Smile

The ancient Chinese had a proverb that says;

"A man without a smiling face should not open a shop".

What this means is that your smile is a messenger of your good will. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. We all know a customer would rather see someone with a smile than a frown.

A smile costs nothing,
It is worthless till you give it away,
It enriches the recipient,
It happens in a moment,
the memory may last forever.

No one is so rich that they cannot live without one,
No one so poor that they cannot afford one,
It cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen,
You can give one as a present today!

Loneliness

I was reminded of loneliness the other day as I passed through Atlanta airport. I always select an ailse seat when flying but on this occasion had been assigned a window seat and as it was a very short flight did not request a change. I was talking with a gentleman from NC who like myself was on his way home. My back was to the window as we talked and discussed the usual introductory pleasantness that strangers share on planes. My new found friend stopped in mid sentence and said "someone else going home".

I turned and looking out of the window saw that a baggage trolley had been brought up and left on the tarmac just beyond our aircraft. In the trolley was a coffin wrapped and packaged for air travel. As our plane pushed back I thought of the person in the coffin and the lonely journey they were making to their final resting place.

A soldier from Iraq? A mother or father? A business man like myself and the man seated by my side? I did not know but it seemed inappropriate for the person to be sitting alone in a baggage trolley waiting on an aircraft. I trusted that perhaps some family member was in the terminal waiting to make the flight also.

A lonely sight indeed but I thought of what the bible says, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and also that Jesus promised never to leave or forsake us. I do not know what those who do not believe think on such occasions but for me it reminds me of my faith. I am also reminded to count my blessings each and every day.

I believe it was either Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin who said that the saddest site in the world is a man standing by a window looking out at the rain who could not read. In Atlanta looking out of that aircraft window I could not agree.

Do you ever feel lonely? We all at times miss family and friends. We all feel grief at the loss of a loved one but sadness even deep sadness is not loneliness. Loneliness is a frame of mind. It is a loss of attitude. Attitude is starting each day saying I have another opportunity to help others. I have another day to enjoy the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. To see an eagle fly or to read a good book. You dictate your attitude all by yourself. I urge you each new day to smile at the world because if you do it will smile back.

Aesop

Aesop was a Greek slave who lived at the court of king Croesus and spun immortal fables six hundred years before Christ. Yet the truths he taught about human nature are just as true today as they were twenty-six centuries ago in Athens. The sun can make you take your coat off more quickly than the wind. Kindness a friendly smile and genuine appreciation can make people change their minds more readily than all the storming and bluster in the world.

Abraham Lincoln put it very simply "A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall."

So today as you go on your way share a smile and a kind word with those you meet and make someone change their mind, help them feel that today is a wonderful day because it is.

Have a wonderful day!

Coronado

On a visit to Coronado in 2001 as I walked along the sand I saw an old man sitting on a bench above the beach looking out to sea. Something said to me go and speak with him and so I did. He was of German extract from the mid-west and had been coming to a condominium there for many years with his wife and family.

His wife was too ill to come sit with him that year and he felt that this would be her last visit to Coronado. She is resting in bed he said with a tear in his eye. I sat with him a while as he told me of his youth and of his undying love for his wife. The pride that they both had in their children and grandchildren and as he spoke he once again mentioned of his sick wife. He had a far away look and a tear in his eyes as he looked out beyond the rolling waves to the distant horizon where the sky touches the sea.

How long I sat there after I left to go to the Dell hotel I do not know but I knew what he was thinking, how do I survive without her Lord. I wrote the following poem in tribute to that old man and his love for his wife. It is inadequate but I hope that if you see an old man or woman sitting alone on a bench that you take a moment out of your day to say hello and listen to their story. Listen simply listen, sometimes that is the greatest gift we have to give.

Coronado

I walked along the beach of Coronado,
Just strolling to the Dell,
Searching for a sand dollar or colored sea shell,
I heard a voice above me silent as the wind.

An old man I saw then sitting all alone,
And asked him what he thought of while sitting on his throne,
Was he looking for a whale or just staring out to sea?
He shook my hand and graciously talked a while to me.

He told me about the treasure sailors simply call time,
And how to everyone is given his or her allotted rhyme,
A song in their heart some will call a dream,
He talked of Minnesota and his ever-loving wife I had never seen.

He told me to walk down Orange to the other side of town,
To ride the ferry to San Diego and let my worries drown,
He named every blossom I would see on the way,
Till I took the ferry to San Diego quay.

I sit on the sea walk just above the shore,
Like the old man did all those years before,
A young man comes strolling along by the Dell,
And asks me my story for him now to tell.

I talk to him of Texas the birthplace of my dreams,
Tell him about my ever-loving wife the one he has never seen,
And what am I thinking as I look out to sea?
Closer now my God is this man to thee.

