tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48625552112968972722024-02-19T06:38:40.474-08:00Allen JohnsonAllen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-90685563299598157262021-09-21T14:13:00.000-07:002021-09-21T14:13:06.732-07:00In the Presence of Wisdom<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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whatever you like. My name’s not important—at least not to me. Besides, I can’t
control how you greet me. Fact is I can’t control <i>anything</i> you do—never
have, never will. But I do care. Take, for example, my friend, Allen. He’s a
good man—he knows right from wrong—but he does wander from time to time, which worries
me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">This story goes back thirty years, but time doesn’t matter; I remember
everything. It had to do with Allen’s papa who had a drinking problem. (The
ingenuity of humankind always amazes me, including what they do with water,
barley, and yeast.) But Papa overdid it, and he knew it. And so did I.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">One day, Papa drove out of town to swap knives with a friend. The trades
lasted most of the day—laced with a tide of booze. When Papa was ready to drive
home, his eyes were blurred and his back teeth afloat (one of those quaint American
euphemisms for a sorrowful habit).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Before leaving town, he lost control of his car, flattened a parking
meter, and ended up spending the night in jail. When he faced the judge the
following morning, he said, “I apologize to this court, to my family, and to my
God. This will never happen again.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">And it didn’t—a promise I appreciated. To this day, I grin when I think
about it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Ten years later, I checked in with Allen. We had a heart-to-heart, he and
I.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;"><i>It’s been ten years since your Papa gave up drinking</i>, I said. <i>That’s
no picnic.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">“Yeah, I know,” Allen said. “I’ve been thinking about it for too long.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;"><i>Good to hear, </i>I said<i>. Remember, you’re gifted with four human
endowments to help you do the right thing.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Allen knuckled his brow. “I don’t follow.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;"><i>Think about it: awareness, conscience, imagination, and independent
will.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">He squirmed ever so slightly. “Sure, I have those things.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;"><i>Well then? Don’t you think it’s time to go to work?</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Allen crinkled his face, which was answer enough. His <i>awareness</i> called
out his neglect. His <i>conscience</i> counseled the right thing to do. His <i>imagination</i>
ran a movie on the process. And his <i>independent will</i> set everything in
motion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Within the hour, Allen took a long breath, let it wither out, and knocked
on his father’s door. His papa greeted him with a smile and an invitation to
take a load off.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZSBPTe0C6r74AAwz7vBn2xfRx128adU-U6L11ao7O8hT9TyBuJbHOGJBpFJ-CYbm1YPH-69WhP-EWzE1LCt1ylB0z9f9TNHXGSW_284KTFQqQYed6ov2D-1IgFNVdqx8FYU0l0Jvab8/s2048/From+columbia+park+2019+jpg+w+sunflares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2048" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZSBPTe0C6r74AAwz7vBn2xfRx128adU-U6L11ao7O8hT9TyBuJbHOGJBpFJ-CYbm1YPH-69WhP-EWzE1LCt1ylB0z9f9TNHXGSW_284KTFQqQYed6ov2D-1IgFNVdqx8FYU0l0Jvab8/w400-h238/From+columbia+park+2019+jpg+w+sunflares.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">“I have something to say to you, Papa,” Allen said.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">“Oh-oh, what have I done wrong?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">Allen shook his head. “It’s not that at all. It’s about what you’ve done
right. You’ve been sober for over ten years.” He glanced skyward. “That’s no
picnic. And yet, I’ve never offered a word of praise. I’m sorry for that, Papa.
I’m so proud of you for being true to your word.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">His father said nothing. He simply beckoned his son with both hands.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">They both stood and stepped to the center of the living room and hugged
each other in silence—a warm, tender reunion. The embrace was so real, so loving,
so filled with peace, I could feel it from here.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">As Allen drove home, he blinked his tears away, swallowed hard, and said,
“Thank you, God.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .3in;">And I said, <i>You’re welcome.</i></p>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-69398313951149131822021-09-13T08:47:00.002-07:002021-09-13T09:00:23.257-07:00Too Big for His Britches: Or How the Girl Got Away<p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
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<![endif]--></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">The boy knew nothing about love. How could he? He was only
twelve years old. But he was sweet on the girl with red hair, a button nose,
and a dusting of freckles. He was shy about his feelings. In fact, he wasn’t
sure <i>what</i> he felt. But his gut flared when he saw her, like the sensation
of falling from the summit of a roller-coaster ride.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It all happened on the first week at junior high school—a
time when seventh-grade boys needed to prove they were bright enough, tough
enough to make it in a school that looked more like a prison block than an institution
of learning. Mostly, they didn’t want to do anything stupid.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On that first week, the boy mustered the courage to ask the
redheaded girl to have lunch with him on the bleachers that overlooked the
football field. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“That would be nice,” she said.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her consent made the boy’s stomach flutter. The roller coaster
had left the station.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The boy chewed on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich,
which made his mouth even drier. “Ahbe-buta-bula-ay,” he said.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The redheaded girl tilted her head—perplexed but caring.
