The Difference Between Penguins and Lions

I put forth a challenge at the first of August (2014), asking you to submit your story titles and I would in turn write five hundred words or more just from the title. One of my personal tricks to keep the writers block at bay is to come up with just a title. I keep an ongoing list of titles to spark the creative juices. As promised I will use one each week to pen a new story. The list of titles is listed below. Thanks for all your input. While I can’t write to all of these, I do hope that you get to see yours in print.

The Blue Truck Across the Street – While Waiting

The Difference Between Penguins and Lions

Talking Heads – Floating Heads – If God Is In Front of Us – My Lullaby Was Rhiannon

At the Crossroad – You’re Not Going to Believe This

When I Thought It Was Over, the Adventure Had Just Started – Finding Dead End Roads

Secrets in Every Man’s Life – 21 Year Journey

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The Difference Between Penguins and Lions
Submitted by Paul Jarvis – www.pjrvs.com

Would you rather be the Penguin or the Lion?

When I asked for title submissions that I could use to write a story I hadn’t imagined all the peculiar possibilities I might encounter. The Difference Between Penguins and Lions came across as quite an interesting idea. As a matter of fact I’ve contemplated this title, this topic far more than others that were suggested and possibly to the point of obsession. Crazy huh?

It just got me thinking; what is the difference between Penguins and Lions? Come on! Isn’t it quite obvious the extreme variations in these two creatures? Huge difference here. It seemed too simple on the surface. One is a bird, the other is a cat. (Not a good mix on any level I’m sure.) One likes cold climates, the other prefers the African heat. One eats almost purely fish and the other, well, Lions prefer much larger prey; though I’m sure being carnivores a fish on a plate might be a nice change of pace.

Upon further consideration I realized I wasn’t dealing with two animals that happen to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of habitat, hunting abilities or physical characteristics. I realized that we are actually talking about people here.

What really is different about Penguins and Lions is how they relate to one another. In the wild male lions have very lose relationships with their female counterparts. The male lion is the leader of a pride of females and their cubs. To become that leader he has to battle the reigning male for that pride. Winner take all. They seldom do the hunting and they tend to take whatever they want; even to the point of allowing the females and cubs to starve. They will also eat the cubs in tough times. While I tend to admire cats of all sorts, this kind of behavior makes lions less attractive.

Penguins are not territorial but rather very social. They are exceptionally family oriented, supportive of each other and the group. True, a pride of lions work together to hunt for food, (usually while the males lay back and watch) they babysit for one another and share most everything. Even their men. Male lions will mate up to twenty-five times a day. Woe!

Most species of Penguins mate for life. They have a sense of loyalty that is a rare trait in almost all other creatures. Male penguins assist in nest building and child raising. Penguin parents work together as a team and most of their efforts are in support of their young.

Another interesting characteristic of lions is that fifty percent of their diet, or more depending on availability, is scavenged. They often stalk the hunt of other animals and then take their catch by force. The male eats first and the females and cubs pick the bones of his leftovers. Penguins on the other hand hunt purely for themselves, male and female, and primarily for the benefit of their young. They will at times go without nourishment of their own in order to feed their offspring.

Again, I can’t help but translate these two different animals into the characteristics of humans. Here we are, a single species, yet various people tend to act in similar ways to these two animals. Some people are rather arrogant and self-serving, taking for themselves whatever it is they want, seemingly connected to their family but selfish and independent nonetheless. On the other hand some people are dedicated to family, they are loyal, dependable, monogamous and steadfast.

Interestingly enough, before you started reading this I asked you to consider which of these creatures you might choose to be. Have you changed your mind?

At the Crossroad

I put forth a challenge at the first of August (2014), asking you to submit your story titles and I would in turn write five hundred words or more just from the title. One of my personal tricks to keep the writers block at bay is to come up with just a title. I keep an ongoing list of titles to spark the creative juices. As promised I will use one each week for the month of August to pen a new story. The list of titles is listed below. Thanks for all your input. While I can’t write to all of these, I do hope that you get to see yours in print.

