IT ALL CHANGES WHEN YOU PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE

Our business is one of the more (if not, most) volatile out there. The question "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" lives loud and clear with us on a daily basis. With that come some fairly unique pressures, especially on a daily basis now since our business has, technologically, changed so much in the past 10 years. It's very easy to carry the pressures and stress into other areas of your life. Leave it to an 11-year old to shed some very specific light on that. When you hear that this question had been asked, "Is Daddy going to be sad again tonight?", you definitely sit up and take notice. You realize what REALLY takes precedence in your life and it's not those everyday pressures. What those really represent are God's way of helping each of us grow. What you have to realize is that you will not be ultimately judged on how long or hard you worked; or how much profit you helped generate or how high your ratings have gone. You WILL be judged on how you treated your fellow human beings; on how much positive influence you have had on someone/anyone; on how much you loved and lived as a breathing example of the Christian ethic. When you put THAT all in perspective, those "sad" days will be disappearing faster than can you say "done"!

The Cheers Do Help

I had my brother, sister-in-law and niece visit this past Labor Day weekend - the main occasion being my niece wanting her dad and I to run with her in the annual Rock & Roll Half-Marathon here in Virginia Beach. I ran a couple of marathons (2 Dallas and 1 Boston) about 20 years ago and did a half-marathon at Nauticus in Norfolk back in '04 so it's been a while but I accepted. What the heck!
I will tell you that 20 years DOES make a difference in the pain you feel, for sure. It's 13.1 miles so I had to make sure I was ready for some pain because I experienced it, for sure, during several training runs..... nothing strong enough to stop running but enough to play with your head and try to CONVINCE you to stop. So I made sure I had my I-Pod shuffle ready to go with lots of good "running" music. I bought a special set of earbud headphones that would stay in no matter what. I wanted to "get lost in the music" while I ran. The music did wind up helping somewhat. I finished in the top 40& - a slow time, but I finished. I have to tell you that it wasn't as much the music as it was all those folks cheering along the route. Not one face was recognizable BUT the encouragement was genuine and you had to feel it. Every time I would run past a larger crowd or group, any pain subsided and I was able to glide for that particular distance. The finish line area was totally awesome as far as those cheers were concerned. As "Feeling Stronger Everyday" by Chicago played in my head, ironically, the crowd was thick and loud at that finish area and they were the main reason I finished the last 100 yards in a dead sprint. So....if you ever hear anyone say that the crowd did not affect them, don't believe it. A crowd of positive, encouraging folks DOES make a difference. If you were part of that crowd Sunday at the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, here's a special thanks from one participant for helping me finish strong! You all deserve a medal!

And They Call Themselves Parents

My wife related a story to me yesterday that I have to pass on to you and, maybe, just maybe, two of the folks reading this are the parents in question.
My wife and one of her friends to the beach several days ago (bayside) to enjoy a little bit of sun and, of course, company. As she describes it, the day at the beach was coming to an end so she and her friend went out into the water one last time. The ventured out to about 4 feet or so in depth. As they spoke, my wife faced the shore and her friend, the bay. Suddenly, my wife's friend had a look close to panic on her face and pointed to her left. My wife turned and saw a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 3 years old, literally, fighting for her life in that 4 feet of water after falling off of the "boogie board" she was on. She was NOT wearjing a life vest and there was no one within 20 yards of her. My wife hurried over to this little girl and, literally, scooped her up. The little one had taken in some water so there was alot of coughinh and, then, crying. My wife looked around and saw two children, probably early teens, floating on their boards on their backs not even noticing. As she walked to the shore, my wife saw a group of people whom she assumed has something to do with this little girl. Keep in mind that this little girl is still crying and scared out of her mind after fighting to stay afloat out as far as she was.
As my wife approached the group, she asked who the mother might be. Another woman walked up to her and pointed to another woman in the group who still hadn't noticed her crying little girl in my wife's arms. The woman, who approached, took the little girl and walked back to the group. No "thank you" or anything for my wife. Then, the whole group began berating the two young teens in the water for not watching the little girl close enough (look at the example these two kids had!).....and, then, they all went back to their group "discussion" never acknowledging my wife or her friend for, pretty much, saving the little girl from drowning.
Whe she told me this story, I couldn't help but remember a line from the movie "Parenthood" from, all of all people, Keanu Reeves, which I'll paraphrase - "You have to get a license to drive, heck you even need a license to fish but they'll let anyone be a parent".
One can only wonder how this will affect the little girl. I do hope parents eventually realized the error of their ways.

