Motivational Speakers

In my past life, I had the opportunity to listen to company sponsored motivational speakers more than once. These corporate paid cheer leaders would show up at company informational meetings usually at the start of some big "kick-off" program to get the employees fired up to help the new program become a success. Some of these guys are really good at their jobs. They command big dollar speaking fees, and the best could be considered entertainers as much as a motivator.

The Democrats lost one of their top motivational speakers this week, and though few of Ted Kennedy's political ideas did I agree with, there is no denying he was a motivational speaker that was passionate about what he believed.

Now what brings the above to mind is the video that follows. I wanted to share the video, and noticed that the performer was also a motivational speaker and that gave me today's blog title. But upon reflection writing the blog, some other thoughts came to mind as you can see.

Here is a story by an unknown author inspired by the greatest motivational speaker of all time in my opinion...

Burned Biscuits

When I was a little boy, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Baby, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to hug Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people.. and I'm sure not the best at much. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences. - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship, in business or otherwise!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

And now as previously mentioned...

Mixed Fruit

First up, thanks to the green thumbs of Road 409! This summer we've been blessed with gifts of sweet corn, cucumbers, grapes, apples, onions, asparagus, and rhubarb. Our tomato plants took off, but we never got enough to give away, and I doubt the green thumbs would take any anyway as they all seem to be growing tomatoes too.

I've come to a conclusion about my war with the weeds. Weeds seem to be like terrorists. They sneak in when you are not looking, attack without warning, and are virtually impossible to get rid of completely. Just when you get a handle on one, another seems to jump right up and take it's place.

Today's blog title was inspired by our breakfast out at Fullers Family Restaurant in McCook yesterday. I was pawing through the jelly basket and there it was... Mixed Fruit jelly... my favorite. Anyway, it just kinda goes with today's ramblings as I'm all over the map, but I want to mention the cookie jar collection at Fullers. Every type and kind of cookie jar is represented I bet. From the jar that looks like the Lone Ranger and his horse Silver to John Deere tractor jars, everyone will find at least one cookie jar they like. And I understand there are hundreds more in a back room somewhere that get rotated into the collection now and then.

As a relative newcomer to the area, finding a place of business that we've not been to before can be a challenge now and then. Yesterday was no exception. Our appointment at 8am was on Old Highway 6. Now I ask you local McCook folks... is there a street sign for Old Highway 6? I've been there twice now and I can't find a sign. Look up the address on Google maps and it displays the name of the business with three different locations showing the Old Highway 6 address we were looking for at three different locations not close to where the actual Old Highway 6 road actually is. I also used a topo map program I've depended on to find remote back country areas to be very accurate, but where it showed Old Highway 6 in McCook was more like where Norris Park is. Good thing we asked our neighbors before we headed out. We almost drove right to the place. Mr business owner where ever you are... I don't know if there is a way to get Google Maps to get your address correctly mapped, but I recommend that you check to see that your business is properly mapped... it would sure help some of us technology nuts find our way to spend our money at your place of business.

More neighborly activity to mention too as our Jeep was saved from mower duty by a John Deere with a PTO mower. This year to try and save our mechanized assault vehicle (riding mower) from an early death, I decided to not mow the weeds on about an acre or so of ground we refer to as the "north 40", and I admit it was really starting to look like wilderness. My plan was to wait until after the weeds died and then drag a harrow type device through the area with the Jeep to knock the weeds back down. However, to my rescue came Don. Thanks Don! Sure looks a lot better up there now that you mowed for us.

And finally... the picture above just cracks me up for some reason. I think the seller is doing everything possible to take advantage of the buzz about Cash For Clunkers, and though I'm not too sure that clunker in the picture is worth much cash, I give 'em credit for great advertising timing.

Jekyll & Hyde

Most folks have heard of the story of Doctor Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. According to Wikipedia, "... known for its vivid portrayal of a split personality, split in the sense that within the same person there is both an apparently good and an evil personality each being quite distinct from the other."

I know the above named person, and her name is Margie... my wife. Now I won't say my best bud really is evil, but she does exhibit Jekyll & Hyde characteristics now and then, especially in the morning. You see, Margie is not exactly a morning person. What really changes that however is the promise of... breakfast out.

I really do have this figured out. If I want to get out of the house early for some reason, all I need do is make the offer of breakfast out, and I'll have trouble keeping up with Margie getting ready to head out the door without an alarm or other wake up call. Any other day? Forget it. She is not a morning person and we have a magic time around our place that is understood that disturbing the evil side of Margie before is to be avoided.

What brings this to mind is that friends of ours son got married over the weekend.

You may wonder why a wedding would make me think of Jekyll & Hyde. Well, I guess only because I didn't see the Hyde side of Margie until after we were married, though her brand of Hyde isn't really all that tough to take.

As for the newlyweds we know, they had a great reception with one of the coolest videos ever. It started with babies, and it took me a just a moment to figure out I was seeing alternating pictures of the newlyweds as little ones. Funny how hard it is tell babies apart to a casual observer.

Anyway, the music and video was the kids growing up and walking off together in the end... it's giving me shivers as I type it now actually. Very Cool!! If you are one of those folks that cry at weddings, the video would likely do you in. Food, fun, family, and friends... what a great celebration of beginning their lives together.

Still, you just know there is some Jekyll & Hyde ahead for them... there is a little bit for everybody isn't there? Congratulations Pat & Lori!

Birthday Boy

I'm a couple days late with birthday wishes for someone all of us knows... Smokey. According to the USDA Forest Service... "Since his birthday on August 9, 1944, Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of conservation and protection of America's forests."

Sounds pretty simple, but the story gets better when, as the late Paul Harvey could have said, "Now you know the rest of the story".

Forest fire prevention really got started during WWII. There was concern the Japanese would start forest fires so fire prevention quickly became a national concern. The movie Bambi came out in 1944 with the forest fire scene, and the first fire prevention poster with our buddy Smokey showed up August 9, 1944.

The actual bear named Smokey has his own history that is interesting and heartwarming and I recommend you read by clicking here---> Smokey The Bear's True Story

Remember... Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires