When bad stuff happens, remember the story of the two boys whom researchers placed in a room full of horse manure. One became depressed and inert. The other began exuberantly working his way through the manure, laughing and shrieking: “There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!” When bad stuff happens to » Read More
Category: Life
Lessons from the Great Fishing Contest
It was the day of the Great Fishing Contest. I was about seven years old. We lived in a small town with a creek that ran right through the center of the town square. Every year, the town held a fishing contest. There were prizes for the most fish, the biggest fish, the smallest fish, and all sorts of other » Read More
5 Important Lessons I Learned Growing Up
There’s nothing like grandchildren to get you reflecting on your life. This last weekend I was talking with a grandson about what it was like for me growing up. That conversation got me thinking about the many lessons I learned before I joined the Marines and left home. Here are five important lessons that I learned » Read More
Don’t Drop the Glass Balls
Debbie was little then. But she already had the radiant smile that would inspire her high school classmates to dub her: “Girl most likely to get her picture on a Wheaties box.” It was after church, on a clear California day, and Debbie was charming anyone who came in range. I was acting the role of a proud » Read More
“Picnic” and What Matters
I remember the day we gathered at a cold and windy gravesite at the far end of the state to say goodbye. There weren’t a lot of people there, in the cold middle of the week, but some had driven more than three hours. The woman whose body we buried didn’t have one of those lives that are significant in the » Read More