Success

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." - William Feather

Success

"Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall." - Oliver Goldsmith

To Invent

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Edison

I have the pile of junk

Life Is

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

- Mother Teresa

Art

"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it." - Frank Zappa

The Tragedy Of Life

"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." - Unknown

That Missing Drop

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Teresa

We Should Dance

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance." - Unknown

Another Close Victory

My youngest son's team won a close game 14 to 12 against Sacred Heart in Lombard. It was the first time we have ever played there. Their gym is pretty new. Before the game I saw a girl I went to high school with. Her daughter was playing the game before. Grandma and Papa came to watch. My youngest son only played the last minute and half because of his foot. Our defense was really good today.

Daddy & Them

We watched the DVD "Daddy & Them." It was written, directed and starred Billy Bob Thornton. It had some really funny parts. A very dysfunctional family.

Synopsis

Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in this serio-comic look at the trials of an eccentric Alabama family. Struggling musician Claude (Billy Bob Thornton) and his wife Ruby (Laura Dern) get the news that Claude's uncle Hazel (Jim Varney) has been accused of murder and is in jail awaiting trial. Claude and Ruby head for the Alabama town where they grew up, and, before long, there's a friendly and sometimes not-so-friendly war of words among the factions of the family, including Claude's mother Jewel (Diane Ladd), father O.T. (Andy Griffith), and sister Rose (Kelly Preston). The supporting cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis and Ben Affleck as a pair of married attorneys.

Second Loss

My oldest son's team suffered their second loss 29 to 22 against a good team St. Marys of Gostyn in Downers Grove. They had three tall guys who got the offensive rebounds and just keep shooting until it went in. He played a lot of minutes and had a good game with a lot of rebounds. After the game he went to a classmate's birthday party and saw a bunch of his friends.

A Clear Conscience

"There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience." - French Proverb

The First And Most Important Step

"The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed." - Nelson Boswell

Feel The Sun From Both Sides

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." - David Viscott

Sand and Stone

"Learn to write your hurts in sand. Learn to carve your blessings in stone!" - Unknown

Conduct

"Good and evil do not befall men without reason. Heaven sends them happiness or misery according to their conduct." - Confucius

Dave Barry

I went to Dave Barry's booksigning at Anderson's Books in Naperville http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/. I had a deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's http://www.loumalnatis.com/ after I picked up my number for my place in line #108. I saw Dave Barry there having pizza. My friend's Johnny and Jim met me at Lou Malnati's. I was interviewed by the Naperville Sun http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/sunpub/naper/news/n24barry.htm and I ran into my boys kindergarten teacher. I'm a huge fan of Dave Barry's humor. I think I have about 15 of his books autographed.

Building Blocks Of The Universe

"The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl." - Dave Barry

Mankind's Greatest Blessing

"Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." - Mark Twain

People

"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you’ll know exactly what to do." - Michelle Ventor

Names of Portable Toilet Companies

We consulted The Blue Book of Building and Construction to find the top twenty unfortunately named portable-toilet companies from near and far:

20. Happy Can Portable Toilets, Atlanta
19. Drop Zone Portable Service Inc., Frankfort, Ill.
18. Blackmas Best Seat In The House Inc., Bradley, Ill.
17. Plop Jon Inc., Port Saint Lucie, Fla.
16. A.S.A.P. Port-A-Pots Inc., Hampstead, Md.
15. Ameri-Can Engineering, Argos, Ind.
14. Bobby's Pottys, Joppa, Md.
13. Johnny On The Spot Inc., Old Bridge, N.J.
12. LepreCAN Portable Restrooms, Chicago
11. Loader-Up, Inc., Sarasota, Fla.
10. Mister Bob's Portable Toilets, Vero Beach, Fla.
9. Royal Throne, Washington, D.C.
8. Tanks Alot, Tomball, Tex.
7. Tee Pee Inc, Roseville, Mich.
6. Wizards of Ooze Ltd., Anacortes, Wash.
5. Oui Oui Enterprises Ltd., Chicago
4. Gotta Go Potties, Tobyhanna, Pa.
3. UrinBiz.com, Chicago
2. Willy Make It?, Oregon City, Oreg.
1. Doodie Calls, New Orleans

from Dave Barry's blog (of course) http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/

Facing The Truth Will Set You Free

"The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free" - Oprah Winfrey

Begin Again

"To begin again means that you won't give up.
To begin again means you're trying.
You can either start over and live your life
Or spend the rest of your life slowly dying.
It is never the falling that makes us fail.
It is never the pain or the crying.
You can never fail in life, my friend,
Unless you give up trying."
- Bob Perks

Dodge Ball

I watched "Dodge Ball" on DVD. Ben Stiller is in some pretty wild movies. There were some pretty stupid funny parts. I wonder if there is really a dodge ball tournament for that kind of money. There were cameos by William Shatner, David Hasselhoff, Lance Armstrong and Jason Bateman.

Synopsis

Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) is a charismatic underachiever and proprietor of a rundown gym called Average Joe's. The facility's clientele of decidedly less-than-"Average Joes" is made up of a self-styled pirate, a scrawny nerd who dreams of impressing an unattainable cheerleader, an obsessive aficionado of obscure sports, a dim-witted young man, and a cocky know-it-all who, of course, really knows nothing. Peter's humble gym catches the eye of White Goodman (Ben Stiller), the power-mullet-sporting, Fu-Manchu-d, egomaniacal owner of Globo Gym, a gleaming monolith of fitness. White intends to take over Average Joe's, and Peter's non-existent bookkeeping is making it all too easy for him. A foreclosing bank has stationed attorney Kate Veatch (Christine Taylor) inside Average Joe's to finalize Globo's takeover of the gym. But Peter's boyish charms win her over and Kate joins his team of social rejects to beat the odds -- and their own ineptitude - to try to save Average Joe's. How? A showdown dodgeball competition against Globo Gym.

