As I look out my window this morning I am shocked at how few vehicles are on the road. I'm in Santa Clarita, California (one of the two cities I live in, the other being Santa Barbara) today. It's Monday morning, March 16th, at eight o'clock. This is rush hour and from my second floor balcony my view extends more than two miles, through and past Plum Canyon, along the "Cross Valley Connector" road, Golden Valley, and on to Newhall Ranch Road that leads to the interstate freeway. There weren't … [Read more...]
The Pachyderm in the Room
The anticipation for my live event was growing, but the panic and early hysteria was growing faster. New details regarding the virus took over the airwaves as "breaking news" throughout each day and our social media profiles were inundated with opinions, pro and con, along with paid advertisements that were harsh and ugly. It's an election year and some of what was aired exemplifies politics at its worst. I refuse to subscribe to fear, as that leads to a false sense of inferiority and imprisons … [Read more...]
The Letter That Had to Be Written
It was a club I didn't want to belong to but had been forced to join. We sat in the waiting room, half of us distinguished by the one thing the others didn't have; a large safety pin affixed to our shirt or blouse, holding our surgical drain in place. It was the "haves" and the "have-nots" and I was not pleased to be on what I considered to be the wrong side of this equation. It had started with a mammogram that led to an ultrasound and on to a biopsy. This was the third doctor in a week and … [Read more...]
Serendipity at the Used Car Lot
Every once in awhile you meet someone that turns your world upside down and makes you remember why you're so happy to be alive. This occurred recently as I purchased a car from the greatest salesman in the world, at least in my eyes. We have now become friends and I am ready to share the story of how we met, what transpired during our first few meetings, and why I think of this song, Arthur's Theme (co-written by Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen and performed … [Read more...]
You Wanted a Bicycle? Now Pedal It!
I've never been a joiner. Sure, I've been a part of various groups throughout my life but it only works for me if I can be a part of it on my terms. Allow me to explain. In third grade I started something I called the "Key Club" for the girls in my class. This came about when a friend of my mother's left a box of keys at our house. When she asked him about it the following day he said they were leftover from over the years and that she could throw them away. He didn't even know where most of … [Read more...]
Find Me Someone Who’s Been a Medic…
The second time I said it louder, but more slowly and clearly so the man and woman standing at the foot of my hospital bed could better hear and understand me and take quick action. "Find me someone who's been a medic in the service, please," I pleaded from my hospital bed. I was in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, in the outpatient surgical center awaiting surgery on my torn rotator cuff and writhing in pain. The man was my nurse and after thinking for fifteen minutes had … [Read more...]
And It Was Me All Along
Owning a car in southern California is more of a necessity than a luxury. I live in two cities, Santa Clarita and Santa Barbara that are eighty miles apart. Also, I'm a public speaker on the topics of online entrepreneurship and mindset and need to be able to travel to locations throughout southern California and the Central Coast, many times with little advance notice. Public transportation is not a viable option the majority of the time. So when the lease was up on my Honda Pilot last spring … [Read more...]
And in That Moment Nothing Will Ever Be the Same
The fog was as thick as I'd ever seen on that morning. It was low and getting lower, a dark and ominous blanket reaching down towards the sea. I had driven away from Santa Clarita around eight. The sun had come up and cast a soft glow on the mountains and canyons near my house. But by the time I had left the city limits and headed into Ventura County via Highway 126 the sun had taken a giant step to hide behind the clouds. The fog covered the mountains, the pastures, and the fields of crops. … [Read more...]
Everybody Speaks
My first venture into the world of public speaking was in a required class during the second semester of 8th grade. Friends who had taken it first semester warned me of what lay ahead. Ten speeches of ten minutes each were assigned, with the topic announced one week in advance. I dreaded this class. Even though I followed the instructions as to the outline, it was the delivery that was worse than death each week. The more I practiced, in front of my bedroom mirror and with my mother as a … [Read more...]
You Can’t Step in the Same Stream Twice
The other day I was pondering my current life circumstances, when a friend sent me a quote. Perhaps I was deep in self-doubt about one thing or another and questioning my own abilities to achieve a goal, because the quote he chose is from Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived from circa 535 to 475 BC that goes like this... You can't step in the same stream twice; the stream has changed and you have changed. Words of wisdom, to be sure. I know that when you read a book for … [Read more...]