Author: Nick

Good Morning, When I think about what is happening in the world today, I am reminded of the few words that begin the book, “A Tale of Two Cities” … “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” What this says to me is it is not where we start...

Good Morning,John Wooden said, “Be true to yourself, Help others, Make each day your masterpiece, Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible, Make friendship a fine art, Build a shelter against rainy day, Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.”Based on the things I have heard and read about John Wooden, he was not only a great coach, but also a great encourager of people. We all need encouraging from time to time, even those of us who don’t seem to need it. I come to realize encouragement is the oxygen of the soul, and everyone needs it and they perform better when they get it. As leaders, we should always liberally hand out encouragement, because it costs little to affirm others and yet pays great dividends.In recent weeks, as I have been recuperating, I have received much encouragement. It has lifted the vail of loneliness and help me keep my spirits up. It has...

Good Morning, Recently, I was gifted the opportunity to stay with our grandchildren for a few hours while their mother went to a meeting. When I arrived, she walked me through the daily routine, what food to feed them, where the sippy cups, already prepared, were located and most importantly where the diapers were located, then she was off. For the first few hours everything went well. We had playtime, then lunch, then things began to unravel. Let me explain, like I said everything was going well until it wasn’t; our grandson is in the process of being potty trained so very suddenly he announced he had to go to the restroom and took off down the hall toward the master bath. I grabbed up our granddaughter in hot pursuit, sat her down in front of a mirror hoping this would occupy her for the few minutes needed to help him, when I heard the fasters on his diaper being pulled. Once...

Good Morning, My friend sent me a statement made by Bruce Pearl after Auburn won this past weekend, he said, “Think about your great moments. Whatever they are; the birth of a child or something special that happened in your life; think about your greatest moments. One of the things that make them great is the people you shared the moment with, and when you think about it that’s what makes it special.” We all know this deep down, and I believe he humbly expressed this deep down feeling very well during this interview. The people and not the accomplishment; make these special moments important and memorable. No doubt Bruce Pearl was happy; but I think more than happy he was joyful.  Why, joyful you ask, because joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which we were created and born to do, not from successfully doing something of our own choosing. Now I don’t know who Bruce...

John Wooden said, “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.” This quote has been written in my journal so long the ink has almost faded into the paper making it look as though it was written in pencil. Regardless of its appearance on the paper, it continues to impact my thought process about life each time I read these powerful words. It conjures up thoughts about choices I have made, both good and poor which have changed the course of my walk. It also reminds me that the power to choose is the one of the most effective tools we have in directing our life’s path. We are fortunate where we live because there are many areas in our world today that people don’t have the freedom to choose how they live. For us to be successful we need to make the right...

Good Morning, Well, we have been taken captive and confronted once again with the power and unpredictability of Mother Nature. Just yesterday, it was a fine day, sunny, light breeze, cool but not too cool, riding along in a parade line of vehicles going into Metro Atlanta. Leading the parade were two state troopers and two rather large tanker trucks applying a salty mix to the interstate’s surface ahead of the “parade’s” participants and the anticipated winter weather. The good news is the road preparation worked well based on the news reports I watched; the bad news is I had just cleaned up my truck, after a long period between washes, the day before and now it is covered in a thin coat the salt mixture spray from the tanker trucks. Lucky me, I get to do it over; which is clean up my truck, again. There’s not many times in our lives we get a “do over”. We have the Mulligan...

Good Morning, I was trying to remember if we’ve ever experienced a white Christmas, in my lifetime. Living in Alabama, snow is a rare thing. When someone mentions snow it’s almost like saying a naughty word in front of your mother, because it sends community into a panic with everyone scrambling to accumulate as much bread, milk and other food staples that might be needed for survival, if we happen to become homebound by the snow. Snow is forecasted for today; in fact, it is already snowing in parts of the state and is headed our way, so I am patiently sitting in the parking lot of a local grocery store waiting for it to open so I can be first in line to purchase milk and bread, just saying... But back to my original thought, no, I don’t remember experiencing a white Christmas, however I have experienced a warmer than normal Christmas, a rainy Christmas, a super cold Christmas with water...

Good Morning, We own a building that was once a pharmacy, a school, a bargain store then a horticulture center and now it is used as a warehouse/office/junk storage/men’s group on Tuesday mornings, so forth and so on. It had a full glass storefront when we acquired it and we decided to remodel the front more for safety because it was old glass and also to create a little more privacy. On occasions, I will run into someone who asks, “What is it you do in that building?” “What is in there?” “Can I just look in the door to see?” My response, in the order of their asking “Nothing, nothing, absolutely!, just stop by anytime.” But they never do. Maybe if I said we are hiding something we don’t want anyone to see or know about, those people would line up at the door, or maybe not. The point I am making is there is no such thing as a private...

Good Morning, There is an old manufacturing plant off the beaten path near our town. Kudzu, weeds of various kinds, Mimosa trees, and cane breaks had overtaken the structure and the parking lot. The building was almost completely hidden from view and if one didn’t know it was there they may have never known it was once a thriving business that supplied motor blocks to the automobile industry. The company existed long before the south became the new Detroit so they were well ahead of their time and this could have been one of the issues that lead to their early demise. Anyway, recently I noticed a vehicle or two parked near the building/forest and two people looking at the structure. Shortly afterward grading equipment was delivered to the site and began clearing the overgrowth surrounding the building and within a few days other crews were on-site changing out siding, sweeping, replanting shrubbery, painting, washing windows and working on the inside. Today...

My first thought upon seeing the comparison was what are the people going to do, stay or go? Although there was an evacuation order, they did both. Most everyone left the area, however some decided to ride it out and stayed. I saw one news reporter ask a person why he was staying, “Well, I have been here for 40 years and this is where I live, and you have to take the bad with the good.” What? No, we don’t. If I pick up a bag of apples and one is rotten, I don’t buy it, I let the store operator know there is a bad apple in the bag. If I want to purchase a pair of shoes and when I open the box one worn out and the other one new, I don’t buy it because they are in the same box. If a carpenter used inferior lumber but covered it up with new siding is that...