Aha vs. Ha-ha

Aha vs. Ha-ha

Aha moment is the unusual occurrence when things come together to create an awakening, also thought of as the time when the light bulb goes on over your head, after the fact some people refer to it as a stroke of genius.  Not to be confused with opening the door when opportunity knocks.

Ha-ha moments are very frequent occurrences with very little if any value, other than to go through life avoiding ulcers.  You see laughing at life and even at yourself is the opposite of taking life way so serious that you develop ulcers unnecessarily.  I guess if you have never had ulcers you couldn’t appreciate the value of avoiding them.

Once upon a time at the age of 21, I was having a difficult time with life in general; I was holding down two jobs while going to college and being married with a baby girl at home (that little girl by the way will accompany me in completing a couple of items on my bucket list later this year).  I guess you could say that I had symptoms of the beginnings of ulcers.  Eating even a little bit of salad would cause excruciating pain in my stomach, and would keep me from eating even though I was starving.

One day I happen to be enjoying a round of golf with a friend that was finishing medical school, and I decided to ask him for a prescription for my ulcer problem.  Without literally missing a stroke, he said, wait till we finish the 18 holes of golf and I will give you the cure for ulcers over lunch at the 19^th hole (the 19^th hole was the name of the restaurant at the Club House).

I remember that we had lunch and as it turned out I only ordered a glass of milk because my stomach couldn’t handle the food.  As obvious as that would seem we had such a good time discussing the game we just finished that I forgot to ask him for the prescription.  When we left the restaurant we stored the golf equipment in the trunk of our cars and he drove away.

I ran like a crazy guy after his car until he finally saw me in the rear view mirror, and came to a stop.  I reminded him that he was going to give me a prescription for my ulcer problem.  He corrected me and he said I told you I would give you the cure for ulcers, not a prescription.

Here comes the “Aha” moment; He said, “If you have a problem that you can solve, solve it and don’t worry about it; if you have a problem that you can’t solve, don’t worry about it, because all the worrying in the world won’t solve it.”  I was perplexed for a couple of days but then it began to make sense, and I applied that rule of wisdom to all my perceived problems.  Today, some 40 plus years later, I have gone through life without developing ulcer.

I am unusual In that I have gone through life experiencing many an Aha moment, but I probably owe that to the fact, that I am aware of Aha moments, and am constantly on the lookout for them.  I also enjoy my share of Ha-ha moments, but I do take life very seriously.  The best is yet to come….

Why I Stopped Fishing

Why I Stopped Fishing...

My fishing experience was very special, for safety reasons it always included family outings.  There’s no way I would be allowed near the river or lake by myself at that age (we are talking nine or ten years old).  My mother was very protective, and possible overly cautious.  I can honestly say that I inherited that from her.  When the family moved to the Northwest from Texas, is when we became (especially me) one with nature (everything and anything outdoors).  I totally identify with the large number of Dallas Cowboy fans, even if my NFL team allegiance belongs elsewhere.  When I lived in Texas, I was so young but already indoctrinated into believing that no other State mattered.  Some of the more popular television programs helped to heighten the hype. One such program was “Tales of the Texas Rangers,” (1955-59).  There again television programing of the 1950’s and 60’s will be material for another blog posting.

I guess the relevance is that in Texas I was a city boy, and when we arrived in Washington State I became a country boy.  The relocation introduced me to my 21 year old step brother that I was meeting for the first time. I swear if you looked up outdoors in the dictionary, his picture would be there.  He was a hard working foreman at a large farm (approximately 7,000 acres).  I was so impressed with his work ethic, and especially his well-rounded skills.  His truck had a gun rack and he regularly would go pheasant hunting on his way home from work (during open season of course).  He taught me how to fish, how to ride horse, drive tractor, he even introduced me to deer hunting.  I don’t think I’ve ever told him but I owe him a big debt of gratitude for helping me build the foundation that would become the life platform on which I still stand.  That is another great subject for future posting.

Meanwhile back at the farm; before I got caught up in the world of work (due to age limitations) fishing was a regular part of my day.  We had ponds on the property that were stocked with fish, and whenever possible we would fish off the side of the river that bordered our property.  I must remind you that we didn’t have Nintendo, Xbox, or any other Game Systems.  We actually had to use our bodies and minds to keep ourselves entertained.  It wasn’t unusual for me to be riding a horse from one pasture to another and make believe that I was being chased by outlaws, or god forbid a band of wild Native Americans (politically correct).  Now back to fishing and the reason I quit.

