The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

FLASHBULB MEMORIES

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It’s simply entitled

THE FALLING MAN

WE  REMEMBER.       .       .

Don’t WE.       .       .

September 11, 2001

A   PICTURE   IS   WORTH   A   THOUSAND   WORDS.        .        .

but   we   don’t   need   photographs, 

DO  WE.        .        .

These are called

FLASHBULB   M E M O R I E S

and psychologist tell us

this is why we

r      e       m       e        m        b        e       r

exactly where we were

what we were doing

on a specific date

in history

like

September 11, 2001.        .        .

In a Flashbulb Memory,

we recall the experience of learning

about an event,

not the factual details of the event.         .        .

The idea of flashbulb memory

was first proposed in 1977 by psychologists

Roger Brown, PhD, and James Kulik, PhD,

who posited that these memories

are so emotionally important to us

that they’re laid down as vividly,

completely and accurately as a photograph.        .        .

See.       .       .

You really don’t need a photograph

even if just one is worth 10,000 words.        .       .

So weather it was with the Challenger

or the death of Princess Diane

or 9/11

or the death of a loved one.     .       .

B       U        T

It could it also involve a

FLASHBULB  MOMENT

of Happiness.          .         .

Does it forever sear

FLASHBULB MOMENTS

of pure Gratitude

Seriously.        .        .

Do you need a psychiatric opinion?

Do you need data

Scientific studies

Countless interviews

to determine

that we could

not just have the intention

not just have the audacity

not just have the gall

but actually have the awesome

second-to-none

u n i v e r s a l

C A R I N G     C A T A L Y S T

power to create

 F     L     A     S     H     B      U     L     B         M  E  M  O  R  I  E  S

in the lives of a world

of individuals

who’s eyes

are sorely in need

of a sight

of compassion

of love

of empathy

of acceptance

of forgiveness

of openness

they will not only

N E V E R   F O R G E T

but, indeed

will never stop

 E       X       P       E       R       I       E       N       C       I       N       G

So, on the count of

T        H         R        E        E

say

C                 H                 E                  E                     S                   E

O  N  E

T       W       O

T         H         R         E         E.        .       .

Not Just Another Job

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Your Favorite Quote?

Behind all of your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begin–Mitch Albom.

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.  All I am I owe to my mother.  I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her–George Washington.

Motherhood is the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run–Barbara Kingsolver

How vital are mother’s influence and teaching in the home–how apparent when neglected–Ezra Taft Benson.

Mothers worry only a out those we brought into this world, regardless of whether they loved us back or treated us fairly or understood our shortcomings–Adriana Trigiani

No language can express the power, and the beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother’s love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of a quenchless fidelity like a star.–Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Mom–the person most likely to write an autobiography and never mention herself–Robert Brault

I, like the rest of the world, have had a wonderful day of celebrating Mother’s Day.

I was able to see my mom, a continued blessing, itself.

I had many prideful moments watching the reaction of Erin as the kids expressed thanks for being their  MOM  throughout the day.

 I know that she in fact,

is not my mother,

but I could have never been more blessed than her being the mom and stepmom to my children.

It really is more than just a job, isn’t it?

I can’t imagine too many more jobs more

 t  h  a  n  k  L  E  S  S

Truly, it’s one of fewest jobs anyone would ever  apply,

accept or keep.        .        .

and yet, there are well over a billion that hold the actual gut-wretching-never-ending position of

M        O        M

.    .    .to   THAT   there are only two words,

never said enough days before,

Day of,

or days after :

THANK    YOU

About that favorite quote. . .

it’s most likely the one that the heart shouts and the mouth can’t begin the whisper. .  .

the pen can never put to paper.

Go hug a mom.     .     .

and if you can’t—

HUG   A   CHILD   OF   ONE

—hard and just a little longer than usual.        .        .

J  u  s  t      b  e  c  a  u  s  e !

Happy     Day     After     Mother’s     Day!

(Make it just as important)

 

Survey, S C R E A M S

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images-2

D O E S     I T     M A T T E R ?

