Wow Walmart has all their Christmas trees and aisles set up. UGH! Already? Really? OK let's call a timeout on 2011. How is your year going so far? It's good from time to time to review how things are going. So I have four valuable questions to ask yourself as you track the year.
1. How can I give value in this situation? This is a great way to improve your relationships and interactions. Four awesome reasons to give value in your everyday are:
*It makes you feel awesome
*You tend to get what you give
*It makes your life a whole lot more fun
*It makes it easier to start start new relationships and improve old ones.
What value can you give in a situation/to another person?
2. Would I rather be right or be happy? Wow what a question.
Right in this question means the need to judge, the need to be right while interacting with other people. It's not just about the guy who can't be wrong in a discussion though.
It's about the thought that you don't always have to be against people or things. You don't have to exist in a "me against the world" or "me against someone" head space. You can just relax, be cool and be with people instead of being against them in some subtle or not so subtle ways.
Feeling like you are right can bring some pleasure. But beyond that there is a lot more connection, happiness and positivity to be found.
3. What is the mot important thing I can do right now? If you are lost in what you do next in your day, your week or life, ask yourself this question. The answer might not always be what you want to hear because the most important thing is often one of the harder things you want to do too. But it can help you to check your priorities and stop you from getting lost in busy work and instead start tracking the really big stuff that will improve your life in any area in the long run.
4. What do I think is the right thing to do? One of the hardest things to do in life is to do the right thing. What you think is the right thing. Not what your friends, family, teachers, boss and society thinks is the right thing. What is the right thing? Here are three reasons to do the right thing:
*You tend to get what you give. By doing the right thing you tend to get the same things back. Give value to people, help them and they will often want to help you and give you value in some form. Do the right thing, put in extra effort and you get good stuff back.
*To raise your self-esteem. When you don't do the right thing you are not only sending out signals out into your world. You are also sending signals to yourself. When you don't do the right thing you don't feel good about yourself. To not do the right thing is a bit like punching yourself in the stomach.
*To avoid self-sabotage. A powerful side effect of not doing the right thing is that you give yourself a lack of deservedness. By doing the right thing you can raise your level of self-esteem and feel like a person who deserves his/her success.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
CHILL OUT!
The time to relax is when you don't have time for it. Let me share with you my favorite tips to minimize stress and live more relaxed. I hope you find something helpful here, even if it's just a reminder of ways to relax that you had forgotten.
1. Accept the situation. You may be in a stressful situation and think to yourself that this shouldn't be but the incident has already arisen. So to decrease the stress you can accept the situation and deal with it rather than fight it.
2. Take many things less seriously. Taking things or yourself overly serious adds alot of unnecessary negativity and stress in your life. A minor situation may be blown up to a major one in your mind. Learn to lighten up a bit and life becomes more fun and you realize that you get great results even if you aren't super-serious about everything.
3. Decrease or put a stop to negative relationships. If someone is making you more stressed or creates a lot of negativity in your life you may want to consider decreasing the amount of time you spend with that person.
Some people almost seem to like to dwell in negativity.
4. Just move slower. If you slow down how you walk or how you move your body you can often start to feel less stressed. A stressed mind tends to run in circles a lot of the time.
5. Exercise. A simple and time-tested way to decrease inner tension is to exercise. This is one solution that works most consistently for people.
6. Find five things you can be grateful for right now. Being grateful and appreciative in your life is one of the most effective ways to turn a negative emotional state to a more positive one. So find a few things you are grateful for right now! What's the first thing you think of?
7. Look for solutions. When faced with a challenge that can cause stress, try to direct your focus to solutions rather than to dwell on the problem for too long. Dwelling only causes more stress and makes your mind less open to finding a solution.
8. Be early. just be 10 or 15 minutes early for meetings, etc. This very simple tip can cut down on stress quite a bite.
9. Do just one thing at a time when you're in a stressful period. Simple tasking and focusing on doing just one thing at a time not only decreases stress but from my experience gets things done a whole lot quicker.
10. Talk to people around you about it that you respect. Perhaps they can offer you advice or just lend an ear and some support. Just telling someone about something can often bring relieve.
1. Accept the situation. You may be in a stressful situation and think to yourself that this shouldn't be but the incident has already arisen. So to decrease the stress you can accept the situation and deal with it rather than fight it.
