Just Another Day (for the 50th time)

Wow! What can I say, my birthday isn't officially here until Thursday, but already flowers, cards, gifts, a nice family meal, a pizza party....AWESOME! Okay enough about me, now lets talk about ME! Just kidding! A big thank you to EVERYONE! Elijah summed it up rather aprapo-ishly when he exclaimed...

"GOSH DAD, YOU'RE OLD!"

Turning 50

The word on the street is that I will be turning 50 this Thursday. I haven't thought much about it. To me it is another day. I have always said, "If you did not know how old you are, how old would you be?" To be honest most days I feel a lot younger than 50, but there are those OTHER days, too.

Last week I flew to Las Vegas. It was the first time I had ever ridden in an airplane. I haven't smoked in going on seven years. I am down 17 pounds in one month, thanks to Zija. I beat heart failure and I have 3 beautiful children, and I am the full-time dad I always wanted to be. If you know me, then you know how that is to me, but that is another story, which I will one day write.

So what is so bad about turning 50? A friend reminded me this morning that I have been blessed to have reached such a milestone. I am still committed to providing my children with the best way of life I can give them. When I have reached that goal, I will have reached the milestone I want to reach. That is my drive, my desire.

I have already been treated to one pre-birthday meal, which included my all-time favorite food, dumplings. Later this week, my friend Kelly is going to treat me to Pizza. At the beginning of this year, when we were planning our 2009 Church calendar, she jovially announced that I would be turning 50 this year. I was just thrilled that someone is keeping up with me. I wrote the Pizza outing down on Post-It note so I wouldn't forget it. It's a turning-50 thing.

That reminds me of a joke. Two elderly women were out driving in a large car, and neither could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red, but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light." After a few more minutes they came to another intersection, the light was red, and again they went right through. This time, the passenger was almost sure that the light had been red, but was also concerned that she might be seeing things. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention. At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through it. She turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know that you ran through three red lights in a row? You could have killed us! Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh No! Am I driving?"

There Was An Old Man

Teenagers! Can it get any Worse?

Teenagers! I have three of them! For the most part, it's okay, but there are times when even the best translator in the world could not improve the communication problems. If you have them, teenagers I mean, then you know what I am talking about.

Shew!!

While surfing the web, I found these quotes on teenagers...

Little children, headache; big children, heartache. ~Italian Proverb

AIN'T IT THE TRUTH!

Heredity is what sets the parents of a teenager wondering about each other. ~Laurence J. Peter

When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio. If all the stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance the transmission is shot. ~Larry Lujack

HA! I LOVE THAT ONE!

The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires. ~Dorothy Parker

Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. ~Erma Bombeck

As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you. ~Fran Lebowitz, Social Studies

I AM SO THERE!

Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers. ~William Galvin

HA!

In the time it takes you to understand a 14-year-old, he turns 15. ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

I THINK MR. BRAULT WROTE THAT ONE ABOUT MY SONS!

Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years. ~Author Unknown

NO WONDER I AM FEELING OLD!

The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 a.m. ~Author Unknown

Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath. ~Arnold H. Glasow

It's difficult to decide whether growing pains are something teenagers have - or are. ~Author Unknown

HA! I KNOW THATS RIGHT!

A boy becomes an adult three years before his parents think he does, and about two years after he thinks he does. ~Lewis B. Hershey, News summaries, 31 December 1951

YA BOY!

You can tell a child is growing up when he stops asking where he came from and starts refusing to tell where he is going. ~Author Unknown

LOL!

It is hard to convince a high-school student that he will encounter a lot of problems more difficult than those of algebra and geometry. ~Edgar W. Howe

The troubles of adolescence eventually all go away - it's just like a really long, bad cold. ~Dawn Ruelas

ACHOO!

And, here is my favorite...

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain.

But, they are only children for a while, so I try to wrap myself around them as much as possible.

In 2004, country singer Billy Dean released a song that he co-wrote with Richie McDonald. The song was entitled, Let Them Be Little.

Here are the words...

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand
You felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms
They grow up all too soon

Let them be little
'Cause they're only that way for a while
Give 'em hope, give them praise
Give them love every day
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle
Let 'em sleep in the middle

I never felt so much in one little tender touch
I live for those kisses
Your prayers and your wishes
And now you're teaching me how only a child can see
Tonight while we're on our knees
All I ask is please

Let them be little
'Cause they're only that way for a while
Give 'em hope, give them praise
Give them love every day
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle
Let 'em sleep in the middle
Oh, but let them be little

So innocent
Precious soul
You turn around and its time to let them go

So,
Let them be little
'Cause they're only that way for a while
Give 'em hope, give them praise
Give them love every day
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle
Let 'em sleep in the middle
Oh, but let them be little

I LOVE YOU J.D.
I LOVE YOU ELIJAH
AND I LOVE YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH, MARINA!

Leaving Las Vegas

Tomorrow I will climb aboard that plane once again and head back home. I can't wait to get there. I miss the kids. Elijah's voice stripped out on him just prior to his play tonight. I wish I had been there to rally around him. I hope he forgives me.

I'm not really thrilled about flying. This is my first time. Tomorrow I will be 38,000 feet in the air. The alternative was driving 28 hours. NOT!

The lights of Las Vegas are truly amazing. The Rio is a great place to stay. They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This time, what happened in Vegas is not going to stay in Vegas because I came here to help my new business grow and I believe it is going to. I cannot wait for this time next year to see just how much it will have grown. God blessed the Moringa tree. I love helping people. I am truly happy to be doing that.

Zija Las Vegas!

Today I am leaving for Las Vegas. I can't wait to get there. The best part of the trip will be the trip back home, because I know that when I return my new business is going to explode and I am so ready for that to happen!