Well, apparently the

Science   of   Happily   Ever   After

has gone well over and under the microscope–literally–and the examination table.

In her article,

MASTER   OF   LOVE,

author, Emily Smith reveals that of all the couples that get married,

only THREE in TEN remain in healthy, happy marriages.

W O W .        .        .

that’ll sour the Chocolate Heart well before Valentine’s Day.

Has it come to   T H I S:

A team of Researchers, Scientists actually hooked up couples to electrodes and asked the couples to speak about their relationship, how they met, a major conflict they were facing together, and a positive memory. As they spoke, these electrodes measured blood flow, heart rates, and how much sweat they actually produced…then the Researchers sent these folks home and followed up on them SIX YEARS LATER.      .      .      

Forget about the  THREE  out of   TEN   formula.      .      .

Do you know what the two most powerful characteristics they found to long-lasting relationships?

K        I        N        D        N        E        S        S

G        E        N        E        R        O        S       I        T        Y

In most marriages,

T      H      E      Y   

concluded, levels of satisfaction drop dramatically within the first few years together;

BUT  AMONG  COUPLES  WHO  NOT  ONLY  ENDURE, BUT  LIVE  HAPPILY  TOGETHER  FOR  YEARS  AND  YEARS, THE  SPIRIT  OF  KINDNESS  AND  GENEROSITY  GUIDES  THEM  FORWARD!

What’s   T H A T   tell  you?

Being in a committed relationship now

(FOR A DO-OVER)

for nearly 32 years,

with Mt Everest highs and the darkest of Abyss lows

over roads that would have begged for ruts and dust,

they were so desolate,

I, like many others,

can prove to you what was implied but not measured

with this or any study:

K I N D N E S S   A N D   GENEROSITY

DO   NOT   WORK–E V E R–

o       n       c       e .        .        .

Kindness and Generosity have to be consistently

DONE/EXPERIENCED

I’m one of the few people known to all generations of all faiths who actually doesn’t like

the Story of the Good Samaritan.          .          .

A guy gets thrashed and everyone avoids him from the Commoner to the most highly religious except, well, except for the lowest of the low scum of the earth, who took time to at least stop and help the man, got him patched up and then took him to a hostel where he could rehab; actually paid in advance and told the innkeeper, if it wasn’t enough, he’d settle up with him the next time he came back into town.        .        .

What’s not to like?

Well, here’s something that the Social Scientists don’t have to Electrode you up for:

ANYONE   CAN   DO   THAT–

Be a Good Samaritan–

O     N     C     E .          .          .

but what about a thousand and  O N C E  times

or a Billion,

a Ga-Zillion and  O N C E  times?

Who would have thought that

C      O      N      S      I      S      T      E      N      T      L      Y

being Kind and Generous

would be the key components for a long-lasting-happily-ever-after relationship?

Hmmmmmmmm of the Day:

Maybe if we  T H O U G H T

l   e    s    s

and practiced Kindness and Generosity

more.      .      .

Well,

you do the research:

Resource:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200910/what-makes-marriage-work

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/happily-ever-after/372573/

Christmas’ed

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When  is  I T ?

When did  IT  first come to you this year?

When  D I D   I T   L E A V E?

First present?

Last Present?

Somewhere in between parties or when you hit the pillow a couple of nights ago?

I am a firm

K  N  O  W ‘ E  R  

that Christmas,

or any other special holiday/event

doesn’t so much come on a day or for a Season,

b u t   i n

M       O       M       E       N       T       S

I had a varied assortment of

M       O       M       E       N       T       S

over these past few days and weeks.       .       .

I bet you have, too.         .         .

We  always  have  a  way  of  celebrating  many  Christmases  during  the  holidays.  .  .