2. Take many things less seriously. Taking things or yourself overly serious adds alot of unnecessary negativity and stress in your life. A minor situation may be blown up to a major one in your mind. Learn to lighten up a bit and life becomes more fun and you realize that you get great results even if you aren't super-serious about everything.
3. Decrease or put a stop to negative relationships. If someone is making you more stressed or creates a lot of negativity in your life you may want to consider decreasing the amount of time you spend with that person.
Some people almost seem to like to dwell in negativity.
4. Just move slower. If you slow down how you walk or how you move your body you can often start to feel less stressed. A stressed mind tends to run in circles a lot of the time.
5. Exercise. A simple and time-tested way to decrease inner tension is to exercise. This is one solution that works most consistently for people.
6. Find five things you can be grateful for right now. Being grateful and appreciative in your life is one of the most effective ways to turn a negative emotional state to a more positive one. So find a few things you are grateful for right now! What's the first thing you think of?
7. Look for solutions. When faced with a challenge that can cause stress, try to direct your focus to solutions rather than to dwell on the problem for too long. Dwelling only causes more stress and makes your mind less open to finding a solution.
8. Be early. just be 10 or 15 minutes early for meetings, etc. This very simple tip can cut down on stress quite a bite.
9. Do just one thing at a time when you're in a stressful period. Simple tasking and focusing on doing just one thing at a time not only decreases stress but from my experience gets things done a whole lot quicker.
10. Talk to people around you about it that you respect. Perhaps they can offer you advice or just lend an ear and some support. Just telling someone about something can often bring relieve.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Float Like a Butterfly!
Muhammad Ali was the greatest. Greatest athlete of all time? He's in the conversation that's for sure. Growing up I can remember watching many of his fights. In my office I have a framed poster of the famous picture of Ali standing over Sonny Liston in May 1965. Ali would become the World Champion three times. In 1999, Sports Illustrated and the BBC named Ali as "the Sportsman of the Year."
So what can be learned from one of the best boxers of all time? Let me share five tips from Muhammad Ali and how to break through barriers in the world and in your mind.
1. Take a risk.
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." M. Ali
To get what you really want you will pretty much always have to take risks. Of course, that can be scary. How do you overcome that fear? A few suggestions I would offer include:
*Really , really want your objective.
*Ask yourself: what's the worst thing that could happen? Remind yourself of how little of what you've feared actually happened.
*Detach from the outcome. Think about the results of your actions and focus what is out in front of you.
2. Steer clear of self-sabotage and creating inner obstacles.
"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." M. Ali
Self-sabotage comes from thinking that you on some level simply aren't worthy of what you want. So you sabotage yourself along the way to get yourself back into the place or level of success you feel you deserve. You need to work at allowing yourself to believe that you are worthy of your success. Little by little you can change how you perceive yourself.
3. Keep your self-talk positive.
"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things will begin to happen." M. Ali
If you are always negative and down on yourself it will be alot more painful and sometimes pretty much impossible to achieve what you want. Keeping the self-talk in your head positive is essential. You can make that easier by following the tips I've shared so far.
Another helpful step is just to be mindful of how you think about things. Say "stop" and cut off negative thought threads before they become strong. Keeping your self-talk positive may seem cheesy or uncool. But beating yourself up all the time is far worse and really not helpful at all.
4. Don't make a big deal out of it.
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." M. Ali
So you create a more positive self-image by doing the right thing and keeping your self-talk positive. But it's also a good thing to not go overboard. If you think its a big deal then its becomes a big deal in your mind. I think its awhole lot easier to keep the self-talk positive and be a humble person.
5. Use your emotional leverage to succeed.
"Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even." M. Ali
If you have an interest is personal development then you have probably ht a point sometime in your past where you said, "Enough of this...something has to change." Or you felt like you hit rock bottom. But as Ali says, it's also there you can find that extra motivation and power to push through.
When you've had enough you will find a way to change your life. Simply remind yourself of how it was when things were tough. Your worse times are probably not fun at all when they are happening. But later on they can be a great teacher. They can become some of the most helpful and powerful experiences of your life.
So what can be learned from one of the best boxers of all time? Let me share five tips from Muhammad Ali and how to break through barriers in the world and in your mind.
1. Take a risk.
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." M. Ali
To get what you really want you will pretty much always have to take risks. Of course, that can be scary. How do you overcome that fear? A few suggestions I would offer include:
*Really , really want your objective.
*Ask yourself: what's the worst thing that could happen? Remind yourself of how little of what you've feared actually happened.
*Detach from the outcome. Think about the results of your actions and focus what is out in front of you.
2. Steer clear of self-sabotage and creating inner obstacles.
"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." M. Ali
Self-sabotage comes from thinking that you on some level simply aren't worthy of what you want. So you sabotage yourself along the way to get yourself back into the place or level of success you feel you deserve. You need to work at allowing yourself to believe that you are worthy of your success. Little by little you can change how you perceive yourself.
3. Keep your self-talk positive.
"It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things will begin to happen." M. Ali
If you are always negative and down on yourself it will be alot more painful and sometimes pretty much impossible to achieve what you want. Keeping the self-talk in your head positive is essential. You can make that easier by following the tips I've shared so far.
Another helpful step is just to be mindful of how you think about things. Say "stop" and cut off negative thought threads before they become strong. Keeping your self-talk positive may seem cheesy or uncool. But beating yourself up all the time is far worse and really not helpful at all.
4. Don't make a big deal out of it.
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." M. Ali
So you create a more positive self-image by doing the right thing and keeping your self-talk positive. But it's also a good thing to not go overboard. If you think its a big deal then its becomes a big deal in your mind. I think its awhole lot easier to keep the self-talk positive and be a humble person.
5. Use your emotional leverage to succeed.
"Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even." M. Ali
If you have an interest is personal development then you have probably ht a point sometime in your past where you said, "Enough of this...something has to change." Or you felt like you hit rock bottom. But as Ali says, it's also there you can find that extra motivation and power to push through.
When you've had enough you will find a way to change your life. Simply remind yourself of how it was when things were tough. Your worse times are probably not fun at all when they are happening. But later on they can be a great teacher. They can become some of the most helpful and powerful experiences of your life.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Top Ten Self Motivating Tips
As I continue to do LifeWorks presentations across the area, there's something I learned about people. Actually, I believe I already knew this but as presentations and speeches come and go, my suspicion becomes more reality.
No one can motivate anyone to do anything!
The only thing I can do is provide incentives for people who attend my speeches and workshops. Now what does matter is if they follow through. I believe we have a generation that even incentives no longer work like they once did for most people. We live in a "I want it now" generation. To actually take the time to work on an issue in our lives to make them better takes time. In some cases months if not years.
IF...you need to motivate yourself to look for that new job, start that project, begin exercising, saving money, (Yes we use to do that in America), make amends with someone, well here are ten Self-Motivating Tips that you can use.
1. Be willing to leave your comfort zone. The greatest barrier to achieving your potential is your comfort zone! Great things happen when you make friends with your discomfort zone.
2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Wisdom helps us avoid making mistakes and comes from making a million of them.
3. Don't indulge in self-limiting thinking. Think empowering, expansive thoughts.
4. Choose to be happy. Happy people are easily motivated. Happiness is your birthright so don't settle for anything else.
5. Spend at least an hour a day in self-development. Read good books or listen to inspiring cd's.
6. Train yourself to finish what you start. So many of us become scattered as we try to accomplish a task. Finish one before you begin another.
7. Live fully in the present moment. When you live in the past or the future you aren't able to make things happen in the present.
8. Commit yourself to joy. C.S. Lewis once said, "Joy is the serious business of heaven."
9. Never quit when you experience a setback or frustration. Success could be just around the corner.
10. Dare to dream big dreams. If there is anything to be the law of exception then we are moving in the direction of our dreams, goals and expectations.
No one can motivate anyone to do anything!
The only thing I can do is provide incentives for people who attend my speeches and workshops. Now what does matter is if they follow through. I believe we have a generation that even incentives no longer work like they once did for most people. We live in a "I want it now" generation. To actually take the time to work on an issue in our lives to make them better takes time. In some cases months if not years.
IF...you need to motivate yourself to look for that new job, start that project, begin exercising, saving money, (Yes we use to do that in America), make amends with someone, well here are ten Self-Motivating Tips that you can use.
1. Be willing to leave your comfort zone. The greatest barrier to achieving your potential is your comfort zone! Great things happen when you make friends with your discomfort zone.
2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Wisdom helps us avoid making mistakes and comes from making a million of them.
3. Don't indulge in self-limiting thinking. Think empowering, expansive thoughts.
4. Choose to be happy. Happy people are easily motivated. Happiness is your birthright so don't settle for anything else.
