Author: JS

Sometimes Mom is Right!

by JS, posted in Humor, Things to Ponder

If you don’t know who Roy Rogers is, this may not make as much sense. If you don’t, just imagine that you got an opportunity to make a commercial with your favorite pop star when you were a kid.

When I was six years old, my dad managed the riding stables at a resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Southern California. The area was also home to some large cattle ranches that had big roundups twice a year and my dad always participated in this. People don’t normally associate being a cowboy and driving cattle with Southern California, but it was the real deal.

The resort’s main customer base was in Los Angeles. People could get away for a week or a weekend and golf, hike, ride horses, or just relax. The management decided to hire Roy Rogers to do a commercial and it would be filmed on-site at the resort. Because they needed to show that the resort was fun for the entire family, I was invited to be a part of the commercial. I had watched many old westerns starring Roy Rogers and he was still very popular and made public appearances with his wife, Dale Evans, and of course his horse, Trigger.

I knew about this several weeks in advance and the anticipation and excitement built every day for me. On the day before we were to film the commercial my mom called me into the kitchen and gave me a brand new hat to wear. I remember trying very hard to be appropriately thankful and excited, but I hated the hat. It was not at all a traditional cowboy hat. It was more of a flat top hat and more round than oblong. It was not the style Roy Rogers wore in the old movies I had seen. My mom was so excited about it and she never said anything about it being a Roy Rogers style. She said she just thought I needed hat to wear for the commercial. I was in a pickle. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I sure didn’t want to wear that hat!

I was up early the next morning to eat breakfast and be ready to go. After breakfast my dad said it was time to go and I ran to my mom, gave her a kiss, and then ran out and hopped in the truck. I “accidentally” forgot to get my hat out of my bedroom. We arrived at the resort and I helped to get my horse saddled and ready and about an hour later, Roy Rogers showed up. When he walked up, he was wearing a hat that was nearly identical to the one my mom had bought for me. I panicked. I ran to my dad and told him I had forgotten my hat, but alas, it was too late to go home to get it.

Of course, Roy Rogers, was incredibly nice and had no idea about my missing hat. I got my photo taken with him, got to talk to him for a few minutes, and then had an incredible learning experience shooting a commercial all day long. I was amazed at how many times we would take the same shot. I was amazed to learn that it wasn’t filmed in the order that it would run. For example, we shot the opening scene and ending scene of the commercial back to back. Roy Rogers finished up all of his part by lunch time and then the rest of the day was spent shooting footage for the middle of the commercial.

When I got home that night, my mom was a little disappointed that I had forgotten the hat. She had gone to some trouble to find the hat. I think she probably knew that I didn’t like the style, but she didn’t try to make me feel bad about it. I can tell you that I wore that hat out though over the next several months. I made sure I didn’t forget it for show-and-tell day when I took my photo in to show the class. I learned a valuable lesson that day: sometimes, (nearly always), moms are right.

JS

Is Your Car Ready for Winter?

by JS, posted in Being Prepared

I was recently in a sustained standstill on the interstate due to a wreck involving an overturned tractor-trailer. The temperature was around 20°F. As I was sitting there, I was going over the items in my car to see if I was prepared for an extended wait. In our world of easy communication it is something I find is overlooked. Many people tend to assume if something went wrong with their car, they could just pull over and call for help. In a situation like this, it would be a long time coming. There were serveral emergency vehicles already tending to the multiple wrecks and there were about two miles of bumper to bumper cars in both lanes behind me. I tend to think of myself as well prepared, but I had not outfitted my car for a winter emergency yet. Blanket? No. Heavy coat? Yes. Head covering of some sort? No. Heavy gloves? No. Waterproof shoes? No. Hmm, not so prepared.

What should you keep in your car during the winter? Here is a quick list.

  • Ice scraper
  • Blanket
  • Flashlight
  • Flares or reflectors
  • Bag of sand
  • Fold-up shovel
  • Waterproof shoes or overshoes
  • Insulated gloves
  • Chain or heavy rope
  • First aid kit
  • Basic tool kit
  • Jumper cables
  • Charger for your cell phone
  • Extra wiper fluid
  • Snack, especially if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic
  • Water – you will have to take it in and out with you if the temperature is consistently below freezing

Even if you don’t know how to use the tools or the jumper cables, you should have them. If you need to use the jumper cables or have someone pull you out of a ditch with a rope, you are going to need someone in another vehicle. They may have the knowledge of use, but not have the means so working together you will have a chance of success.

