PAY IT FORWARD TO THE KIDS OF HAITI

I am the part-time retail manager at 3 & 2 Youth Baseball in Johnson County Kansas a non-profit little league organization.  My wife and I help sell the tournament t-shirts at each event during the summer to help support the organization.   At the end of each tournament there are often a number of t-shirts left shirts, as many as 75 to 100.  Frequently they are sold the following weeks for a discount.  However, my son came up with this idea of paying it forward rather than selling the shirts at or below cost.  He said, “why not give them to someone that could really benefit and appreciate a new t-shirt.  Why not give them to the kids in Haiti.”    So here is his idea.  We put up a donation jar asking people for a donation.  They put money in the jar and for every shirt they covered our cost we mailed the shirt to Haiti.  However, if we could find a local charity to give the shirts we could save the postage and give even more shirts.  

What is it that you resent, regret and appreciate from your past

RESENT, APPRECIATED & REGRETED.

Resentment is running through my veins as I continue to think of the betrayal of what I thought was a good friend and once business partner.   I resent that I was a driving force in company but when I began to stumble with sickness it easier to cast me aside than it was to help me.   I resent that I gave more dedication and time to my company and career than I did to my young children and wife.   I resent that I am still fighting daily headaches and that I thought when I was told that I had a job for life that meant regardless.   I resent that I build the company from what was a trust fund hobby to a multimillion dollar company and then someone else gains the benefit.   I resent greed, selfishness, and liars.

I appreciate that I was given the opportunity to prove myself right out of college. That I was given the freedom and time to learn my profession, that I was able to make a very respectful income during the second half of my career which gave my family security.    I appreciated the people I worked with, specially the office help and installers.  They often were overlooked, ignored, and did not get their share of recognition.  I appreciated that I was given much lead way in creating and developing a successful, low budget marketing campaign.   That I further was able to instill my beliefs of quality and value on the company and its services.     Now realizing that I paid deeply with my health and that all my skills and efforts were often not acknowledged.  I truly was appreciative of all the customers, friends, and clients that I helped over the years. The relationships I developed with Realtors, Agents, and custom home builders.    I hope they know I was truly not selling them but trying to help them get the peace of mind and quality that they had asked for, being very grateful that many of them paid me the highest complement and repeated business with me over twenty plus years.

 

I regret that I was so blinded by my loyalty and trust that I did not want to see how misuse.  Not to mention that I regret that staff and installers were taken advantage of while others continued to perform poorly.   It is very regretful that I did not speak when the company continued to hire or even rehired people that were not qualified or that had behavior that was not becoming of a good business.   I regret that I that I thought I was family and not just an instrument of the corporation. Much like a battered wife, I was the last to see the truth.   I regret that I did speak up when management frequently lied to customers and employees both. I still think it is important to be truthful and honest.   I regret that when ownership went behind my back, taking a very hard worked client, that I did not run from the building to start my own company.   If I had not stood up and battled back I might still have my job today.   I now realize it is not always best to battle and not always best to bring the flaws of management to the owners attention.   You see, sometimes the owner does not want to know.  It is much easier to ignore than it is to take a proactive approach.  I regret that I left income behind when I was fired.  That I gave up the battle to gain peace.   Consumed with disbelief and poor health I thought everything would work out.   I regret that I took a man’s word and handshake as a binding contract.

I say these things now not to be vengeful or mean. In fact, I believe there is no need for me to be vengeful.  Since those who did wrong will someday gets what they deserve without me lifting a finger.   It is my sacred belief that what goes around does come around.    My story is unfortunately, yet it is not uncommon in the world of greed and corporate America and though we I cannot change the world by telling our story just maybe someone will benefit from hearing it. I do hope that others will learn from it and hopefully avoid the same outcome.  I close with the Serenity Prayer.   “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference.” 

