the brain; and very difficult to properly diagnose and treat.  Trial and error, mostly.  That means people with Bi-Polar Disorder typically wind up dealing with this on their own. 

Most can’t hold down a steady job.  Eric can – and he has consistently been a “go to” person for his company.  He is a skilled tradesman; good with customers; dependable; hard working; shows up no matter what; a positive attitude that no job is too tough; that’s Eric.  Most people with Bi-Polar Disorder can’t live independently.  Eric does – and if you met him, you would never know the internal turmoil he is living with.  He has a pleasant personality; a great smile; a nice sense of humor; knowledgeable of current events; just like the rest of us.

But Eric isn’t really like the rest of us.  Just getting up and facing the day; every day; takes enormous strength.  And he offers no excuses – never has.  Eric has earned success and experienced failure.  No matter; Eric treats each day anew, the best he possibly can. And when you greet him saying, “Hi. How you doing?”  you will almost always hear him say, “I’m doing alright”. 

If Eric does alright each and every day even though feeling these uncontrollable mood swings – should we do any less? 

No, I don’t have Bi-Polar Disorder, but it lives next door. And though I don’t have it, I can see first-hand the strength Eric has as he lives with it.  I’m very proud to say that Eric is my son.  And one day I hope to learn the source of his amazing strength so I too can be, “doing alright”.

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Moms are special…

My Mom was special - I bet your Mom is (or was) special, too.  Sunday is Mother’s Day.  In mind; in memory; or in person; be sure to make it a special day for your Mom.  Sending flowers is not enough.  Make her the center of your attention if only for one day.

My wife is a special Mom.  She continues to lovingly mother our grown boys and our grandchildren even while their father worries, “How do I get all of these kids off the payroll?”  But I digress.  She keeps our entire, extended family together.

Our Moms have a special sense of humor: 

A wife invited some people to dinner.  At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”  I wouldn’t know what to say”, the girl replied.  “Just say what you hear Mommy say”, the wife answered.  The daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”  Unknown Sage

                                  

Our Moms are special teachers.  Remember the life-long lessons you learned from your Mother?  Back to our Unknown Sage:

What my Mother taught me:

My Mother taught me logic;

“Because I said so, that's why.”

My Mother taught me irony;

“Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about.”

My Mother taught me about the science of osmosis:

“Shut your mouth and eat your supper!" 

Even Bill Gates has a take (including Mom and Dad in his reference to his parents - and ours):

Excerpt from Bill Gates' speech to Mount Whitney High School, Visalia, CA:

Rule 1 - Life is not fair; get used to it.

Rule 7 - Before you were born, your parents weren't

as boring as they are now.  They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were.  So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Our Moms have a special and immeasurable reservoir of power, true?  My Mom did.  She was stricken with cancer when I was 6 years old.  In fact, I can no longer remember a time when she was not ill.  The last 15 years of her life were spent undergoing continuous treatments:

I watched my Mom’s great power, which she needed in order to deal with a new cancer treatment in the late 1960’s that was so unimaginably harsh – that the administration of this treatment was solely based on the primitive science of trial and error – where the doctors’ routine consisted of observing how much of a dose could she tolerate without dying from the treatment. 

It was an experimental treatment back then; offered only as a last resort for terminally ill cancer patients. This wasn’t a cancer cure; just a radical option to extend one’s life another year or two.  It was due to her staying power (and that of many other patients like her) before she finally succumbed in 1974, that has helped pave the way to the development of the commonly used, life-saving cancer treatment we all know today as chemotherapy.

How many special Moms have died fighting terrible diseases (and brutal treatments) so the rest of us can benefit from the exaggerated term, “modern medicine”?

Mother’s Day - make it special for your Mom if she’s living; make it special for you through your memories of your Mom if she’s not.

GAP

Did you like this little ditty?  You might enjoy my past posts too: www.TheQuoteGuys.com