5. Spend at least an hour a day in self-development. Read good books or listen to inspiring cd's.
6. Train yourself to finish what you start. So many of us become scattered as we try to accomplish a task. Finish one before you begin another.
7. Live fully in the present moment. When you live in the past or the future you aren't able to make things happen in the present.
8. Commit yourself to joy. C.S. Lewis once said, "Joy is the serious business of heaven."
9. Never quit when you experience a setback or frustration. Success could be just around the corner.
10. Dare to dream big dreams. If there is anything to be the law of exception then we are moving in the direction of our dreams, goals and expectations.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Overwhelmed...Who Isn't Right?
Lately many people I've been talking to have been complaining, and in most cases justly so, about being overwhelmed. I have to admit that I've wrestled with it too. Being overwhelmed stinks!
Complaining about being overwhelmed never seems to be the remedy. It sucks the energy right out of your life. My schedule, work, family, just life in general can in a word overwhelm you. Here's my advice to you-and to myself-for dealing with being overwhelmed.
1. Recognize that overwhelm isn't real. Its not something that attacks us. It's a feeling we experience based upon a belief there's too much to do and too little time to do it. It's fear-plain and simple, And once we recognize and acknowledge it, we're better equipped to deal with it.
2. Be grateful. Appreciate the fact that you have the opportunities and the projects that allow you to contribute to the world.
3. Accept the fact that you will never be caught up. If you're a person of action, someone with goals and aspirations, it's not likely that you'll ever have an empty inbox. The times in which we live and our ability to do meaningful work throughout our lives leads me to believe that we will always have tings left to do.
4. Understand that we can only think about one thing at a time. I think that "multi-tasking" is highly over rated. We can really only handle one thought in our mind at a time. Trying to think about more than one thing as once is very tiring and frustrating.
5. Be selective. The biggest weapon you have in fighting overwhelm is your ability to prioritize what you need to do. By making intelligent choices based upon urgent, non-urgent, important and non-important, we can focus better. Basing these choices on our core values, we can relax in the belief that we're doing what matters the most.
6. Delegate. Learn to gain the assistance of others. People like to help but you have to ask! Anything that can be adequately done by someone else should be delegated. It's an important skill worth developing.
7. Learn to say "no". Our feelings of overwhelm largely come from taking on too much. If you're asked to do something don't be too quick to accept the assignment. You might think you're being a nice person, but if you succumb to health problems because of it, you won't be nice much longer.
8. Take care of yourself. Remember to take breaks in your life. The tendency for many of us is to work harder and longer. In actuality we can get more done in less time and with less effort if we take care of ourselves first. It's not being selfish...it's being smart!
9. Breathe! When we feel overwhelmed we have a tendency to tighten up instead of relaxing. It seems like there are many things at times we HAVE to do, but the only thing we REALLY have to do is breathe! Take some long deep breaths and feel yourself returning to the present.
10. Focus on the task at hand. If we're thinking about what's NOT getting done or all the other things we have to do, we can't focus well on what we're doing now. Think about what you are doing rather than what you're not getting done. Otherwise, you going to be defeated by your feelings of overwhelm.
Complaining about being overwhelmed never seems to be the remedy. It sucks the energy right out of your life. My schedule, work, family, just life in general can in a word overwhelm you. Here's my advice to you-and to myself-for dealing with being overwhelmed.
1. Recognize that overwhelm isn't real. Its not something that attacks us. It's a feeling we experience based upon a belief there's too much to do and too little time to do it. It's fear-plain and simple, And once we recognize and acknowledge it, we're better equipped to deal with it.
2. Be grateful. Appreciate the fact that you have the opportunities and the projects that allow you to contribute to the world.
3. Accept the fact that you will never be caught up. If you're a person of action, someone with goals and aspirations, it's not likely that you'll ever have an empty inbox. The times in which we live and our ability to do meaningful work throughout our lives leads me to believe that we will always have tings left to do.
4. Understand that we can only think about one thing at a time. I think that "multi-tasking" is highly over rated. We can really only handle one thought in our mind at a time. Trying to think about more than one thing as once is very tiring and frustrating.
5. Be selective. The biggest weapon you have in fighting overwhelm is your ability to prioritize what you need to do. By making intelligent choices based upon urgent, non-urgent, important and non-important, we can focus better. Basing these choices on our core values, we can relax in the belief that we're doing what matters the most.