JUST SHOOT ME LIKE A HORSE

Just shoot me like a horse. That was the plea I kept begging my wife to grant me during the past two weeks I have been fighting a stomach virus that I would wish on to know one. On top of that I have had my normal constant 24/7 migraines with what I am guessing maybe 4 hours of headache free time during the last ten days. Not being new to pain and illness I thought for a moment that my guardian angels had final said “enough is enough, he has final done it.” You see I was what you my call an adventurous teenager always pushing the horizon of adventure. My mother tells her friends still that the local E.R. know us by first name. Later in life I was blindsided by these constant chronic headaches that have now been like a plague to me for twelve years. So, kidney stones, appendix, broken bones, all are just badges of honor for me. But combine the stomach virus from Hell and a migraine atop of it and you can shoot me like a horse.
Now that I have given you my state of mind I want to really tell you what is important and it is not my health update. Actually, if you continue to read this I am certain that you will not only identify with it but walk away thinking about it again and again.
During this entire time of illness I have been blessed, no showered with love, friendship, and generosity. However, I must again go back to one person. My spouse, my best friend, my love, my everything, my loving bride Janelle. When we married 20 years ago our vowels said to love, honor, obey, through sickness and health, through good times and bad. Well, if a spouse would get a medal like a solider does for bravery and going above the call of duty my wife would have the Congressional Medal of Honor if it was up to me. So, when you get home or were ever you go and you have time to sit with that one special person, you’re everything make sure they know that you think they should have the Congressional Medal of Honor too. Maybe more importantly let them know that you will do the same for them.
Finally, I also have realized that many of my friends, neighbors look at me and see what looks like a health, onry, normal pain in the butt John. Just being himself. But you cannot see fatigue sometimes. You cannot see headaches. You cannot see depression always. Just like they say on television, “Please don’t try this at home.” But if you went out to your garage and took the largest screw driver you had and jammed it as deep as you could into your brain. Now, leave it there. Some days, it really does not bother you much. Other days the weather bothers it, or you keep hitting it, or it seems like everyone that talks to you grabs it and gives it a good twist. That is the best I can do to describe a chronic migraine.
Now everyone has some sort of pain. Many of us have back, neck, head pain. You could have something more cancer, diabetes, or AIDS. It could even be depression or anxiety I not sure it matters what the pain is since we all live with pain and well deal with pain differently. The old faithful saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Have you ever stop to think about the person being a “jerk” might be actually having a bad day because his “screwdriver” has been twisted by everyone he saw today? Yeah, but he looked fine. Right? Well, who are we to say what is “fine.” So, maybe the next time someone goes flying by you in their car on the way home from work or is a jerk in the store. I even caught myself thinking, “I wonder if he is a kidney donor and he is rising to the hospital to save a person’s life.” Wow, would that be cool!
Just maybe if we gave each other a little slack the more often we would get slack back when we are the ones being the jerk! You may be surprised letting them off the hook may have let them coop with their pain one more day and it also has its own self-rewards. Sure, you’re going to let off a few real buttheads but in the long run does it really matter.

TSUNAMNI OF POO

Kansas City at the Westlake hardware store on Sunday morning is the first time I met Norma.  Norma was standing in a full green winter coat, scarf, with matching purse and gloves.    Her actual height was approximately five foot but her presences was much grander that than.   Norma was standing at the checkout counter opening a box about the size of a shoe box to see how many tulip bulbs it had in it before she purchased it. 

 

I was standing behind her and in my typical ONRY mood I said, “now that you have opened it you must buy it.”   She turned to me and said, “I plan on it, just that a box of this size should more in it and you’re the man that helped me the other day with my car.”   I replied I did not recall that but try to help when I can.   She continued with the box while explaining that she buys the flowers and grows them to give to others.     During our conversation she mention that she needed help at her home and that her family was not nearby to help.  She was asking the clerk if they had someone that would wash her car, or clean the front porch at her house.    I gave her my home and cell phone number and name and told her to call me when she was ready for those projects and that I would either come do it myself or recruit family and friends to help.

 

We parted ways with her blessing me and putting my information neatly in her purse.

 

On the way out the several other people that were in the lines around the checkout counters stopped me to tell me that I was a “good” man.   My reply was that, “I did not do anything that you would not have done if you were next in line and would have heard her.”