There are some other common sense things you should do as well. Keep your gas tank at least half full. If you get stuck in a standstill you will need it. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather even if it is only a short trip.

Hopefully, you won’t ever need to use any of these items, but as the saying goes; it is better to have and not need than to need and not have. 🙂

JS

Welcome to 2019

by JS, posted in Things to Ponder

I try to pick a word for each year to have a focal point. I don’t do “resolutions”. I used to, and I have nothing against them, but it is just a little disappointing eventually. If I say I am going to work out four days a week, then the first week that I only work out three, for whatever reason, then I have blown it and don’t even try to hit four again. It is a mental game, I know, but that is just me. So instead I pick a word to focus on. If I pick Kindness, for example, then I can constantly improve on that. As some particular area improves such as allowing someone into the flow of traffic regularly, then once that becomes a habit, I can pick something else to show kindness and work on that becoming a habit.

I wish I could take credit for coming up with the idea, but like many of the best things in my life, the idea originated with my wife. She suggested it several years ago and we did it and have continued ever since. We asked our children to do it as they got old enough to understand the idea. We start talking about it in December so that we have the word ready on January 1, when we share our words with each other. It is now tradition in our family. I think traditions are a valuable part of the family, but that is a topic for another day.

My word for this year is Renew. We have been at the farm for 18 months now and spent the year before that working nights and weekends getting the place ready for us. It has been hard on us. Even though we have had fun at times and taken some little breaks when the opportunity arose, we are tired and worn. It is time for some renewal. I want to renew my relationship with my wife, my bride, to schedule times for just the two of us and cherish that time. I want to renew some old routines like regularly scheduled time each week with each of the kids that is just our time. I want to renew my mind by spending more time reading and less time watching the networks try to make the news entertaining or skimming Facebook for the latest gossip about whatever. I want to renew my body by eating intentionally. I am not talking about dieting, just making wiser choices on what I put into my mouth, like things that have natural ingredients, not chemicals and preservatives; by paying attention to how much I put into my mouth, not eating until I am stuffed; and by enjoying what I eat, not choking it down in as little time as possible.

Renewing doesn’t mean starting over from scratch, it means polishing up what you have that is good and getting rid of the stuff that isn’t. That is something that I can do!

JS

Dealing with Dad

by JS, posted in Caring for Parents

Like so many people, I am dealing with a parent who has dementia.  Correctly, I should say that our family is dealing with it.  My wife really does the lion’s share of dealing with it.  Sometimes it is frustrating to the point of needing to go somewhere and scream, other times it is sad, and sometimes it is just downright funny.  My dad is nearly 95 years old and is a WWII veteran.  My mom passed away a couple of years ago.  My dad was showing some signs of memory issues before she passed, but they were rare.  Within a few months of her passing, we decided we needed to move from our comfortable home in the city to a 75-year old farmhouse to help him out.  We spent a year basically gutting the house and updating it and then moved in about a year ago.  The biggest challenge I think was going from four bathrooms to one for our family of four.  Ok, maybe it wasn’t the biggest challenge but it certainly was high on the list and was (and is) a daily one.

Now, the memory issues are frequent and the moments of total clarity are becoming rare.  We are fortunate that he is in great physical shape.  He still likes to cut wood, he still likes to drive the tractor and run the brush hog, and he still likes to take walks through the woods.  He is nearly deaf now, but it doesn’t stop him from telling stories.  We live in a small town of fewer than 200 people and it is the town in which he was born so he knows all of the history and all of the families that have roots here.  He enjoys going to the town cafe (there is only one) and telling stories and people enjoy having him tell them so it works out well.

My wife has found some great online support groups to get tips, safely vent, or just “know” that we are not the only ones dealing with this.  In fact, it is very common.  We often get asked why we do it and the answer is easy; it is love.

JS

The beginning

by JS, posted in Uncategorized

So, why am I here?  On this blog, specifically, writing?  You may be asking yourself why you are here reading?  I like to connect with people.  I like to encourage people.  I like to help people succeed.  I like helping people connect with each other, connect with hidden talents, connect with their untapped potential to do something that they have never done before.  I have had many mentors, many teachers, many associates who have helped me to set and achieve goals, both small and large.  I have learned from my own successes and failures.  I will be posting about a variety of topics:  practical, physical things; relationships; and humorous encounters I have had.  I hope you, the reader, will leave feeling uplifted or encouraged or inspired or some combination of the three.  Cheers to us as we embark on this journey.