I Saw A Man Get Saved That Day............

Awake at 4:30am with voices running through my head,
sunrise is coming, get up and out of bed.  
I've seen them before, I'll see them again,
Just today, I thought I'd sleep in…..

What would I miss, if I didn't go…
That voice came back it wouldn't take no
So I grabbed my gear and headed to the shore,
God's grace to me was what he had in store…

Just before sunrise, the sky was aglow, 
with variations of color, a beautiful show.
I heard some voices as my shutter was snappin',
As I turned and look two fella's were talkin'.

The young man was real quick to tell me the story,
He was to be baptized and give God glory.
He was happy to see me with my camera and all,
To capture his image as he fulfilled his call.

The sun was about to rise above the horizon, the tide was moving in,
The dolphin playing in the background, I could see his dorsal fin.
The young man and the preacher, into the water they waded,
It was such a wonder to see what God had created.

The sun came up, his head went under,
The preacher was preaching, his voice echoing like thunder.
I saw a man get saved that day,
While I was talking pictures down by the bay.

I couldn't hear the preacher, the words he was saying,
But I felt the vibrations in my soul, and I too started praying.
For then I realized, those early morning voices in my head,
Where whispers of the angels pushing me out of my bed.

I looked at the shots when I got home,
I am so thankful those two weren't there alone.
Chains were broken through water and a prayers,
I only wish you too could have been there.

I saw a man get save that day,
While I was taking pictures down by the bay.
I know a man who was saved that day,
While he was taking pictures down by the bay.

It's In Your Heart

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa



She was only in 3rd Grade, but she had already learned to be a ‘giver’. (Actually, I think it’s natural and most of us are born that way, we just become desensitized, look outward less and inward more.) She recognized a fellow student in need financially; something the young boy in her classroom whispered to her.

It wasn’t much money she had saved up from Christmas and birthday’s, but she knew she had $80 dollars, and when on the way home from school she told the story of the boy in her class who had a need and she wanted to give him her money, it gives a parent a warm feeling that your daughter’s heart is in the right place. But in the quiet of your mind it can also make you think if you have been so kind. Do I do enough?

I think back on that day, I think back of the child who had put a pair of socks on her Christmas list, and the little girl who asked for a bed. There are so many folks who need US to help. I CHALLENGE myself, my family and you to find a way to help others this holiday season.

Some of us have time to share, some of us have jackets we haven’t worn in years hanging in the closet that can keep someone warm, and there are those of us who have may have a few dollars to spare to help a charitable organization or church feed someone. The objective is getting out and helping; helping someone get through difficult times…….sending a child to school who has eaten a breakfast…..letting strangers know that people do care. Do what you know you should do!

If you read this, I hope it inspires you to help someone, a family, a friend, a stranger. If it does, please pass it on.

May your dreams be filled and blessings shower upon you!

Just One Pitch

"Self confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."
Dr. Samuel Johnson

I can remember it was a warm summer day in our backyard in Plainville, Connecticut on Burnside Avenue. It was getting late in the afternoon and I was playing with my baseball bat and ball. My brother Paul and I had just got done finishing playing and my father had pulled in the driveway from work.

I yelled over to my Dad as he was about to walk into the house, ‘Dad could you come pitch me the ball?” He hesitated and I asked again, although I sensed he wanted to get in and ready for dinner.

He stepped in the yard and I threw him the tennis ball to pitch to me. “Just one pitch,” he said.

The yard from side to side is no more than 20 yards. I was lined up against the fence to the left and he lined up to pitch the ball with the fence to his back on the right side of the yard.

The pitch came in just perfect and I hit if well over his head, over the fence, into our neighbors yard. I figure I was about seven or eight when that happened so the distance of the hit to me then was like hitting it out of Yankee Stadium.

Just one pitch. My father went in, we all had dinner, and I was the proudest kid in the world at that moment. So proud to show my father how good I can hit.

I look back at my life and that is one of the moments that stick out. The homeruns I hit in little league and high school are vague memories compared to that little hit only he and I saw.

Those are the moments that shape us and those are the moments we help shape others. It’s simple little successes that help gain our confidence and encourage us to keep moving forward. It’s the time we take to help others realize their potential, encourage them, and help them succeed; sometime unknowingly.

We all have the opportunity in our lives to ask for that pitch to be thrown, or to throw that pitch. Happiness and Success in life comes from small meaningful accomplishments that strengthen our self-esteem.