A Bell-Ringer outside of a grocery story proclaiming I must be a minister not because of my suit, tie, overcoat, but because I actually looked him in the eye and wished him a ‘Merry Christmas’ when I put a donation in his red kettle:

 A            M       O       M       E       N       T

Standing in Starbucks on Christmas Eve and the guy in front of me, telling the Barista that he was going to buy our drinks for the morning:

A              M       O       M       E       N       T

Conducting the Memorial service of a man I’d never met and assuring the small gathering of people that, “You haven’t heard the last of Steve,” and before I finished saying his name a flower pot dropping loudly to the floor from the side of his casket:

A              M       O       M       E       N       T

Seeing an awesome performance of The Messiah and during the intermission, a man, whom we’ve never met, but who spied us at dinner came and invited us to sit with he and his wife in the 5th row for no other reason except that his son and daughter-in-law had to leave after the first act:

A            M       O       M       E       N       T

Walking into the Atrium of an Inpatient Unit and having four people pointing at me; when I walked up to them they turned their cell phone around showing me a picture of myself after they had just googled me to find me for possibly conducting the memorial service of their actively dying mother:

A            M      O      M      E      N      T

Seeing my two year old grandson taking communion on Christmas Eve as he mimicked his grandmother as she had done just a moment before:

A            M       O       M       E        N       T

Waking up in the middle of the night and noticing that your holding a hand that’s clutching yours:

A         M       O       M        E        N        T

A song that comes on from your Shuffled Playlist at the exact time you really need to hear it but didn’t know that you did:

A          M        O       M       E       N       T

A phone call.          .          .

a Text. . .

a letter. . .

a chance meeting. . .

A   L   L        M     O     M     E     N     T     S.          .          .

It’s   NOT   if    M O M E N T S    ever  occur

as really if they ever

C       E       A       S       E  ?

Maybe the specialness of this Season

is just reserved to those who are actually

L O O K I N G   for   those   M O M E N TS ?

When  is  it?

What  MOMENT  did  IT  first come to you this year?

Is  IT  still there or does it lay discarded.        .        .

cast aside like some useless wrapping paper?

We know, long ago as it has been told us,

“MARY KEPT THESE THINGS IN HER HEART. . .”

In his Classic, THE  OTHER  WISE  MAN, Henry van Dyke said,

“ARE YOU WILLING TO BELIEVE THAT LOVE IS THE STRONGEST THING IN THE WORLD–STRONGER THAN HATE, STRONGER THAN DEATH–AND THAT THE BLESSED LIFE WHICH BEGAN IN BETHLEHEM…(ALL THOSE) YEARS AGO IS THE IMAGE AND BRIGHTNESS OF ETERNAL LOVE?
THEN. . .THEN YOU CAN KEEP CHRISTMAS, AND IF YOU KEEP IT FOR A DAY, WHY. . .WHY NOT ALWAYS?”

It’s all about   M O M E N T S. . .

a  n  d ,

and just when isn’t there  ONE?

Maybe it’s not about  MOMENTS  at all.         .         .

Maybe it’s not about Noticing  MOMENTS.         .         .

Maybe it’s about just

C R E A T I N G      T H E M !

C H R I S T M A S ‘e d.         .         . 

If   your   going   to   be   TENSE—

why  not   BE   the   PRESENT    ONE .   .   .   ?

Here’s  to  your

M          O          M          E          N          T

and the many more to follow. . .

M          O          M          E          N          T          S :

They’re to be Made.       .       .

They’re to be Shared.       .       .

They’re to be enjoyed.       .       .

They’re to be NOTICED!

THEY’RE   TO   BE   LIVED   AGAIN

AND  AGAIN

AND AGAIN

A  N  D .          .          .

Had  any

M   O   M   E   N   T   S

lately?

They are like puzzle pieces

spread across a table top

begging to be put together.        .       .

The problem?

We most likely miss many more

than we notice.          .          .

and those might just be the most special ones of all

because it’s not always what we notice

but what we don’t recognize

that matters most!

Ugly Christmas Sweater DAYS

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IMG_0220

D O     Y O U     O W N     O N E ?

An Ugly Christmas Sweater?

T                    H                    E                    Y

actually have parties with everyone wearing an Ugly Christmas Sweater.      .      .

Do  you  own  One ?

