Help on the coldest, snowiest & Iciest day of the year.

The Hero Living Next Door

It was a wintry mix and icy this morning!  I knew it would be this way, but I was driving on the roads anyway.  I had two important appointments.  Luckily, the roads weren’t too bad yet.  And, not long after beginning my journey, I came to a stop at a traffic signal where I read a sticker on the back window of the car in front of me.

“I hope something good happens to you today.”

The chill left my body as I read.  It was chased away by the smile widening on my face.

“A post-prophetic statement!  It already has!” I whispered as if there existed someone near me listening.  There was not one other person there in my car.  Happily, there was one good person at my door earlier this morning.

Harry Pupper was barking while doing his very best Lassie impersonation to let us know there was someone at our front door about 7:30 am.  We were at a loss as to who it could be.

“Who would be out in this frightful arctic-blast-storm?”  I said to my wife as Harry was acting as “Lassie-the-hero” to prompt us forward. Upon their arrival at the front door Sue carefully held Harry with one hand and turned the deadbolt with the other, so they could be greeted by a real-life hero.  Our next-door neighbor, Chris Hand.

“Would you like me to put some salt on your driveway?”  Chris asked with a friendly smile on his face.

“That would be very kind of you!  Thank you for thinking of us!” She answered.

Chris then went about spreading salt on our front steps, sidewalk and driveway, while we enjoyed the comfortable warmth of our home. Shortly thereafter, I left our house and benefited from his goodness by enjoying an ice-free glide down toward the road and my appointments.

Now I’m back inside my home and the arctic blast is blustering away out there!  The wind is howling, the snow is blowing and it feels as if it is -17 below freezing outside!  And, my car is tucked comfortable into its garage spot, outside the ravages of the raging, perhaps once in a life-time storm.

“Stop looking for heroes on television and look at your neighbors to find real heroes!”  I read in an advisory commentary a couple of weeks ago.

This morning I was reading the sky outside. It was a wintry mix and icy early this morning and it’s much worse now!  I knew it would be this way, but I was out driving on the roads anyway.  I had two important appointments.  Luckily, the roads weren’t too bad yet.  And, not long after beginning my journey I came to a stop at a traffic signal where I read a sticker on the back window of the car in front of me.

“I hope something good happens to you today.”

The chill left my body as I was reading.  It was chased away by the smile widening on my face as I thought of my neighbor-hero, Chris Hand.  He’s a retired US Marine and my personal, neighborhood, hero as well.

 

Be the HERO that your children already believe you are. - Blake Brewer

The Legacy Letter

“We all have three things in common.”  Blake Brewer said as he began speaking to around fifty fathers who had gathered together for dinner in Wright’s Barbeque.  The menu and meal had been specially planned for this gathering.  It was a gathering for one specific purpose.

“Be the hero your children already believe you are.”  Blake continue before he went on to identify the three things we all have in common.

“We all have a super power.”  Blake said.  “The words we use can either destroy our children or build and fortify them.”  Then, he revealed our second commonality.

“All of us will have a last day on this planet.”  Blake said quietly, as if he had a specific reason and experience for saying so.

You see, Blake was on vacation with his father and mother in Hawaii not too long ago.  It was a special get away for them and they were having the time of their lives.  Blake remembers feeling extra close to his father as they walked down the trail toward Hanauma Bay to snorkel together.

They were in the bay’s water for some time before Blake noticed he could no longer see his father.  The waves and their swells had become increasing large and swimming through them was very tiring.  Blake was tired himself.  He was also worried.

He was so worried that he swam over to a large rock formation where he climbed to the top.  He hoped he could see his father from this high perch.  He was right.  He looked out and found his father a couple of swells away.  His father was calling for help!

Blake saw his father’s mouth calling out, he couldn’t hear him over the crashing waves, and decided to jump in to try to rescue him.  He remembers wondering if he had enough strength left to be his Dad’s hero.  He jumped in anyway, just as he saw his father go down under the water.

Moments later Blake reached his father.  His Dad was a large man, who had played college football as a tight end with Terry Bradshaw as his quarterback.  Blake is a tall man himself, so he was able to wrap his long arms around his father so he could begin to tow him toward the shore.

Not long after he started his final swim for the day, a life guard approached the two men.  The combined strength of Blake and the guard allowed all three men to arrive on the beach.  Two of them arrived well.  One, Blake’s father, had expired.

It was the expiration of a joyful vacation as well.  And, Blake and his mother spent the next couple of days mourning their loss in a hotel room, while he wondered if he could have done more.  Fortunately, his father had done more!

He had written Blake what he now calls his Legacy Letter.  He had no idea of its existence until his mother quietly handed it to him in that same hotel room.  It was the culmination of a change in Blake, that would also be the beginning of a change for millions of men and the identification of the third thing we all have in common.

“None of us want to have any regrets about our family on our last day!”  Blake said with palpable emotion, to those gathered together in Wright’s Barbeque.

The entire room, down to every man, was touched by Blake’s passion.

“Your words have the power to call your children to greatness!”  Blake said right before he challenged all of us to be one of the million men he is working to inspire to write a legacy letter to their children.

“It will cut through the noise. It will penetrate their hearts.  It will make every heart who reads it ‘return-to-able!’”  Blake counseled.

“We all have three things in common.”  Blake began.

