Why Has Election Day Made Me So Angry?

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care, TCB"

Like so many of us, I've been thinking long and hard about this recent election and I'm just still angry as hell. So angry in fact, that I've barely been able to even discuss this even among friends. Although like many of us who have been trying to figure out what happened, the question I've been focusing on is this: where is this deep seated, visceral, and overwhelming anger inside of me coming from? 

Facebook, Twitter, and the 24/7 news cycle has shown me the full spectrum of human emotion this week, and not just from the United States, but from around the world. It's never been more clear that the whole world is watching us. 

 

I think I want to take a giant step back, and really do some soul searching. Instead of getting all political and rehashing everything we already know (and frankly, no one wants to relive) I want to explore my own anger. 

You see, the more I think about it, the more I'm coming to the conclusion that it's not so much coming from the fact we elected Donald Trump as our next president, but rather we elected a horrible, miserable, hateful, revengeful, spiteful, ugly, selfish and disrespectful human being. The most egregious being the disrespectful part. 

What does respect have to do with it? Well, I would argue everything actually. You see, in my book respect, integrity, and character are all that matter. My wife and I raised two beautiful, smart, funny, rambunctious, and strong-willed girls. 

We made plenty of mistakes, however we learned early on that we had to be united, consistent, and fair in laying down some basic rules and guidelines. 

Through trial and error, we came to agree on three rules that were non-negotiable, and everything else was. Here are the three: 1. Health - you will bathe, sleep, eat properly, take your medicine when necessary, and brush your teeth every day. 2. Education - you will go to school; you will do your homework, and you will finish high school (at the minimum). 3. Respect - You will respect yourself and others. Plain and simple. No exceptions.  

It's this third one I want to talk about, because this is the one that Mr. Trump has violated in the most spectacular, outrageous, and egregious way. I never paid any attention to this man until he entered this election, and then I had no choice. 

He forced us to pay attention. What we witnessed over an 18 month period is some of the worst, most childish, most mean spirited, but mostly just disrespectful behavior any of us have ever seen or experienced. He has said and done some of the most hurtful and disrespectful things any public figure - in the history of the world - has ever done. And he made sure it was all captured on camera or audio. 

I wouldn't tolerate this level of disrespect from my children or yours. I wouldn't tolerate it from my family, friends, coworkers, or even strangers. I certainly am not going to tolerate it from the president of the United States either. Neither should you. 

Respect is something you earn. The office of the President of the United States comes with a great deal of respect. The person who occupies that position does not. This person has to earn respect. 

This is why I'm so angry. Of all the monumental challenges Mr. Trump will face in this new position, perhaps earning our respect may be his greatest one.

Mr. Trump, it's your turn.  

A Remarkable Man, A Remarkable Life

I lost my last surviving uncle last week when he lost his battle with cancer. Uncle Tom O’Toole is married to my mom’s little sister, Elaine. They live in Phoenix, and have all their adult lives. I want to share a couple of wonderful memories of this great man. Before I do, I think it’s important to shed some background on my aunt by way of her family.  

The Senini’s, John and Alco were immigrants who came to Chicago to start their family. They had four children: Ed, Irene, Jack and Elaine. I’m not exactly sure of the dates, the order, or the reasons, but sometime in the 1950’s they all moved out west to parts in Arizona and started or raised their families (Grandma and Grandpa and Ed, who had seven children, in Yuma, and Jack, who had four, and Elaine who had four with Tom in the Phoenix area). 

Everyone accept my mom. She married Gabriel Berrafato and stayed in Chicago where all the other Berrafato’s were. I’m one of seven Berrafato children.

Aunt Elaine and Uncle Joe - Mark's Christening

One of the things I remember as a young boy growing up in the early 1960’s was that plane travel was really special, exotic even. I thought only rich or famous people could jet around the country. It was always a rare, special event when there was a ‘Senini sighting’ in Chicago back then. It also always meant there was going to be a party! I always associated my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Tom with good times (and I still do!) 

Elaine is my God mother and her husband, Uncle Tom both hold a special place in my life. He married me! Er, well, I mean he married Cristin and me. See Uncle Tom is also a retired Superior Court Judge.

Judge O'Toole and the proud Father-In-Law, Jules

When I asked Cristin to marry me we were living in Milwaukee, all my family was in the Chicago land area, and Cristin’s family was in the Phoenix area. After many, um, spirited conversations about the wedding it became apparent that no matter what we did, we were going to be unable to please both our families so we came up with an idea. Knowing Uncle Tom is a judge in Arizona, I asked him if he did marriage ceremonies. Imagine my incredible delight when he said yes! He loves to do these! So we began making plans for a small ceremony at Cristin’s parent’s Cave Creek home. 

Two things you need to know about my uncle: first, he’s a great athlete and second, he’s a huge sports fan (with allegiance to his beloved Notre Dame). When Cristin and I selected our wedding day, we unknowingly chose April 2, which also happened to be the second round of NCAA playoffs in 1988. The good judge said something like, “…I’m happy to marry you two, but not until after the game!” This was not well received by the mothers of the bride and groom (or his wife), however what choice did we have? If memory serves me correct, he was pleased when his Wildcats won, however the natives were getting restless. The ceremony was beautiful and everyone had a great time. I’m also pleased to report that Cristin and I are going on 29 years of wedded bliss so it really boosted the good Judges' wedding success stats!

The evening before Annie and Paul's wedding

The other quick story is back at the height of my running days, I was probably running five to seven miles almost daily and at a pretty good clip. I don’t recall the date, but one day during a visit to my in-laws I asked Uncle Tom if he’d like to run with me. He said sure, but I need to ‘take it easy on him’ because he was playing golf earlier that day. Well, we get out and it immediately became apparent that I was in trouble. Tom buried me! The only thing more humiliating than being killed by a guy 20 years older than me was his offers to stop and rest, which was clearly aimed at me.  

From 2004 or so to today, I was fortunate to spend much time in Phoenix on business and was able to get to know both my Aunt and Uncle well. Two finer people don’t exist and I’m so fortunate to have them in my life. Uncle Tom, you will be missed; however yours was a life well lived. You did right by your wife, children, and family. You honored your profession, and you upheld justice and the constitution for the most vulnerable amongst us. Your faith is strong, and it has guided you well. 

Godspeed Uncle Tom. Godspeed. 

Where Are You On Your Journey and What Are You Doing About It?

I recently received an e-mail from my rental car company which I didn't think much of until I opened it. I was expecting a promo offer of some sort, but instead what I saw was a dashboard telling me: How many times I rented cars from them in 2015; Where I rented; How many days I had the car; How many Frequent Rental Points I had and how many I used, so on and so forth. Welcome to the era of data analytics. Unless you've been living under a rock (or are part of my fathers generation - he's 87 and still can't figure out how to open his e-mail on his IPhone) you know that everyone is tracking what you do these days. Very Orwellian in many ways, but it is the way of the world as long as you are 'on the grid'.


As I was contemplating the new year and where I've been, this got me thinking a bit about myself and my life. As I begin 2016, I'm thinking maybe it would be beneficial for each of us to take advantage of all this data that is now available. Professionally, my company is still going to focus on content, however my clients are asking us for more tools to help them assess their students so they can intervene before they fail, not merely doing damage control after they fail. Sounds like a good idea right?


This is a good time to look at where we are on our life journey. Let's look back to where we were. When is the last time you did this? Often I think we get so focused on the 'problem of the day' that we fail to see the big picture of what we have already accomplished. One small, but poignant example for me is my bike riding. I've only been riding since February of 2012, however I use an app called Strava. This allows me to track both my running and cycling workouts. When I look back, mostly what I see is pretty unimpressive: I don't ride that far, and certainly never very fast. I know I live in a hilly area, but have no idea how much climbing I do.

Here's what Strava tells me:


* In 2015 I rode 2,778 miles. This is the distance from Atlanta to Seattle. I could have rode my bike to Seattle!
* I climbed 112,533 feet. This would be a 22 mile climb - basically I climbed almost to the outer bounds of the earth's stratosphere!
* I rode over 247 hours. This is basically equivalent to riding for 11 straight days without stopping.

http://2015.strava.com/video/IJ4koEF

See what data analytics can tell you? I think it's really important for all of us to be able to see our accomplishments in context of the bigger picture. When we look back at something, rarely do we ever see the bigger picture. Small and seemingly unremarkable accomplishments sustained over long periods of time reveal huge and very significant accomplishments.


This year we have an opportunity to apply this way of thinking and measuring our success to some very important aspects of our lives. Here are a couple suggestions:

1. Your Relationships
2. Your Health
3. Your Work & Finances





Take some time to look back at these. Are you where you want to be? Do you know why? These are important questions, because until you can answer them, you'll be unable to change your course and do something about it.

The second two are pretty easy to track: For your health, get a Fitbit, use apps like Strava and LoseIt! to start generating data for your exercise and diet. For your finances, most banks now have financial tools to help you budget your money and track your net worth.

Now for the important one, your relationships. This is far more qualitative and subjective. This may actually be the most important one because it will likely be the motivation for you to get your arms around the other two (see what I did there?). Use a journal app like Penzu to get a benchmark on where you are with your relationships. Be honest with yourself. Here is a link to a blog post I wrote that talks about the three types of relationships in each of our lives (thanks to Hank Henley for sharing the TD Jakes sermon!):

http://markbears.blogspot.com/2011/11/rule-of-three-theres-song-dickey-betts.html

Where are you in your life journey? Are you where you want to be? 

What are you going to do about it? 

I really want to know! 

Why I ride my bike - and why you might want to as well

"Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like" - Freddy Mercury - Queen

When I was a little boy growing up in a northern suburb of Chicago, I was one of 6 boys in my family. Being the 4th youngest, I always seemed to get my share of hand-me-downs, however one thing my dad always did was made sure we all had our own bikes. See, this was the only mode of transportation for us in those days. Although we all got drivers licenses as soon as we could, noone had their own car (and even if my dad could afford to buy us each one, he never would have even considered it because, well, that's just who he was and how he raised us). 

We rode our bikes everywhere! School, to the store, to friends houses, to work (we all caddied at Glenview Country Club) and of course just out playing everyday we could. Eddie Vedder (yes, that Eddie Vedder :-) lived just down the block from us and he and my brother Chris were good friends and would play together, riding bikes and getting into all sorts of trouble. They are still friends to this day. Every Pearl Jam concert in Chicago Eddie leaves 4 tickets for Chris at the box office. At one of the last shows, in between songs he gave Chris a 'shout out', telling a story about how he and Chris used to terrorize the neighborhood on their Schwinn Stingrays. It was pretty cool!  

One of my favorite things to do when I got paid from my caddy job: I'd get my backpack, hop on my bike and ride to my favorite record store, Record City, in Skokie, I'd bee-line it to the 'cut out' bin in the back of the store and I'd rummage through every single album in the bin. These were basically records the store had deeply discounted to get rid of them. They were identified by having the left edge of the cover cut off. They were usually $1, so I could buy 10 for the $10 spot I had burning a hole in my pocket. If all I found was 1 or 2 songs I liked on one of these I considered it a score. I quickly built my record collection this way. Today, I have over 3000 vinyl records and still play them!  

One of the best summer jobs I've ever had involved my bicycle. It was the summer of 1979 and my sister, who was and still is the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police in Morton Grove, told me about a cool new summer job that the department was rolling out. It was called the 'Bicycle Patrol' and it involved a handful of 'bicycle patrol people' riding the streets and bike trails in Morton Grove promoting bike safety. I applied and got the job. For three glorious months that summer I got paid to ride my bike all day long! Best. Job. EVER! (Ironically, none of us wore helmets). 

I didn't have a car when I went to college, however I did have my bike. I rode it everywhere in the small town of Gunnison, Colorado. The problem I had there was that it was in the mountains and 8 months out of the year there was snow up to my ying yang and it was cold as a wiccan's bosom (with apologies to all my wiccan friends - you know who you are!). I would ride to class often bundled head to toe with winter clothes, only to have to change into a tee shirt putting everything else into my backpack for the afternoon ride home. It was crazy.

Enough reminiscing, let's fast-forward to today. I started running my junior year of high school in 1977. I started in order to lose weight and get into shape. It didn't take me long to really find my stride (see what I did there?) and quickly escalated my mileage to where I was running between 5 to 8 miles a day. Well, I quickly lost tons of weight and got down to a svelte 160 pounds. The best part was the 'runners high' I became addicted to. This is very real and real good! I kept running through college and into my 30's, and 40's. However around my 50th birthday my arthritic knees and bad back got so bad that my running days were coming to an end. This is when I decided to try cycling to alternate my workouts. I started with a mountain bike, and worked up to a road bike. Besides the physical benefits of riding, maybe the best part is what happens to you mentally and emotionally. You get the benefits of endless endorphin's washing over your brain and body, but the sense of vitality, endurance, freedom, and the sheer power of your own body is not only exhilarating; it's transcendent!  