The English Language

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?
One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick?"

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP." It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP thekitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At othertimes the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, lineUP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for nowmy time is UP, so... time to shut UP...! Oh...one more thing:What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

English: Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

The More Things Change

"The more things change, the more they remain...insane." - Michael Fry & T. Lewis, Over the Hedge

Lackadaisical

"If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers." - Doug Larson

A Word To The Wise

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby

Making Excuses

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." - Benjamin Franklin

Joy

"Joy is the feeling of grinning on the inside." - Dr. Melba Colgrove

First Loss

My oldest son's team had their first loss of the season 27 to 23 against St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn. He played a good game and had another basket. Some of the calls were questionable and we had a lot of shots that didn't go in. They had a big guy that was hard to stop under the basket.

Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

I watched "The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy" on DVD. It was very creative. I liked the planet factory and Marvin the robot. I was entertained. Zooey Deschanel has a great voice.

Synopsis

Earthman Arthur Dent (Sam Rockwell) is having a very bad day. His house is about to be bulldozed, he discovers that his best friend is an alien (Mos Def) and to top things off, Planet Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur's only chance for survival: hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft. For the novice space traveler, the greatest adventure in the universe begins when the world ends. Arthur sets out on a journey in which he finds that nothing is as it seems: he learns that a towel is just the most useful thing in the universe, finds the meaning of life, and discovers that everything he needs to know can be found in one book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Win As If

"Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change." - Erick Golnik

Without Heroes

"Without heroes, we are all plain people and don’t know how far we can go." - Bernard Malamud

Motivation

“Motivation is what gets us started. Habit is what keeps us going.” - Jim Ryan

Do All The Good You Can

"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can." - John Wesley

People I Know

I watched the DVD "People I Know" with Al Pacino, Ryan O'Neal and Kim Basinger. I imagine that's how it really works for a publicist. The extras showed scenes with the World Trade Center
that were deleted after 9/11.

Synopsis

Caught up in the endless Manhattan nights, the man who’s made it his business to know everything suddenly realizes he knows too much. Smart, resourceful and uncommonly devoted seasoned publicist Eli Wurman (Al Pacino) has smoothly managed the public lives of the rich, the famous and the incredibly powerful throughout his long career. There has never been a crisis he couldn’t handle…until now. Cary Launer (Ryna O’Neal) is a famous actor- he’s as good at manipulating and controlling those around him as he is at giving award-winning performances. Yet Launer is in trouble over a young starlet, Jilli (Tea Leoni), and enlists Eli to discreetly escort her out of his life. It seems like just one more celebrity baby-sitting job, until they arrive at an after-hours party, where Eli experiences a shock that will change his life forever. The crime he’s witnessed involves the most powerful and influential people in the country. In the end, Eli discovers one undeniable truth: it’s who you know.

I Should Have Been More Specific

"I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific." - Lily Tomlin

Take The First Step

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Receiving The Call

Beset by doubt about his path, young Martin Luther King, Jr. heard the voice of Jesus.