The Solution at GM

Did you ever wonder if there was a simple solution to the GM problem? In the last week I rented two cars in two different states both revised GM models. One a Malibu and the other a Pontiac G6. The first had an A/C unit that could not throw cool air beyond the steering wheel and the other the most uncomfortable seats I have sat in for quite some time. Not good for two "new" cars one with 1,200 miles on the odometer and the other with just 33 miles. And please do not try to blame the terrible seats on a more "sporty" vehicle you are talking to someone who drives a Lexus SC as his own car.

Now before you think that I am just another GM basher trying to get your attention think of this when I travel to Europe I specify a GM product called the Vectra. On the continent it is an Opal and in the UK it is a Vauxhall. I have driven both the gas (petrol) and diesel versions and cannot say enough good things about these cars. The A/C works perfectly. The transmission changes smoothly. They have enough pep at least in the gas version and ample space and luggage capacity with excellent mpg. GM I believe even import the Vauxhall Vectra to Australia as a Holden.

So what is my solution? Dump the poor quality junk at home and the badge engineering programs wasting so much money. Short term import this fine machine into the USA while in the process of retooling one plant to produce them here. They come in hatch back or station wagon versions and please bring the Vauxhall as the handling and ride are definitely superior to the Opal.

But then again I forgot to quote my first mentor in senior management describing the board. They don't know, they won't ask and when they do they won't listen. Now confess when you started to read this you thought the problem was all about shoddy workmanship . . .

Beware of $100 Bill

A local restaurant's owner was telling me about the latest scam with fake $100 bills. It would appear that the crooks bleach a $5 bill so that the bill will pass the "pen test" used by most shop keepers and then overprint it with all of the symbols and script to make it appear as a $100 bill.

I am told that the only way to tell the fake from a real bill is to hold the $100 bill up to a bright light and you will see the shadow of Abraham Lincoln who appears on the $5 bill in the background. Most people do not carry $100 bills but for those that do please make sure you get or accept them only from your local bank.

And as for the business people out there please notify your associates to apply this check before accepting a $100 bill and if you find one please immediately pass it to your local law enforcement department who can alert others to any activity in your area.

Children

For the second time in five years I witnessed yesterday parents burying their son. I was not as close to the second family as the first but the evidence of inner pain remained the same. During the funeral service I thought again of the pain my dear friend suffered when he buried his son and of the blessing that my son still lives.

I will see my son again at Christmas but these two families will never see their sons again. If you have a son or a daughter did you tell them that you love them? Do you cherish their smile and the sound of their laughter in your ears? I hope so. Time spent with loved ones is more precious than any other time in your calendar. Share it wisely and abundantly each opportunity you may get.

My friend asked me to write a poem for him and his son. His son was a police officer killed in the line of duty. My words though inadequate were I am told of some comfort to him and that pleased me. I share them in the hope that someone else who may have lost a son finds a little comfort in these words.

Thoughts of a Father

The sun shines through the windowpane,
Yet it cannot enter my heart,
Its warmth seems to have left me son,
Since we have been apart.

A loss like this is too great to bear,
Of a father for his son,
Dear God was this how you felt?
When you lost the only begotten one.

I sit in the shade of a Carolina tree,
Out beside the lake,
And there son a few moments,
Each day do I take.

A father crying in silence,
As he asks in humble prayer,
For forgiveness for those son,
That took the love we shared.

And for your fellow officers,
Protectors of the law,
God grant to them His blessing,
As danger they forbear.

I now alone am sitting Scott,
Where once we both did fish,
Am reminded of a fisherman,
Who holds the keys to bliss.

And when I get there son,
By the grace of my Lord,
To him I will ask permission,
To worship with my ward.

My Mission

A friend once asked me if I thought a lady he had spotted across the room was beautiful I replied you will only find out when you see her with her face washed and your heart is in her hands.

Now talking of washing your face in my bathroom sits a little brass frame that contains my mission statement. It is rather a simple one but as it is mine I feel it is rather important because I try to live it every day. It simply says. My mission is to enjoy, share and love God, life, family and others. Underneath it are the words Onward Christian Soldiers.

I do not see myself as a soldier. Those words are simply written to remind me of the generations of my family who went on before me and hopefully the generations that will follow after me. You see I have witnessed the passing of a family when the last lady in it died out and the sadness that she felt at being the last of her line.

The ability to enjoy, share and love God is important to me as an individual. I do not go about like a zealot nor do I stuff my religion down others throats. I have friends who are Catholic, Lutheran, Evangelical, Episcopal, Baptists, Muslim, Presbyterian and atheist. I consider them all my friends and judge them not for life is not what that is all about.

I am sure that many will understand why I put God first but you may wonder why I put life before family. The reason is simple if I am not here I cannot share the blessings that God has given me with my family, my friends or others who may cross my path.

A lady told me today that somewhere out there is a woman as well educated, well traveled and interested in as many different topics as myself and that one day I would find her.

I often wonder what that lady will look like first thing in the morning with her face washed and her natural beauty shining in the morning sunlight but still more I wonder at the inner beauty she must posses because she is the one I trusted to hold my heart in her hands.