Sunday, June 19, 2011

What I learned from my Father.

Today, Father's day, there was an article in Parade Magazine relating what clebrities had learned from their fathers. I thought I'd share mine. My father started working as toolmaker in a company called Nicholson File. His salary was miniscule. He was married  to Dorothy and had a son Tom. He entered World War II as  an Army private. Shortly afterwards he was captured at the Battle of the Bulge. He spent more than a year in a Nazi prisoner of war camp. When he finally got home he worked for the Post Office for 35 years before retiring. Unfortunately he died two years later from colon cancer. Like many fathers he worked his whole life, had it interrupted and changed by war and tried to live his life as normally as possible. My father worked hard. He wanted to show how far he had come by his possesion of materials things. He bought a house and never finished adding or subtracting something from it. He had Cadillac Eldorado convertibles. He spent months in Miami Beach. From all this I learned that soldiers never talk about war, they keep it inside but never far from the surface. Emotional wounds never heal completely, they scab over ready to be opened. Material things have no feelings and time should be spent with people. No one should retire and not enjoy more than a few years of enjoyment. I hope my kids have learned some positive things from me. Happy Father's Day Dad!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Obstacles

It always seems that just when you feel that you have the world by the gonads, an obstacle appears. Those dreaded obstcales. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, races and genders, brunettes, blonds, redheads, and bald. Out of nowhere they rear their ugly heads. You work hard to obtain solace. You know what I mean. We want a nice place to work, a nice restaurant to dine in, a nice place to fish, a nice theater to watch a movie. But no! That damn obstcale sees that you're happier than them and then all hell brakes loose. They want your job, they're jealous, they want to make it difficult in the workplace, they're rude and noisy in a restaurant, sorry I fished in that spot yesterday so it's mine, excuse while I explain the whole movie to the person sitting next to me in a loud voice. Just a few of the numerous examples of the stuff we put up with from obstacles. Well obstacles are like the trash on the corner, the mountains that were in the way of the railroad, the annoying mosquito, they are meant to dealt with head on and confronted so they are obstacles to no one anymore.  Good luck with yours. Remember! They will always be around somewhere.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Chance Encounters

Chance encounters are taken for granted by us everyday. We meet people randomly in all sorts of situations and never give them a second thought. Each person provides a unique opportunity to expand the boundaries of of our existence. I never pass up the opportunity to further the realtionship. People are put in our paths for a reason. The people with whom we make eye contact look at us with the same knowledge that we have. We were put in their path for a reason too. It rarely fails that a conversation leads to something beneficial for both of us. When I first came to Florida I knew absolutley no one except for the owner of my house. Fate put people in mylife the very first day and hasn't stopped yet. There are no chance encounters. Only encounters that give you the chance to fufill your lfe. Take advantage of them. They're there for the taking.