By Charles Marsh

Martin Luther King came to Montgomery, Alabama in September 1954 to become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. He had accepted his first pulpit while completing his doctorate in philosophical theology at Boston University, a decision that marked a fork in the road for a young man who had planned to become a college president someday. Although the young pastor arrived in Montgomery with no intention of becoming involved in social protest, events prepared the ground for his emergence as leader of the now-famous Montgomery bus boycott that began with Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man. At the urging of the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, then pastor of the First Baptist Church, King reluctantly accepted the presidency of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the pastors’ group leading the boycott, on the assumption that the controversy would be resolved quickly. Instead, the boycott stretched into 1956, spawning escalating tensions between black leaders and white officials. King, conflicted over his new role, was in crisis. The pressures of the recent arrests, city crackdowns, and mounting fears had started taking their toll. In an organizational meeting on January 23, a despondent King offered his resignation as MIA president. None of the other MIA board members seriously considered accepting the resignation, but King's self-doubts had been registered loud and clear. He even planned to publish an advertisement in the Montgomery Advertiser reminding townspeople that the boycott was not seeking to challenge segregation laws. The protest was approaching its third month with no end in sight. The season of police harassments reached a dramatic climax on Thursday, January 26, when King was stopped by two police officers on motorcycles after having chauffeured several Negro workers to their drop-off spot. In a confusing roadside arrest, King was charged with driving thirty miles an hour in a twenty-five-mile-per-hour zone and placed into a police cruiser, which had presently arrived on the scene. As King sat alone in the back seat, he quickly realized that the police car was moving in the opposite direction of downtown. The car then turned into an unfamiliar street, and through a wooded area and over an unfamiliar bridge, and King's hands began to shake. "These men were carrying me to some faraway spot to dump me off," he thought. "Silently, I asked God to give me the strength to endure whatever came." The neon sign that appeared on a building in full view of the car indicating their arrival at the Montgomery City jail must have seemed an unlikely answer to prayer, though appreciated in its own way. Inside, King was fingerprinted and locked into a crowded holding cell. "Strange gusts of emotion swept through me like cold winds on an open prairie," he recalled.As he slowly adjusted to the shock of the new surroundings, he found himself the center of attention. A crowd of black inmates gathered excitedly around him, and King was surprised to find two acquaintances, who offered their hearty greetings, locked up with the rest of them. King spent the evening listening to stories of thieves and drunks and drifters, and in exchange he gave the men a vivid account of his afternoon. Several asked if King could help get them out of jail. "Fellows, before I can assist in getting any of you out," he said, "I've got to get my own self out," and the cell was filled with laughter. King had crossed the first threshold of fear and there discovered that presence of mind could still be summoned. In the spirited company of these unlikely allies-movement people, "vagrants," and "serious criminals"- he realized that even jail could be endured for the sake of doing the right thing. "From that night on, my commitment to the struggle for freedom was stronger than ever before," he said. "Yes, the night of injustice was dark; the 'get-tough' policy was taking its toll. But in the darkness I could see a radiant star of unity." King's release later the same night no doubt made the radiant star even easier to behold. Dozens of church members and friends in the protest had steadily gathered in the parking lot throughout the evening and waited for their pastor. But whatever momentary relief King felt was gone the next evening when he returned to his parsonage, exhausted after another long day of organizational meetings. Coretta and their two-month-old daughter, Yolanda, were already asleep, and King was eager to join them. He would not be so lucky. The phone rang out in the midnight silence, and when King lifted the receiver, a drawl released a torrent of obscene words and then the death threat: "Listen, nigger, we've taken all we want from you; before next week you'll be sorry you ever came to Montgomery."King hung up without comment, as had become his custom. Threatening phone calls had become a daily routine in the weeks of the protests, and King had tried to brush them off at first. In recent days, however, the threatening phone calls had started to take a toll, increasing in number to thirty or forty a day and growing in their menacing intent. Unwelcome thoughts prey on the mind in the late hours, and King was overcome with fear. "I got out of bed and began to walk the floor. I had heard these things before, but for some reason that night it got to me." Stirred into wakefulness, King made a pot of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. "I felt myself faltering," he said. It was as though the violent undercurrents of the protest rushed in upon him with heightened force, and he surveyed the turbulent waters for a way of escape, searching for an exit point between courage and convenience -"a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward"- and he found none. "I was ready to give up," he said. King thought of baby Yoki sleeping in her crib, of her "little gentle smile," and of Coretta, who had sacrificed her music career, according to the milieu of the Baptist pastor's wife, to follow her husband south. For the first time, he grasped the seriousness of his situation and with it the inescapable fact that his family could be taken away from him any minute, or more likely he from them. He felt himself reeling within, as the Psalmist had said, his soul "melted because of trouble, at wit's end." "I felt myself . . . growing in fear," said King. Sitting at his kitchen table sipping the coffee, King's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden notion that at once intensified his desperation and clarified his options. "Something said to me, 'You can't call on Daddy now, you can't call on Mama. You've got to call on that something in that person that your daddy used to tell you about, that power that can make a way out of no way.'" With his head now buried in his hands, King bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud. He said: "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. I still think I'm right. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now, I'm faltering. I'm losing my courage. Now, I am afraid. And I can't let the people see me like this because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone." As he prayed alone in the silent kitchen, King heard a voice saying, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you. Even until the end of the world." Then King heard the voice of Jesus. "I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone." And as the voice washed over the stains of the wretched caller, King reached a spiritual shore beyond fear and apprehension. "I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before," he said. "Almost at once my fears began to go," King said of the midnight flash of illumination and resolve. "My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything."

From http://www.beliefnet.com/

Talk To God

"Why is it when we talk to God we're praying - but when God talks to us, we're schizophrenic?" - Lily Tomlin

The Best Thing About The Future

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln

We Learn Something Everyday

"We learn something every day, and lots of times it's that what we learned the day before was wrong." - Bill Vaughn

Far From Heaven

We watched the DVD "Far From Heaven" with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid. It was based in the fifties and kind of slow paced. It was a good look at the times and prejudices. It highlighted some controversial things and how people reacted to them back then. Boy things have really changed. Good scenery.

Synopsis

It is the fall of 1957 in Hartford, Connecticut and Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) is returning home from a day of errands. Her husband, Frank (Dennis Quaid) who heads the local branch of the Magnatech TV sales company is expected home for a dinner engagement. As Sybil, their maid, helps Cathy unload the car, David and Janice, the Whitaker children, are told to hurry inside and prepare for dinner. There's only one problem neither Cathy nor Sybil has heard from Mr. Whitaker all afternoon. What begins as a curiously un-ironic snapshot of 1950s American values is soon transformed into a tangle of competing conflicts, igniting Cathy's friendships with her formidable gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert), her plucky best friends (Patricia Clarkson), and maid, Sybil (Viloa Davis). As secrets are revealed, Cathy is faced with choices that spur hatred and gossip within the community. She comes to recognize her own desires, even as, in the process, she has to give up the object of them.

Another Close Game

We lost another close game to St. Joan of Arc at home 18 to 16. We were behind the whole game until the fourth quarter and then the guys came alive. We almost won it. Some last minute fouls killed us. After the first quarter we were losing 4 to 0, second quarter 6 to 0, third quarter 9 to 4. My youngest son played the last 4 minutes and had 6 rebounds and another basket. The guys really hustled. If only we had more points early in the game.

Positive Results

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." - Willie Nelson

Halfway

"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway." - Henry Boye

Walter Mosley's Birthday

Walter Mosley was born January 12, 1952. He is a prominent African-American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. His series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private investigator and World War II veteran living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, is perhaps his most popular work. Mosley has written over twenty books in a variety of genres, including non-mystery fiction, science fiction and non-fiction politics, and has been translated into 21 languages. Two of his books have been made into films or television specials; his first published book, Devil in a Blue Dress, became a 1995 movie starring Denzel Washington. Mosley holds an honorary doctorate from The City College and has served on the board of directors of the National Book Awards. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he now lives in New York City.

