September 13, 2019

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Oh there's always lots of commencement speeches come about May and June. Most of them, pretty predictable. "Live up to your potential." "Follow your dreams." "The sky's the limit." But maybe there's never been a commencement speech like the one at Morehouse College recently. Billionaire businessman Robert Smith set 396 graduates free in one day.

He was reflecting on the long history of an African-American family, and then he announced that "on behalf of the eight generations of my family who have been in this country, we're going to put a little fuel in your bus." More like rocket fuel! In one breathtaking moment, he suddenly announced that his family was creating a grant that would pay the student loans of every graduate! What a moment! The dreaded debt just beyond the degree - suddenly gone!

September 12, 2019

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I read once that Benjamin Franklin had nominated the turkey to be America's national bird. With all due respect to our wonderful founding father, I'm glad Ben got outvoted on that one, aren't you? I'm glad they picked the American eagle. What a majestic bird! They're even a good example for us humans! They mate for life, they build a family home called a nest to last for life, and they do a good job raising their kids. Veteran eagle watchers have told us that Mom and Pop eagle cover the floor of their nest with feathers and fur and, you know, soft stuff for their little babies. And then one day that little eaglet ventures outside the nest for a little walk on the cliff. And that's when the renovations start. Mr. and Mrs. Eagle start removing the fur and the feathers from the nest. When the eaglet returns from his little stroll, he returns to a nest that doesn't feel as good as it did before. Oooh, ouch! He's resting on sticks and stones now. Suddenly the comfy nest isn't comfortable anymore. Actually, this is the first step in getting that eagle to do what he otherwise might never do. What he was born to do - fly!

September 11, 2019

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I had already been feeling some of the residual sadness of another September 11th in America, and then the headlines screamed out that there had been another 9/11 tragedy. Maybe you remember the deaths of an American ambassador and three of his staff, killed - as they often say about police officers or soldiers – in the line of duty.

It seemed like the man that we lost was the kind of person that we want representing our country. I remember what they said about him. He was proficient in the language, he was out among the people, he was building relationships, taking risks so folks could be free. I mean, that's what you call an ambassador.

September 10, 2019

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We just finished celebrating our grandson's tenth birthday. We didn't forget it. I mean, he wouldn't let us forget it back then! I mean, this boy knew his birthday when he was two years old. So, you know, every year - big deal. Well, I'm never going to forget the day he was born, because my wife and I were there! We waited outside that birthing room, and then we got the word that he was in the process of arriving, and then we got the summons to come in and see him. One of life's ultimate, well they used to call it "Kodak moments." And suddenly a day that had been just another number on the calendar before became one of the most special days in our life from then on!

September 9, 2019

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If you offer a candy bar to my sister-in-law she just might shake her head in disgust and say, "Nuts!" Now, she's not being rude. No, she's telling you why she doesn't dare accept your offer - nuts. You see it all started one Saturday morning. She was doing computer work in our office and she was munching on some hazelnuts. Eventually she noticed this rash breaking out. Within a few hours she could hardly breathe, and my wife was rushing her to the doctor. Her throat was literally swelling shut! Well, the doctor pulled her through that scare and then he took a battery of allergy tests. Well sure enough the tests showed that she has a serious allergy to all nuts and eggs and anything that has peanut oil in it. Those ingredients, of course, are in a lot of things that she loves to eat, but she doesn't. No! It could be fatal. Nothing tastes that good!

September 6, 2019

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I was reminiscing with our son about some of the great experiences we had together as a family when he and his siblings were kids. I was thinking especially of the hikes we took up mountains, through forests, and along the seashore. To which my son added, with a little whimsy in his voice, "And sand dunes?" See, that's kind of a sore point in our family memories. It's all about the time I led our family on an exhausting hike up a massive Cape Cod sand dune, promising them, based on what I had been told, a beautiful view of the ocean when we reached the top. Well, there was a view of another sand dune, which we climbed as well. And there it was finally, "There! There it is!" another sand dune! The next dune was like that, too, and the next one. This was not one of my better ideas.

September 5, 2019

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This is going to come as a big surprise to you, but I like to talk. It was a blow, then, when this throat doctor told me some years ago I had to stop talking for three weeks! That was a long time ago but my memory is still fresh on this. I had what was known as a growth on one of my vocal cords, and he said it could do serious damage to the other vocal cord. His prescription: total voice rest! Ahhh!!! I argued with him about all the appointments and speaking engagements I had, and he told me the consequences of not stopping. So, I stopped. Now, a lot of my friends got a good laugh out of Ron not being able to talk. In fact, they loved my little Donald Duck magic slate that I carried around. It helped me communicate. But there was one person who didn't laugh, and that was my wife. It was tough on her because she had to be my voice for so many people. Okay, it had been two weeks since I had spoken a word. My wife and I were in bed, we turned off the light, and suddenly she was startled by a sound next to her. It was me, breaking that long silence. Just long enough to say three little words, "I love you." And then back to silence for one more week. But those three little words, that sounded so loud after so much silence, made her happy enough to cry.

September 4, 2019

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Winter came early to the mountains where we were spending our summer vacation. Of course, that's to be expected if we're on vacation; in the summer, it's probably going to get to be winter. But one night the temperature actually dropped into the 30s and no one was prepared for that. We're in this little cabin, and all of us... suddenly we're snuggling under this warm, Hudson Bay blanket. Therefore, we actually didn't have any awareness of how cold it was outside, because, well, we were warm.

Well, I ventured out of bed first that morning, and I very quickly discovered that we were in a very cold situation. So I wrapped up in everything I could find and I knew what I had to do. I had to get to the only source of heat in that cabin, which was the wood stove, and I had to get a fire going as fast as possible - pioneer Ron. Right! You know if you're warm where you are, it's pretty easy to forget how cold it is all around you.

September 3, 2019

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It was a day at the beach to never forget. Rob Howes was swimming off New Zealand's northern coast with his daughter and two friends. That's when the dolphins surrounded them - on porpoise. Sorry. What happened was that that group of dolphins began doing laps around them in these tighter and tighter circles. It was crazy! It was as if the people were being herded like sheep by the dolphins. There was a lifeguard in a nearby lifeboat, but neither he nor the Howes party could figure out what the dolphins were up to, until they saw the great white shark coming toward them. Apparently, the dolphins had made a formation around the swimmers to repel the shark. And sure enough, the shark swam away, leaving the swimmers to make it safely to shore. Amazing, huh?

September 2, 2019

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You know the title song of the musical "Oklahoma"? It talks about that being the state "where the wind comes whippin' o'er the plains." Yeah, I guess! How about the tornadoes come whippin' o'er the plains? That's not as poetic, but man, it sure has been true. Especially in recent years. It just seems like Oklahoma gets hammered over and over again with that severe weather. I actually saw an interview with some folks whose homes had been hit by one tornado that moved along the northern edge of Oklahoma City. And, you know, it was amazing to see a lot of people who faced their loss with a determination to rebuild. And actually some even faced it with a sense of humor, believe it or not. I remember one guy who described what had happened pretty creatively. He said, "Well, it was sort of moving day without notice!"