LIVING LIFE FOR BETTER RESULTS

Living life by paying attention?

And being astonished?

As a blogger with a big boomerpdx blog, what astonishes me?

Truthfully? Everything astonishes me. That’s not the problem. I’m not the problem.

What is the problem?

I’ve been telling all about living life for sixty-nine years.

Since I was such a quiet baby, so I’m told, I’ve got lots of time to make up.

I also had an older brother do most of the talking when he wasn’t busy chewing on things.

What is most astonishing so far? People living life the best they know how.

Tennessee Ernie Ford says it’s the people not the product that leaves the biggest impression for miners.

They might visit each other, but not the coal mine for old times’ sake.

Jimmy Dean agrees, so does Big Bad John.

The human connections last longer than the circumstances.

John Prine paid attention.

 

Me and Loretta, we don’t talk much more
She sits and stares through the back door screen
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we’ve both seen

Someday I’ll go and call up Rudy
We worked together at the factory
What could I say if he asks “What’s new?”
“Nothing, what’s with you? Nothing much to do”

 

The Good Man

You’ve heard of the ‘Glue Guys’, the people who keep the team together?

I connected with a few of them recently.

They are a treasure for living life like it means something.

We were all from the same high school if not the same class. We had so much in common that it’s easy to forget.

Did I grieve when none of them mentioned my blog and asked me what the hell I think I’m doing?

Not for a second because that’s not how this all works.

If you decide to write a legacy blog you need to listen and listen hard instead of honking your own horn like some candidate’s debate.

I felt like I was in such good company it was easy to relax, even as the designated driver.

It gets like that when you spend time with some of the greats of your past.

And yes, they were great. I’ve been a fan of them all my life and I hope they know it.

 

Better Results For Better People

Mark Twain knows the difference between right and wrong.

So does Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

So do you, but you know people who work the other side harder than they need.

When someone starts shoveling bullshit your direction, step aside.

But what if you get hit with a sack of it out of left field, then what?

Get cleaned up, then pay attention to the direction of flight.

It’s the same response whether it comes from a friend, an acquaintance, a neighbor; an uncle, a sibling, or most troubling, a parent.

Don’t let someone you know trouble you with their wayward views.

You’re not going to convince them to change anymore than I could change your mind here.

Dealing with dilemma isn’t in everyone’s wheelhouse so they fall back on anger and accusation and, “Can’t you see it? Can’t you? What is wrong with you, it’s right in front of your face and you can’t see it? Come on.”

When they go into their halftime speech cadence like they’re pumping you up for action; when they get louder and louder until they’re so loud you need to either walk away, or join their personal insurrection; when that happens it means they’ve found a new messiah and you need to wake the fuck up.

How many of you have had this version of the conversion conversation? Did it work?

I like Mark Twain’s notion that a man who knows better ought not do wrong on people who don’t.

 

Living Life Where Everyone’s A Genius?

There’s one thought that says education is what happens after you get out school, whether it’s high school, college, or grad school; whether it’s a trade school, an apprentice program, or OJT.

Education, and knowing that it took, is proven when you know when to use your genius communication skills.

Instead of calling a company and telling the customer service rep that they screwed up and they need to fix it, try, “Hello, I’m calling about a problem I’ve had with your company and I need your help figuring it out.”

Make them your ally and work together. Assure them with, “We can work this out together instead of letting the company steamroll us.”

Let me know how this works out.

 

As a father I suspected I had sired a couple geniuses from the beginning and treated them accordingly.

That doesn’t sound too egocentric does it?

Did I protect my young wizards from the hardships of public education and a state college?

Not me, but their mother and I plotted their future.

That future together included school work, parent-teacher meetings, coaching youth sports (Hey J-Ray,) and making it through a bachelors in under the fourteen year standard it took me.

Fourteen years for a bachelor’s degree? Yes, I changed majors, changed schools, and finally found the right combination.

In other words I had a job that paid for some classes along with a grant.

They, on the other hand, graduated on time with multiple degrees and certificates.

Along the way I heard how I coddled them and pampered them and didn’t drop the hammer on them at every chance.

But we figured things out together.

They were high school wrestlers. I dropped the hammer on one of them and got suplexed through a wall for my troubles.

I bought boxing gloves, the big red 16 oz pillows, and got my face punched.

They are living life in a way I’m particularly proud of in today’s climate.

They know shit from shinola, night from day, and haven’t joined the bros complaining about being canceled, replaced, or ignored.

From boys to men, they are my best work. Their outstanding wives and kids pick up the slack.

Along with my wife and our marriage, I’m never short on blog topics.

It’s astonishing I tell ya.