Books:

Easy Rawlins mysteries:

Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
A Red Death (1991)
White Butterfly (1992)
Black Betty (1994)
A Little Yellow Dog (1996)
Gone Fishin' (1997)
Bad Boy Brawly Brown (2002)
Six Easy Pieces (2003)
Little Scarlet (2004)
Cinnamon Kiss (2005)

Other Fiction:

RL's Dream (1995)
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (1997)
Blue Light (1998)
Walkin' the Dog (1999)
Futureland: Nine Stories of an Imminent World (2001)
Fearless Jones (2001)
Fear Itself (2003)
The Man in My Basement (2004)
47 (2005)

Nonfiction:

Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking off the Dead Hand of History (2000)
What Next: An African American Initiative Toward World Peace (2003)

I've read 8 of his books so far.

Hollywood Homicide

I watched "Hollywood Homicide" on DVD with Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. Old detective and young detective. Harrison Ford plays a good cop. Josh Hartnett's voice reminds me of Keanu Reeves. There was a good montage of Hollywood signs at the beginning.

Synopsis

L.A. homicide detective and seasoned veteran Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) is charged with showing young K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) the ropes, while investigating the gangland-style murder of a rap group.

Patience

"Patience is the companion of wisdom." - St. Augustine

The Best Inheritance

"The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day." - M. Grundler

Was It Worth It?

"I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach

What Can We Give

By Hal Urban www.beliefnet.com

When we give our time we give our lives. It’s the foundation of these fifteen special gifts. You may not have previously thought of them as gifts, but they are. If you look upon them in this way you’ll be much more likely give them and be a blessing to others.

1. The Gift of Personal Communication How do you feel when someone contacts you out of the blue for the sole purpose of reminding you that you’re a treasured friend? You feel the same way everyone else does—special, loved, appreciated. And you can brighten someone else’s life any day of the week. This can be done with a phone call, a handwritten note, or an e-mail, and none take more than a few minutes.

2. The Gift of Quotations I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t appreciate a good quotation. That’s why I put so many of them in my books—they’re a gift to my readers, especially those who have expressed appreciation for them. The beauty of a good quotation is that it’s brief, to the point, full of wisdom and advice, and a boost for the spirit. Find them, collect them, and share them. It’s a simple way of giving someone a lift.

3. The Gift of a Good Recommendation When you make a great discovery, one that in some way enriches your life, share it with others. It could be a book (like this one, I hope), a play, a movie, a restaurant, a recipe, an article, a product, a service, a TV program, or a music CD. When you make these kinds of recommendations, you’re really saying, “This brought some joy to my life. I want it to do the same for you.”

4. The Gift of a Helping Hand All of us appreciate it when someone not only offers to help, but actually follows through. We’re all faced with tasks—some big, some small; some important, some trivial; some requiring skill, some menial. Whatever it is, it always goes better with the help of another person. Whether on the job, at home, in school, or out socially, the gift of help is always appreciated.

5. The Gift of Laughter I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like to laugh. It’s one of the happiest and most healthy activities known to the human race. Victor Borge said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” It’s also a life enhancer and a great gift, one that can be given easily and often. Don’t let those funny jokes, stories, bloopers, signs, and one-liners fade away. Share them with others.

6. The Gift of Listening There are many times when someone close to us wants only one thing—our full and undivided attention. Listening intently to another person, with our eyes and with our hearts, silently says, “What you have to say, and the feelings behind your words, are important. Right now this is the best gift I can give you. I value our friendship.”

7. The Gift of an Invitation I regard all invitations, whether to a major event, a wedding, a party, a sporting event, or lunch with a friend, as special gifts. Whenever we ask someone to join us, we’re really saying, “I want you to be there. Your company is cherished. You have something good to offer.” We all want to be included, to be asked to join in, for a simple reason—sharing experiences with other people is one of the greatest joys of life.

8. The Gift of Physical Affection How do you feel when someone gives you a hug, a warm handshake, a friendly pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek, an affectionate touch? If you’re a normal, red-blooded, breathing, living human being, you feel great. Alan Loy McGinnis, an esteemed counselor and author, advises, “Use your body to demonstrate warmth.” With the right people and in the proper setting, that’s exactly what acts of fondness do. Give this gift of affection liberally.

9. The Gift of Appreciation When someone does something thoughtful for us, regardless of its nature, it’s a gift. We can give another gift in return simply by expressing our appreciation. The great psychologist and philosopher William James said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” We can satisfy that craving, and give a gift, every time we express our appreciation.

10. The Gift of Good Advice Not everyone asks for it or wants it, but there are times when good advice is the greatest gift of all. The reason is that it can change lives. Countless accomplished people throughout history have cited good advice as the key to their success. When the opportunity is there and the other person is willing to listen, never hesitate to give this precious gift.

11. The Gift of Encouragement One of the greatest things you can do for another person is give encouragement. The word means, literally, to give courage. Sometimes it’s all a person needs to get started on something important. History is full of stories about people who achieved great things because of someone else’s encouragement.

12. The Gift of Patience This is actually a dual gift, because patience always comes as the result of understanding. That’s what we most want from other people, especially those closest to us. We especially need their patience and understanding when we’re not at our best. They’re gifts that enrich relationships by allowing them to grow. We can give the same gift to our family members, friends, and colleagues.

