Celebrate the journey

I saw that my daughter posted something about her Anniversary to Superman and as I reflected the time, I could still see her sweet face looking up at me and screaming bloody murder, because her mom had left me with her alone....if I saw my face from that vantage point I would also...she was so young and so was I ...where was I going with that...so her reflection made me think about my Anniversary. 30 years at The Wichita Eagle. Wow! Have I seen changes. From paste up of the paper to all digital imaging. The Linotype to computer age. From over 700 employees to 450. I have been acquainted with over 6 different Publishers and Ad Directors, 2 different corporations, count less friends that have come and gone. Marriages, children, divorces....earth shaking world and local events. Shameless self-promoting of my family....and myself in ads, TV and billboard. My kids will never forget the photo shoots that brought them fortune and fame....at least their friends chuckles and an occasional trip to Taco Bell. What a journey...and the best is yet to come....new ventures and exploration of my abilities. Abilities and talents that have led to garnering over 100 various advertising and marketing awards. Some even international. I have been blessed to have enjoyed all of this. But change is on the horizon.... I will post more later. Many friends have traversed these waters and found the adversity and struggles have forged strength. 30 years and counting...did I mention the 5 weeks of vacation every year.....be grateful for what you have and don't stumble in the challenges that you will face ahead... celebrate your journey as I do mine. Has yours been affected lately by the economy?

What would you do....

....to make a difference in the world if you had all the resources needed at your disposal?

father and child reflection

Just the other day I was returning home from work and decided to go to the store to pickup something to munch on..this was about 11:30pm. As I pulled into the parking lot I observed in the car parked next to me, still running, a man sitting in the front seat looking at his phone or Ipod and jumping from app to app. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in the backseat. It was a young person, maybe a son or daughter, playing on a electronic device. I could see the illuminated screen.... I went into the store and returned about 5 minutes later to find the car still there and the people in it still engrossed in their electronic world. I got in the car, and sat there for awhile just observing...and in the whole time I was there there appeared no verbal conversation between the individuals...now maybe they were texting each other, but it seemed to me to be a sad commentary on this high paced, electronic gadgetry world we live in.
My youngest is 16 and we still have verbal conversation, though it needs to be jumpstarted by me a little more often now days...but when younger my kids and I would talk, share thoughts and feelings when an opportunity like this was afforded. I did not want to pass up those time because I knew how fleeting they are. I still miss constant conversations with my oldest kids, though they are usually bombarded by some kind of message at least once a week. One is half way across the country and the other nearby, but thanks to the electronic and digital age I can communicate quickly. So, there are advantages of this age, but it comes with responsibility to see that we don't lose touch with true feelings and emotion that is present when we verbally communicate. Make sure you reach out and stay in touch with your kids, but try the old fashioned way of walking, driving and sharing time and conversation together. It will lift you in a way that no electronic device can...shocking isn't it!
When was the last time you talked face to face with your kids? Have a story you would like to share....unloaded it here for all to share

A Wonderful Message

> The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but
> shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
>
> We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.We have
> bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We
> have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more
> experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
>
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
> little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired,
> read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.We have multiplied our
> possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and
> hate too often.
>
> We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added
years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and
> back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered
> outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
>
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom,
> but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but
> accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to
> hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less
> and less.
>
> These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small
character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of
> two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days
> of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands,
> overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to
> kill.
>
> It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the
stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time
> when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
>
> Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going
> to be around forever.
>
> Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because
> that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
>
>
> Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the
> only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
>
> Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones,
> but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes
> from deep inside of you.
>
> Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will
> not be there again.
>
> Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious
> thoughts in your mind.
>
> AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
> Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments
> that take our breath away.
>
> George Carlin
>
> Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and
> 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.
>
>

Disposable society

Growing up with a dad from the depression era is truly a blessed event. My dad could, and still does, fix anything. Automotive, electrical, plumbing, construction, gadgets, whatever. In his day and age you fixed again and again until it was worn out, then you used those parts to fix other things. It was the same with clothes. You patched, darned and sewed until it was proper to wear. The skills that our "greatest generation" have are dwindling. We are prone to throw out instead of repair. Why? It is easier to replace instead of repair, and more cost effective in a lot of situations. Computer, video and electronic repair is staggering in cost. The systems are so complex you would have to have degree to know how to fix them. This all has consequence that are far beyond the simple money issues. What about our bulging land fills? Are we really greening the future when we dispose instead of recycle. Learn at least where to take old equipment for recycling. Better yet, learn how to fix things. Find a skilled friend that will teach you a new skill in home or automotive repairs. You will find that when you do start taking a part in this movement you will find more "disposable" income at your fingertips, to invest in your future. So, my dad attempted to teach me a thing or two...some caught on, some skipped a generation to my children. I am reaping the benefits now. What skill was passed on to you? Tell us your story.

Who would'a thunk....

...that at 57 I would be working as a graphic designer for the local newspaper...not me. I had even been a paperboy. I had different aspirations growing up, from working in zoology, architecture, teaching history, to being a restaurant owner. The US government threw me a loop in October of 1972... I was drafted, joined the USAF the next day and shipped out to San Antonio on Dec. 7th. My day of infamy. It changed my whole life...I really had no idea what I was going to do with my life when I graduated...well, an idea...but how was a big factor. This way I had a few years to figure it out and get paid for school on the old GI Bill when I got out, if that was my decision...and almost 4 years later it was...now what? 1976....lot going on...school in 77...so what does this have to do with anything....do not let circumstances dictate who or what you will become... Make a plan now...most LDS young men know that at 19 they will serve a mission for Jesus Christ. So, do you have any idea what happens after that? School, marriage, family, career of making ends meet and finding happiness at the same time.....try to look at the future and envision your life...make the happiness available, have a career that will provide a living for your family comfortably and able to have time to spend with them. So look at what you really enjoy in life now...build upon it, make your dreams happen and don't let others control your destiny. As for me, I do love what I do...nothing like working in a creative advertising atmosphere and making a living at it. I am truly blessed, and circumstances that were beyond my control had a lot to do with it, up to a certain point.... So get it in gear! Living your "dream"? Tell us your story...

TIME is so precious...how is yours spent?

One of our most touching books is called: To A Child Love Is Spelled...T-I-M-E.

TIME IS THE RAW MATERIAL of your relationship with your child and must be guarded at all costs. It's true what they say: a bucket with a hole in it gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately kicked over. Life will shout a thousand demands to take you away from time spent with your child. If you permit the urgent to rule, you will lose time you can never recover.

What happens in the changing life of your child today will never be repeated. All the gold in the world cannot buy back either the little delights of the day or the big pleasures that happen without announcement or a plan. You simply have to be there.

Today, I'd like to share the introduction that was written by Lance. Here's a warning: Once you read it, you'll never forget it! It can grab your heart and not let go!



The Introduction from

To a Child, Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
by Mac Anderson and Lance Wubbels

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.

It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover.

Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long-buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal.

Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short entry, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul.

It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search.

Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other.

His was leather bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son's was tattered and the name "Jimmy" had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words:

Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters pressed deeply in the paper read:

Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life.

Will the one of best day's of your children's life be yours? What are some of your "best days" experiences with your parents? Please share and bring a smile to all that read and rekindled that spark.