It was a typically beautiful hot summer day with not a cloud in the sky (easy 87 degrees).  The river was as usual running beautifully fast and smooth taking the mountain snow melt right past our property.  The river water level was low typical of the time of year, and there were many boulders that were sticking out above the water level.  Being the adventures type that I’ve always been I took all my fishing gear (tackle box, fishing pole, fish net, some bait, a couple of candy bars, and a soda), and jumped from boulder to boulder until I was half way into the river some 20 feet from shore.  My arms were actually filled to overload.  Approximately three and a half hours later, after catching my limit for the day, I decide to get back to shore. 

By now the river level was a little higher and some of the smaller stepping stones were no longer above water, so what had been a fairly easy skip and jump out to the fishing spot was now a larger jump, and jump situation.  You see, when the gap is that far apart, you have to keep your momentum going, to complete the jump.  To make a long story short the last boulder that I jumped on to had a curled snake laying on it enjoying the warmth from the boulder.  In retrospect, it was probably all of 18 inched long, but at the time it may as well have been a python, or rattle snake.  By the time I saw the snake I couldn’t do anything but land on it.  The snake wrapped itself around my ankle, and that night I couldn’t sleep from the experience.  I never went fishing again, unless it was from a boat, and only into my twenties.

That is about as big and bad as my fishing story gets.  What’s your best fishing story?  Stay tuned the best is yet to come…..

Comic Books

Comic Books

I never thought of myself as a geek, but then again we didn’t have that word in our vocabulary when I was growing up. In 1956 my parents had just separated and were going through a divorce.  My sister and I stayed with our mother and we moved from California to Texas.  All my thoughts were of my parents working out their differences and coming together as a family again.  As I’ve said many times before, this is a subject for another posting.

I needed something to take my mind away from my everyday problems, and it was then that I discovered Comic Books.  Comic books at that time were the equivalent to the game systems of today without the interaction.  However, to be most effective the reader had to have a very active mind.  You see, the comic book storyline was merely the spark that made the mind take over and go beyond the images that were on the pages you were reading. 

I remember vividly that while I looked forward to getting my hands on the next issue, I dreaded finishing the comic because I knew that I would have to wait a whole week before the next issue arrived at the store.  The cost of a comic book in 1956 was 6 cents, I didn’t understand finances back then but I am glad my mother loved me enough to give me a 50 cent allowance per week.  My mother kept busy with two jobs in order to maintain a home in a nice neighborhood where we could be safe while she earned a living.  

Our house was close to school, and about 7 blocks away from a community park where my sister and I regularly went swimming especially during summer vacation from school.   Looking back I can’t get over how much society has changed.  My sister and I could walk anywhere we wanted to without fear of predators, or bullies, but then again neighbors looked after each other.  Our local store where I purchased my comics was a block away from my house, and I would walk there by myself to get my weekly fix.  I had three or four comics that I followed, some were weekly issues and other like Batman was bi-monthly, amongst my favorites; Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. I remember that at times I arrived so early at the store that all the publications were bundled, and I was often told that I was the stores best customer.

It’s funny that so many years had to pass by before realizing that I was at the front end of something big.  One of my sons became a fan of comics at an early age and he now attends annual conventions.  I used to take my comics with me when I visited my grandmother and would read them to her; we spent many afternoons together sharing comics. 

Today’s cost of a comic book is prohibitive, for many of the young people that need the distraction the most.  I was lucky that I found an outlet for my challenging times that not only was entertaining and often took me to fantasy land, but it also was instrumental in making me an excellent reader.  I don’t know that everyone would agree, but I feel that reading ability is the key to great performance in the classroom.  There is so much more that I can share about the comic books and my early life.  You can expect a future post on Comic Books part 2.  Just a reminder the best is yet to come….

Budget 101

Budget 101

I was recently standing in line at my Credit Union where my wife and I have been members for some 25 plus years.  I started paying attention to the television monitor on the wall behind the counter where the cashiers are seated.  There are mostly news articles but every so often they make a mention about other services that are offered by the Credit Union.  The one ad that I am about to address is going to save my wife and myself and at this point at least 10 other families untold amounts of money. What I am about to tell you will most likely surprise you.  Paying attention to the monitor reading the article and following up on it will save my wife and me over $120,000.00 over the next 30 years. I know I still can’t believe it either.  You hear all this talk about home refinancing, but half the time you can’t believe the hype. 

A large percentage of home mortgages end up owned by Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac (government agencies). The way it works:  banking institutions like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Home Street, Credit unions, etc., promote their mortgage departments, and once they have a customer, they package a bunch of loans and offer them to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for sale.  There is a lot of money to be made over the term of the contract, just by looking at my savings and you know they are making more off of me than I am saving.  The problem for the smaller institutions is that they have to hold on to the mortgage for the length of the contract to realize the big profit.
By selling to the government agencies, they can make a quick sum for the sale and free their own money to keep financing homes.  What you need to know is that at present the interest rate is hovering right around 3.5%, so if you have a rate higher than say 5 or 6% you would save as much or more than I did.