My whole point in writing this today is that I want to clear up any misconceptions of why I ride my bike and what you're missing if you aren't riding yours. I ride to feel the wind in my face. I ride to get exercise. I ride to get away from the stress and strain that is my life. I ride because it makes me feel so alive. You'd be so surprised, shocked even, how quickly the transformation happens. 

I ride because it makes me feel like a kid again.

Another Rite Of Passage or Just Glad To Be Alive

"TRYING TO STEAL A MINUTE
FROM A STINGY HANDS OF TIME
AND I’M TRYIN TO GET TO HEAVEN
BEFORE THEY HANG OUT THE CLOSIN SIGN
WORLD BLOWN PAST ME
AND WHAT HAVE I GOT TO SHOW
I’M JUST TRYIN TO STEAL A MINUTE
BEFORE IT’S TIME TO GO"

(Randall Bramblett from The Bright Spots)

Today's Chautauqua  concerns a recent health scare, another rite of passage, and a renewed sense of relief and appreciation of this gift we call life - all wrapped up together.  Without going into the unpleasant details, recently I have been having much pain and discomfort in my gut and it brought me to finally do something about it (I know, something about men not stopping to ask for directions yada, yada...).  Which led me to my most recent rite of passage.  I call my Blog, The Other Side of This Life because I am, and one of these rites of passage for anyone over 50 is the dreaded (for very good reason!) Colonoscopy.

Anyone who has been through this awful experience understands.  Those who have not, will eventually.
I'm not going to talk about this, but rather some feelings that led up to it.


As it turns out, I come from a long line of hypochondriacs on my fathers side (as my wife will remind me - often). So as my abdominal pain and discomfort intensified and I continued to ignore it, I knew something wasn't right and decided to do some research online.


Anyone who has ever done this, you know, go online for medical information, knows it took me about 30 seconds to diagnose myself with advanced stage colon cancer with less than 5 years to live.  Don't laugh, you've done that too I'm sure :-).

I'm not making light of this serious situation that so many people face, I'm simply telling my story.  As I pondered my possible early demise what I was really thinking of was my family: have I taken care of them if I can't be there? Emotionally, mentally, financially?  Are my 'ducks lined up' so they are?  What will they remember about me? Will there be tears of sorrow or a mixture of tears of joy as well? Was I a good dad? A good husband? Friend? Brother? Son?

The only one of these questions I can answer is the financial one - the only one that doesn't rely on what someone else thinks. I think that, yes, if I were to die of some disease or accident, my family would be taken care of.  The good news is, after my test, whatever will ultimately kill me, it's not likely to be colon cancer.

Which leads me to the real reason I'm writing this today. I have been thinking quite a bit about some people in my life that are going through some medical challenges that are indeed threatening their very lives.  One of them is my uncle, and the other two are friends and colleagues I work with at Wiley.  I am amazed, strengthened, and humbled by their courage and determination to beat these things.  All three couldn't be more different in their personalities, demeanor, or careers.  They have families, bills, demanding social and civic responsibilities, yet the one thing they all have in common is their sheer love and zeal for life and mostly, the intense and burning desire to live.  I think the statement that captures this best is from my friend Liz who has just kicked cancer's ass:

"I am just glad to be alive so I will take the burdens that come with that gift."

So the next time I'm getting ready to complain about my arthritis, or lower back pain, or work, money or family problems, I'm going to try (try I tell you!) to remember Liz' words.

As always, Peace, Love, and Great Music! 

Who doesn't want more stuff?

Somehow, completely unbeknownst to me, I have a subscription to Guitar Player magazine.  As I was flipping through the pages two immediate thoughts/impressions jumped out at me: First, I've never seen so much electronic wizardry in my life, let alone have ANY idea what anyone would possibly do with it.  Secondly, the players they profile are basically all technically gifted freaks of nature and most mortals who play can and never will be able to do ANYTHING these freaks can. 

How does ANY of this stuff make anyone a better guitar player?  However, the more important question is: Do they really NEED it? 

This got me to thinking about the fast approaching Christmas holiday season and the 'consumer orgy' that it has become. 

Dionysus

What Madison Avenue and Wall Street have done to this holiday would have Dionysus blushing. 

Even the God of Wine, Merry Making, Theater, and Ecstasy couldn't have imagined what we could accomplish with credit cards. 