6. Delegate. Learn to gain the assistance of others. People like to help but you have to ask! Anything that can be adequately done by someone else should be delegated. It's an important skill worth developing.
7. Learn to say "no". Our feelings of overwhelm largely come from taking on too much. If you're asked to do something don't be too quick to accept the assignment. You might think you're being a nice person, but if you succumb to health problems because of it, you won't be nice much longer.
8. Take care of yourself. Remember to take breaks in your life. The tendency for many of us is to work harder and longer. In actuality we can get more done in less time and with less effort if we take care of ourselves first. It's not being selfish...it's being smart!
9. Breathe! When we feel overwhelmed we have a tendency to tighten up instead of relaxing. It seems like there are many things at times we HAVE to do, but the only thing we REALLY have to do is breathe! Take some long deep breaths and feel yourself returning to the present.
10. Focus on the task at hand. If we're thinking about what's NOT getting done or all the other things we have to do, we can't focus well on what we're doing now. Think about what you are doing rather than what you're not getting done. Otherwise, you going to be defeated by your feelings of overwhelm.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
"Talk to Me"
Why are people so stressed out any more? Why is it that were so busy we don't have the time to sit down and talk to each other? When did 144 characters on Twitter become enough? Why are many of us "stressed" now days?
Part of the problem I believe any more is that even though we now have a myriad of ways to "communicate" with one another, e.g. Face book, email, Twitter, texting, oh the thing called a land line phone, and yes the cellphone, we really are developing into a culture that has no idea on how to "talk". Thus one of the reasons why so many people get "stressed" out.
A friend I know tells me that a co-worker is no more than 20 feet away and sends 1-2 line emails throughout the workday rather than walking the 15 steps or so and actually communicating with said person. It's so much more productive to then send an email back to them and then have them send a thank you email in return and you sending another email saying 'no problem' and then them saying 'thank you'...ok so I'm being slightly sarcastic.
Recently I was at a restaurant around noon on a Sunday. One family it appeared had just come from church. Mom and Dad, three children with granpa and granma. They no more than got seated when the Mom was on her cellphone along with all three children! The youngest was like 7 or 8 years old. A moment later, Dad was texting. And there sat Granma and Granpa sitting on their hands. Not quite a Norman Rockwell moment. And don't get me started when the waiter came to their table to take their order! (If I had been the waiter I would have shouted, "Your attention please".)
I heard on the Discovery Channel that there is now more technology in today's cell phone than what was in the Apollo spacecraft that went to the moon! Now I'm not criticizing all the great technology that has come down the pike in the last decade or so. But take someones phone from them for 30 minutes...no 15 minutes and there's a good chance they have a panic attack. Couples use to tell a counselor, "we just don't talk any more". Gosh what is it now...he just stopped "Twittering" me.
All I'm saying is this...let's talk to each other and listen to what's being said. If you're in a relationship let the other person hear "I love you". If you have kids "tell" them why something is unacceptable or why we don't act that way. "Show" people that you care by your actions rather than your Tweet.
Cellphone companies blast us everyday with commericals on why we should go with their "plan". Hey with my plan you get unlimited minutes, any time day or night, anywhere coverage...for FREE. Let's talk.
Part of the problem I believe any more is that even though we now have a myriad of ways to "communicate" with one another, e.g. Face book, email, Twitter, texting, oh the thing called a land line phone, and yes the cellphone, we really are developing into a culture that has no idea on how to "talk". Thus one of the reasons why so many people get "stressed" out.
A friend I know tells me that a co-worker is no more than 20 feet away and sends 1-2 line emails throughout the workday rather than walking the 15 steps or so and actually communicating with said person. It's so much more productive to then send an email back to them and then have them send a thank you email in return and you sending another email saying 'no problem' and then them saying 'thank you'...ok so I'm being slightly sarcastic.
Recently I was at a restaurant around noon on a Sunday. One family it appeared had just come from church. Mom and Dad, three children with granpa and granma. They no more than got seated when the Mom was on her cellphone along with all three children! The youngest was like 7 or 8 years old. A moment later, Dad was texting. And there sat Granma and Granpa sitting on their hands. Not quite a Norman Rockwell moment. And don't get me started when the waiter came to their table to take their order! (If I had been the waiter I would have shouted, "Your attention please".)