 

My next stop that morning was at the Hen House just to grab milk and bread and few other essentials.  While in line I notices that the was a very  pregnant lady in line with a grocery cart half full of groceries and also a two year old little girl  with red hair that either was trying to help mom or wanted to eat everything in the cart.    Regardless, Mom eventually ended up holding the child on side since her other yet to be born child was taking up all the other space.   She continued to struggle to pick up each grocery item and then shift again to get the child back on her hip.    I was now paying and done with my shopping.    I put my cart aside and went back and knowing that a mother and/or a little girl was not going to let me hold her.  I just walked up, introduced myself to the little girl and started telling her about my little girl.   As, I continued telling her she held still for her mom and I was able to get all the groceries out of the basket.    We smiled at each other and she thanked me repeatedly as I walked off.

 

Each of these gestures took me less than ten minutes.  I not bragging, I just want you to pause and think about how you can change the outcome and the outlook of someone else’s day or problem with just a few moments of your time or kind words.    Now whether you voted for President Obama or not he is our President and he is telling us the truth.   We are in a mess; we will get out of this.   We cannot rely on the government to fix it all, and the fix is not going to be fast.    We must take some of the responsibility ourselves and we must do what is right, take responsibility.    If we start at the bottom and work our way up doing good, positive, small things they will eventually become habit.  If we all do our part we can change the tide this Tsunami of POO and make OUR land the great place it is and should be.     

I believe that if you have to wear you jeans 10 inches below your boxer shorts you should be arrested.
I believe in GOD, Jesus, and guardian angles...how else would you explain me still being alive?
I believe that what goes around DOES come around.
I believe that if you commit a crime against a child you should be taken into the street and hung by your privates tell dead.
I believe you take care of your own.
I believe in more people would watch the Olympics if there was Naked Bowling.
I believe everyone should be able to love who ever they want.
I believe that first love never fades and true love never ends.
I believe that everyone should buy their first icar.
I believe in hard work.
I believe we could learn how to love if we would watch how our pets love us.
I believe everyone should go fishing once a week
I believe that all dogs do go to heaven.
I belive in anything for a pal.
I believe that the fast forward button is the neatest invention of the century.
I believe that bulb wrap can waste hours of your life.
I believe that taking RISK is often a good thing.
I believe that if you don't use it you will lose it.
I belive I believe a lot of things. What do you believe?

Consolidating to one location

http://justdoingtherightthing.blogspot.com/

I learing and thought I might try to consolidate all the blogs to one location.

What do you thing?

John the alarm guy!

Six Degrees for Seven Good Deeds

The Experiment-The Challenge

Changing the POO Storm

Everyone knows the Kevin Bacon Six Degrees of Separation and how it works.   Whether in your personal or professional life it seems to work and the more you meet people the more often you find out that you know someone in common.  

 

I am no historian but I am wondering that if we looked at many of the great civilizations before ours and why they failed if we would not see a lot of same problems that face our world today.    It was George Santayana that said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”     Does it not seem like everywhere you turn there is yet another “unhappy, negative, sky-is-falling” story to keep us down?

  Oprah called it “random acts of kindness” and Hollywood made a very famous movie that again called it “Paying it forward.”    Actually it does not matter what you call it but rather that you do it. 

 

  Here is the idea; everyone knows the Six Degrees of Separation and how it works so let’s take it one step further and add “for seven good deeds.”    If we all set a goal to do one, simple, good deed a day for a stranger that in time you will find that a stranger will end up doing a good deed for you.  Hence the Six Degrees of Separation for Seven Good Deeds or better the bigger our world gets the smaller it will become.    This will work for both your professional and personal life.   We will improve our world, our economy, our neighborhoods, ourselves.  

 

Even if you don’t ever have a stranger show up to do you that good deed it will still have such positive effect that what do you have to lose.   Try it in your professional and personal life both!    Now be creative, the deeds do not have to cost a lot of money or be time consuming they might be as simple as carrying someone’s groceries, give a strong referral, or opening a door.  

 

This BLOG has been created not for us to express our political agenda’s or religious views.    However, please share your good deed that you have done in hopes that it will inspire others.   If you had a good deed done for you…share that.   Let’s not just sit and wait for our leaders to “bail” us out.  We can take the “Poo Storm” of negativity that we continually hear daily and turn it around one good deed at a time into something better.