Christmas means many things to many people, and even those who aren't religious or not even Christian find special meaning in the holidays.  Getting back to my point, how much more 'stuff' do any of us need?  I was thinking about how social media has become such an important part of our lives and being able to post photos of us having a good time has seemingly become more important than, well, actually having a good time!  I find myself guilty of missing the magic of the moment on occasion because I want to 'capture it' to post on my Facebook page. 

It's a real new and weird concept: that being how the opportunity for you to show people not with you what a great time they are missing, except that you actually missed it too because you were too busy trying to capture a photo to show them what a great time you're having and they aren't. I think this is a good metaphor for what happens to so many of us during this special Christmas / holiday time. 

We get so caught up in the 'buying stuff' and all the expectations surrounding the gift giving pressure that we often miss the opportunity to just experience the joy that may be as simple as sharing a meal, seeing a movie with friends, having a cup of coffee with a good book, or just hanging with the family or loved ones watching TV. 

Here is my wish for you this magical holiday season: May you stop the madness that is life these daze for just a spell and look at the people around you. Ask yourself, 'why are they around you?'  Hopefully the answer is because you chose to have them in your life.  Now, take some time to let them know why. 

Here's wishing you and your families a relaxing, safe, and blessed Christmas holiday season and may the new year bring you good health, lot's of laughter, happiness and prosperity. 

Peace and Love,

Markbear & family



Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives...

     It's really amazing how fast time seems to pass these days.  Each year I get older, the days, months and weeks just seem to fly by - literally.  A sign of just how old I am is that I tend to gauge time passage by mortgage payments.  How can it be due when I JUST paid the damn thing?  

Back at the scene of the accident

     Exactly one year ago today I set out for a long bike ride.  It was a hot, sunny, Georgia summer day and I hadn't decided where I'd ride, so I just rode.  I let the environment 'choose' my route by what road and direction feels good. That Saturday I ended up heading south and before I knew it, I was at a one mile mountain bike trail that loops around Pope High School here in East Cobb County. 

     I'd ridden this trail many times, however always counter-clockwise.  Well today I felt like 'mixing it up' and rode clockwise.  If you ride, you already know that this COMPLETELY changes a trail no matter how many times you've ridden it the other way.  It had rained hard the night before and the trail was wet. There is a rather steep part of the trail which I have no trouble climbing, however this time I was descending and although I didn't think I was moving that fast, the trail cut sharply to the right.  Just as I saw this, three very important things happened in less than a blink of the eye: First, the trail disappeared and a large tree filled my view; Secondly, I realized I couldn't stop or move out of the way of this tree; Thirdly, well, you know.  Smack!  

     My life didn't flash before my eyes before impact - it just happened.  I didn't black out or lose consciousness, but I was dazed, confused and nowhere near my bike.  I just laid there stunned, not yet grasping what just happened. I was by myself and the first thought that crossed my mind was, "God, I hope nobody saw that!" followed immediately by, "Oh God, nobody saw that! What if I can't get up?". Then finally, "What the hell am I going to tell Cristin?". Well, fortunately I was able to get up, do the old, 'anything broken?' check that boys learn to do early in life - nothing appeared to be broken, but I knew I hit that damn tree hard.  Fortunately my bike wasn't damaged because my body protected it from the tree, but I was hurt (my ribs) and knew I needed help, only I'm on a bike trail by myself miles from home.  

Fateful route 8/18/2012

     So I did what I had to do, which was walk my bike out of the trail to the street (it was TOO painful to ride) at which point I mounted it and began my 10 mile ride home.  Seeing as it was Saturday about 6:00pm, I knew that if I broke or fractured my ribs, I'd be in bad shape tonight and my only choice would be the ER so as I was passing a busy intersection I saw an Emergency Med clinic and I decided to go there.  Fortunately they were open and had an actual doctor there as well as an X-ray machine. The Doc took pics, and he couldn't make out any breaks or fractures, however he said I did severely bruise my ribs, along with my left kidney but he wanted to get a radiologist's opinion to be safe.  

     It was then that he said, "there is one thing that I'm concerned about".  He pointed to my X-Ray and said, "see this spot on your left lung?  I don't like that". My heart just skipped a beat and I realized I had stopped breathing. He said it's most likely a calcium deposit (maybe from a prior respiratory illness), but he wants it checked out.  So he wrote me a pain med prescription (which I NEEDED that evening) and sent me on my way (Cristin picked me up and we picked up my bike the next day).  What followed were the longest 4 days of my life waiting to hear from the radiologist. Luckily it was just that, a calcium deposit and nothing to be concerned with.  