13. The Gift of Empathy Any time we can share feelings with another person, whether they’re of sorrow or joy, we give a treasured gift. When Cathy’s dad died unexpectedly in his midfifties some years ago, she experienced both shock and loss. The greatest comfort she received was from people who had also lost a parent under similar circumstances. They were able to identify with her, understand what she was going through, offer hope, and let her know they were there for her.

14. The Gift of Forgiveness This is the ultimate win-win gift. Both the giver and the receiver get something of great value—healing. We’re all in need of it because we’ve all been hurt and offended by someone else. It makes it easier to forgive them when we remind ourselves that we’ve also caused pain in others. Forgiveness releases us from unnecessary negative emotions and allows us to move on to better things.

15. The Gift of Prayer It was not a coincidence that I received an e-mail, a phone call, and a handwritten note about prayer while writing this chapter. Each one was from a dear friend who was not only thinking about me but praying for me. What made the gift even more special was that I hadn’t asked for the prayers. Since I look upon prayer—communication with God—as the highest activity of which a human being is capable, and because I know the sincerity of these people, their gifts became lasting treasures.

Stephen Ambrose's Birthday

Stephen Edward Ambrose was born January 10, 1936 and died October 13, 2002. He was a popular historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He grew up in Whitewater, Walworth County, Wisconsin.

A partial list of books:

Eisenhower and Berlin, 1945: The Decision to Halt at the Elbe (1967)
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Vols. 1-5 (1967)
The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1970)
General Ike: Abilene to Berlin (1973)
Crazy Horse and Custer (1975): The epic clash of two great warriors at the Little Bighorn
Ike's Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment (1981)
Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army, President Elect 1890-1952 (1983)
Eisenhower: The President (1985)
Nixon: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 (1987)
Pegasus Bridge (1988)
Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician 1962-1972 (1989)
Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1973-1990 (1990)
Eisenhower: Soldier and President (1990)
Eisenhower and the German POWs: Facts Against Falsehood (1992)
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest (1992)
D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II (1994)
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1996)
Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany (1997)
Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869(2000)
The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew B-24s Over Germany (2001)
To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian (2002)

I have a couple of books autographed by Stephen Ambrose.

A Lot Like Love

I watched a very enjoyable movie on DVD - "A Lot Like Love" with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. She really looked good in it.

Synopsis

Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet) met on a flight from Los Angeles to New York seven years ago - each of them declaring that they couldn't be more wrong for each other.
Life keeps bringing them back together over the next seven years, but the timing never seems right. As they struggle with their different partners, careers and breakups, they turn from casual acquaintances into trusted friends who can say anything to one another. As they search for love and a relationship that's not fated for disaster, it takes seven years for Oliver and Emily to figure out that maybe what they really have is something…a lot like love.

Love One Another

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13:34

Bart Starr's Birthday

Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr was born January 9, 1934 in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a former American football player and coach. He was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971. Starr was the first Super Bowl MVP. He was awarded the honor in both Super Bowl I (1967) and again in Super Bowl II (1968). He was also the coach of the Packers from 1975 to 1983, going 52-76-3. His induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame came in 1977, and he earned four Pro Bowl selections. Bart Starr is currently ranked 50th in all-time passing yards.
Starr's Packers had won NFL Championships in the 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967 seasons. Following the NFL championships in 1966 and 1967, he led the Packers to victories over the champions of the rival American Football League in the first two Super Bowls at the end of the 1966 and 1967 seasons. He is the only player to quarterback a team to five NFL championships.

I have a book autographed by Bart Starr and grew up watching him play quarterback.

Values

"Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do." - Elvis Presley

Favorite Part Of The Game

“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” - Mike Singletary

I have a couple of books autographed by Mike Singletary the great Chicago Bears middle linebacker.

Refrigerator Delivered

We had our new refrigerator delivered. They brought it through the back sliding glass doors and hooked it all up. They hauled away our old one. We didn't find the manual for the new one until the next day in the produce bin. We didn't have any produce to put in there. We couldn't figure out how to use the water dispenser. It just had to filter through. We emptied the coolers and put everything back in. Monday I'll bring the freezer stuff back from work. Back to normal.

Be Interested

"If you want to have an interesting dinner conversation, be interested. If you want to have interesting things to write, be interested. If you want to meet interesting people, be interested in the people you meet - their lives, their history, their story. Where are they from? How did they get here? What have they learned? By practicing the art of being interested, the majority of people can become fascinating teachers; nearly everyone has an interesting story to tell." - Jim Collins, Management consultant; author, "Built to Last" and "Good to Great"

Lovie Smith NFL Coach Of The Year

Voters Show Smith Love Bears Coach Edges Colts' Dungy For Coach Of The Year
By K.C. Johnson Chicago Tribune staff reporter
Published January 8, 2006

