Summer is slowing

Each morning the fog lies heavy, so heavy that we can only see a few yards before the white mist obliterates all. I've heard there's a correlation between the number of fogs in August and the number of snows to follow. If that's the case, we're up to 25 snows and counting. We've had fog every morning this month and that's not unusual. Temperatures are dropping as well and the 50 degree F nights make for pleasant sleeping. Day temps are still in the high 80's but that's bearable knowing that night brings coolness.

Last weekend we had a covered dish dinner for my nephew who is home from the Air Force. Seeing the man he's becoming, the self confidence and assurance he possesses, makes me think our country is the poorer for not having a draft. So many young people seem to be adrift, without any direction, so angry and bitter. I was raised with a strong work ethic and, while it's true I've fought being a work-a-holic in my day, it's also true I've never been bored. I'm blessed in that I've got meaningful work in my life and one of my daily prayers is "Please God, give me the strength to do the work you've set before me."

Can one have a life worth living without having meaningful work? I don't think so. I believe work is a gift and meaningful work...work which gives us joy and pleasure and a reason for being...is also a blessing.

As a society, we seem to have lost our pride in a job well done. We no longer give our employer a full days work in exchange for an agreed upon wage. We've forgotten that, for a good many of us, we *do* have a choice. Change is difficult and sometimes overwhelming but most of us have the power to make changes in our lives that will turn us topsy turvy. What we lack is the courage to make those changes.

School has started as has my class at Concord University. I teach Tourism Promotions and have about a dozen students this semester. I try and make them understand how vital it is for them to find the work that will enrich their lives; that will allow them to bloom and blossom as periennals and not as annuals. Life is for the long haul, I hope, and I want life in my years as well as years in my life.

Erma Bombeck once said (paraphrased) when she died she wanted to stand in Heaven, before God, empty handed, and say, "I haven't brought anything back; I used it all up." What an incredible life well lived!

Each day we touch the lives of others, either in a positive or in a negative way. I want God to say to me just like the Knight said in the Indiana Jones movie, "You chose wisely."

I challenge you...each and every time you leave your home, pay a total stranger a compliment. If circumstances prevent you from leaving your home you can still play. Tell the clerk at the grocery store you appreciate her patience. Tell the auto mechanic "thank you for doing such a good job on my car." Give the person on the other end of the telephone line a nice compliment. Tell someone, anyone something nice...at least once a day. Cast your good bread upon the waters; treat others the way you'd like to be treated; put out good karma.

Don't pay it back; pass it forward and make it something that will cause people to remember you kindly...if not in total surprise. Then, reap the benefits of choosing, and acting, wisely.