I heard on the Discovery Channel that there is now more technology in today's cell phone than what was in the Apollo spacecraft that went to the moon! Now I'm not criticizing all the great technology that has come down the pike in the last decade or so. But take someones phone from them for 30 minutes...no 15 minutes and there's a good chance they have a panic attack. Couples use to tell a counselor, "we just don't talk any more". Gosh what is it now...he just stopped "Twittering" me.
All I'm saying is this...let's talk to each other and listen to what's being said. If you're in a relationship let the other person hear "I love you". If you have kids "tell" them why something is unacceptable or why we don't act that way. "Show" people that you care by your actions rather than your Tweet.
Cellphone companies blast us everyday with commericals on why we should go with their "plan". Hey with my plan you get unlimited minutes, any time day or night, anywhere coverage...for FREE. Let's talk.
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Class of '71...40 Years & Counting
The High School Reunion of 1971
FORTY YEARS!!! Are you kidding me? Wasn't it just the other day I was sitting in my Commerical Arts class with Raymond Atwood who was slightly aloof? He would talk about his cottage in England. Later that day I went to Kendall Natvig's Psychology class and he was talking about the Id, Ego and Super Ego or something like that. Most of us actually did learn something. Then there was Coach Bob Buckley out with the track team working his mind games with us. How many track coaches do so smoking a pipe and looking all Ward Cleaver?The Class of 1971 in Webster City, Iowa. At the time we were the largest school in the conference...and yes our claim to fame was football. Imagine that. Coach Dick Tighe and his Lynx...that's all you had to say. A god in his own time to many. Big farm boys who basically beat up little farm boys. Really...beating up the likes of the Eagle Grove Eagles. They couldn't even come up with a different mascot name than that of the town. And Clear Lake...ugh...they never won anything but always wanted everyone to know they lived by a lake.
Christmas formal I believe had as its theme "Crystal Blue Persuasion." I tracked down Tommy James and the Shondels on You Tube the other day still singing that song in a New York club and believe it or not sounding really good. Let's see what Justin Bieber sounds like in forty years!
Webster City was a vibrant town back then. Main street was the main street in town. There were clothing stores to drug stores, hardware stores. pet stores, real full-service gas stations, and even a few fast food places. ("Fast" is a relative term in a Midwest farm town). The washing machine/dryer factory in town employed hundreds if not thousands of people. Shoot I even put in my stint there one summer. That's another story.
Then comes the 40th reunion of the Webster City Lynx. Funny thing...in some ways 40 years changes everything and in some ways nothing. First, the reunion was held at the Country Club. I was never in the country club until my 35th reunion and now my fortieth. I learned early on that I lived literally on the other side of the railroad tracks. People from that part of town weren't country club people. My side of town was referred to as "Shoe Town." I never knew that years and years ago there actually was a shoe factory. History says it burned to the ground under suspicious circumstances...but its ghost lived on in the people of the east side. Kids who went to my elementary school, Hilltop, were looked upon as a lower class. Imagine that in a town of 8,000 people.
Time has changed Webster City. The executives of Electrolux who ran the local factory made a less then brilliant decision to move t Juarez, Mexico known as the Murder Capital of the world. Along with that brain-dead decision went the lives of thousands of American workers and their families. As you drive around town now you can hear, "Dead city walking'.
I imagine it won't be long that our beloved high school will suffer the same fate and will in the near future consolidate with one or more schools just to survive. No more Purple and Gold.
I went to visit my elementary school Hilltop. Its been empty for years now and one local resident told me it will be tore down in the near future. I had the opportunity to walk through it. I'm not even sure rodents wanted to be in it.
And then there was the actual reunion itself. Reunions are strange. What doesn't change is that the people who hung out together in high school still gravitate to each other. Most live in other cities if not other states. But throw everyone into a reunion setting and like magic everyone moves into their old cliques. Humans are fascinating creatures. I admit there were some people I wanted to see and others...well...let's just say I couldn't get to everyone. That hadn't changed in forty years. Does the name Al Bundy from "Married with Children" ring a bell?
You get old in forty years. I quick glance and I thought I was in the local nursing home. People who were bald, slightly overweight, and talking about their grandchildren and retiring...nursing home fodder right?
Sadly in 40 years over 20 classmates have passed on and will be missed. For a class of 220 that's quite a few so soon.
So what's changed in forty years...not much...a lot...both. The only constant is change. As I left the reunion many were already talking about the 45th reunion. Time will tell. But for now Happy 40th to the Purple and Gold of Webster City, Iowa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