My high school Senior Prom - 1978

     During those four days my life DID pass before my eyes - all 52 years of it.  I did have pneumonia when I was a baby and it almost killed me.  I fell off a 15 foot high retaining wall in Colorado - on my back - when I was 22; I fell off a 10 foot fence, rolling backward into a ditch when I was 34; when I was 49 I fell off a ladder - on my back - while trimming a tree in my yard. 

     My point here is (besides my guardian angels clearly working overtime) there are so many awful, devestating injuries I could have sustained (or even death) but other than a herniated disc and a wicked case of whiplash that still nags me 19 years later, apparently God is not through with me and has some other plans. 

     It took a full 6 months for my bruised ribs to heal and I've since 'gotten back on the horse that throwed me' and have ridden almost 1,000 miles.  I have learned some very valuable lessons as a result of this accident.  The most important being: First, there are forces at play that I don't understand, and although my faith in the Catholic Church has been shaken, my faith in God has not, and remains strong; Secondly, I'm so blessed to have a (mostly) healthy body and mind and I must take better care of both.  Finally, I have a more clear idea of what my purpose on this planet is and it all revolves around those people in my life who I love and care for - my family and friends.   

Some Christmas Thoughts for 2011

     As Christmas 2011 descends upon us, I would like to follow up my previous post of the Rule of Three.  In case you missed it, this was the thoughtful and excellent homily on the three types of friends in your life by Bishop TD Jakes.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV6Ki_sau7g

     In the 27 years I have been a professional sales person, I can count the number of times I have missed my sales target on one hand.  After this disappointing and challenging year, I won’t be able to say that again.  This has left my head in a bad place where, like December, the days are short on sunlight, and the nights are cold, wet, long, and dark.  

     Like most of the U.S.A. recently, we have also had some unseasonably warm weather for December so I went for a long run yesterday.  As I was enjoying the fresh air and invigorating feeling of my muscles working and blood pumping, I had the overwhelming feeling of how great it is to be alive and healthy.  Like any 51 year old, I have my share of aches and pains, but for the most part I’m healthy.  My mind quickly went to thinking about friends and loved ones who are either no longer with us, or are struggling mightily with significant life threatening illnesses.  

     When I was 16, I watched in horror as my brothers best friend broke his neck in a hockey game, becoming paralyzed from the neck down.  Four years ago I helplessly sat by my mom’s side while she died from diabetes related heart disease.  Less than two years ago I carried the casket containing my closest and dearest friend from my childhood, who also succumbed to diabetes related heart disease.  Just this past year I witnessed my uncle, who at 70, was the fittest and healthiest person I know suddenly contract a deadly form of blood cancer which has racked his kidneys, leaving him depending on dialysis three days a week while he battles for his life. 

     My point is simply this (and no one struggles with this as much as I do!):  Intellectually I know how fortunate I am to have my health, however I continue to let the fact I missed my sales target this year bum me out.  How many of us let money, material things, and petty arguments obscure what is truly important to us?  I know we all have to have money to live, but you can’t live if you aren’t healthy.  Money won’t buy back your health (think Steve Jobs).  

     Christmas and the beginning of a new year is a great time to look back at how fortunate we all are for all that we have, and all that we have achieved.  The birth of Jesus gives us the hope for a new, brighter tomorrow.  Let’s all try and transcend our intellectual understanding of what’s important to an emotional and spiritual one.  Since our experience on this earth is a physical one, let’s start by taking better care of our human bodies so that we can free our minds and souls to pursue the limitless potential of the human experience, never forgetting that there are others who are not as fortunate as us. 

     I'll leave you with a couple of verses from the Red Hayes/Jack Rhodes tune,

 "A Satisfied Mind"

'How many times have you heard someone say'

'if I had his money, I'd do things my way?'

'But little they know that it's so hard to find'

'one rich man in 10, with a satisfied mind'

'Money won't buy back your youth when you're old'

'A friend when you're lonely, or peace to your soul'

'The wealthiest person is a pauper at times'

'Compared to the man, with a satisfied mind'

     This holiday season, count your blessings, hug your family & friends, stay safe, and eat more fruits and vegetables!

Peace & Love,

Mark-