Breakthrough!

Breakthrough!
By Russ Towne

Darkness dominates.
It starts with a faint glow.
Patient.
Persistent.
Chipping away.
Lightens.
Brightens.
Until only a wisp remains
To hold it back.
Then that too dissolves.
Breakthrough!


Is the above a description of:
The sun shining through on a cloudy day?
A sunrise?
The creation of a new idea or solution?
A memory being recalled?
A spiritual (re-)awakening?
The replacement of a bad habit with a good one?
The bursting forth of new life?
The lighting of a candle?
The emergence of hope fromd despair?
Love replacing loneliness?
The beginning of a new vision?
The emergence of forgiveness?
Unloading of an emotional burden?
Rising from the depths of the ocean to the sunlight?
Heading into the Earth’s atmosphere from outer space?
All of the above?
Something else?

It is for you to decide, my friend.
Russ

Posted in Breakthroughs, Optimism, Patience & Persistence, Poetry I Wrote | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Too Stubborn and Selfish

Some of my best posts happened quite awhile ago, so I occasionally re-post something to share with newer readers that I hope won’t bore more-tenured readers too much. This is one of those times. Earlier this month my Beloved and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary, so I thought this the post below was quite fitting to share again:

Too Stubborn and Selfish

On the way home from our at-least-weekly Date Night this evening, I flashed back to the comments a good man said to my then-fiance’ and me 34 years ago, when we were about 20 years old.

We’d asked him to be the official at our wedding ceremony. He agreed to do so if we’d take a compatability questionaire. He gave it to all couples for which he officiated. We weren’t fond of the idea but knew the man to be kind and if he thought it was a good idea and the information might be useful to us, then it probably would be.

So we each filled out a lengthy questionaire and gave it to him. When the results came back, he ushered us into his office, sat us down, and in in a solemn and sad voice said something to the effect that based on our answers to the survey we were both very stubborn and selfish; so stubborn and selfish in fact that the odds of us remaining married to each other were very small.

He tried to talk us out of marrying each other, or to at least seriously considering whether marriage to each other was a good idea based on the survey’s findings.

We agreed that we were both stubborn and selfish and acknowledged how that could be a huge challenge to a happy marriage, but we were in love and wanted to get married anyway.

And so we did, for we knew something that he didn’t:

We were both too stubborn to ever give up on each other, and too selfish to ever let the love we had for each other slip away.

Russ

Posted in Love, Marriage, True Stories I've Written | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A Political Rant in A Self-Described Partisan Politics-Free Zone

I have dear friends from all over the political spectrum. One of the things that saddens me about political rancor is comments along the lines of “They” want things that are very different than “We” do, and that the differences are so vast “We” can’t work with “Them”.

It puzzles me is that such comments –and often downright insults–that are aimed toward the other side are coming from people who have friends and loved ones ON the other side.

And are people on both extremes of the political divide really so different? Don’t we ALL want to be loved, respected, appreciated, and to feel useful? Don’t we all want good health and safety for our loved ones and ourselves? A way to stay out of the rain at night? Something to eat? Don’t we all want to be happy?

To me, it is about perspective, attitude, developing trust, and building bridges. I believe politicians will begin to do those things as soon as the rewards for doing them outweigh the rewards for the behaviors that they are currently doing.

I trust that the public will wake up and begin rewarding much greater cooperation and teamwork among the parties while there is still time. I believe that It is not too late to change the incentives.

Russ

Posted in Choices, Making the World a Better Place | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A Letter From A Special Olympian

Please know that this is not intended as a partisan political attack. Quite the contrary, I find that far too many in the various parties are all too happy to make personal attacks and unkind remarks to further their time in the spotlight, increase their fame or notoriety, and/or attempt to further their cause.

I find that far too often politics divides and finds faults and differences rather than focusing on attributes and uniting people to work together toward common goals and the good of all. This post is intended as a way to further the latter.

I just read an article that saddened me about a letter that inspired me. It was written by a Special Olympian who was responding to a comment made referring to someone as a “retard”.

In my judgment this Special Olympian’s response was powerful, eloquent, and most of all, kind. Here are some snippets from his open letter:

“I’m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public’s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow,” Stephens wrote. “I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.”

I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.

Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey [sic] sound bite to the next.

Finally, I wondered if you meant to degrade him as someone who is likely to receive bad health care, live in low grade housing with very little income and still manages to see life as a wonderful gift.

Because…that is who we are—and much, much more.

After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.

I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash.”

Stephens concluded by inviting the person to whom he addressed his open letter to the Special Olympics:

“See if you can walk away with your heart unchanged.

A friend you haven’t made yet,

John Franklin Stephens”

Thank you, John Franklin Stephens for rising above the name-calling and insults, and answering unkindness with kindness.