Do you feel like you’re wearing one

W  I  T  H  O  U  T     O  W  N  I  N  G    O  N  E ?

Even if we don’t own an Ugly Christmas Sweater

There are some days when it feels like we are wearing one that seems it’ll never come off:

Bad Relationships

Job Security

Ill-Health

Death

Unrest

Zero to limited Bank Accounts

Moves

Conflict

.          .          .What to do?

I often remember my student church the first year I was in Seminary.

By God,

we were going to have the first

LIVE   NATIVITY   CHRISTMAS   PAGENT

that small little Country Church had ever had.     .     .

I learned from that experience,

NEVER    TO     BRING     LIVE    FARM    ANIMALS

into the Sanctuary;

Little Lambs looks great on Christmas Cards,

but the things they left between the

PEEE-EWWWS

while they were bleeping away

are smells and stains

I don’t think they’ve yet to rid themselves of nearly 40 years later.     .     .

I’m not even going to mention the Donkey’s antics

or the calves

or the fact that the goat ate stored furniture.       .       .

It got worse still

when our third Wiseman came down with chicken-pox the night of the big show

and it’s not the same song  singing:

  “WE   TWO  KINGS  OF   ORIENT  ARE“

.       .       .It got worse before   NEVER   getting better:

We had a beautiful illuminated JESUS

in the manager who’s    LIGHT    burned out.        .        .

no problem,

I replaced it with a bulb

that turned out to be a STROBE LIGHT.        .        .

N O T H I N G   like an

ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF

J       E       S       U       S

B            L            I            N            K            I            N            K

away  in  the  manger.

W E   L I V E

Ugly     Christmas     Sweaters     LIVES

and we have the same three choices I had that

bleating/blinking/too much stink for a sanctuary full of un-clogged noses/two-wiseman cursed night:

C  A  N  C  E  L       T  H  E       M  E  S  S

It always seems like one of the best of possibilities,

doesn’t it.     .     ?

Let’s just cancel this craziness;

this mess,

and cut our losses and speak of it never again.       .       .

Who would blame us when things are a disasters

and getting no better.       .       .

I mean,

when the Ugly Christmas Sweater snags—-

why fix it.        .        .?

P  R  E  T  E  N  D

I’ve long believed

that the only day we actually celebrate all 365 days is

H     A     L     L     O     W     E     E     N

We should all be nominated

and actually win the Academy Award

every year for the phenomenal acting jobs we pull off each day.     .     .

Let’s just pretend our way through our Ugly Christmas Sweater Days.       .     .

After all,

we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone,

especially during  T H E    S E A S O N.   .   .   

E     M     B     R     A     C     E             I     T

It’s like hugging a porcupine.       .       .

but why not just embrace the obvious—-

Just not  O W N.        .        .

W E A R    T H E    C H R I S T M A S    S W E A T E R

I N    S T Y L E

Endure the Stank,

Dance to the pulsating Light,

Sing the not-so-complete-song

and fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

your way to the homemade cookie and coffee cake line,

straight to the hot chocolate.      .      .

Y  O  U  R     C  H  O  I  C  E ?

UGLY  SWEATER  CHRISTMAS  DAYS

We all have them

We all live through them

We all come out the other end of

T  H  A  T

tunnel a little more disheveled, snagged, smelly, guffawed at

but–THRIVERS–ALL

There’s only one thing to do–ever–when faced with an

UGLY  CHRISTMAS  SWEATER  DAY:

S   P   O   R   T        I   T

(No   Matter   What   The   Season)

O-V-E-R is the New Beginning

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EmptyPiePan

My family hates it,

mostly because it’s an obsession of mine.

It happens every time we get back from vacation or a family reunion or any big event.     .     .

I   CAN’T   LET   IT   GO!

When we come back from vacation I ask questions like,

“Hey, do you remember what we were doing exactly this time last week or three weeks ago or even,

THIS TIME LAST YEAR?”

Drives’em  crazy.

It’s late.

All are asleep.