The Blue Truck Across the Street – While Waiting

The Difference Between Penguins and Lions

Talking Heads – Floating Heads – If God Is In Front of Us – My Lullaby Was Rhiannon

At the Crossroad – You’re Not Going to Believe This

When I Thought It Was Over, the Adventure Had Just Started – Finding Dead End Roads

Secrets in Every Man’s Life – 21 Year Journey

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At the Crossroad
Submitted by Kathleen Woodruff Esguerra

Life is about choices.

There are a lot of every day choices that are relatively non consequential. Mostly so because we have made up a basic set of guidelines we intend to follow. We decide what time we get up in the morning, what we have for breakfast, what clothes we put on, which route we take to get to work, what we say to people in response to their comments and questions. Most of these choices are decisions we make on autopilot. We don’t have to think about them because we’ve set up guidelines that we unwittingly adhere to without much thought.

Some choices become a form of habit; what we watch on television, the products we buy, the foods we eat and drink. At some point we made choices about these things, but for the most part they become routine answers that we tend to follow without much thought. These are all the easy choices.

Then we come to places in life where we know our choices are profound. We have to decide between one college or another or what curriculum we choose to follow. We have to decide if and how to punish a child for mistakes they have made. We have to decide to accept a marriage proposal, or break up with the person because they seem to have choices in mind that don’t fit with our own. We have to make hard decisions sometimes that are life changing. What becomes even more profound is when we have to make choices that go against what we want, what we believe and how we feel.

We don’t always have the luxury of time in many cases. Sometimes we have hours, minutes or only a moment to make decisions that are life changing. Then other times we are in places where we really don’t have to make any choice at all; which of course is a choice in itself.

Standing at the crossroad, looking down the path of different choices, we attempt to discern which road leads us in the most comforting, the most productive and/or most rewarding direction. We stop to ponder the details that lay before us to contemplate the journey and the destination. We inevitably find that we simply have no way of knowing what lies at the end of either of those roads. Try as we might, we weigh, measure and reason to the best of our ability, yet we can not know where either of these roads will ultimately take us. And just as we know we are not able to predict the future, we struggle with these choices because we know we can not change the past. Once the choice is made that decision becomes a part of our record. It also becomes a reference to good and bad decisions.

The first important thing in coming to a crossroad is to know we are standing at the junction. Some people pass them by without any thought whatsoever, without any realization they had any choice at all. For others, they figuratively or physical fall to their knees in desperation and confusion. They find it virtually impossible to make a decision; becoming paralyzed by their choices.

The answer to which direction we take has little or nothing to do with the moment. The crossroads always depend on the destination. We have to decide which road leads us closer to our goals, and which roads lead us away from our goals.

If we want to lose weight we have to choose between the fatty foods or the healthy foods, and how much of those we will eat. If we want to save money for our dreams we have to decide to place that money aside or spend it one small piece at a time on frivolous momentary satisfactions. If we want to have a strong marriage, a happy family, successful children or rewarding careers we have to be true to our goals. We have to base the choices we make on the goals, not on the momentary rewards. We have to keep the big picture in mind.

Life isn’t about the choices as much as it is about the goals. When we set up our goals we need to carve them in stone and resolve ourselves to reaching them, then the choices become much easier.

When we come to the crossroad there is really only one choice; follow your goals and reach for your dreams. Do things that take you closer to your goal, and avoid paths that lead you astray.

Finding Dead End Roads

In last week’s blog I put forth a challenge, more to myself than to others, but a challenge nonetheless. I asked you to submit your story titles and I would in turn write five hundred words or more just from the title. Some of you elaborated on what you expected to see in the story; that wasn’t part of the rules. One of my personal tricks to keep the writers block at bay is to come up with just a title, then let ideas start to flow from there. I in fact keep an ongoing list of titles to spark the creative juices. Anyway, you submitted some great story titles and as promised I will use one each week for the month of August to pen a new story. The list of titles is listed below. Thanks for all your input. While I can’t write to all of these, I do hope that you get to see yours in print.

The Blue Truck Across the Street – While Waiting

The Difference Between Penguins and Lions

Talking Heads – Floating Heads – If God Is In Front of Us – My Lullaby Was Rhiannon

At the Crossroad – You’re Not Going to Believe This

When I Thought It Was Over, the Adventure Had Just Started – Finding Dead End Roads

Secrets in Every Man’s Life – 21 Year Journey

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Finding Dead End Roads
Submitted by Corke J Lockard

It seems a bit difficult in these modern times to actually get lost. With GPS on every smartphone and answers to every question we imagine found on Google, getting lost is a matter of losing one’s self.

There is a sense of beauty in getting lost, exploring new places, new ideas, new recipes, new things of all sorts. Sometimes though, getting lost is the best way to find what you’re actually looking for.

This week I uncovered a video that talks about failures. It mentions some of the greatest achievers, the greatest minds and talent we’ve ever known and points out their personal discouragements. Yet all these people managed to become someone special. That really struck a note with me. Maybe like you, I get down on myself and the things I’m trying to achieve, and I forget how so many others have failed miserably before they finally achieved their famous success.

Click the Image to See the Video http://youtu.be/zLYECIjmnQs

Maybe the problem with most of us is rejection. Many a great writer has gone unpublished and unknown because those first few manuscripts were turned down one time too many before they ended up in the trash. The famous Dr. Seuss met with twenty seven rejections of his first manuscripts and yet today his name is a household word. I don’t much like rejection but some of my greatest work has come from the things people didn’t like.

Spending hours pouring over your work only to be told it isn’t good enough seems like a huge waste of time; been there done that a lot!

I’ve been down a lot of dead end roads. Dead end jobs, dead end projects, dead end relationships and dead end convictions. But the one thing I’ve done without change is to get back up, to turn around and move in a different direction, to keep my legs moving, my mind thinking and my heart filled with ambition.

Sometimes we get knocked down so many times we wonder, “why bother to get up?” Sometimes staying down seems a lot more comforting than facing failure again and again.

It’s very important to remember that dead end roads are in themselves a form of success. We discover things about ourselves, our methods and emotions, our abilities and skills, our hopes and dreams. We discover who we are by the things we fail at. The only real mistake is not learning from our mistakes.

As a matter of fact that’s why we practice things. Failure is what teaches us to be stronger, to build character and determination. Making mistakes fine tunes our ability to know the difference between what works and what doesn’t work. Falling down serves as a reminder what not to do.

I love to go hiking. Getting outdoors and walking nature trails is one of my great passions. I’ve hiked miles of the Appalachian Trail and I’ve been down a lot of paths that looked promising and ended up going nowhere. But no matter how far off track I got there was always the one thing that remained. I was in my element, I was outdoors doing something I enjoyed in an environment that gave me a thrill. It was the scenery I loved along the way.

Life is all about the scenery. It’s about finding dead end roads and turning around to walk a new path.

There’s no promise that there will be a pot of gold at the end of your trail. But there is a promise that if you don’t keep trying there will never be a pot of gold and you’ll miss a lot the scenery along the journey.

What’s Your Story

What IS your story. I’m curious to hear it. In fact I’d like to write it.

Facebook is filled with all sorts of posts about finding your true self, about doing what makes you happy, and being who you are no matter what others think. I have for a long time been on a mission to do what I love. And what I genuinely love most is writing. I’d have to say I’m pretty good at it too.

I know the difference between to, too and two. I can define theirs and there’s, its and it’s and I have an enormous lexicon (if you don’t know what that is then you probably don’t). I’ve got a pretty solid handle on grammar and at times I’m a damn good story teller; in fact I’m getting ready to publish a couple of books soon. But like many writers, I come up short sometimes on what to write about next. That’s why I would really like to enlist your help.

I’m on the lookout for good stories. If you have one you’d like to share, I’d love to read it. More so what I’m looking for are some good titles. That seems to be one of my strengths; to take nothing more than a title and pen a story based on those few short words. In fact, one of the tricks I use to keep writers block at bay is to make up lists of titles, then later pull them out and think about what they might turn into.

Here’s the challenge I want to put to you. Send me your titles. Jot down a few short words to serve as a title and I will write five hundred words or more based on nothing else but the title. I can’t promise it’s going to turn out anything like you imagined; then again isn’t that part of the fun in this? So let me see what you’ve got.

I’m open to just about anything you want to throw my way. I must first acknowledge that I won’t be able to do this for every title that is sent to me. I plan to choose one to write each Sunday for the month of August. That’s four, and if I’m compelled, I’ll do another one or two for the kicks.

I can’t promise any cash rewards. I’m just an aspiring author at this point who publishes three different blogs of various topics. What I can promise is to give you kudos for giving me good titles. And if by some far out chance one of those stories turns into a published work (other than my own blog pages or sites I post on for free) then I will in the very least buy you a night on the town. Sure, if it makes me rich I’ll give you greater rewards. Just don’t be holding your breath on that account.

So let’s have at it. Show me what you’ve got. I want to see some great title ideas. Anything spiritual, funny, enlightening, scary or even depressing. Don’t send me politics, that’s one subject I stay away from; even though I am passionate about my politics. I just leave that one to the professionals.

Post them to this thread on Facebook, LinkedIn or Google; or send them by email if you know me and prefer.

I’m sure there are some great ideas out there and I’m looking forward to bringing them to life. Now get to work on ideas and next Sunday I’ll share the first of those with you and maybe even some trailers of those to come.

It Doesn’t Matter What You Are

Over the years there have been some phrases I’ve coined, not that any of them have actually caught on outside my circle, but profound and powerful nonetheless.

This one has been a part of me for quite some time. I use it to defend myself at times, and I use it to try and help others recognize the power they have over themselves to change.

“It doesn’t matter what you are, as long as YOU know what that is….”

The powerful part of this statement is what it connotes rather than what it actually says. Because, if you’re a mass murderer, knowing what you are does not justify what you do. In fact nothing is simply justified by what you do. We are justified because knowing what we are gives us the power to take the first step towards change.

I’ve had several friends who battled alcoholism. Those who overcame their addiction will tell you that the very first step was admitting they had a problem.

If you’re an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sex addict, a wife beater, a thief, a liar or an asshole of any sort, it’s okay. The important thing is that you recognize these faults within yourself and make a genuine effort to act on that knowledge and affect change.

Everybody has room for improvement. In fact what some people are is blind to knowing what they are; too arrogant and too selfish to think for a moment that they have anything to overcome.

Meanwhile, I don’t want to suggest that we are constantly down on ourselves for our habits and failings. That’s counter productive in itself. Rather, find joy in the fact that you have the power and insight to know what you are. Rejoice that you have the strength and courage to change who you are and better yourself, your character, your circumstances and your life for your own well being, and for the sake of others.

Me? I have a very low tolerance for people. I don’t like selfishness, arrogance or stupidity on any level. Knowing this about myself helps me to better deal with those things in people. I’m overly kind to others and often allow them to walk over me because I’m really trying to overcome my own failings; the desire to smack them upside the head. I often get myself into personal (and professional) situations where my failure to speak up causes things to get worse rather than better. So for me, it’s a delicate balance where I need to learn more patience and more tact.

I have two step sons. It has been a challenge for me to be the kind of father I feel I need to be for them while trying not to upset the balance of being a stand-in father. All kids need to have things pointed out to them at times and they need to be guided in knowing what they are; all in the spirit of change.

We’re all human, we all make mistakes, and we all need to strive to be better people. Maybe the next time some arrogant soul points out your failings you can look at them and say, “You know? I never realized that about myself, but I want to thank you for pointing it out.” That puts the power back in your hands to become a better person. And maybe they’ll recognize their own failings in that moment and put some time and attention to their own character.

Tornadoes and Hurricanes and Floods, Oh My!

From the bank, under the shade of big trees, I watched the sun come up over the lake, the mist rising off the water as fishermen made their way across the calm to find a rewarding spot of their own.

It was a stark contrast to the rural communities we had passed through on the trip here. One side of their streets boasting small town America and the other, ravaged by recent tornadoes, looked like the aftermath of Hiroshima.

There was a feeling of peace, a sense of hope sitting here, a renewed determination to change my stars. Becoming a successful writer has been my lifelong passion.

Most of my career has revolved around sales. I hate sales. I’m an excellent marketing person, persuasive writer and exceptional graphic artist. But every time I’ve tried to land marketing jobs employers continue to equate marketing to sales. My portfolio is full of successful web sites, logos and marketing materials and my pocket is empty trying to be a salesman.

When I came across the Barefoot Writers Club it changed my paradigm with an epiphany. Copywriting is my specialty and that’s what I do. I’m certainly not a sales person. It was time to adjust my focus and leave the office and daily routine behind for my copywriting career.

I am a humble man. I don’t have a passion for big houses and fancy cars. I was raised in a Country Club neighborhood by successful parents. Yet I am more at home wearing a backpack and sleeping in cabins.

I like to travel and I love the freedom to experience new things; mostly nature and natural wonders. I blog about my nature trips and have hiked a large portion of the Appalachian Trail. There’s something about being consumed by open spaces that ignites my soul.

But my deeper passion is to help other people, to go disaster zones where hurricanes and tornadoes, floods and famines have left a wake of people in need. And not in some foreign land, but right here at home in America.

My wife is a counselor, a life coach, and I’m training with her to be a part of that. Our Independence Day is being able to hop in the RV and go to places where we are needed, to travel across this great country and be a part of helping others to overcome their struggles, providing resources and services to get them back on their feet. We want to live campsite to campsite making new friends, helping others and spending extended periods close to family.

We both have a passion to be writers. We want to be able to reach out through our experiences into the lives of others and bring them hope and inspiration, both in our words and through our actions.

Our day of freedom will be when we can afford to do nothing but travel, making a great living writing, coaching and helping people to rebuild their lives.

This post is my entry to the Barefoot Writers Club monthly contest. No more than 500 words on what my Writer’s Independence Day would look like; What am I seeking independence from? What do I want to escape? What will my new life look like? — I think I nailed it.

Congested Area Ahead

Most of my life I’ve lived in big cities. Quite a contrast when you consider my roots are in some of the smallest towns in America; one I recently had the opportunity to revisit.

As we left the resort area along the winding two lane road we passed a temporary road sign that read, “Congested Area Ahead”. I sort of chuckled at that point knowing that what I considered “congested” was not likely to be what we encountered at all. In fact we probably didn’t pass a hundred people on the road during our whole trip that day.

As we arrived in the small town my grandparents once lived in the sign read, “Crossville 500”. My wife asked, “Is that how many people live here?” The answer of course is yes, and no. I would venture to say that since that sign was posted, about half the people (or more) have left for greener pastures.

The town is called Crossville because it resides, quite literally, at the intersection of State Route 1 and 2. It is a very VERY small town.

We had gone to just poke around and afford my wife the opportunity to experience the culture I came from. It was a rather brief tour, one blinking light and if you blink, you’ll miss it. There is quite literally nothing there. We stopped long enough for her to take her photo next to the street sign where my grandparents once lived which bears the family name.

Before heading out of town we needed to get some gas. There’s only one stop in town to do that which is also the local convenience store. The closest Wal-Mart is twelve miles away; which isn’t so far in contrast. There is a small supermarket in town, but you won’t find much more than staples and very limited brands.

We pulled up to the gas pump (one of two) and there was no place to swipe your credit card. Just a regular old gas pump with three grades to choose from; just lift the handle and start pumping. My wife was quite impressed by this event.

“You don’t have to take the money in first? Isn’t anyone watching?” I handed her twenty dollars and a dime since I went a little bit over the twenty mark. She was again amazed when she walked the money in and nobody was anticipating her arrival. She had to call them out and tell them we got gas, handed them the money and walked out simply shocked they were so casual.

As we drove down to the ferry at the Ohio River, headed back to our resort in Kentucky, crossing the vast farmlands of Illinois, I commented that the traffic was exceptionally light. We hadn’t passed a car in five miles or more and there was only one ahead of us, maybe a mile or more down the road. Yeah, we could see that far ahead pretty easy.

What comes to mind over all is a conversation I had with a New York, NY, friend of mine who was working with me in Washington, D.C., some many years ago. He was remarking how, at the time, Southeast D.C. had become the murder capital of the nation. He didn’t understand why people would kill each other so easily at such an alarming rate.

In D.C., like most modern cities, people live on top of each other and honestly are not very kind or thoughtful to one another. Big cities seem to be brutal places.

When my New York friend made his comment I fired back with a simple realistic statement. I am reminded of that comment all these years later as I contemplate the contrast between our home in Orlando and our visit to Crossville. The reality seems to be coming home with more sincerity than it did when I first said it.

Put 2.4 million people onto a small piece of real estate, take away their jobs, their education and feed them on government assistance and it doesn’t matter what race or nationality they are; they will eventually start killing each other like rats in a cage.

More Americans now live in big cities than in rural areas. Logically, crime rates and murder statistics are higher in more populated areas. It’s all about the numbers. I’m sure a detailed study of these things might reveal some interesting revelations. But I don’t need a study to help me see that people are far different creatures by nature when they have more space to roam.

We are fortunate in America to have a lot of wide open spaces. It’s a shame we don’t put them to better use. We can live with more passion and compassion and stop the killing by avoiding the congested areas.

Road Trip!

There’s nothing like piling my family of four into a small cramped rental car and hitting the road for fourteen straight hours to reach a place of peace and relaxation.

Before we left I was somewhat dreading the experience; I just knew there would be at least one body to bury before we got back to the Serf Ranch. Amazingly enough, everyone survived.

We set out from Central Florida to a secret hideaway in the Kentucky mountains, Lake Barkley. Truly it is a wonderful place to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

Preparing my new wife and her kids for the trip was interesting in itself. There were a lot of questions they asked on the way. But as we got closer and closer to our destination, the simple answer that we were headed to the middle of nowhere became a stark reality.

I can’t step out the front door of my home without seeing a half dozen people and as soon as I pull out of our development into traffic, well, there’s a whole lot of traffic. As we made our way through Atlanta, another incredibly busy city, we eventually hit the mountains of northern Georgia. The scenery changed dramatically from concrete and cars to mountains, lakes and trees. It became more and more refreshing with every mile we rolled.

Traffic through the mountains up to Nashville, Tennessee, was almost unbearable. The roads really don’t support the amount of cars using them. Nashville was a scary ride as we changed lanes back and forth trying to follow our route north around the city. Not long after that, the volume of cars dropped off dramatically. That was the first relief on the trip.

Once we crossed over into Kentucky it was simply amazing to see all the wide open spaces; farmlands as far as the eye could see. Summer time is great there because we got to see miles of corn, beans and a little tobacco; no cotton though.

Probably the thing that was most striking to the family, other than the total lack of people and traffic jams was the culture. It’s hard to imagine what people do there since the closest neighbors are generally a mile apart in any direction. It would appear that being a farmer or a tractor mechanic was about the only way to make a living. Either that or being a preacher; I imagined there was one church for every farm house we saw on the way.

We spent five days mostly boating and relaxing around a secluded resort. The people there were almost all my relatives, and those that weren’t, well, they kinda seemed to be.

Everywhere you go people wave and say hi even if they don’t know you. They take time to talk to you like they have nothing better to do. The waiters and waitresses we met almost all pulled up a chair and opened a conversation with us and more surprisingly, they prayed with us.

It is our custom as a family to pray over every meal. We join hands and give thanks for our meal, for friends and family. We thank God for the blessings we have to enjoy time in such a remote, beautiful place and for the bounty in our lives to be able to afford the trip, the food and all the indulgences. Twice we had servers join our prayer circle and it seemed so natural to them; so warming to us.

Okay, so you started reading this post eager to hear how we did have to kill one of the kids on the way and came home all looking forward to going to our own corners and avoiding any new arguments. But that didn’t happen. What did happen is that we found a renewed spirit and a new zest for life. We found that we actually could survive using one bathroom, sleeping in the same room and eating every meal together.

There were some tough moments and it took a bit of patience and self control at times to live and let live. But in the end, it was a great reward to share time together and be in a place where we could hear our own thoughts.

Overall, it was a time of reflection for me. It was a time to gather my hopes and dreams once again and refocus myself on some simple facts.

While my father would likely tell me (again) that I need to get my life together, I realized that my life is very much together. That, and that just because I’ve reached an age where a lot of people are looking to retire, I know for me, retirement is about setting out on the mission God has placed before me; to enjoy life and do a job I love, trusting Him for success and prosperity and all the while finding strength and faith in Him to meet our needs every day.

Sadly enough, as much as I wanted to stay in that summer paradise around the lake (winters there are very VERY cold), we came back to the concrete jungle. But something inside of me changed. It isn’t as though I didn’t expect it to change. I was after all eager to show my wife where my roots were and to embrace that peaceful place once again. But I hadn’t expected it to be so much joy and so much reward. I really expected nothing more than a temporary escape.

So today I pen this entry knowing that there is a beautiful and peaceful place that lives right inside of me, in my heart and in my home. Yes, I would have liked to have stayed there to do my writing, enjoy more of the smiles and hospitality of the people and their culture. I went there to find peace, and it seems peace found me.

Can I get a ride?

Events of this past week have made me stop to ponder the future of automobile transportation. You may have heard that Google has managed to build cars that drive themselves. That’s really good news in light of Tracy Morgan’s recent accident involving a truck driver that was falling asleep at the wheel. Question is, why isn’t Google working on trucks that drive themselves?

The self driving car is no doubt the wave of the future. It seems to me though that the first step would be to master the self driving truck. Some companies are trying to build drones that deliver packages so why not start with the first layer, self-driving trucks?

Okay, we need to realize how that idea is going to put thousands of truck drivers out of work. But let’s face the fact that the number of fatalities in truck related accidents has risen dramatically. In 2010 there were 3,413 fatalities due to large truck accidents; according to a report by the US Department of Transportation. That number is up from 1,547 reported in 1993. That’s a 100% increase in less than ten years.

Yes, American truckers delivered over eight trillion dollars in goods in 2007, the last available report. Which of course only means in 2014 that number is much, much higher. So there’s no doubt that we’ll be putting a lot of truckers out of business by deploying self driving trucks. In the case of the Tracy Morgan accident, it would have saved lives and the health and well being of those in that particular accident.

This is a situation we need to weigh carefully. Think about it. If there was teleportation (beam me up Scotty) where we could move people and goods from one point to another instantly then there wouldn’t be any need for cars or planes, trains, buses or trucks. That’s millions of jobs we eliminate pretty fast; which would be devastating to our economy.

Here’s another great invention that can totally change the landscape of self driving cars, energy conservation, carbon emissions and so much more. A company called Iniegogo (www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml) has invented solar panel roadways. THIS IS HUGE. This idea could totally revolutionize life as we know it on so many levels. I’ll let you investigate this one on your own, however to sum all this up there is a very bright future ahead of us. However, it’s going to take some serious adjustments to make this leap.

Now, all these things may be revelations for you as you read this, but if you’re as savvy as I think you are then you’re having a Ah-Ha! moment right now just like I have this past week. There is so much to be gained by deploying these new technologies.

Global warming may not be something we can reverse, and like it or not, it is a reality and proven to be caused by humans. If we arrest this problem now by building solar panel roads and deploying self driving cars and trucks we can change the future for the better in so many great ways. But the Ah-Ha! comes down to one simple fact that we greedy consumers are not willing to face. There will be drastic changes to our economy, our jobs, and our way of life.

Yeah, I’d like to get a ride into the future to see how all of this is going to pan out. I like to be an optimist and think we’ll save ourselves from sure destruction on both the economic and environmental levels. But if history is proof of anything it is that we are destined to choose our pocket over our well being.

I’d like to close this article with a quote from one of my favorite movies, The Matrix. Agent Smith says, while interrogating Morpheus for the codes to get into their secret homeland, Zion, ” I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.”

While we all look for a better way to get around, this world we love is quickly rotting away around us because we fail to recognize the truth of Agent Smith’s statement. This isn’t a call to action, or any sort of rant in regards to the reality I’ve painted here. Rather one man’s cross examination of what is possible and what might be.

Someone with great inspiration

Nothing above nothing, and I do mean nothing is more powerful in our lives than someone who inspires us.

Most of my life has been quite the opposite, and I venture to guess that many people, if not most, have had more negative influences than positive ones. As a kid I was generally told what I couldn’t do, why things were out of reach and how I needed to be realistic about my dreams. Huff! Those memories of people imposing their negativity on me has taken a toll over the years.

My first and second marriage were both disasters. I was in a place after my second where I had no faith whatsoever that I would find someone to compliment me. Companionship was still desirable but there was little hope in my heart that I would meet someone that was capable of inspiring me. But sometimes God has other plans.

I was in a crappy job, working for slave wages and putting in long hours just to keep my head above water. It was a painful time in my life.

Fortunately, I landed a new job that brought promise. It wasn’t high on the pay scale but it did give me the freedom to do more of what I love and make my own hours in the process. About that same time I met the woman of my dreams. To this day, I find it hard to welcome all the love she has for me. She is an incredible woman.

There is a joy in her that I recognized immediately. But more so I was inspired by all that she had been through to change her own life, to better herself and give her children opportunity.

She came from a small Caribbean island, a place filled with more pain and struggle than I have ever faced. Yet, she rose above all of that to come to the states and begin building a new life. Raising two boys (and we know boys bring trouble of their own) she managed to have a nice home, to eat well and dress nice by doing a job that really wasn’t what she herself had a passion to do. But that was a means to an end. The end being an opportunity to put a past of pain behind her.

She reminds me often of what she faced to make the transition and the stories I hear do not inspire me at all to visit her homeland; a place full of crime and corruption, short on amenities that I myself have come to take for granted.

She is the most inspiring person I’ve ever known. Not because of what she had been through and overcome, but her attitude about what is yet to come. She holds her head high and she forges on with courage and determination. She inspires me in that way, but she also reminds me of the trouble I too have overcome and how blessed she is to have me in her life. Funny how that rings in my head.

I worry and fret over silly things. She seems to let them roll off of her with a positive attitude that would disgust some people. But for me, it is a daily reminder of how we all can achieve so much more, become so much more and honestly don’t need to worry about how bad things could be. She faces trouble with courage and is always grateful for the blessings.

I write these things because I do so adore her spirit, cherish her determination and have come to find strength in myself because she inspires me to be strong, courageous, positive and thankful. She is my greatest blessing in life and if nothing else I want to encourage others to find that one person who inspires you.

We all need somebody in our life who pushes us to look on the bright side of things. I’ve got mine and I’m telling you to find yours. Don’t give up on that quest.

My father used to tell me that in order to reach our goals we need to first determine what those goals are. Then, do things that take you closer to your goal, and avoid things that take you away from that goal. Pretty simple formula. I’ve done my best to put that philosophy to work. But I’ll take it a step further.

Find someone who inspires you and latch onto them, and walk away from those who tear you down. The saying goes, “Think positive.” Likewise, surround yourself with positive people and keep away from the negative ones.

That’s me. I’m inspired by my fabulous wife. She is the most incredible person I’ve ever known and I intend to stick close to her for the rest of my life. She makes me look good, feel good and do good. I hope you too can find your great inspiration.

And by the way,… Happy Birthday My Love!