Years ago I decided that my default answer to any request, especially from my children, would be “yes.”  I wanted to add positivity to my life, and there are few words any of us like better than “yes.”

Well, one thing is better — an enthusiastic “YES!”  Especially if the previous question was, “Will you marry me?” (I’ve never been turned down on that one.)

Today I’ve decided to add “cheers” to my repertoire.  By that I mean I will be cheering for other people to do well.

When I was in high school my friend Pete Lippman ran the mile at track meets.  One Friday afternoon before a meet he told me that any decent high school miler, including himself, should be able to complete a mile in under five minutes, and he was going to do exactly that.

From the stands I cheered him on, and for three laps he was on track to finish in slightly under five minutes.  Unfortunately, at the beginning of the final lap he faded.  Badly.

Pete ended up at Cal Tech, so he must have been destined for success in pursuits other than track and field.

I’ve since learned that competing is the point, and winning is one possible result.  But having others cheer for you, regardless of the outcome, always feels good.  I remember the Olympics in Tokyo a few years ago during the Covid Pandemic when athletes competed in front of empty grandstands.  Did it really feel like the Olympics with no live audience?  And no cheering?

As a grandfather, I’m happy to cheer on the successes of my grandchildren.  In fact, I like to cheer on many people I know. I like to share their successes, and they seem to like sharing mine.

So you not only have a cheering section.  You ARE a cheering section.

Wishing you a great day.

Cheers!

Alan

I know many of us lately are feeling overwhelmed by the constant barrage of news and social media.  So much so that it’s hard to focus on what is happening around us in our own lives.  But sometimes, you must stop worrying about media reports of the world at large and pay attention to what is actually happening around you.  There are times when we must focus on ourselves and our immediate surroundings.

Which reminds me of a story I’ve shared before about a potential disaster in my own backyard that was successfully averted by quick thinking and action on the part of my stepsons and me.  I’ve lived in houses with swimming pools for most of my life.  And while having a swimming pool is a welcome luxury in the summer heat of Los Angeles, it also presents a constant danger.  We have always deadbolted the door out to the pool, and it is always the first place we’ve searched for a young child if they went temporarily missing.  Fortunately, we’ve been lucky to never have to rescue a child!

But, years ago, I was in bed late one Sunday morning reading the newspaper, when one of my stepsons raced into our bedroom frantically.  The housekeeper had jumped into the deep end of the pool and apparently didn’t know how to swim. She was now floating on the bottom.  This was a true emergency.  Sometimes, you have to stop reading the news and take immediate action at home.  While Susan dialed 911, I dove into the pool.

One of my stepsons helped me to pull the woman out, over the side of the pool. Fortunately, she was still breathing.  The medics arrived, and they took her with them for observation.

Never was the statement truer than in this story — all’s well that ends well.  The housekeeper was fine, the two boys were heroes.  I never did finish reading the Sunday Times, but I’m resharing this story today as a reminder to all of us, that sometimes, the most exciting story is not in the newspaper, but in your own backyard.

Alan

It’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m about to take a walk around the block. I’ll be back in twenty minutes to start working on my blog.

Fast forward. It’s now early Monday morning, and my usual pattern has persisted. I seldom finish my work unless I have a deadline looming, and my blog is no exception.  I need to finish the first draft by noon on Monday to allow enough time for editing, locating a photo, and posting on Monday afternoon. I intended to finish this blog yesterday after my walk but . . .

I am pleased that I have, in fact, posted a blog every week, without fail, for more than ten years.

But here it is Monday morning, and I have yet to write the blog I intended to write yesterday.  But now the deadline is near, so I will tell you about my walk, in which I appreciated the world around me, writ small.

A few houses down from mine where the road meets a driveway there are two small seeds that are beginning to sprout a few forlorn leaves, a gentle reminder that Spring is under foot (and also under car tires if we don’t drive carefully). The trees are fully leafing out and several bushes have graced us with a fragrant floral display.

Perhaps this will be the year we will actually landscape the gardens in the front and back of our house.  But since there is no set deadline, it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll finally get it done. I assume that Spring will return next year, as it has for many millennia, and the gardens will be there patiently waiting for new landscaping.

But I digress. I intend to write about taking pleasure in noticing all the treasures large and small that can be discovered on a walk. There are many. Yesterday I noticed two large tree trunk stubs more than three feet wide where tall trees used to provide shade, a reminder of how ephemeral and temporary we are, as even the strongest and tallest of trees eventually disappear.

While I love walking in nature, I’m often distressed by the way people thoughtlessly leave their trash for others to clean up. Plastic cups, soda cans and other trash appear afresh every day. Don’t people drinking from plastic cups have mothers who told them to never throw their trash out of the car window?

Perhaps it’s cultural neglect. On my recent three week visit to Japan I only saw one plastic cup on the street the entire time.

Perhaps Robert Frost, who opined the world would end in either fire or ice, should have considered a third alternative. Maybe the world will end up as a single gigantic trash heap.

When I begin either my walk or my blog, I never know where it’s going to lead. I do know, however, that there is so much to be discovered, and there are many surprise treats along the way.

You just have to notice them.

Alan