Russ

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/open-letter-ann-coulter-special-olympics-133341583.html

Russ

Posted in Kindness, Stories That Touched Me, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

I Love You Katie Sue!

One of the songs I plan to soon list on one or more song-selling sites is “Katie Sue”. It is about a man’s first love. If you click on the icon above you should be able to hear it. May it brighten your day and evoke positive memories of one of your first loves.

The lyric is mine. Bryan Cumming wrote the music, is the vocalist, and produced it.

Russ

Posted in Adventure, Beauty, Imagination, Love, Making Memories, Song Lyrics I've Written or Co-Written, Song Updates, Songs I've Written or Co-Written, Songwriting Adventure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Silly, Silly Me

He grabbed my hand and yelled, “Come see! Come see!”
And excitedly pointed to our big shade tree.
“Yes I see; it’s a tree” I thoughtlessly said.
With wise young eyes, he sadly shook his head.

“Silly Grandpa, Can’t you see? It’s not just a tree! It’s so much more.
It’s a place to play, to build, to climb, and explore
A secret place to talk, and hide, and pretend we’re spies!”
To make a swing or just about anything!”

Now it was my turn to shake my head, and I said, “Silly, silly me!
Of course! How could I have forgotten! It’s much more than a tree!
The years had blinded these old eyes to all the things a tree can be.
Thank goodness you were here to help me once again see!

“Grandpa, come see what else I’ve found!
It’s big, light brown, and lying on the ground. “
Slow learner that I am, I answered him:
“It’s the box our new refrigerator came in”.

“Silly Grandpa,” he sighed and said, “Can’t you see?
It’s not just a box; it’s ANYTHING we want it to be!
A great big castle with an alligator-filled moat
Or a pirate ship that can sink any boat

“A fire engine that can fight the biggest fires
Or a Monster Truck with those great big tires.
A real fast car that we can race
Or a rocket ship we’ll take into outer space.

A screaming jet that we can fly
Or a big balloon to float in the sky.
We’ll look at whales in our submarine
See what I mean that it can be anything?”

That’s when I began to remember a thing or two
About what a cardboard box could do.
Then as I shared even more ideas that I’d begun to recall,
He smiled and said, “Grandpa, you’re not so silly after all!”

By Russ Towne

Posted in Children, Grandparenting & Grandkids, Humor, Imagination, Poetry I Wrote | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Grandkids Say The Darnedest Things

A friend shared these with me and I thought you might enjoy them too:

1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, “But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!” I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye….

2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, “Did you start at 1?”

3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice,
“Who was THAT?”

4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like. “We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.”
The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, “I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!”

5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, “Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?” I mentally polished my halo and I said, “No, how are we alike?” “You’re both old,” he replied.

6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor.. She told him she was writing a story.
“What’s it about?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I can’t read.”

7. I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was.. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, “Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!”

8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, “It’s no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights.”

9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, “I’m not sure.” “Look in your underwear, Grandpa,” he advised “Mine says I’m 4 to 6.”

10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, “Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.” The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. “That’s interesting.” she said. “How do you make babies?”
“It’s simple,” replied the girl. “You just change ‘y’ to ‘I and add ‘es’.”

11. Children’s Logic: “Give me a sentence about a public servant,” said a teacher. The small boy wrote: “The fireman came down the ladder pregnant..” The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. “Don’t you know what pregnant means?” she asked.
“Sure,” said the young boy confidently. ‘It means carrying a child.”

12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties.
“They use him to keep crowds back,” said one child.
“No,” said another. “He’s just for good luck.”
A third child brought the argument to a close.”They use the dogs,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrants.”

13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. “Oh,” he said, “she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”

14.. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don’t get to see him enough to get as smart as him!

15. My Grandparents are funny, when they bend over, you hear gas leaks and they blame their dog.

Posted in Aging, Children, Family "Fun", Grandparenting & Grandkids, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Fairy Tale Honesty

Fairy tales would be more honest (to say the least)
If they warned that sometimes Beauty IS the Beast!

Russ Towne

Posted in Humor, Words or Quotes I Believe I Coined but please let me know if you heard them earlier elsewhere | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

And That’s The Truth!

I’ll bet much more truth would transpire
If liars’ pants really caught on fire!

Russ Towne

Posted in Humor, Words or Quotes I Believe I Coined but please let me know if you heard them earlier elsewhere | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Seek first to understand…

It’s a great recipe for human relationships and many other aspects of life including in my line of work (investment management).

Russ

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Try to understand. If we understand each other we will be kinder to each other. Knowing a person well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you do not blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument.

That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change

Thich Nhat Hanh

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