A Great Radio Voice Is Silenced

A great radio voice has been silenced and it is a sad day for all of us who knew and loved him.

Eddie Neal accepted the call to preach several years before he became a radio announcer. To support his ministry, and his family, he got a job at grocery store. When an opening came up at at the new WFLW-AM in his hometown of Monticello, Kentucky, Eddie got the won. That was in July of 1962, and so he spent the next 47 years 'on the air' entertaing his listeners and keeping them informed as to the latest news and events.

Along the way, Eddie Neal became a legend on the radio, and a very well respected preacher of the Gospel. He preached for several years on my radio station and that is where I got to know him. I was young and working weekends when I first met Eddie Neal. He always came into the radio station wearing a smile, and a warm handshake was never far behind. He always asked how my family was doing.

As I grew older, it didn't take long for me to realize how popular he was, both as a preacher and as a disc jockey. He was loved by everyone and his listeners were very loyal to him. If my grandmother Boles were alive today, she would quickly tell you that she was one of his faithful listeners. According to her, whatever Eddie Neal said on the radio was the gospel! She always spoke of her favorite disc jockey with passion. To her, his words were gold. If his weather forecast differed from another, he was right and they were wrong. And, there was no way you were going to change her mind.

Eddie Neal was 'on the air' longer than any other disc jockey in this area, and while his great and unique voice has been silenced, his memory will live on.

He was an icon.



I end this story with the very words Eddie Neal used at every single funeral he preached.....

"Remember friends, as you pass by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, you soon shall be. Prepare for death, and follow me".

A Beautiful Life

I love learning about my ancestors, so I was thrilled the other day when my friend - and cousin - Tommy Bertram gave me this newspaper clipping from 1909.

Field of Memories

It was the phone call that every parent fears and it happened to me last Friday night. The boys were at friends' homes having sleepovers and I ended up in front of the computer in my office when suddenly my cell phone rang.

"Elijah has been in a four-wheeler accident. He ran into a moving vehicle."

Thankfully, I was just a couple of miles away. When I arrived at the scene, Elijah was laying on his back in a field across from his friends' home. He had just gotten on the four-wheeler and made the mistake of going out into the road to turn around. It was just below a blind hill and he did not see the car coming. After striking the car, the four-wheeler slammed into a bank on the other side of the road. Elijah was ejected and flew 10 to 15 feet into the air before landing in that field.

For me, it was a double nightmare. As I knelt beside Elijah, my mind instantly wandered back to May 7, 1981. It was on that morning, 28 years ago, that my dad and my older brother and I found my brother, Ronnie, dead from a car wreck. It was around 5:00 a.m. Dad had gone to work and found Ronnie's car on its top just five-tenths of a mile from our home. It was foggy. He felt inside the car but Ronnie wasn't there. He had no flashlight, so he scrambled back to our home and awoke us. I have never forgotten the sound of him pounding on the front door and hearing him shout out the horrific news that morning. We hurriedly drove back to the scene and by that time, the fog had lifted and daylight had arrived. We found Ronnie laying some 40 yards from where his car had landed.

The healing part of that tragedy was long and slow for my family. It did not help that I had to drive past that field a few times a day, always looking there - at the spot where we found him. We moved from that house about nine years later and that helped. I guess over the years I was finally able to find a place to put that memory, although I can't help but recall it from time to time.

For me, last Friday night was one of those times because you see the field where Elijah lay was the same field where we found my brother dead 28 years ago. Elijah lay less than 50 feet from the spot where my brother lay dead. I can't even begin to describe the flood of emotions that came upon me. It was the nightmare of all nightmares and I am still shaking from it. I just praise the Lord that Elijah is alive. Where we live, there is no road and no neighbors. I think Eliah did what he did because he is not use to having to deal with vehicles passing in front of our home.

At the hospital, for over three hours, Elijah lay on that straight board with the neck and head braces on and I was given another reminder as to just how precious life is. It was the same reminder I received 28 years ago...not to take life for granted and to live every moment, every hour, every day to the fullest, and to love, and to hopefully be loved in return.

The First Step

Growing up in broadcasting, one of my disc jockey idols was John 'Records' Landecker. Every night, when the sun went down, WLS-AM in Chicago came booming in and I would tune my radio dial there and sit in my car and listen to him. John 'Records' Landecker was great on the air. He was entertaining and he was energetic. He had a voice like no other and I would imagine that I was him. He was the first disc jockey I was really into outside my local realm. His nighttime show on WLS reached out to 37 states. Undoubtedly, John 'Records' Landecker inspired numerous kids to become disc jockeys.

I like where he said 'belief in what you do is the first step to becoming great at what you do.' He said the first step to be something is the desire to want to be it. He said you have to be willing to do anything.

In 33 years of broadcasting, I've pretty much done it all; worked weekends, been a janitor, an engineer-want-to-be, salesman and now, general manager, and I have hosted shows of every variety; rock, country, gospel, bluegrass. I learned real early that no matter what the music genre was, there would be nothing to show unless the program was right. The right music mix. No matter what the style was, the show had to have something of worth to it in order for it to be well received by the audience. John 'Records' Landecker said "If no one has a product, it does not matter what you have. If it is junk, no one wants it."

That is what I love about my new business. The product definitely has worth and the program is right. The most important part is that it is providing a much-desired better way of life for my children and I. 'Belief in what you do is the first step in becoming great at what you do.' Thanks for saying that John 'Records' Landecker. I still may have a long way to go, but I believe in what I do.

If you would like to hear all of John 'Records' Landecker's comments, click here

Moringa, The Miracle Tree

This is why I do what I do...