The One Million Man Legacy Letter Challenge then began in earnest for us as well, as we all began to outline our own personal legacy letters.

If you’re one in a million please join us by going to: 

https://www.legacyletterchallenge.com/

“Please send me a Friend.” – A girl’s letter to Santa

Letter to Santa

A teen-aged-girl stopped at Santa’s Letter Box, picked up a blank letter to Santa and walked in the door.

“Do you have a pen I could borrow?”  She asked with a little apprehension.

“Sure!”  I replied, while handing her the pen from my pocket.  Then, I watched her lean over the counter and write her heartfelt letter to Santa, with hope radiating from her face.  As soon as she finished writing her letter she folded it once.  She folded it twice.  She folded it a third time, just to ensure its contents would remain unseen by all eyes; other than Santa’s.

“Thanks!”  She said while walking back to the door from which she entered.

She walked through the door, continued forward down three steps, turned left and then faced the bright red North Pole Post box, where she deposited her letter.  Finally, she patted the top of the hope-filled-box three times before smiling optimistically.  The young girl turned away and walked down the Christmas adorned street.

At the end of the day I too walked to Santa’s Box, being one of Santa’s Helpers, I gathered all of the letters from the box, brought them inside and began to place them in Santa’s folder, so each one of them could be answered before Christmas.  Only one of them had the girl’s careful folds.  

Those folds piqued my interest, so I opened it and read, “Santa, will you please send me a friend for Christmas?”  The sincere request reminded me of another earnest question asked of me many years ago.

“Is Santa real?”  My daughter Kilee once asked me as a young girl.

 “Yes!” I responded.  “But not the way you think.  I’m Santa for you and you too can be Santa for others.”

Kilee’s eyes brightened when she learned this magical secret.  She immediately went about taking her role as Santa, for others, very seriously.  And, she continues to do so today as a mother, daughter, sister and friend.

Friendship is the greatest gift one person can give to another.  A genuine gift of friendship is much different than posting messages to people you know, or know of.  Creating strong personal ties can only be done face to face with an ear attuned to listening.  It ends loneliness.

A lonely, teen-aged-girl stopped at Santa’s Letter Box, picked up a blank letter to Santa and walked in the door.

“Do you have a pen I could borrow?”  She asked with a little apprehension.

“Sure!”  I replied, while handing her the pen from my pocket.  Then, I watched her lean over the counter and write her heartfelt letter to Santa with hope, that her loneliness would end, radiating from her face.  As soon as she finished writing her letter she folded it once.  She folded it twice.  She folded it a third time, just to ensure its contents would remain unseen by all eyes; other than Santa’s; and his helpers.

By combining all of our helper eyes and ears we will make the words, “He knows when you are sleeping.  He knows when you’re awake.  He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake” be real.

Be good for goodness sake.  End someone’s loneliness by being Santa for them. 

“Sometimes I Sprinkle cards in seatbacks.” - Hailey

Sprinkles

The rain had stopped in the early afternoon.

“A good rain always makes the city seem cleaner and softer.”  I said to myself as I waited outside my hotel for an ordered ride to the airport.

It was the day after Thanksgiving and I was expecting a heavy travel day.  That meant more people on the sidewalks.  It would also mean more traffic; not just shopping traffic.  I had visions of miles and miles of cars jockeying for position to drop their friends and family members at the air terminal.  But it was not to be!

The traffic on Grand Central Parkway was unexpectedly light and the cars dropping passengers at terminal four were sort of sprinkled around, with plenty of room at the curb for more.

“No double parking in the drop off zone!  I can’t believe it!” I said to myself.

The trip to my airline had already been sprinkled with surprise.  And, there was another wonder to come once I was in the air.

The flight was comfortable and the people, both passengers and flight crew, were friendly and helpful.  The crew, sprinkled around the cabin, rained personalized attention on all the passengers.  They seemed to be genuinely happy to be there. Happy to bring a smile to those they were there to serve.

One such, noticeable, smile appeared on the faces of a young couple seated across the aisle.  And, their smiles broadened as they paused their entertainment and looked at what appeared to be a card. One of them had pulled it from the seatback in front of her.  They talked softly to each other while glancing around, as if they were looking for an answer.  The answer they were looking for soon appeared as all of the passengers began to disembark.

“Did you give us this?”  The woman across the aisle asked Hailey, the Delta Flight Attendant who’d been serving us so attentively.

“Yes.”  Hailey replied.  “I like to sprinkle holiday cards around the plane this time of year.  It means a lot to me to be able to brighten travel for our guests.” 

She had succeeded in her efforts!  The joy she had hoped for was displayed on the faces of that couple.

“Thank you!”  They said as they picked up their bags and began to walk toward the exit. Their steps were visibly lighter, even with a late-night arrival.

“Joy, purposely sprinkled! It’s refreshing, just like the earlier rain.”  I whispered quietly, as I said thank you to Hailey and followed the happy couple onto the waiting jet bridge.

The rain had stopped in the early afternoon.  But the sprinkles continued on my flight.

“A good rain always makes the city seem cleaner and softer.”  I said to myself as I waited outside my hotel for an ordered ride to the airport.

A little, purposeful, sprinkle of kindness has the ability to make everyone’s life more joyful.

After all, who doesn’t like sprinkles on their cupcakes as well as in their airplane seatback?