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NavigateRand (Randy) Michael Hart
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We Make Mistakes Monday, December 3, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Mistake Makers! Last week Mrs. Treece and I visited with the 7th grade students through their science classes. We discussed several ideas that would make Sequoyah an improved place to be and then focused on Eight Principles for living a successful life. One of the principles is a characteristic that reminds us that we are human and that our nature is set. Listen to this principle that is founded on an absolute truth.
No person is perfect. We all make mistakes.
Knowing that we all make mistakes is comforting, but it doesn’t keep us from making mistakes. Listen to these simple mistakes. During a softball tournament one September, Mrs. Treece and I were working the concession stand. It was going to be another one of those hot September days that Oklahoma is famous for having. Although the tournament was being held at Mitch Park, we had to stop at the school and load up the candy and soft drinks and get some ice for the day. Looking at the task we decided to fill up one of the big gray trash barrels with ice, (it was brand new and had never been used) and then roll it to the front of the school to fill the four large ice chests. It took about ten minutes to dump scoop after scoop in the trash can. We rolled it out of the kitchen and through the cafeteria and went up the straight ramp towards the front doors. When we got to the top of the ramp, I left Mrs. Treece with it and walked over to lock the doors to the office. I heard a small scream and turned to see that Mrs. Treece had pushed over the big gray barrel of ice. The ice had melted just enough to be extraordinarily slippery. What I saw was ten thousand little ice cubes shooting out and racing across the lobby of the school like a million little marbles. They spread out everywhere. Seeing that Mrs. Treece was okay, I did what was natural at that moment. I laughed, and I laughed hard. After getting myself under control, I helped Mrs. Treece spend the next hour cleaning up all of the ice and water. We were quite late getting to the Mitch Softball Fields. We concluded that pushing ice at the top of the barrel was a mistake, but we recovered. Another mistake dealt with individuals breaking into the school. It occurred over the two week holiday break a few years ago. We had a couple of college guys trying to come through the roof of the school by way of the air conditioning air ducts. They thought they had made it and were dropping into the office area. It was the end of the evening and quite dark in the building. Their calculations were off and they actually dropped into the darkened cafeteria. It was a 14 foot fall to the cafeteria floor. The motion detectors caught the fall and set off the alarms. When the police arrived they found one young man with a broken ankle and another guy with a broken leg. It was a huge mistake that caused them both a great deal of pain. Remember we all make mistakes. Keep them small and learn from them. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Kick the Bad Habit Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Students! One day last week, I wrote a little bit about a person choosing to be critical of others and how that impacts their life. Criticism is a learned behavior and therefore can be removed from a person’s life if they want it to be gone. It can be reversed and unlearned. Criticism is not bad if it is constructive and done in a kind, thoughtful manner. Unfortunately, the negative criticism that individuals spout from a vicious mouth is too frequent and has become easier for some people to use over and over. That kind of criticism is not helpful and instead damages relationships temporarily, and in some cases permanently. Listen to this anonymous quote.
Criticism, like swearing, is actually nothing more than a bad habit.
Criticism is a bad habit. Like all bad habits it can be broken with a little focused effort. When I was a kid I had a teacher tell me that habits can be made if practiced for 60 days. She also told my friends and me that the reverse was true as well. She explained that if we practiced breaking a habit for 60 days, that it would be broken. I have always remembered that because I have tried it before and I know that it is true. Criticism is to a friendship like acid is to battery cables. It eats away at the friendship until it is permanently damaged. The criticism erodes the connection with your friend. And unfortunately the damage and erosion is such that even apologies can’t make it right again. How important are your current friendships? How important are your future friendships? Are they important enough to care for them now? I hope so. The best care you can give friendship is a sense of loyalty. That sense of true loyalty cannot exist with destructive criticism. So you have to remove it. You have to throw it away from your life. Actually it is best if it is never a part of your relationships, but if it is then kick the bad habit and keep your friendships safe from poorly chosen words. I am convinced that marriages and long term friendships start to go bad when criticism becomes a part of the relationship. I also see kids start to lose respect for their parents when their parents spend too much time criticizing them. How can you express loyalty to someone you love when there is habitual criticism? It’s not easy and may not be possible in the long run. So today I encourage you to examine your life and see if you are spending too much time in a criticism pattern. If you are, then I encourage you to kick the bad habit. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Recognize Responsibility Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Cougars! What is responsibility? I have heard my whole life that I need to be responsible. I was told I need responsibility and should learn responsibility. And then I became an educator and was told I needed to teach responsibility and model responsibility. It’s not just for me either. I know as middle school students that adults tell you that you must learn responsibility, too. Your parents expect it. Teachers expect it. Sometimes even your friends want to convince you that you have responsibilities, and they are going to tell you what they are. The word responsibility comes from an Old Latin word that means, “requiring an answer.” The dictionary defines responsibility as the quality of being responsible, answerable, or liable. It is also said to be “dependableness, generally due to good judgment.” The definition that I would like to use is this.
Responsibility is knowing and doing what is expected of me.
The most important idea behind responsibility is that we all have choices and we must answer to what we choose. It doesn’t make any difference if it is a choice with words or actions. The idea of being responsible means that we are going to be accountable for our words and actions to others. So how do we know what is expected of us? Sometimes it is a “rule or norm” that our society dictates. Remember that norms are unwritten rules that we all agree are good. For example, we’re taught as toddlers that we should be kind to others, and that we should share with others, and that we should say thank you when someone gives us something, and that we should listen to what our parents say. All of us learned those four responsibilities by the time we were three years old. Another example, are written responsibilities when we become employed. We know what is expected of us by a job description that will actually list the responsibilities. Your teachers have one, and your principal has one. If we don’t follow our job descriptions then we run the risk of complicating and maybe losing our jobs. For each of us, responsibility is knowing and doing what is expected of us. What should a job description for a student at Sequoyah Middle School list as responsibilities? I challenge you to take some time and write out what should be listed and then hand that list to me in the hallway some time in the next few days. Here’s another question to ponder—what should happen to the student that does not fulfill the responsibilities? With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Responsibility for Words Thursday, December 6, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Fantastic Ones! Do you ever wish you weren’t responsible for your words? Have you ever not been responsible for them? I think that a person could argue that maybe the first year or two of your life someone else is responsible. Parents or siblings taught your initial vocabulary to you, and they obviously should teach you appropriate words, and probably they did so. Once you hit three years old, you more than likely knew what the right words were, as well as, what the words were that would get you in to trouble. Listen to this old proverb. Choose your words carefully. You cannot retrieve them once they leave your mouth.
All of us, at the point we are in our lives, have to accept that we are responsible for everything that comes out of our mouths. Everything we say. Every single word we use. We can’t blame our words on who we hang with, or that we were angry with someone. Even if it is what is termed as a slip of the tongue, we are still responsible. Remember that being responsible is knowing and doing what is expected of us. The expectations can be set by our parents, our friends, rules from the school, or the laws of the land. Being a responsible person means that we are aware of the expectations placed upon what we say and we choose to follow and meet them. Here’s an example. When I was in the 8th grade, I had a physical education class that was an interesting mix of kids. One day we were playing basketball outside (you can play outside just about every day of the year where I grew up) and the coach had gathered us together and told us what the teams were. One of the guys in the class thought the teams were unfair and when the coach finished, the guy felt he needed to express himself verbally. He said, “This is a bunch of (beep)! The coach was looking at his clipboard when the guy made his comment. The coach looked up and wanted to know who said it. None of us spoke up. We all knew who had said the words, but no one told on him. He asked one more time and still no one took responsibility. The coach said, “Okay, no basketball today! You guys start running laps around the athletic field.” All of us ended up running for over a half hour. To this day, I think the coach knew that a lot of us would have a problem with the guy who made the comment for several days because he was responsible for having us run instead of playing basketball. We chose to be mad at the guy until the following week. I encourage you to be careful with what you say because only you are responsible for what words exit your mouth. The consequences of what you say will usually impact others in some way. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Responsibility with Actions Friday, December 7, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Great Ones! Recently, I have written to you about personal responsibility for words and actions. Listen to this lesson I received on being responsible for my actions. It occurred 20 years ago when I was an assistant principal at Cimarron Middle School. I won’t use any real names because it dealt with a student that was in a fight. One afternoon after lunch, I had two seventh grade students brought to me by a lunch duty teacher because they were fighting. They both had thrown punches, although neither student was injured seriously. After they got rid of their anger, we talked things through and I decided that each student needed to be suspended for three days. I called the first boy’s dad and he was on his way up to pick him up. The second student that we will call John Smith asked me to call his mother first. I looked at the information card and asked if her first name was Elizabeth. He said that it was. I tried calling her and there was no answer. Finally, about ten minutes before school was out, I reached his mother. Needless to say she was shocked and she even cried. I told her that instead of coming to get John that I would just put him on the bus. The next morning, a man met me at 7:00 a.m. at my office door. He said that he was John Smith’s father. I asked him to come in. He was angry and it was obvious that he had built the anger over night. He said that when his son got home that he denied getting into a fight. He denied having to sit in my office all afternoon. He continued to deny it until he was sent to bed late. He asked if I called his wife. I told him that I had. He asked, “Was it Elizabeth Smith?” I told him yes. He asked me the telephone number, and after I said it. He said, “Mr. Edwards, that is my telephone number, but you called the parents of the wrong John Smith. You caused havoc and turmoil in my home last night because you called the wrong parents!" He was furious. He was steaming with anger. After a quick check, I was shocked and realized that he was right. Our school had two John Smiths in the 7th grade and unbelievably, they both had mothers with the name Elizabeth Smith. I immediately apologized profusely and asked him to forgive me for the mistake. He continued to yell at me and didn’t want my apology. I asked once again to forgive me and I put my hand out for him and he simply looked down at it and said that I would be hearing from his lawyer. He then walked out of my office slamming the door hard enough that the walls shook. It was the worst mistake I have made as a professional educator and I regretted my actions that created the turmoil and trauma in that family. In that situation, I did my very best to be responsible for my actions; even with them being a huge error. I told the wrong 7th grade John Smith that I was sorry. I wrote a letter of apology to his mother and father and mailed it to them. It took one year for the man to finally forgive me, but that is another story. If you want to know about it, just ask me and I’ll try to tell you.
Listen to this quote from founding father, Benjamin Franklin:
We must have courage enough to own our faults, and resolution enough to mend them.
Even though it is hard when you make a mistake, I encourage you to be responsible and do what is expected of you when the error is brought to your attention. It may be hard to mend things and it may be over a long period of time. In fact, you may never know if you resolved it. But still know and do what is expected of you. Be strong and of good courage when trying to repair situations with friends and others. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Vince LombardiTuesday, November 27, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Encouragers! This last holiday weekend was one of the busiest and best for the sport of football. There were professional games on Thanksgiving Day that had the Packers and the Cowboys winning and gearing up for a showdown this Thursday. Friday found the number one team in college football, Louisiana State University falling in the fourth overtime period to the Razorbacks of the University of Arkansas, and the Texas Longhorns being tripped up by the Aggies of Texas A.& M. and Hawaii won their first Western Athletic Conference title by beating Boise State University. Saturday saw a Border War game, a Bedlam game, and an Iron Bucket game. Sunday topped it off with the National Football League highlighting the undefeated New England Patriots. There was plenty of football for the fanatic. It reminded me of one weekend 30 years ago where I watched a cumulative 42 hours of football. Everyone could enjoy the sport. My love for football goes back to my childhood and one of my favorite books called Run to Daylight by Vince Lombardi. For those of you who don’t know the name, let me share a couple of facts about the man. He did not finish high school because his family needed him to work to support them. He worked and studied late into the evenings to qualify for college at Fordham University where he played football and was part of one of the most famous offensive lines in NCAA history. They were called the Seven Blocks of Granite because when they hit a player it was like being hit by a piece of granite wall. After his playing days were over he was an assistant coach at Fordham and West Point before becoming an assistant head coach with the professional New York Giants. In 1959, he became the head coach for the Green Bay Packers. They never had a losing season under his direction. Green Bay became known as Titletown, U.S.A., while he was there. Streets, schools, and medical centers have been named after him. Every year the best college offensive lineman receives the Lombardi Award. The trophy that the Super Bowl Championship team receives is called the Lombardi Trophy. Vince Lombardi is enshrined in the National Football Hall of Fame, as well. As a person in leadership, he impacted many, many people in his life and influenced many more indirectly, like me. His workmanship style of obtaining success is a model that thousands of coaches and people in leadership roles follow daily. Listen to what he said about personal commitment.
The quality of a person’s life has got to be a full measure of that person’s personal commitment to excellence and victory, regardless of what field he or she may be in.
What he suggests in this quote is that your pursuit of excellence and victory is anchored to your measure of personal commitment. If you have a strong desire and commitment to succeed, you will find success. There is a difference between a team commitment and a personal commitment. The personal commitment means that you are going to hold yourself responsible as an individual for the commitment. It means that the personal commitment comes about because you chose to make it and keep it. Your choice is the difference. The right of choice is powerful. The quality of your life depends on your choices. I hope that all of the students of Sequoyah Middle School realize that. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Quirks Are NothingWednesday, November 28, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Patient Ones! We all have little quirks in our lives. That is not a disease or a special type of pimple or acne. It’s not a kind of pet or bug. It’s not a weird cousin from out of town or a neighbor that whistles show tunes badly. What is a quirk? Quirks are peculiar little behaviors that humans have. We all have them. Here’s an example. When I was a kid living at home, we had assigned seats at the dinner table. My brother, Mike, would always sit to my right. He was constantly getting on to me about my leg bouncing up and down. It was usually like a motor was attached and I am sure to Mike it was like sitting next to a jackhammer. Every once in awhile he would grab my knee and force it to be still. And I really did try to stop doing that bouncing, but it was a nervous habit that I still have to this day. Another quirk that I have is tapping a pen on the surface of a table. I don’t even think about doing it, it just happens. I was at a workshop for educators one time with eight teachers from Sequoyah. I had the pen in my hand going just tapping away, and apparently had been doing it for some time, when a teacher from this school reached over and grabbed my hand, and forced it to the table. She said, “Jeff, please! You’re driving me crazy with that continuous tapping!” Needless to say I tried exceptionally hard not to tap any more. Some people jangle coins in their pocket or they shake keys in a nervous habit. Some people like to whistle or hum. My wife, Susan, likes to half sing and half hum while she is working. But she doesn’t sing completely aloud. It’s kind of between a whisper, a hum, a breath, and a normal sound. It would be easy to let that disturb me and I could choose to go nuts! But since I do have the ability to choose, I don’t let it get to me. I have at times asked her to actually sing aloud rather than halfway, but she usually goes with what is habit for her. Quirks are part of us. I remember watching an “I Love Lucy” episode where they focused on the quirks that Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel had and how they responded to each other. It was a hilarious show where they were at each other’s throats with craziness. But they soon recognized that the behaviors were just a part of the people that they loved. They realized that when they accepted each other, that was with the little quirks, too. Again, remember that we all have quirks. How should we respond to others? Listen to this anonymous comment.
To be human is to have quirks. You can continue to be critical and/or bothered by the little quirks, or you can choose to see the innocence and humor in the quirks.
Will you choose to see the quirks for what they are? Will you see the innocence? Will you find the humor in the quirks? I encourage you to do so. I challenge you not to let the quirks bother you. Make that choice! With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Defend the Absent PersonThursday, November 29, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Stupendous Ones! Have you ever decided to tell someone about another person just because you thought it was interesting news? Have you ever done it because you wanted to cause problems for another person or create havoc in someone’s life? Or maybe it was because it was just juicy information that caused some excitement. Regardless of what your motive was it still said a great deal about what type of person you want to be known as. Most of us view that kind of behavior as inappropriate, although all of us have probably been caught up in it at some time in our lives. Those people who regularly criticize someone behind that person’s back are called two-faced people. How do we make sure that we are not part of unfair critical gossip? First and foremost, we have to decide that we are going to defend the people who are not present in conversations that we are involved in with another person. If we are part of a group and they are talking about another person negatively who is absent from the group, we should step up and defend that person in their absence. It doesn’t mean that we are going to get into a fight with anyone; it just means that we will verbally stand up for the other person. We should make sure that people are treated fairly especially when they aren’t around to defend themselves. Listen to this statement.
When you talk behind someone’s back, it says far less about the person you are discussing than it does about your own character, about your need to be critical.
What message does this statement express? It says that we are telling more about ourselves when we talk about other people than what we are actually saying about the people. The old phrase actions speak louder than words works here as well. Our actions and behavior of being critical of others behind their backs says volumes about us. And if we criticize others regularly, then our behavior is really screaming who we are, and I promise you the message is not positive. Don’t put yourself in the position to be called two faced. It doesn’t mean that we can’t offer a friend some constructive criticism. But if that is my intent, then I do that in a private conversation, speaking with compassion in a face to face meeting with that specific friend. Can you control what you say? Will you make the choice to be sensible and cautious about being critical? I hope so. In fact, I encourage you to choose positive healthy words when speaking. That also says volumes about a person. Choose to defend the person that is absent. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Happiest People on EarthFriday, November 30, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Cougars! Who is the happiest person you know? Is there someone that appears happy most of the time? Do you think that his or her life must be the greatest because of the happiness that you see? Happiness is a choice; it is a conscious decision to be happy. When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a friend named Christy Brock. She was a beautiful girl with a wonderful attitude and an exceptional smile. Every one liked Christy. She earned high grades, was a vocal music star and was an enthusiastic cheerleader for the school. She was someone we all wanted to sit next to in class because she conversed with everyone easily. Without a doubt we all believed that Christy was the happiest person we knew. She had a super complexion and short, sassy blonde hair. She was generous with her smiles and greetings. At times, we joked about her being the happiest person in the school. We even nicknamed her “Happy.” She loved it. One day during the spring, we saw Christy coming down the hall with her girlfriends surrounding her. She was crying and they were trying to comfort her. We asked what was going on and one of the girls told us that she was sick and give her some space. By the end of the day we knew that Christy wasn’t sick, but that her older brother had been seriously wounded in Viet Nam. It was very upsetting to her and her family. Most of us had known a person or two that had been wounded or lost their life in the war in Southeast Asia. Christy was down and depressed for several days. She tried to get herself on the right track of being happy several times those last few weeks of school. It was tough and we could tell the difference in her from one day to the next. Her brother came home during the summer and he was going to have a long road to recovery. By the fall he was gradually improving and she was getting much closer to being “Happy” again. Things continued to improve all year and her down moods eventually disappeared. By our senior year, she was completely back to her old self. She was voted the Homecoming Queen that year and needless to say we all voted her the happiest senior in our graduation activities. Listen to this quote.
The happiest people on earth all have their fair share of low moods, problems, disappointments, and heartache.
Why this story about my friend? Because I wanted to remind you that even the happiest people suffer setbacks that are difficult to handle at times. They choose to work their way through it. Happy people choose to get out of the low mood. They choose to solve the problem and get over the disappointment. Happy people choose to recognize the reality of heartache and choose to carry on with life. I encourage you to choose happiness in your life. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Stories Are the Food of the HeartMonday, November 12, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Story Makers! What’s your story? Our lives are made up of hundreds of stories. Here’s one of my many stories. Once upon a time, I was on a drive-about with my father. Drive-abouts are something that we have been doing for the last twenty years, but not recently. In fact it has been two years since the last one. Any way, on this particular drive-about, we were in northern California. We had been driving on the back-roads of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest for a couple of days. We came to a very small town named Weaverville. We had lost track of time and didn’t realize that it was the morning of the Fourth of July. Weaverville was a one street town and that street happened to be State Highway 299. The back-road that we were coming off of ended at the highway. Although there were hundreds of people around in red, white, and blue, I didn’t think anything about it until I had made a right turn onto SH 299. As soon as we were driving east on it, Dad asked me what was going on and I realized that my turn had put us in an Independence Day parade. I was shocked at first, but after I understood and explained it, I told my father, “Roll the window down, smile, and wave at everyone.” We both did just that. We acted like we knew what we doing and that we were supposed to be in the parade. I drove about a half mile at 5 miles per hour waving and smiling at strangers. Guess what? They waved and smiled back. We were behind a float with Cub Scouts on it and there were kids with decorated Patriotic bicycles behind us. To be honest, it was kind of fun, but the first chance we got, I pulled out of the parade and we got out of town. We laughed about it the rest of our trip and loved telling the family about it. Now, I tell you this true story because our stories are important to us and to the people who know us. The following quote explains it a little better. Listen carefully to it.
Our stories tell us who we are, why we are here, and what we are to do.
Do you tell your stories? Do you write them down for yourself and the family that you have now or the ones that you will have a generation from today? You should do so and, if you’re not, I challenge you to start it. I now know what to do if I turn into another parade and so do you: Act natural, smile great, and wave to the crowd. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Maintain Control Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Amazing-Ones! Do you think that you have good self-control? Can you maintain your composure when everything else within you wants to give in and fight because of a bad comment or a dirty look? Self-control is a key to being successful, and in some circumstances it leads to greatness. There was a man in the last century that was given the chance to change the world of sports in 1945. His name was Jack Roosevelt Robinson. We know him as Jackie Robinson. He was a great ball player for the Kansas City Monarchs. His skills were phenomenal. He was a remarkable fielder, a fantastic base runner, and an amazing batter at the plate. He physical gifts and talents were recognized by Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, as being the right person for the right task in the right time. No black ball players had played continuously in the major leagues prior to 1945. It wasn’t because they weren’t good enough athletes. In fact, there were hundreds of athletes in the Negro Leagues that could have played in the majors, but the doors were kept closed. It was because the people in power, the owners, did not want the league to be integrated. It was going to take an individual that was stronger and superior psychologically than anyone had had to be to date. He would have to exhibit more self-control than most people could ever hold. Jackie Robinson was the right person. Branch Rickey asked him only one question before signing him to a contract. Listen carefully to it. Do you have the guts to not fight back?
Jackie Robinson answered it yes and then showed the world just how strong a person he was. Over the next couple of seasons he was called names, threatened, spit at, and cursed. He had popcorn thrown on him. Drinks were slung at him and people would boo him only because of the color of his skin. He was pushed, stepped on and tripped. Through all of this, he maintained his composure. He kept his self control in check. He wanted to hit back. He wanted to say something in response, but he showed history and all future generations that he had the guts to not fight back. He let his fielding, hitting and winning demonstrate what a great man he was. He was a genuine hero to many people in our country. Even though his career was over when I was kid, he was a hero to me. What did Jackie Robinson’s example teach all of you and me? He taught us that we can and have to respond to that question the same way. Do we have the guts to not fight back when someone is trying to get us to lose our self-control? Can we maintain our composure? Will we try to keep our calm? We can choose to answer the question with an emphatic—YES! I encourage everyone to read The Jackie Robinson Story. It will open your eyes to the real issues of life and how to win. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Do the Right Thing Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Kiddos! How many times in a life does a person have to weigh a decision between doing the right thing and choosing something less than that? Is ten thousand times enough? What about a hundred thousand? Could it be a million times? Well, it could be any number of times that the opportunity for a decision comes up, but you really only need to make the decision once to do the right thing. After that you just have to make sure that you stick to that decision. You have to decide that you are always going to do the right thing. That has to be your intent. It doesn’t mean that you or I won’t fail once in awhile in doing right, but it does mean that our will is to choose to do the right thing. I have told you in letters over the last couple of years that my father was a stickler for always choosing to do the right thing. The summer before my sixth grade year I spent mostly outside. One beautiful day, my friend, Rusty, asked if I could come over and practice casting with his fishing rod and reel. We both enjoyed the challenge of casting lead weights across the street into a trashcan that we would put in the center of the neighbor’s yard. We would watch for the traffic and when all was clear, we cast the weight across the street; then we would reel it back in. On one particular cast I missed the trashcan and the weight got caught in a shrub. I pulled on it and pulled on it, but could not gain a release. Rusty took it and with his imagination said he wasn’t letting “the big one” get away. He pulled and the rod bent over and was bowed like a rainbow. He pulled and pulled and yelled for me to help him. So the two of us were pulling with all of our might. All of a sudden, we’re dropping backwards and something went flying by us like a missile. It was the lead weight. It hit Rusty’s parents’ window at rocket speed and pierced it cleanly. We got up off of the ground and looked back at the window and saw the fishing line going into the house through that little, perfectly round hole in the window. At that moment, we did what we did best in those days. We ran! We ran down the street and around the corner. After awhile we returned to find the fishing rod and reel gone. The accidental hole about the size of a quarter was still there, but the line was gone. I looked over at my house and saw my father in the driveway. He just stood there and waited for Rusty and me to walk over to my house. We eventually got the courage to do just that. We stood there in front of him. Finally Dad said, “You boys need to do the right thing.” We both knew that meant we had to go talk to Rusty’s parents. We knew we had to apologize. We knew we had to offer to pay for the window. And we knew that we had to accept what ever other consequences were dished out to us. My Dad told me many, many times during my childhood the quote for today.
