National emergencies – whether man-made or acts of God – tend to bring out the worst in some people, and the best in others. I read a story the other day that showed an example of both – in the same incident. The story was in Forbes online magazine, and had to do with a stock clerk, in a large grocery store, who was getting reamed out by a man who was livid because the store was out of Purell. The customer was hollering at [...]
When I get on the treadmill at the health club, I don’t pay much attention to the people around me, other than to nod in greeting if they happen to glance over as I’m getting on or off. So I didn’t notice anything unusual about the young woman on the machine next to mine until someone else walked by and started talking to her, congratulating her on her new baby and saying how great it was that she brought him to the club with her. [...]
“Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe, and to love you.” That’s a line from an old song by the Hollies, recorded back in the ’70s. I can’t remember the last time I heard the song on the radio, but that line popped into my head recently. And though it comes from the chorus of a love song, I started thinking about it in relation to something that is not nearly as romantic and that has been on the radio a lot [...]
As you probably know, I’m a look-at-the-bright-side, if-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade kind of person – in my real life, and also in my writing. But yesterday, as I was trying to write my blog for this week, I was having more trouble than usual seeing any “bright side” in the world right now. A new, deadly virus that originated in China has killed hundreds of people and is starting to spread across the globe. Every day brings news of more cases and casualties, and included among the dead [...]
“Feel the fear, and do it anyway.” That was the theme of a Toastmasters meeting I attended on Friday. It was a demo meeting at a company in Augusta that is planning to sponsor a new Toastmasters club for employees, and I was part of the team providing a demonstration of what a Toastmasters meeting is like. “Feel the fear, and do it anyway” could easily be a motto for Toastmasters in general, since public speaking is one of the biggest fears many people have, [...]
You know that feeling you get when the electricity goes out during a storm, and stays out for more than a few hours? That disoriented feeling as you try to remember not to open the refrigerator more than absolutely necessary, when you shake your head as you walk into a different room and flick on the light switch from force of habit even though you’re holding a flashlight in your other hand, and when you start to wonder – especially if you have an electric [...]
I took part in an Open Mic Poetry Reading last night that was co-sponsored by the Georgia Writers Museum and our local library. The event was to include a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and others who have been influences in our lives. I took the occasion as a challenge to write a poem inspired by Martin Luther King, and by the time I was done I realized that his message – and especially his “I have a dream” speech – may be even [...]
“Focus.” That’s the word that’s now printed in large letters on the bulletin board behind my desk, and it’s the word I’m going to try to incorporate into my thoughts and actions during the coming year. The idea for this came from a video I received last week from some friends who publish a blog called “Sharing Life’s Lessons.” In the video, they talked about New Year’s Resolutions, and ways to make them more successful. They also talked about the book, One Word That Will [...]