Swing your bat! Pitch the Ball

Bookends of Life

“In the evening of our life, we will be judged on love.”

Her angelic face with wide opened baby-blue eyes shouted joy and wonderment as she was playing with soap bubbles on a sunny day. Her head was adorned with a princesses tiara, sitting atop wavy blonde hair. Her arms extended with hands open, she appeared to be trying to capture a bubble without bursting it. She was only about 3 to 4 years as I could tell from the picture. Thoughts of the innocence of youth came to my mind. How young children know nothing but to be loved and love as their go from infancy to early childhood.

The near billboard size picture of Nola Ochs in her cap & gown at her graduation ceremony caught my eye. The wrinkles of her age, the grayness in her hair, were almost unnoticeable contrasted against the smile and warmth in her eyes. Her college graduation had to be one of the happiest moments, and biggest accomplishments in her life. She was 95 in 2007 when she graduated.

Seeing both those pictures on the same day, Nola’s at the airport and the young girl’s in the hotel elevator, made me think about the ‘bookends of lives’. How between the wonderment of youth and the wisdom of age many of us tend to wander, discontent, looking for answers, and failing to enjoy the moment. Through expectations others put on us, those put upon ourselves, and everyday responsibility our tendency is look outside ourselves to find happiness when true happiness is within.

The child’s simple view at life and the wisdom of the ages should be directional beacons on how to live our lives; simple, thankful, respectful, caring, hopeful, not wishing you would have done something in life you always wanted to do, regretting time not spend with friends and family, grateful to see another day, and as Leo Buscaglia put it…”living, loving, and learning.”

My challenge is to keep the child alive and learn the lessons of those who have walked before me. Live with love, wonderment, and the wisdom to separate the important from the necessary.

NOTE: You can do a key word search on NOLA OCHS and read about her record breaking accomplishment of being the oldest person to get a college degree. Amazing!! The irony is many of us think life has passed us bye.

Memories

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.” - Kevin Arnold


Have you ever had a moment where out of the blue a memory from the past has come to you mind initiated by an external stimulus?

A song, perfume, cologne? The cool brisk morning temperature reminding you of going to school? Looking at a pile of leaves and remember playing in them? The smell of a turkey cooking and reminders of days when all you family was around?

Instantaneous recall of events which are tied to our senses.

Do you have them? I do, and it seems the memories that come back to me are always good ones. And I wonder if other people are affected the same way. I wonder if we are designed for happiness and our minds ability to recall pleasant events is a way of releasing endorphins to pick our attitudes up and keep our thinking in a positive light.

In a world where are constantly bombarded by negative events in the media, and listen to chronic complaints from others of how bad things are or how mistreated they are our how unfair life is, I believe our mind is trying to tell us that life is good and enjoy the moment. One day, not too far down the road, today will be the past, and that song, smell, or other memory recalling event will trigger a thought….I want that thought to be as good as the one’s I have now.

Focus on staying positive and enjoying NOW! Live…really live!!

Good memories being made watch Rebecca's Volleyball team play well.........

How is He Today?

“The one who understands does not speak; the one who speaks does not understand”
Chinese Proverb


As I was watching Hurricane Ike spin into and begin to ravage the Houston area and our home in Seabrook from a quaint little restaurant and bar in Destin, Florida I couldn't help think about one of Seabrook's residents.

I don't know him, just seen him over the last 12 years since we've moved to Texas back in 1996. He rides his bicycle around town loaded with bags and stuff. He dresses in a heavy wool coat and wears a heavy hat with flaps that fold over the ears, the type a duck hunter would wear. It could be 95 degrees out and you'll still see him dressed with the winter wear. With a grey beard, weather worn face, I'd say he is about 65 years old.

I didn't know his name until I was talking to my daughter about him last night, mentioning I was wondering how he was doing. She knew his name. Slim. Slim somewhat reminds me of a guy who rode a three wheel bike around my hometown of Plainville, Connecticut. His name was Joe, we called him Joe-Joe. (Hope he is still riding his bike.) He often would turn down our street while we were playing baseball or football on the road and he would talk with us.

Nicest guy in the world Joe-Joe. He couldn't drive as he did some mental retardation that limited what he could do. So, as a kid growing up you understood why he rode his trike.

As for Slim, I don't know his situation. I hear he is married with a child and has plenty of money. I hear he will not talk to anyone.

As I wait for news on how bad we were flooded, I think of Slim. I hope he made it out okay. I hope to say hello to him one day. At least I hope to see him on that bike one day soon.