Do the right thing. – Dean Edwards
With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Who Moved My Cheese? Thursday, November 15, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Magnificent Ones! Over the last nine years I have written letters to students that discuss the many changes in life. Change is one of the only three things that are certain in life. The other two are: we are born and that we someday, at an appointed time, die. Of all the changes that happen in life, the most obvious change is in us. We are not the same people from one day to the next. We can’t stop change from happening. Some things that change are looped. That means that the change returns or shows up again with a new age group. Bell-bottom pants have surfaced many times. Skate boarding has been here, left, and returned again. The hula-hoop, yo-yo, and slinky are examples toys that come and go. The point is that some change impacts us very little and is only recognized as a fad, not a trend. A fad is a short-term change and a trend is a long-term, near-permanent change. A kid wanting a talking Elmo is a fad; tight security at airports is a trend. There is also the change that is actually considered permanent. Listen to these words of wisdom that come from a very popular book from the last five years called Who Moved My Cheese?
Sometimes things change and they are never the same again.
Can you think of some things that have changed so that they are never the same again? I can. I remember when you could walk onto an airline without any one stopping you except to give you a hug goodbye. I remember when prices of things seemed much more reasonable. I remember gasoline at 23 cents a gallon. Pennies really did purchase things. Once there weren’t things such as traffic jams or shopping malls. A vacation meant going to your grandparent’s house, or an aunt and uncle’s house for a week. I remember when no one ever wore jeans to church, or a wedding, or a funeral because it was inappropriate attire. I remember when the word “respect” meant something to everyone involved with our country. When you leave middle school, you will never be middle school students again. You may find yourself working with middle school students one day, but your chance to be a student is now and only now. You are changing during your three years here and you will never be the same again. Are you changing so that your life will become better or are you changing so that you are making your future more difficult? Think about the quote. Sometimes things change and they are never the same again. I encourage you pay attention to the changes in your life. Control what you can! With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Give Your Best Monday, November 19, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Students! I hope you had a great three day weekend! Now you just have to focus on a two day school week and then you get another long weekend! But first consider a question I have. Have you ever heard the following phrase attached to a great athlete? Listen to these two words, “franchise player.” A franchise player is not an athlete that makes money for the franchise necessarily, although that might be a benefit. An athlete determined to be a “franchise player” is one that lifts the level of performance of everyone because he will give his all to the team. A franchise player’s performance lifts or elevates everyone else’s performance level. Examples of franchise players in sports history are Michael Jordan in basketball, John Elway in football, Wayne Gretsky in hockey, and Derek Jeter in baseball. Listen carefully to these words from Harvey Firestone.
You get the best out others when you give the best of yourself.
Is it important for you to give your best in your schooling? What kind of education do you obtain when you are consistently willing to give your best? Does it make a difference if the teachers are giving you their best? When students give their best to other students and teachers, they can make more friends and be successful in all relationships, and when teachers give their best to other teachers and students they are able to inspire students and have a better work environment. I know there are a number of examples of individuals in our school where when the students give their best; they end up drawing the best out of others. How surprised would we find ourselves if a friend said that she did her best because of how well we performed an assigned task? Being a franchise player has to do with more than performance, it also has to do with attitude. For example, responding to “mean” actions with “mean” actions only creates more animosity. If you give the best of yourself in kindness and consideration, then the potential is present to receive kindness and consideration in return. Giving the best of your self is a practice that guarantees a better school and a better world. So based on the quotation from Harvey Firestone, I ask you this question. Are you a “franchise player” here at Sequoyah Middle School? If you are, then thank you. If you are not, then why aren’t you? With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
It’s the Real Thing Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Great Thinkers! Do you know what company has advertised its product over the last five decades as “the real thing?” If you guessed Coca-Cola, you’re right. What does “the real thing” mean? Probably it’s an understanding that it’s not something you would consider fake or false. For example, we know that Godzilla attacking New York City is not the real thing. We know that a giant spaceship will not be landing on the Mall in Washington, D. C. anytime soon. We know just because we see it in a movie that it doesn’t make it “the real thing.” We know that the Matrix and Neo are not “the real things.” We know that none of our cars are going to transform into Autobots. And we also know that there is no such place called Hogwarts, nor will there be any hobbits saving our world. If we are honest with ourselves and the people around us, we do know that the life that we have is the real thing. We all have our own reality show, but we need to keep an important fact in mind. We aren’t actors. We are residents of a 100 year old state living in a real world. We are citizens of the United States experiencing the real thing. Listen to this quote from Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, former Governor of the state of Arkansas.
Life is not a dress rehearsal. This is the real thing. We make choices that have consequences for a lifetime.