Offering respect, humility and restraint similar to what Brian Urlacher showed in winning a major postseason honor 24 hours earlier, Lovie Smith continued a banner week for the Bears on Saturday when he won the NFL Coach of the Year Award. Smith didn't say "whoop de doo," a phrase Urlacher used after being named Defensive Player of the Year to illustrate his goal is a Super Bowl ring. But Smith mentioned the same goal and, like Urlacher, spread credit around, this time to his assistants, players and the organization that gave him his first NFL head-coaching job. Smith joins legendary Bears coaches George Halas and Mike Ditka, along with Dick Jauron, as winners of the award. Halas and Ditka each won twice and the combined six honorees are the most of any NFL franchise. "Knowing what I do about [Halas and Ditka] and all of the great coaches who have come through here, each day I'm living a dream to even be talked about with those guys," Smith said on a conference call. "I'm blessed to be a Bear. Each day I realize that. It seems like more and more each day."This is where I would like to be the rest of my coaching career. It's the greatest organization in pro football." Smith said he spoke with Chairman Michael McCaskey, President Ted Phillips and general manager Jerry Angelo on Saturday morning. "Those guys gave me a chance," he said. "I just hope that they feel good about the direction we're heading with our program." They do to the point a contract extension is a strong possibility after the Bears' playoff run concludes. Smith, who has two years remaining on his original four-year deal, said he's happy with his contract and merely excited for playoff football. Smith received 24.5 votes of a possible 50 from a nationwide panel of writers and broadcasters. He narrowly edged close friend Tony Dungy, who led Indianapolis to a 14-2 mark and received 20.5 votes. Smith, who said he would have voted for Dungy, engineered a worst-to-first turnaround despite losing starting quarterback Rex Grossman to a broken ankle in the preseason. Using the Cover 2 scheme that he helped hone while working with Dungy in Tampa Bay, Smith and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who interviewed Saturday for the Packers' top job, presided over a dominant defense. The Bears allowed a league-low 202 points. The defense keyed an eight-game winning streak after the Bears dropped to 1-3 with a disappointing loss in Cleveland. Assistants have credited Smith for calling a staff meeting that Monday at which he flashed his upbeat demeanor. "You can go one way or the other," Smith said in his typical downplaying fashion. "You can complain and wonder why or you can go and do something about it. We did something about it." Smith, who said the honor should be "an assistant coaches of the year award," credited Dungy for what he learned from him. He also spoke eloquently about the impact of minority coaches. Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis also received a vote. "We're just all trying to help the next person get an opportunity," Smith said. "Hopefully, the success we're having will help them do that." Smith's even-keeled demeanor occasionally was criticized for lacking passion when the Bears limped through an injury-plagued 5-11 season in 2004. But this unwavering consistency is why Smith said he's not surprised that, now healthy, the Bears are successful. And players laud his approach. "Everyone responds well to him because he has a low-key confidence about him that demands your respect," Grossman said. "He gets his point across in the way that relates to everyone." You get some fiery guy that yells, that might not go over well with some people. But it's cut-and-dried with Lovie. You're either getting the job done or he'll find someone else who does."He's a straight shooter. Anytime he needs to talk to you, he'll bring you up in his office, sit you down, treat you like a man and tell you the truth. I respect a guy who does that." Added defensive tackle Tommie Harris: "The way he carries himself as a man [means more] to my life than his coaching style. That affects everybody on the field because they want to work hard for him. He pushes you to be a man." The first time Halas and Ditka captured the award, the Bears capped those 1963 and 1985 seasons, respectively, by winning the NFL championship and Super Bowl. Continuing that trend wouldn't surprise Smith. "I definitely get a sense this is the Bears' year," he said. "We have a special team of character. We have great team chemistry. Whatever it is the good teams have that make a run, this team has it."We've had it for a while. The players believe that. Hopefully, we'll be able to prove that once we get started in the postseason."

Elvis' Birthday

Elvis Aaron Presley was born January 8, 1935 and died August 16, 1977. Known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" he was an American singer, song producer and movie actor. During an active recording career that spanned more than two decades, Presley set and broke many records for both concert attendance and sales. Some of those records have since been matched and/or broken by other artists, but some of his records will probably remain unbroken and/or unmatched forever. He has had more than 120 singles in the US top 40, across various musical genres, with over 20 reaching number one. Globally, Elvis has sold over one billion records to date.

website: http://www.elvis.com/

I saw Elvis in concert in Champaign, Illinois just before he died. I remember staying up all night in line for tickets which at that time cost $12.50 each.

The Truth

"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where do you expect to find it?" - Master Dogen Zenji

Work Hard

"Work hard, have high standards, and stick to your values, because somebody's always watching." - Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon

Big Loss

We lost big 30 to 13 against St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn. They were too dominant offensively with two big guys under the basket. My youngest son scored his first basket of the year. He played pretty much because of their big guys. They were pretty aggressive stealing our passes. Our record is now 3 wins and 3 losses and the season is half over. My oldest son's team won a close game 24 to 23 against Saint Peter and Paul of Naperville. They are still undefeated with 5 wins. Grandma and Papa, Aunt Nancy and Kelly came to watch.

You Just Might Be A Workaholic If

If it frustrates you that they don't allow laptops on a Ferris wheel.
If you are looking forward to Christmas this year because you can decide to take that afternoon off.
If you don't drink any beverages during the day because you will lose time having to go to the bathroom.
If a Pay-Per-View movie is your idea of a vacation.
If twenty minutes is too long for a lunch "hour."
If hobbies are something you will get into when you "get the time."
If the only time you have had off in the last three years was to attend your favorite uncle's funeral.
If you wish you were so stressed but know that you will feel better as soon as you "get over the hump."
If the color of one side of your golf bag has faded and is different from the other side of the bag.
If you promised your spouse "this is the only Sunday I will work" more than three times in the last year.
If you bring your spreadsheets to your son's football game.
If you have told yourself, "I can cut back of my hours anytime, if I wanted to" more than three times in the last six months.
If you use your cellphone in the shower to return business calls in the morning before work.
If you don't have a tan by July 15 each year.
If it is difficult to remember the last time you heard background music at a restaurant.
If you set your alarm for 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. so you can check your voicemail.
If it bothers you that you are always at work before and after everyone else.
If you can't name your child's favorite rock band.
If elderly people tend to make you impatient.
If people at cocktail parties seem to want to leave your conversation and "get another glass of wine" just when you were really getting into telling them about your job.
If it has been a while since you felt guilty about missing yet another family dinner.
If you carry family pictures in your wallet only to remind you what they look like.
If you are drinking your coffee in a dirty cup from yesterday.
If you have not gone home early in the last six months.
If your idea of an intimate anniversary celebration is to take your spouse to a formal business dinner.
If a clown is not so funny, an owl is not so wise, and you think that Peter Pan cannot really fly.
If the last outrageous thing you did was over ten years ago.
If a three-year-old girl holding a fluffy bunny under her arm doesn't cause you to stop and watch.
If the closest thing you get to time off is to read this blog.