There is a catch, you do have to qualify; make sure your mortgage is financed by one of the government agencies mentioned above (even if you are making your payments to Bank of America for example), and your income to debt ratio has to meet the requirement.  You don’t have to have positive equity but if you do it still works, this program is for people that are in trouble with their mortgage, but even if you are not you can qualify.  It’s worth checking out.
Just to tie this post to the blog theme, I will share something from the past.  The first home I ever bought was in Eastern Washington in 1971 and I bought it for $21,500.00.  The following are statistics for life in in the US (1971):

Cost of Living 1971

How Much things cost in 1971

Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%, Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 890 Average                                                         Cost of new house $25,250.00, Average Income per year$10,600.00 Average Monthly Rent $150.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents Datsun 1200 Sports Coupe $1,866.00 United States postage Stamp 8 cents Ladies 2 piece knit suites$9.98 Movie Ticket $1.50

As we use to say back then put that in your pipe and smoke it.  Remember the best is yet to come….

The King of Rock & Roll

Elvis Aaron Presley
The King of Rock & Roll
Born: 1/8/1935 Tupelo
Height: 6'0"
Died 8/16/1977

Songs, albums, and movies too many to mention on this blog (this won't the last post on this subject).

Anyone can Google Elvis and get enough material to choke a horse. As usual what you are about to read is my first hand experience and perspective. Before today, you couldn't read this information on the Internet.

September 9, 1956 was the first appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show. I will never forget that event for the impact that Elvis made in the music world, but equally important I will always remember because at that very young age, I experience mass hysteria. 1956 was one year before my family bought our very own black and white Phillco television set. Due to that fact we used to go visit with a family that lived a half block away most every Sunday after early dinner, and catch a couple of television shows with them. I loved going because they had three daughters and a son. One of the girls was my age (Norma), and the other two girls were teenagers 13 and 16. The son was younger than me by two years, and he kept telling me that Norma liked me. I guess it was an ego builder nothing else.

On the night of the Elvis performance, Mr. Sullivan was in the hospital due to a car accident during the week prior. Some performer from England stood in for him. For this particular program the girls had invited about 6 or 7 of their close friends. When Elvis was introduced all the girls started screaming and pulling their hair, it seemed fake except that they all had tears streaming down their faces. I was amazed at what I witnessed, and it took me a long time before I could make sense of Mass Hysteria. That day Elvis performed Ready Teddy, and Hound Dog. I went on to become a devoted fan of Elvis (to this day). I even traveled to Las Vegas specifically to catch his performance in 1975 at the La Vegas Hilton. I wish I had saved the ticket stub, but how was I to know that he would die within two years.

When I arrived in Washington State from Texas, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my new sister-in-law was also an Elvis fanatic. She had the full Elvis collection, which at the time consisted of five albums (1956-58)

Another sad note: my wife and I were married in 1977, three months after getting married we were driving the highways of Easter Washington when a song was interrupted to report that the King of Rock & Roll had died. I felt a sense of loss almost as if I had lost a close relative. In the future I will also post about other great artist, and even attempt some music comparisons across the time spectrum. Do you have any special memories or stories of Elvis? Stay tuned the best is yet to come......

Mother vs. Hulk Hogan

Mother vs. Hulk Hogan

I could give many examples of my wife’s love for me, but none is more significant than when she asked me if we could invite my elderly mother to come and live with us after her divorce from my step-father.  In all honesty I kind of longed for that type of arrangement, but I wasn’t about to impose that on her.  Again showing grace beyond belief she worked out chore responsibilities with my mother to make her not only feel welcomed but also a working part of the family.

My mother having a reputation for being a great master of the kitchen was assigned the chef duties and my wife handled everything else.  I of course was in hog heaven.  I ate the foods I enjoyed growing up, plus I had my whole family under one roof to look after, and provide for.  I’m sorry to say that the arrangement lasted no more than six or seven months.  We began to notice that my wife and I were gaining weight quicker than ever before, so my wife rearranged the duties and mother came out of the kitchen.  To be sure my wife cooked with healthy eating in mind, while my mother just made sure that the food was finger licking good.