You Want Me Out fo Danger But You Still Want Pictures

Late last afternoon and night (7/29), we had some horrendous storms in the Hampton Roads area - several tornado warnings, flash floods, big thunderstorms with lots of lightning.......it was, as the paper said this morning a "Super Soaker". Of course, we provided some coverage of it, with our limited staff, on our radio stations. I monitored the TV stations so we could get a feel for the storm from the various meteorologists. During this whole process, one thing struck me. Here we were, in the midst of several tornado warnings, and they're telling us to take cover, yet, in the same breath, they ask for us to send any pictures in that we might have taken. I'm trying to wrap my arms around that one. Go to cover but make sure you peak out and send us some of what's happening outside near you. I actually saw one home-made video of someone walking in the rain, wind, etc., IN A HALF OF A FOOT OF WATER while the warning was still on!!!! Then, they showed a reporter knee deep in another flooded area as she walked through it. As THAT report ended, they wondered aloud why so many people were out. Ya think?
Wouldn't be a good idea to recommend cover and then, when the storm subsides, THEN, ask for the pictures and video? I really believe they are sending mixed signals in an attempt to get eyewitness accounts. I'm in favor of sacrificing sensationalism for bit in the name of safety. How about you?

Hot Enough for Ya?

Okay, what are oyu going to do when the next person comes up and says "Hot Enough for Ya"?.....answer "Yes" and see what happens. Stops them in their tracks.
So what do you when it's this hot? Swim?.....you still have to deal with the heat when you get out of the pool or lake or ocean.
Here's a thought...use it to spend some time INSIDE with a loved one or two and play a board game (not to be confused with "bored" game), watch a movie together or just talk to each other (there's something novel). This is a great chance for all of you NOT to go your separate was with your separate agendas. Use the time wisely and I'll bet it'll reap some future benefits.

No One Is THAT Important

Now that it's four days after "The Decision", I have digested all that's happened in Miami, Cleveland and points in between. Of course, it may be contradictory if I did admit that I did watch Lebron James one-hour ESPN special, especially, after I reveal my feelings about this whole situation. I guess I would have had to seen something in order to have any opinion, don't you think?
I watched as a man turned away from his home area because, as he said, he wants to win multiple championships. Who knows if that will happen? Only time will tell, of course, and, when I bring up the names of Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (all of whom had opportunities to leave their original team and didn't), you see the deck is stacked against Lebron.
Over and above all of that is how I saw this man, literally, lose sight of himself as this story unfolded. His "handlers" (as we learned) approached ESPN about the 1-hour special. He handpicked (and paid) the so-called "journalist" doing the interview - a man I thought had LOTS more scruples than this - Jim Gray. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the decision the man made. I am flabbergasted by the manner in which he did it! Lebron James lost sight of where received his talent to play basketball. He lost sight of what's most important to HIM! To top it all off, 13,000 screaming fans fueled his "self-centerdness" the next day at a "rally" in Miami.
Is anyone really this important? In my lifetime, I know of only one and He IS the One! Hopefully, some day, before it's too late, Lebron James will realize this.

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Now, the holes in Michael Vick's story about his birthday party last weekend begin to surface. Whether they are real "holes" or not, remains to be seen BUT it is obvious this man STILL hasn't learned. Why would you put yourself in a position to be in public at a party with hundreds of people you do or do not know? I noticed they charged $50 a ticket to get in to the party. What they didn't do is screen every guest so anyone, with the money, could get in. And that means "anyone"! What were Michael and his "advisors" thinking? This has nothing to do with his involvement in the situation there or not. It is more to do with thinking through everything he is doing. His livelihood is at stake here. I'm sure if it were you or I, we may be thinking twice (or three times) about putting our jobs in jeopardy. There is no second chance for this man and I have a feeling this thing is about to blow up - justifiably or not. We can only hope that this is a close call for the man and he learns that this whole "party" thing is not a good idea.