99,000 Miles

My 1995 Buick LeSabre just turned 99,000 miles on the way home from the game. I bought it used after I smashed up a similar car right in front of my work. It had about 49,000 miles on it when I bought so I've put about 50,000 miles on it. I hope it still runs when my boys learn to drive. The air conditioning and the horn don't work. The tires and battery are new and it gets me where I need to go.

American Wedding

I watched "American Wedding" on DVD. The humor was pretty juvenile but I enjoyed it and laughed pretty hard a couple of times. The opening scene was good and so was the scene with the dogs. The series of three movies - "American Pie" "American Pie 2" and "American Wedding" have grossed over $500,000,000 for Universal Studios.

Synopsis

With East Great Falls High now just a memory, the kids have grown into young adults ready to wreak havoc with a new rite of passage: Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are getting married - in a hurry. Jim's grandmother is sick and wants to see Jim walk down the aisle, so they're going for it in two frantic weeks. Stifler (Sean William Scott) plans to be there (bridesmaids), and more importantly to throw the ultimate bachelor party (strippers) - (one is Playmate Nikki Ziering). Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is all for the hedonistic rituals, but not for letting Stifler steal the maid of honor, who happens to be Michelle's sexy younger sister, Cadence (January Jones.) But while everybody else sweats and frets, Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy) is cool as ever, dispensing advice that no one wants to hear and getting ready for one of the best days of his life.

Refrigerator Shopping

I met my wife at Grant's in Downer's Grove at lunch and the at Sears in Oak Brook after work to find a new refrigerator. We've been living out of three coolers for the last few days. I brought some of the freezer stuff to work to put in the freezer there. The other stuff we kept in the garage. One night we cooked three pizzas. We got some prices from Grant's. They said they could deliver one in 24 hours. At Sears we decided on another side by side with the water dispenser and the ice maker in the door for more freezer space. The Whirlpool that we wanted couldn't be delivered for 15 days and we couldn't wait that long. The Kenmore that was similar and supposedly made by Whirlpool could be delivered in two days - Sunday. We ended up getting the Kenmore. The delivery was free, we had $65.00 off from the repairman and 0% financing. I never realized how dependent we are on a refrigerator. It will be nice to have cold food again.

Too Much Effort

"You know you're getting old when it takes too much effort to procrastinate." - Unknown

E.L. Doctorow's Birthday

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born January 6, 1931 in New York, New York and is the author of several critically acclaimed novels that blend history and social criticism.

Books:

(1960) Welcome to Hard Times
(1966) Big As Life
(1971) The Book of Daniel. Nominated for a National Book Award, it fictionalized the story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953 for giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.
(1975) Ragtime. After receiving the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and the Arts and Letters Award, it was transformed into a film in 1980 and a musical in 1998.
(1979) Drinks Before Dinner (play)
(1980) Loon Lake
(1982) American Anthem
(1984) Lives of the Poets: Six Stories and a Novella
(1985) World's Fair. Received the 1986 National Book Award.
(1989) Billy Bathgate. Nominated for the Pulitzer and won the PEN/Faulkner award. Made into a major motion picture in 1991, which Doctorow - along with most of those involved in its production - has disowned.
(1994) Waterworks
(2000) City of God (novel)
(2003) Reporting the Universe (nonfiction)
(2004) Sweet Land Stories
(2005) The March

I have a book autographed by E.L. Doctorow and have read many of his books.

Happy or Miserable

"We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Castaneda

Risk Being Happy

"Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy." - Robert Anthony

Add Five Days To Every Week

"Find a job you like and you add five days to every week." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

A Happy Person

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." - Hugh Downs

One

One SONG can spark a moment
One FLOWER can wake the dream
One TREE can start a forest
One BIRD can herald spring
One SMILE begins a friendship
One HANDCLASP lifts a soul
One STAR can guide a ship at sea
One WORD can frame the goal
One VOTE can change a nation
One SUNBEAM lights a room
One CANDLE wipes out darkness
One LAUGH will conquer gloom
One STEP must start each journey
One WORD must start a prayer
One HOPE will raise our spirits
One TOUCH can show you care
One VOICE can speak with wisdom
One HEART can know what is true
One LIFE can make a difference.

- Author Unknown

One Person

"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world." - Unknown

Bobby Hull's Birthday

Robert Marvin Hull was born January 3, 1939 in Pointe Anne, Ontario, Canada and is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Nicknamed "The Golden Jet" Bobby Hull led the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 1961 - their third ever and first in almost 30 years. Although he originally wore number 16 then wore number 7 when the Hawks won the cup he later switched to number 9 considered the prestige number in hockey. Bobby Hull was famous for the speed and accuracy of his 120 mph slapshot that many others would soon try to imitate. Hull was able to have such a fast slapshot because he and his teammate Stan Mikita were the first NHL players to curve the blades of their sticks. The curved blade allows the shooter to remain in contact with the puck for a longer period of time and increase the force behind the shot. Although only about 5'10 in stature, Bobby has a solid body build and had a playing weight of about 185 pounds. He played a hard, fast, skilled game matched by few others in the history of the sport. In 1966 he became the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in one season earning a 7-minute standing ovation for his 51st goal. He played 23 professional seasons in hockey from 1957 to 1980 scoring 672 goals.