I just finished watching parts of the third of three football games.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked back into the kitchen after the big dinner,

the table was cleared,

dishes done.     .     .
Thank God the refrigerator door

doesn’t have an automatic lock on it after a certain amount of accessing times.     .     .

My pants are tight (yeah, even these sweat pants) and my heart is even fuller.      .      .

I    R E – M  E  M  B  E  R.         .         .

constantly putting back together the pieces of my life

and those that have  t h a n k f u l l y  intermeshed their fabric into my Tapestry.       .       .

Is   I T    O v e r ?

I think not.       .       .

This won’t be the first time you’ll see something like this here.     .     .

I am always reaching back and bringing it all forth again;

I think the  real  Thanksgiving isn’t on the day with all of the parades,

football,

repeated eating fests—-

it’s the  DAYS  After.     .     .

EVERYONE  is Thankful on  THAT  day!

But it’s the days following where the

T   H   A   N   K   F   U   L        M   E   T   E   R

might find its truest test.      .      .

What then?

Get your Thanksgiving  ON

the days following when Time blurs on to the next Holiday;

Seriously, are we less thankful the days following?

Do we have to reach back to actually RE-MEMBER

or is it, truly, not just a day, or a season–

Dare it actually be a Lifestyle?

Well.       .       .

it’s what I ponder

as I finish that last lonely piece of pie—

it  was begging for it!

Hmmmmm.         .         .

I just can’t let it go.         .         .

I’m thinking

I’m thanking

I’m THINKING

I’M THANKING.       .       .

that could be a Great thing.         .         .

A Very Great, Tasty,

FULL – FILLING  THING.       .       .

Y  o  u ?

The Last Brownie

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Well.     .     .

Would   you.       .       .

C  O  U  L  D     Y O U

win the  LAST  BROWNIE ?

I love this clip from Notting Hill

courtesy from Wing Clips

at the beginning of the week of

T   H   A   N   K   S   G   I   V   I   N   G

It’s an amazing scene, isn’t it?

Each guest sitting around the table trying to vie

for the last-very-much-wanted-Brownie

by telling their own personal tale of woe–

the very saddest of which

w     i     n     s

The Brownie.     .     .

So what’s    Y  O  U  R    Story.      .      .      ?

Would you focus on

your lack of income

your lack of good looks

your lack of incredible health

your lack of physical mobility or skills

your lack of a great relationship

your lack of professional standing

your lack of awareness of just how good you actually do

H     A     V     E          I     T  ?

Even  on  a  Thanksgiving  Week

it’s  sad  isn’t  it,

that so much of our lives are consumed with thinking

about what we Lack in LIFE

than all of the things we have overwhelming been blessed?

S     O    M    E    T    I    M    E    S

it actually takes a traumatic experience

or at least

a severely rugged turn of events

to make the mundane blessings

we usually take for granted.     .     .

e      x      t      r      a      o      r      d      i      n      a      r      y

Like the familiar old adage:

YOU   NEVER   KNOW  WHAT   YOU’VE  GOT,  TILL  IT’S  GONE

So here’s the ultimate

T H A N K S G I V I N G    D A R E :

Turn in

Y O U R     B R O W N I E.     .     .

turn it in

for the Pumpkin Pie—

The   O N E  

You   G  I  V  E

with all of the trimmings

not optional–

ever again—

b u t

S T A N D A R D

with the more-than-usual exception

that’ll  you’ll  exceed

e x p e c t a t i o n s

for everyone else’s sake.       .       .

Y          U          M !

Go  ahead–

Dish up another Serving.     .     .

O     U     T     thank

everyone you know.      .      .

don’t even make it

c l o s e!

Best In Show(ing UP)

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This past Wednesday afternoon

there was a small gathering of staff in the Atrium

at David Simpson House House on

East 185th Street

to celebrate a very important

Member of the Hospice Staff

Tallulah

She’s been a therapy dog at The House for the past seven years

and it would be impossible to try to calculate

just how many lives—

patients.    .    .

families.    .    .

staff.       .        .

