Dear Jennifer Dawn,
Thirty-five years ago today at 2 a.m., your Mom and I entered Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. I had no idea how that day would change my life forever. After all the classes Mom and I took to prepare for your arrival, we ended up kind of “winging it.” All the breathing techniques went out the window. My confidence as Mom’s coach vanished about 2:01 a.m. We were anxious, excited and scared to death. Continue reading
In 1991, I became the CEO of a business with 731 employees, $663,201 in sales and a brand new addition to our headquarters. In any given year, it was not unusual for 324 of the employees to never show up at work. Believe it or not, some of them were dead, but since we didn’t know for sure, we kept them on the payroll. A few of those who did show up for work slept through their shift. Others would complain if the work day was extended by more than five minutes. Some would only show up to work when their child was about to get married so they could get the company discount.
There were other corporations in town just like ours. In fact, when the CEOs all met together, there was always a competition to see which local corporation was doing better. How many? and How much? were the central questions of the conversation. At the annual stockholders’ meeting, comparisons were made between which corporation was doing better. Success would be considered when a corporation landed in the Top Ten of specific categories. Continue reading
I heard a woman interviewed recently whose husband had suffered a freak skiing accident which left him a paraplegic. In a split second, the man went from being a highly respected surgeon to a completely disabled patient. The man lived for 11 years following the skiing accident unable to move and only able to speak with mechanical help. Although I understand it was not true of the book she wrote, the woman made three statements during that interview that bothered me greatly! Continue reading
When I was in my late twenties, we had a revival at the church I was pastoring that was not going well. My Mom called for an update on the revival. I said, “Well, the evangelist is not real good plus he is 65!” My Mom responded, “I am 65! What is wrong with that?” It was at this point that I quickly developed my “young 65 versus old 65 ” theory. Mom, of course, was a young 65. She neither looked or acted her age.
To be honest, at 25, 65 looked ancient! Senior citizenry began at 55! Surely, 65 was full of creaking and arthritis! On February 7, 1953, I turn 60! In those 35 years since my “young versus old” theory came into existence, I have come to realize that 60 ain’t what it used to Be! Continue reading