My duties now included entertaining my mother and it involved the following, but not limited to: maintaining her in a supply of yarn, and materials for other crafts that she and my wife shared, including embroidery.  All those crafts after a while were not enough so I made the mistake of introducing my mother to Bingo at the local Casino.  We got lucky almost immediately, and before you knew it we were playing bingo on an average of 3 times a week (about two hours per outing).  It didn’t help that we lived less than a couple of miles from a very popular casino.

Another big interest of my mother’s became the WWF (later changed to WWE).  Most all the wrestlers were her favorites, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man “Randy Savage,” Kamala the Butcher, Jake the Snake, on and on.  I actually took my mother to some live wrestling matches at a nearby Domed Arena, and she had the time of her life.  There is a big reason for the build-up on the WWF.

The following year my mother for a short period of time seem to act a little depressed, so I came up with a great idea to bring her out of it.  I contacted my grandmother in California whom my mother had always maintained a close relationship with, and invited her to come to the Northwest and visit for a week.  Due to the fact that my grandmother was already in her 80’s, I also invited my grandmother’s daughter (my only aunt from my father’s side of the family).  After purchasing two round-trip airplane tickets for them, I had to make up a story so my mother would accompany me to the airport without giving away the surprise.

I told my mother that Hulk Hogan and a bunch of other wrestlers including Macho Man, and his manager Ms. Elizabeth, were coming to town for a Main Event, and that they would be arriving by plane at the airport.  I further told her that a friend gave me inside information and that we could go see them arrive and get their autograph.  Mother cheered up at the thought of meeting the Hulk, and Macho Man in person.

Once at the airport, the flight I was expecting (prior to the security restrictions of September 11, 2001), arrived and we were sitting nearby watching everyone come out of the tunnel.  I told mother to keep her eyes focused on the people coming off of the plane.  I was expecting that she would see and recognize my aunt and grandmother, as they entered the terminal.  When I saw them and they saw me, they walked towards and stood right in front of us, but my mother didn’t even notice them.  She was trying to look around them still looking for Hulk Hogan.  I finally said mom look who is here, she was filled with joy and stood up and hug them both, but as soon as she could she turned to me and in a low voice asked me; “Does that mean that Hulk is not coming?”  The following week was the best ever for catching up, adding details to the family tree project, and just plain fun.  That would also be the last time that my mother, grandmother and aunt would visit together.  I guess I did do a good thing after all.  Stay tuned the best is yet to come……

On Being Wealthy

On Being Wealthy

I was born to a very loving and giving couple.  If I had a choice and could pick my own parents, I would pick the same ones.  My father worked hard and smart to provide for his family (he was and educated man).  My mother came from more humble beginnings, but you would be hard pressed to find a more caring person.  I know that my mother loved me from before I was born, to her last day on this earth.  I can say the same about my father, but he just didn’t show it like my mother did.  Matter of fact, I remember it like it was yesterday, I was 42 years old and had already crossed the security check at the airport in Ontario California on my way to board my return flight home, when my father said the words, “I love you son.”

I’d like to think that it wasn’t a big deal, but it must have been if I still remember the exact moment to this day. There again, this is material for another posting.

From my early years I knew what it was like to enjoy the better things in life.  Before there was pre-school as we know it today, or even Head Start, my parents made a decision that was beneficial to my future.  I was enrolled at the age of four into a prestigious private (pre) school.  That experience and exposure gave me a boost that benefitted me for the rest of my life.  I remember being treated very special, and even lovingly if that’s possible, while at the same time being taught discipline.  By the time I was enrolled in public school I was at least two years ahead of the other students.

Having had a taste of good or decent life has a tendency to drive you to maintain a certain level of comfort.  Life throws a curve at you once in a while that may knock you of course.  The trick is to get back on course as quickly as possible to maintain the momentum.  After my parents divorced (that’s what a curve is) my mother remained single for 3 years before she remarried.  That remarriage landed me in a farm style environment.  I turned lemons into lemonade, and learned all I could from the farm environment and came out stronger (getting back on course).  We are the sum of all of our experiences.

On being wealthy:  it doesn’t matter if you are worth, one thousand or one million dollars.  If you appreciate what you have, you are wealthy.  If you don’t appreciate what you have you will never be wealthy because you’ll never know when you have arrived!  Another word of wisdom is that budgeting successfully is keeping the three legged stool balanced.  One leg is incoming cash, second leg is how much you need to live on, and third leg is outgoing cash.  If you are running low on cash by payday you either don’t make enough (get a part time job or get a better paying job), or lower your living standard (you can’t afford your life style), perhaps you are spending too much on entertainment, or unnecessary luxuries, even helping others may be a luxury you can’t afford.  Bottom line is we are all wealthy within our means; we just need to appreciate what we have.  The best is yet to come…….