I grew up watching Bobby Hull play hockey.

Kindness

"Kindness is wisdom." - Philip James Bailey

Dennis Hastert's Birthday

John Dennis Hastert was born January 2, 1942. He is an American politician who has been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Since 1987 he has been a Republican congressman from Illinois representing the state's 14th District.

I have a book autographed by Dennis Hastert.

His website: http://www.house.gov/hastert/

Take Action Now

"You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

One Day At A Time

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering." - Ida Scott Taylor

Real Generosity

"Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present." - Albert Camus

Always Free To Change Your Mind

"You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past." - Richard Bach

Success Habits ABCs

You can develop success habits and remedy lack of or diminished motivation with a technique called “ABC.”

A = Action. Start taking action today. We don’t achieve change through thinking about it, but by doing something.

B = Bite size. Reduce all your new activities to small daily actions. It truly is amazing how doing something small doesn’t overwhelm us and produces amazing results. When we take on too much we either don’t start or can’t keep it up. Work out 10 minutes a day; send out one resume a day, save a little money every day and the results will materialize over time.

C = Consistency. Through the accumulation of small actions, we get big results. Do your bite size action activities daily! We all want big changes, but literally think about the change in your pocket. We have all taken our daily change and placed it in a container of some sort. Before long, that pile of nickels and dimes had grown to several dollars.

If you want to produce real changes, concentrate on the ABC Success Habits. Get into action today with small bite size activities consistently and before you know it, you’ll be going to the bank with a sizable deposit of results.

J.D. Salinger's Birthday

Jerome David Salinger was born January 1, 1919 an American author best known for "The Catcher In The Rye", a classic coming-of-age novel that has enjoyed enduring popularity since its publication in 1951. A major theme in Salinger's work is the agile and powerful mind of disturbed young men, and the redemptive capacity of children in the lives of such men. Salinger is also known for his reclusive nature because he has not given an interview, made a public appearance or published any new work in the last forty years. In 1942 Salinger had received his first acceptance from the magazine New Yorker. It was for a story entitled "Slight Rebellion off Madison", which featured a semi-autobiographical character named Holden Caulfield. The story, however, was held from publication until 1946 because of the war. The story was related to several others featuring the Caulfield family, but perspective shifted from older brother Vince to Holden.Salinger had confided to several people that he felt Holden deserved a novel, and "The Catcher in the Rye" was published in 1951. It was an immediate success, although early critical reactions were mixed. Although never confirmed by Salinger himself, several of the events in the novel are semi-autobiographical. A novel driven by the nuanced, intricate character of Holden, the plot is quite simple. The book became famous for Salinger's extensive and exceptional eye for subtle complexity, detail, and description, for its ironic humor, and for the depressing and desperate atmosphere of New York City. The novel was banned in some countries because of its bold and offensive use of language; "goddam" appears at least every other page. The book is still widely read, particularly in the United States, where it is considered an especially authoritative depiction of teenage angst. It is not unusual to see Catcher in the Rye on a required reading list for American high school students.

Tomorrow's Paper

"When you get out of bed in the morning and think about what you want to do that day, ask yourself whether you'd like others to read about it on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. You'll probably do things a little differently if you keep that in mind." - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Making Resolutions Stick

The secret to making change in our lives isn't boosting our will power, it's asking for God's help.

1. Make only one New Year's Resolution: To ask God for help.

2. Do not give up any negative behaviors yet; let God help fill you with spiritual joy and happiness as often as possible. Then slowly over time, the habits and self-destructive behaviors will subside. Guaranteed.

3. Spend time and energy increasing joy and happiness in your life: Read spiritual and religious books and inspirational articles. Read up on nutrition and learn ways to move that make you feel good. Go for walks, dance to the radio, soak in hot baths, call or visit friends. Express your feelings through writing or good conversation. Be with children, volunteer to help someone else.
Surround yourself with nature and beautiful, simple things. Be active in life, and see God everywhere, in action.

You can do all of these things on your own, in partnership with God, but it really helps to join with others. It's so good to have someone to talk to and share ideas, feelings, and experiences. If you like the idea of having company as you explore this approach to change, join a fitness or stretch class at your church, or a local school, hospital or recreation center. Attend a workshop or retreat as soon as possible. Or get a walking or yoga group going at work, during lunchtime or on breaks. It could also be very helpful to do some strategic planning, such as planning your daily food intake and scheduling physical, emotional and spiritual activities. Make time to talk to friends. Plot available time to workout, play or dance. Find moments to pray or meditate, asking God for help throughout the day and evening. Having order and structure in your life, in partnership with God, will allow you to have a consistent feeling of safety and resolve. You will be able to keep the momentum this time, not just make a resolution at the beginning of a new year. Remember that by surrendering to God on a regular basis, you will relieve yourself of great tension and anxiety. By asking God for help, you share some of the burden and avail yourself of the greatest power and energy there is. Then, with spiritual grace and joy, you'll feel so much better you won't need any self-destructive addictions.

With God as your partner, everything goes well and miracles happen all the time. Then, you'll really have a Happy New Year!

by Norris J. Chumley - from http://www.beliefnet.com/

Smile

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss