Category Archives: Courage

In Places No One Has Ever Been

Posted on April 18, 2012 by russtowne

“The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.” –Albert Einstein

Posted in Courage, Creativity, Inspiring, LIfe Lessons, Optimism, Quotes I Love | Tagged Albert Einstein, Einstein, find himself, follows the crowd, in places no one has ever been, walks alone | Leave a comment

Never Too Old

Posted on April 14, 2012 by russtowne

I just saw a fun and inspiring short video of a bunch of 66-80 year olds from a retirement community form a flash (or should I say “dance”?) mob at a local shopping mall. Looks like their having fun while … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Creativity, Humor, Inspiring, LIfe Lessons, Making the World a Better Place, Optimism, Unexpected Pleasures, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged dance mob, Dulles, entertaining exercise, flash mob, fun, never too old, retirement community, seniors, shopping mall, video, young at heart | Leave a comment

The Day Girls Saved Me

Posted on April 9, 2012 by russtowne

Many years ago I was in a high school Marine Corps JROTC program as the Vietnam War was coming to an end. It was not a real popular time to be in uniform. It was a turbulent time. One of … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Friendship, Gratitude, Inspiring, True Stories I've Written | Tagged athletic, boys, bullied, cadets, camera, cameras, Family, fight, Friend, friends, girls, girls saved me, high school, jeer, jeered, JROTC, lockers, loved, Marine, Marine Corps, Marine Corps JROTC, Marines, pounded, pounded into the ground, retired, student, student teacher, students, taunt, taunted, television, TV, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Woman Marines | Leave a comment

“I will die in the midst of doing what I love to do…”

Posted on April 2, 2012 by russtowne

“I will die in the midst of doing what I love to do and that is using my voice and using my life to try to inspire other people to live the best of theirs.” –Oprah Winfrey As an investment … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Creativity, Inspiring, LIfe Lessons, Optimism, Quotes I Love, Random Thoughts | Tagged 101, 101 mistakes, a recipe for success, admired, admit, analyses, business, businesses, die, doing what I love to do, full and rewading life, full and rewarding, generosity of spirit, gutsy, Inspiration, inspire, investment manager, Life, live, Love, mistakes, Oprah, Oprah Show, Oprah Winfrey, OWN, OWN Network, perserverent, rewarding, Success, successful, willing to admit mistakes, words and actions are in alignment, works hard | 3 Comments

A 5-Run Homer!

Posted on April 2, 2012 by russtowne

I just experienced a a most unusual baseball game between the Giants and the Yankees. During it I got to see a 5-run homer, a batter run the bases backwards, players skipping in the outfield an doing somersaults in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Humor, Inspiring, Unexpected Pleasures | Tagged 1st Graders, 5-run homer, announcer, baseball, bats, beautiful, being beautiful, bleachers, buddy, coach, eyes puddled, fans, First Graders, gentle, Giants, Kindergartners, Little League, loving, manager, motorized, parent, parents, pitchers, players, running bases, show-boats, shy, shyness, skipping, smiles, somersaults, special, Special Education, Special Education baseball league, stands, teacher, tears, wheel chairs, Yankees | Leave a comment

“When Grown-Ups Lie”

Posted on April 1, 2012 by russtowne

One of my songwriting collaborators and I are writing a song that we hope will inspire children who are victims of abuse to speak painful truths to caring people who will listen and take action to help protect them. To … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Healing, LIfe Lessons, Song Lyrics I've Written or Co-Written, Song Updates, Songs I've Written or Co-Written, Songwriting Adventure | Tagged adults, beautiful ight, Caring, child abuse, educate, harmful, have been hding, hurt, inspire, inspire children, intimidation, lies, powerless, shadows, song, Songwriting, songwriting collaborator, survivors, torment, tormentors, victims, when grown-ups lie, worthless | 1 Comment

Hunger Games

Posted on April 1, 2012 by russtowne

I saw the Hunger Games movie last night. I liked it a lot and felt it captured the tone of the first book well. It showcases the best and worst of humankind. The power of hope, of trust, of love. … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Creativity, Friendship, Healing, LIfe Lessons, Optimism, Random Thoughts, Relationship Lessons Learned, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged beneath the surface, book, divide, dividers, eveil, Friendship, heal, heal a wound, hug, humankind, Hunger Games, kindness, Life, Love, Loyalty, misery of slavery, movie, poverty, power, power of speaking simple truths, rage, rage of injustice, reassure, reassuring, ripples, simmering, slavery, smile, strangers, thin veneer, thin veneer of civilization, Trust, truth, truths, unite, uniters, vanity | 5 Comments

An Infinite Succession of Presents

Posted on March 30, 2012 by russtowne

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. “What we choose to emphasize in … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, LIfe Lessons, Quotes I Love | Tagged act, capacity to do something, choose to emphasize, compassion, complex history, courage, cruelty, foolishly romantic, hopeful, Howard Zinn, kindness, marvelous, marvelous victory, people have behaved magnificently, romantic, sacrifice, spinning top of a world, tthe future is an infinite succession of presents, victory, Wisdom Quotes | Leave a comment

Lessons in Kindness on Interstate 5

Posted on March 29, 2012 by russtowne

A true short story I wrote some time ago: It was the middle of the night on one of those long and lonely stretches of Interstate 5 between distant small farming communities. My mom and her girlfriend were taking me … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, LIfe Lessons, True Stories I've Written | Tagged 4-wheeling, beast, big, big beast, blaring horns, consideration, danger, dark, darkness, Disneyland, farming, farming communities, Four-wheeling, glaring lights, headlights, Interstate 5, kind, kindness, lesson, lessons, lessons in kindness, lonely, long and lonely, men, night, scared, SUV, swaying, terror, tip over, top-heavy, Travel-All, wobbling wildly | Leave a comment

When a Good Idea Goes Very Badly Wrong (Part 2 of 2 of Courage Comes In All Sizes)

Posted on March 25, 2012 by russtowne

I was surprised and disappointed that considering all that Mary had risked and done for the armored car company they just gave her two dozen roses. The more I thought about it, the more I became determined to fix what … Continue reading →