Our down time over the last week was much needed and I appreciate your patience with my previous posts during that time. It is really good to be back with you all as I really missed my daily interactions with you. While the last week was nice to be away, we unfortunately got some news that my father has a rare type of lymphoma and will soon start chemotherapy. This came as quite a shock as he had no symptoms and it simply appeared on a blood test. Going through this experience,… Read More

Yesterday, I was sitting at my computer and I got an unexpected visit from my cat Moochie. He just came and sat next me, started rubbing up against my hand, purring and sharing his kitty love that doesn’t always come through. It got me thinking about the importance that pets play in our lives. Now we all know that some people just aren’t animal people and that is okay. I was one of those people. We had a couple animals when I was growing up that had pretty tragic deaths and I… Read More

Several years ago, for the second time in my career, I found myself cast aside by a company to which I had dedicated 12 years of my life. The first company was after 15 years. I was faced with the sad reality that no matter how hard you work, how much time in your life you give, or how much of your life you miss while being out the road serving your company, it does not matter. When your number is up at the end of the day you were still only… Read More

The other day I was getting my hair cut and I saw this sign on the wall. I had to snap a picture because it got me to thinking about what we encounter every day. It is rare that you can turn the news on that it isn’t filled with information that is anything but positive. You can’t pick up the paper without the headlines blaring something negative at you. It is even difficult to immerse yourself in social media for an escape without being faced with many things that you would… Read More

When I was a kid, I was one of the funniest people around. I remember riding down the road and having the whole car in stitches to the point where everyone couldn’t even breathe. I played tricks on my granny that would have her laughing so hard I thought she was going to cry. The simplest thing would set me off and I would use that opportunity to make it a full blown comedy routine. As I got older much of that comedy faded. Life got more serious. Work changed moods and… Read More

Yesterday, I was thinking just how complicated our world has become. Each day it becomes more and more difficult to maneuver through the happenings in the world without saying something or conveying something that is going set someone off. We have never been more divided as a people and that naturally makes one long for a simpler time. I grew up in the 1960’s, which certainly had it’s own issues during that era. But the things that I remember are the things of which I am most fond. We lived in a… Read More

Some time back I wrote about my Aunt that I didn’t reach out to before she passed away. For some reason this week she was on my mind and I was remembering a story of something that happened on one of my trips when she was driving with me for work because I could not drive. To understand the story you, have to understand my aunt. She was very unique, especially in her stature. She was very short (4’9″) and very large. For her that was a unique part of her personality,… Read More

At 5’10 and 197 pounds, people would not normally automatically figure out that food seems to be the one thing in my life that I have difficulty controlling, but unfortunately it is. When I complain about needing to lose pounds, people will always say that I look fine. But what they don’t realize is that I see and feel it very differently and it is a struggle that many people share. At my heaviest weight I was 213. When I look back at those pictures I wonder how I ever got there…. Read More

OK, so the day goes something like this: 5:30AM Car picks you up at home to take you to a 7:50AM flight from Newark to Tampa. 5:45AM Car gets completely lost and winds up on the Palisades Parkway when they should have been on the Garden State. Not totally terrible but definitely not the best route. 5:30AM – 6:45. Driver keeps falling asleep and running off the road. Must talk to driver to keep him awake. 6:45AM Arrive at airport and find out 7:50AM flight is delayed until 1:20PM. No other flights… Read More

On Wednesday night when I was watching the fireworks on TV, I saw the owner of @beauscoffee talking about the American Spirit. If you are not familiar with them, they are a coffee shop located in Wilmington, NC and Charleston, SC. However, they are not just any coffee shop. Bitty and Beau’s Coffee shop is run by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I wrote several weeks ago about my niece Courtney and others in my family that have Down’s Syndrome. If you have never experienced a Down’s Syndrome child, then you… Read More