Although William Shakespeare told us that the whole world is a stage, we aren’t actors playing roles. We are people living life, hopefully doing the best we can. The second part of Huckabee’s quote is a reminder that we can’t escape consequences. Here’s a very simple example: we may think that if a teacher doesn’t assign us detention when we’re tardy that we got away with not being prompt. The reality is that we may decide that promptness is not important and find ourselves living with that attitude and then someday, we will be late and a supervisor will fire us. It’s the real thing. A person may make a choice that permanently expresses a consequence. I know a couple of former Sequoyah students that have made a choice that put them in prison for the remainder of their lives without parole. They will never walk free in America again because of a choice they made. They have a lot of life left, but they will experience it behind iron bars. It’s the real thing. So keep mindful that you are not in a dress rehearsal for something later on. You are in the midst of the real thing. I strongly encourage you to make choices that provide you with good, positive, beneficial consequences. Remember they are consequences for a lifetime. It’s the real thing. With something I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life—or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Gym Candy Monday, November 05, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Amazing Ones! I read a really good book last week that I want to share with you by writing about it. Carl Deuker is an author who has written several books on sports and athletic issues in high schools. Last year he had his novel Runner on the Sequoyah Masterlist for Young Adult Books. His latest piece of fiction is titled Gym Candy. It deals with an issue that has been in the news for several years now with all sports, amateur and professional, competitive and recreational. The issue is steroid use by athletes to enhance and improve their performances beyond what their body is able to do naturally. In Gym Candy, an underclassman athlete tries to compete for a starting running back position on a talented high school varsity football team. The story is set in the state of Washington and Mike Johnson is the protagonist that feels the pressure to cheat by taking steroids. His father was a football super star in high school and then with the University of Washington before being drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Mike finds out during the steroid transition that his father had lied to him about his career ending injury with the Chargers. The reader can see that Mike’s initial decision to use steroids in a pill form was a slow process that began with interest and turned into a real temptation. In a short period of time he decides to start getting injections in his hip because the response of the illegal juice is quicker. His performance does improve like expected, but the side effects are real and ugly. Actually, they are kind of frightening. The physical aspect was considerable. Besides the added strength, there was horrible, unbelievable acne on his back and there were negative changes that were unnatural to his body as well. The psychological impact is that he is borderline out of control with the rage. It continues until there is a dramatic, unexpected ending to the story. Even if it wasn’t illegal, it was unethical to use steroids because it was cheating. He outperformed others on his team, but he cheated to do so. He received an unfair advantage by using a dangerous substance. He was putting his own life and future at risk. Remember, we all have a personal responsibility to ourselves. We need to be wise about that. With the gift of only one life and one life only, we should all keep conscious awareness of caring for our life, even in the details. Mike, the guy in the story finally remembers that, but how late is his recognition of it? Check the book out to see if it was too late. Listen to these words from author Alex Haley.
You have to deal with the fact that your life is your life.
As a middle school student each day do you deal with the fact that your life is your life? My hope is that you stay aware of it every day. One other point is that the book has one of the best covers I have ever seen for a sports related work of fiction. You need to at least take a look at it. With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Swimming in Poison Oak Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Spectaculars! I used to love camping when I was kid. We really enjoyed it the most when we were old enough to go out to the woods or to the beach without the direct supervision of adults, specifically, my parents. Now what age would you guess that to be? Times have changed and it is not as safe as it used to be. I really believe that! Because we were camping without adults along when I was 12 years old. If parents allowed that to happen now, I am sure that someone would be in trouble. My friends and I would go camping three or four times a year without parents, and we did so until we graduated from high school. Many times we would go to Mt. Figueroa, or Refugio Beach, or Lago Lopez. There were many different occasions that we could have caused problems for ourselves, but we survived every situation. One time when I was 13, we went to Oso Flaco Lake. Ask your Spanish teachers what “Oso Flaco” means in English. Anyway this was a fresh water lake that was separated from the ocean with about a half-mile of huge sand dunes. Some of the dunes were 150 feet high. We could, with some difficulty, hike to the beach and swim in the ocean and we did so the first afternoon. By the next day though, we were ready to stick near the lake and swim in fresh water. We found one spot that became an afternoon favorite because a tree had fallen into the lake and we could swim under the downed limbs and also walk up and down the trunk of the tree. There were few stray branches and also some weird vines, but we pulled those away or used a small hatchet to cut them clear. The fresh water was wonderful to be in and we loved climbing on the half-submerged tree. We were causing a major problem for ourselves but didn’t realize it until about 12 hours later. What was the problem? The tree had been over grown with poison oak, cousin to poison ivy. We weren’t paying any attention to that fact because it was mostly underwater. We started noticing some problems during the night, but it wasn’t until the next morning when my friend, Matt Sabin’s eyes were swollen shut—that we knew how big the problem was. It was much more than just an itching difficulty. We all had swelling in different parts of our bodies. A family at the next campsite over drove my brother into the nearest town, Guadalupe. He called my dad from a gas station and help arrived shortly afterwards. The adults took most of us to the hospital emergency room. My parents said that we looked like someone had taken baseball bats to us because of all the weird swelling. We were in a situation that needed medical help to resolve it. It wasn’t instantly fixed; we lived with it for over a week before any of us felt well. Listen to these words of wisdom from religious leader, Dr. Robert Schuller.
When you can’t solve the problem, manage it.
With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
No Coincidence in Timing Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Time Travelers! Listen to these sentences that sixth grade student, Trinity Aragon-Burton shared with me last week. Timing is not coincidence.
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow and learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real, but only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind, but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being part of each other’s lives, whether you are a reason, a season or a lifetime.
With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Snoopy’s InfluenceThursday, November 8, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Peanuts! One of the most popular comic strips of all time, if not the most popular was written by Charles Schulz and called Peanuts. With his death 7 years ago the strip has not been added to, it has only been reprinted by permission of his estate. If you have read the comic strip, have you ever questioned why it is called Peanuts? There is no character named Peanuts. They never talk about the peanuts as a food. Here’s the answer. When Charles Schulz was trying to sell the idea of a comic strip about kids he called it Li’l Folk. It was very near a title by another more established cartoonist called Little Folk. In fact, the lawyers said that it would have been a copyright infringement. So the syndicate that owned Schulz’s distribution rights was a big fan of The Howdy Doody Show. The kids that sat in the audience on the stage were called the Peanut Gallery, and the character Chief Thunderthud always greeted the kids with “How Peanuts!” So although Charles Schulz hated the name Peanuts for his strip, that’s what the syndicate went with as a title. Charles Schulz never learned to like the name. He accepted the fame and the monetary success, but always regretted the tag that was stuck on his comic strip. Another bit of trivia about the Charlie Brown gang that not everyone knows is that Snoopy was not his first choice for the name of the dog. He had written the first several weeks of the strip with the boy’s dog named Sniffy, but again a legal obstacle came up when just days before his publication another strip introduced a dog named Sniffy. In the crunch he had to come up with another name for his future lovable character. While he reflected about it, he recalled one of the last conversations he had with his mother before she died of cancer. Ten years before, while she was heavily medicated with morphine, she had said to her son, “We need to name our next dog, Snupi.” Her word “snupi” is a Norwegian term of endearment that was usually used when referring to small children. Charles Schulz took and changed the spelling to what it is and the rest is history. Maybe only Mickey Mouse is a more famous cartoon character around the world. Charles Schulz drew almost 18,000 Peanuts comic strips. He created one a day for almost 50 years. It was a process of dedication. Of all the characters in the Peanuts gang, Snoopy has been my favorite. He has been many different creations in his own mind, like a World War I flying ace, or a scout leader of a bunch of little birds, or world famous ice skater. His impersonation that I have always liked best is “Joe Cool” hanging out at the student union. Schulz did not give Snoopy a voice; instead he gave the readers the ability to read Snoopy’s thoughts by putting them in a comment bubble. There are several posters of Snoopy hanging around the school. Do you know where the poster is that has these words from Snoopy’s mind?
“A GOOD BOOK IS A GOOD FRIEND!”
It is a wise thought from Snoopy. A very well written new biography that I encourage you to consider reading is Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis. It is an honest portrayal of who Charles Schulz was and how he became the person that created a billion dollar comic strip and character product-empire based upon Peanuts. I challenge you to read a good book and make another good friend! With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely. Savor Something Friday, November 09, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Fantastics! What do you enjoy doing the most, especially the thing you enjoy doing because you don’t get to do it very often? For me over the last thirty years it has been being with my parents. I usually get to see them once a year, and if I am fortunate, I see them twice in one year. They are much older and not in the best health now and have not traveled to Oklahoma since 2000. For example, this year I saw them in March when my father had surgery, but won’t get a chance to be with them again until late December, after Christmas. So when I am with them I savor the moments and the time together. It has changed a little bit over the last several years. Now besides my parents, I add to it the savoring of time with my adult children. They left home for college at the turn of the century, and live on their own in other homes. So the times and moments I share with them are important to me also. I savor my family relationships. Do you know what savoring is? Listen to this definition that Michael Yaconelli uses in his book Dangerous Wonders: The Adventures of Childlike Faith. He says:
Savoring is the lost art of cherishing, appreciating, relishing.
So what do you savor? Why do you savor it? Yaconelli goes on to say that when you and I stop and savor a particular thing or activity or person in life, we soak it in; we listen and learn with all of our senses. We immerse ourselves in what we are savoring. Savoring is a very important part of life that I think that most people are missing. When you don’t learn to savor moments or experiences or people you love, you are cheating yourself out of the best that life can be. There are three rules about savoring. One is that it takes time. We have to be deliberate about it and be prepared to devote additional time to enjoying the sensation of savoring. Two is that savoring requires full attention. We need to be focused on what is occurring and what we are allowing to saturate our lives at that moment. Third, savoring utilizes all of us. If for example, we immerse ourselves in water, we are completely surrounded by it. Likewise, when we immerse ourselves by savoring something, we are completely surrounded by that moment or experience. I encourage you to take the time to savor life. You can savor a friendship. You can savor an experience. You can savor a once in a lifetime event. So I ask you again, what do you savor? And why do you savor it? With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Gum Got Me Monday, October 29, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Cougars! Listen with attentiveness to this story about another one of my first grade experiences. It happened on a hot, muggy morning in October 1962. I arrived to school by bus, set my Roy Rogers’ lunch pail down by the classroom door, and immediately went to the playground to get in a few fast and furious minutes of play. Huston Elementary School had all outside classroom doors, so my stuff was better there than on the playground with me. I got me a swing and was having fun when my friend Ricky came up and wanted a turn swinging. I wasn’t willing to share at the time so he quickly offered me a piece of gum for a turn. It seemed to be a great trade, so in the next moment, Ricky is swinging like crazy and I am leaning against a pole chomping on a big piece of bubble gum. The school bell shattered the enjoyable episode for both of us. I shouted something like, “Last one to Mrs. Dixon’s class is a great big yellow toad-sucker!” We blasted off at full speed and passed everyone and made it to the door at the same time. We argued who was first and got our stuff and went into the classroom. I put my lunch pail into a cubbyhole and went to my desk. As soon as my classmates were at their desks Mrs. Dixon told everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I placed my six-year-old right hand over my heart and began with everyone else. But after just a couple of words I recognized I was having a tough time saying the words because I had wad of bubble gum in my mouth still. I realized that if I got caught chewing gum I would be in big trouble. So since I was sitting in the back seat of the middle row I was able to take it out of my mouth and place it in my chair seat. I finished the pledge and then as a class we sang “America the Beautiful.” During that time I saw that Gary Cook, who sat next to me was absent, so as I sat down, I transferred the gum from my seat to his. I knew at that point I only needed to deliver it to the trashcan at an appropriate time. We got busy with our lessons and did things like write our spelling words ten times each, and take turns reading to the teacher in small groups. After a couple of hours, Mrs. Dixon said, “Okay, boys and girls, it’s time for your morning recess. Play nice.” I was off like a jackrabbit racing to the playground with the hope of getting a swing first. As I remember most of my recesses, I had a good time with my friends for that fifteen minutes of freedom from lessons and the teacher. When it was over we walked back into the classroom and took our seats at our desks. I looked over and saw that Gary had finally arrived to school. It was at that moment that I remembered the bubble gum in his desk chair. I wondered if it had just suddenly disappeared or could Gary by chance be sitting on it. Now it was hot outside, but as a first grade student I didn’t realize that body heat was a whopping 98 degrees by itself. In a matter of minutes, Gary noticed he had gum smeared and stuck all over his rear. Mrs. Dixon wanted to know who had put bubble gum in Gary’s seat. No one had to respond because I had turned a bright candy-apple red. When she asked, “Jeff, did you do it?” I started blubbering about it being an accident. As much as Mrs. Dixon liked me, she didn’t believe that I had not done the deed on purpose. She took Gary to the sink and worked at getting the gum off his jeans, and then she returned him to my desk and made me sit on the floor at the back of the room until lunch. I cried quite a bit during the 60-minute stretch and watched all of my friends leave the room to go to lunch. I continued to sit on the floor and eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then Mrs. Dixon gave me an old butter knife and a piece of finger-painting shirt and had me clean Gary’s chair. I had to scrape all of the gum off, and the whole time I cried. I cried because I knew that I had disappointed my teacher, and she was the only person I had called “Teacher” to that point in my life. What did I learn? I learned that Mrs. Dixon’s rules were a good idea. I learned that I should have shared the swing without bargaining for the gum. I learned that I needed to follow through on things, such as throwing the gum away at an appropriate time. I learned that Gary Cook could show up at any time. I learned that the human body could melt gum and make it a mess. I learned that I didn’t like to disappoint people that I cared about and that cared about me. I have been meaning to tell this story for years to Sequoyah students in a letter, but I haven’t sensed the right time. Now I do. I need everyone’s help. I need students in the building to follow a simple rule. Please don’t bring gum into the building. Please don’t chew gum on campus. The rule is for everyone, but it exists because of a few. What do I mean by that? Well, that’s simple, too. Ninety-nine percent of the students in the building will chew and throw it in the trash when they are finished. The 1% that purposely drop it on the floor or stick it to the bottom of the desk or throw it on the sidewalk have created the need for our rule. The problem I had in first grade was because I didn’t throw the bubble gum in the trash. Even at 52 years old, I still love bubble gum. But I never chew gum at Sequoyah. The rule isn’t a teacher or principal rule. It is a rule for students. I choose not to chew gum at Sequoyah out of respect for the students and the restriction you have. Listen to these anonymous words:
People that respect themselves will always respect rules made for a good reason.
Again, I ask for your help. Please keep our school clean by leaving gum outside it and off the campus. I will continue to do so. With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Be Truthful—Always Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Good day, Sequoyah Truthful Ones! I don’t remember stealing much in my life, but I do remember the first time I took something without paying for it. I want to tell you about the first time that I stole something. I was just five years old and it was a daylight robbery. My mom had parked the car in front of the dime store in Blackwell, Oklahoma. In 1960, there was no Wal-Mart or Target or Kmart in existence. But there were dime stores. In those days, it was also safe for parents to leave a child in the car for a few minutes, especially with a big brother. So while my mom went into the store, we sat in the car. After a couple of minutes, I left the car and ran into the store and took a grape bubble gum ball from the candy section, and ran back out to the car. As soon as I was back in the back seat, I popped it into my mouth and was enjoying that great grape sugary taste. It was fantastic and was even more enjoyable because I had it and my brothers and sister did not. The flavor was so wonderful that I didn’t even think about the fact that I did not pay for it. When my mother came out I was chomping on the gum and even drooling a little bit of the juice down my chin. Her first words are common among moms around little kids. She said, “What do you have in your mouth?” My pleasure of the gum ended immediately. She asked where I got the gum. Before I could answer, my brother Mike spoke up quickly and said, “Jeff took it from the store.” Seconds later, I was being held by one arm in the dime store by my mother and she wanted the clerk to talk to me about stealing. After that, she made me apologize and give the man a penny. Then I got my rear end spanked. That was the first time that my mom told me to follow this rule. Listen to these three words: Be truthful—always! For the next 14 years, until I left home, she reinforced the idea that I needed to choose to be truthful always. She meant for me not to lie, not to steal, and not to cheat. She wanted me to be truthful in all areas of my life. I have tried to follow her lesson, her rule for the last forty-seven years. I choose to be truthful. I challenge you to choose that route as well. Be truthful always! With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Control Your Temper Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Good day, Sequoyah Outstanding Ones!! My brother, Mike and I shared a room when we were growing up. I can say that most of the time we were best friends. So much so that we went to the same college and shared an apartment. There were a few times that we disagreed and argued, and then there were even fewer times that we got into a fight. It usually meant we wrestled it out on the floor or in the front yard. We never hurt each other seriously, although the anger became outrageous at times. My brother tried to control his temper by hitting an inanimate object. So the bed, or fence, or counter, or wall was always in danger when Mike chose to get mad. One time we argued about who was going to clean up a mess in the bedroom. It was probably mostly mine, but I thought he should help since the room was his, too. He disagreed. We pushed each other, then we wrestled a bit, then Mike got up and said in a rage, “It’s your mess and I want you to clean it up!” To reinforce his statement, he slammed his fist into the wall. This time was the only time where it went through the wall. All of a sudden the anger was gone, his and mine, because now we knew we were going to be in trouble with our father. We immediately started thinking about a solution. We went from arguing and Jeff vs. Mike, to being a team and trying to find a way out of the new predicament. What would you do if you put a hole in the wall unintentionally? Most of you would do the same thing that Mike and I did. You cover it up. You hide it. We found my little brother’s two feet by three feet chalkboard and hung it up to cover the hole. It did a great job except it was set too low. The chalkboard tray was about eighteen inches from the floor. It was too low, but we were never asked about it. And in fact we forgot about it most of the time. That happened in 1970 when I was in the 8th grade. It stayed that way for years. We left to go to college and when we moved out Dad decided to remodel that part of the house. That was the first time he had seen the hole in the wall. Needless to say we had to explain things over the telephone. The point of this story is how does a person deal with anger? How do they control rage? Rage is dangerous when it is left unchecked. Listen to this quote.
People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.
Remember that even how a person deals with rage and anger is still a choice. We don’t have to hit something or scream at someone, we can make other choices that help us control the situation. With words that I would like you to consider and reflect upon, make yours an exceptional life – or not. The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose. Please choose wisely.
Love Knows No Season Thursday, November 1, 2007 Good day, Sequoyah Kiddos!! Do you ever wonder how many songs have been written about relationships? Specifically, love relationships? In my lifetime alone, there must be fifty thousand or so. They are written logically, but at the same time they have a message from the heart. They say things like, “I can’t live if living is without you,” or “tie a yellow ribbon around that old oak tree,” or “you are my everything,” or “When I need you, I just close my eyes and I’m with you.” They remind us who we love and why we love a person. They are written about girlfriends and boyfriends, about mothers and fathers, about soldiers and heroes, and about “butterfly kisses.” There are so many love songs that we could listen to a different song, one after another, around the clock and never listen to the same song in years. Why do we have so many songs on the subject? It’s because the issue of loving one another is so important in our lives. It’s because love is the one trait that we have to have. We all need to be loved and our desire is to love others. Does love really have an impact on us? An unloved baby will become sickly and possibly die. A baby held by an elderly person will generate |