Tallulah has not just touched

but inspired—

patients.     .     .

families.     .     .

staff.       .        .

to also reach out and

T       O       U       C       H

We all gathered together

and surrounded her in a-not-so-perfect

c            i            r           c           l          e

and while Tallulah was in the center

chewing on a treat

Dr. Kevin Dieter

led us in a unison reading,

TO   LEARN FROM ANIMAL BEING:

Nearer to the earth’s heart, Deeper within its silence; Animals know this world in a way we never will.

We who are ever Distanced and distracted by the parade of bright windows thought opens; their seamless presence is not fractured thus.

Stranded between time gone and time emerging, we managed seldom to be where we are: Whereas they are always looking out from the here and now.

May we learn to return and rest in the beauty of animal being, Learn to lean low, leave our locked minds, and with freed senses feel the earth breathing with us.

May we enter into lightness of spirit, and slip frequently into the feel of the wild.

Let the clear silence of our animal being; cleanse our hearts of corrosive words.

May we learn to walk upon the earth with all their confidence and clear-eyed stillness so that our minds might be baptized in the name of the wind and the light and the rain.      

One   by   One

 each of us

by instinct

rather  than  instruction

left the circle and went into the middle

and gave her our own

little blessing that only

a heart can shout

and a mouth can’t begin to whisper

.          .          .I stood there and noticed

that eyes were weeping

what tissues can’t ever quite absorb

and chose not to think it was some kind of a

meaningful, sincere

G    O   O   D       B   Y   E

as a much more

intentional

devout

T H A N K    Y O U

Tallulah

was making her last visit to the House

but not giving us her

Final Lesson.       .       .

Her Last Lecture

if we are Student enough to

l e a r n:

J      u      s      t

S H O W I N G    U P 

B   E   I   N   G      P   R   E   S   E   N   T

brings a

h   e   a   l   i  n  g

not found in an

intervention

therapy

prescription

plan of care

I V

syringe

pill

capsule

s a l v e.       .       .

And like her.     .     .

makes us the

BEST    IN    SHOW

Willie Morris wrote a book called

MY  DOG  SKIP

The Family Movie came out in 2000

As I was standing in that most sacred-imperfect Circle

the ending scene came to mind:

Good Bye?

THANK  YOU?

For now

and

for an ever

May the Peace that

Tallulah

has brought to many

now be that

Profound Peace

she’ll  enjoy

f o r e v e r m o r e

as she crosses over

The Rainbow Bridge

but never out of our hearts.

Drinking from the Saucer

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tea-overflowing-213x300

Have you ever done it before?

If you were at a Five-Star Restaurant and had just had a very expensive, satisfying dinner and the waitress, who has addressed your every whim and need, is now pouring your coffee to overflowing perfection so it’s a small moat in your saucer around your coffee cup.

Q   U   E   S   T   I   O   N :

Are you an    A P R I L     F O O L     enough

in front of all the guests,

enjoying dinner as you are,

going to    S  L  U  R  P    from your saucer?

Not even if it’s the best coffee ever,

Right?

Well, not many of us take notice

and might not readily admit it,

but the good stuff   I S   in the Saucer.    .    .

the Overflow is  always/ALL ways

where IT’S at.      .      .

Any Real   April Fool   knows that, don’t they?

A few weeks ago,

I conducted the small memorial service for Charles.

I never met him before.

He was a hospice patient in a group home near Santa Barbara, CA.

He was 92 and had been there most of his life,

but his life was never defined by that little fact.

Charles was an April Fool every month of the year.    .     .

Charles drank from the saucer,

u n a b a s h e d l y,   o f t e n,

with a smile on his face

and a pure, unadulterated happiness in his heart.

I learned that Charles had friends,

found true love,

traveled extensively,

had a job he took pride in,

and led a stress-free,

h   a   p   p   y           l   i   f   e !

Saucer slurping high living, huh?

The truest of  April Fools

S     e     r     i     o     u     s     l     y ,

if given the chance IN or OUT of a Group Home,

if at our last breath,

we could KNOW,

not hope,   wish,   dream.      .     .

K           N           O           W

that we had friends,

found true love,

traveled extensively,

had a job we took pride in,

and led a stress-free, happy life

—-S a u c e r – S i p p e r—–

Class   A   April Fool,

would you turn it down,

walk away?

Don’t feel bad.       .       .

M a n y    d o !

Pssssssssst:

D o n ‘ t      b e      M  A  N  Y !

Most don’t have the chance to drink fully from The Cup,

let alone the Saucer.     .     .

Most would turn down voluntarily being an

A P R I L      F O O L

any day of the year,

let alone on April 1

Look again.

There’s not only a Full Cup we have

but a Saucer for the Overflow

Hmmmmmm  of  the  Day:

Now Noticing would be one thing.

Drinking from them both. . .Quite another!

One. . .Two. . .Three:

S    L    U    R    P       Deeply

You April Fool

Get  Charles’d !

Two Buck Chuck

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Well.  .  .

Now you know. . .

Now you know that I didn’t win the 1.6Billion-dollar PowerBall

and I’m fairly sure that no one who happens to have split those winnings three ways, is reading this either.

Now you know.  .  .

maybe what you know,

know that you know,

and bet your life that you know.  .  .

but for the life of you don’t act like you know

or. . .even recognize.

I didn’t fully

until this morning when I, like millions of others, found out that what

W          I          N          N          E          R          S

we really are.

I found out that the odds of winning were about 1 in 292 million, which we are told are to be worse odds of being mauled by a bear and being attacked by a shark and marrying a supermodel–

A L L     C O M B I N E D.

You know what my Two-Bucks bought me?

H O P E :

If you think about it–for two-bucks it’s a great deal, no matter what the odds.  I mean, come on, for just two-bucks, I bought a chance for 1.6 Billion dollars.  That’s a pretty great deal, isn’t it?  H O P E !  It took no skill, no special prayers, I was on equal ground with everyone else without nothing to do or with anyone to compete.

Two-bucks bought me

P E R S P E C T I V E:

The simple experience of playing and actually  l o s i n g  was worth it.  This two-bucks lasted longer than an amusement ride or a movie or a Broadway show; this  p e r s p e c t i v e  lasted for days as we dreamed about how we’d help people and actually change their lives; make dreams that have never been dreamt, come true.  It allowed for friendships and camaraderie and love as I joined other groups at church, at work, in the neighborhood  in buying tickets together; we even commiserated about  how it just wasn’t in the cards  for us to win, and like everyone else who bellied up to that PowerBall Bar, took the chance, anyhow–all that for being Two-Buck-Chuck.

You know what my Two-Bucks really bought me?

I had an awesome conversation with my son last weekend, one of so many other fantastic talks; I found out at in a matter of less than a week we were going to be grandparents to one of our daughters, first daughter, another daughter’s second expected baby, and another daughter’s engagement to be married; I am going to be celebrating thirty fast years of marriage to a woman who said   y e s   when the whole world and mostly myself was screaming,  N     O;  I’ve served four amazing churches in the past 36 years; companioned hundreds of terminally ill patients; supported their families; conducted hundreds of weddings and thousands of funerals; been befriended by people that can’t be created or imagined by Hollywood’s greatest writers.    .    .what’s the price tag on all of that?  Two bucks?  1.6 Billion?

Hmmmmmmmmmm of the DAY:

A L L     O F     T H I S     F O R

t w o   b u c k s.    .    .    .

Two-Buck-Chuck figures the odds of winning some 1.6 Billion dollars don’t stack up to the best two bucks I’ve spent countless times over–especially just right now–that’s gotten me to the point of where

I know. . .

I know that I know. . .

I bet my Life that I know. . .

what for the rest of my life I intend to act

LIKE   I   KNOW

(what’s really precious and priceless)

Y O U ?

It’s great being
W     I     N     N     E     R     S

Two-Buck-Chuck realizes   t h a t

(as do I now hope you do, too)

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man