“I’m sorry?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The boy gulped a slug of milk and swallowed hard. “It’s a
beautiful day,” he said in English.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because the girl smiled at him, he felt forgiven and not
entirely dopey. He put his sandwich away and, after careful plotting, reached
for her hand. It was a timid move, but it meant everything to him. And yet,
once he held her hand, he had no idea what to do with it. Because it was a warm
day, he felt his sweat mingle with hers. Soon, their hands made squidgy noises
like fishermen in rubber boots. What to do? He worried what she might think if
he slipped his hand from hers. Would she judge him infantile—dull-witted and
lacking in courage and charm? It was all true, but would she think it? So many
questions. Dang, girls were complicated.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He turned his gaze to the football field. Some boys were
playing chase. That’s when the idea hit him. He was fast. In sixth grade, he
could outrun any kid in the city. <i>I’ll show the redheaded girl how fast I am.
I’ll be somebody: the fastest kid in school. Then she’ll be my girl forever.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now he had a reason to release her hand. “I’ll be right
back,” he said as he scrambled down the stairs and onto the field. He swaggered
as he watched the boys watching him. Then it happened. They started to move
toward him—slowly at first, then with a jackal intent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The chase had begun. The boy was fast enough to slip their
tackles, and he felt cocky and proud. He was a rocket, the wind raking his hair
back like victory pennants. He glimpsed at the girl who was watching with big
eyes. Then—<i>boom</i>—a kid blindsided him. He lay flat on his back—pommeled,
pinned, and appalled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Boys don’t always know what to do when they down a prey. But
a snarky half-man, surely a ninth-grader, did not hesitate. He unbuckled the
boy’s belt, stripped it off like a whip, and tugged on his pants. Although the
boy flailed, the rest of the gang circled like a murder of crows and clawed at
his jeans until they pooled at his ankles. Then they took flight to expose
their villainy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4vsEMjPuINpGlI4PZtHDvxsVJ7OKNhxHEaD19ZPyo5632tTFCl-sXxKU6KiB0DsPPUgpQQBgg8VxP_eNqjLg_6WGPWezZA3mTVIvwy-pFIqI_6xFdMhuZy5To7MaGPKhsMd1rXpSwlE/s667/pants+down.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="667" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4vsEMjPuINpGlI4PZtHDvxsVJ7OKNhxHEaD19ZPyo5632tTFCl-sXxKU6KiB0DsPPUgpQQBgg8VxP_eNqjLg_6WGPWezZA3mTVIvwy-pFIqI_6xFdMhuZy5To7MaGPKhsMd1rXpSwlE/s320/pants+down.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>There he lay for one horrible moment in the middle of the
football field—his pants swaddling his sneakers. On a glance over his shoulder,
he spotted the redheaded girl, who appeared ghostly through tear-blurred eyes.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Running the gauntlet was reckless and foolish, and the boy
knew it. The lesson was burned into his brain: He had nothing to prove when he
was real and everything to lose when he was false. It was a childhood awakening
with a moral that endured for the rest of his life: to connect with others, be honest,
humble, genuine. Tell them who you are, not who you wish to become. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, oh yes, remain prim and proper with pants
in place—always a good idea.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">EPILOGUE: If you’re wondering, the redheaded girl never
spoke of the spectacle—or anything else for their roller-coaster ride came to a
grinding halt. </p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">As for the boy, he’s
full-grown now and almost free from shame. And just because we’re friends, I’ll
let you in on a secret. I’m the boy who lost his head and his pants and the
redheaded girl who got away.</span><p class="MsoNormal"></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-58411160632532753192021-09-11T10:53:00.002-07:002021-09-11T10:53:41.276-07:00On Taking the Higher Road<p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
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</xml><![endif]--> Face it, some people are downright nasty—taking pleasure in
the handicaps and misfortunes of others. We actually have a word in the English
lexicon for the concept: the noun schadenfreude [shaa-duhn-froy-duh], meaning “the
enjoyment obtained from the mishaps of others.” As you might suspect, it comes
from the German language, created by linking two words: <i>schaden</i> (damage,
injury, and harm) plus <i>freude</i> (happy).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's not a particularly uplifting word when you know its
meaning and even less pleasant when it’s applied.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I have a strategy when dealing with schadenfreudes. I
take the higher road. Rather than be insulted by a slur, I choose to treat it
as if it were a joke—albeit a humorless one. For example, when people poke fun
at my conspicuously furless noggin, I often reply with a smile, a swipe over my
scalp, and pronounce, “That’s right, I’m just an omelet waiting to happen” or “Yes,
but it looks so good when I use Mop and Glo.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have a close friend who is five foot six. When someone
undermines his stature, he replies with a side-glance, “I may be short, but my
brain is still growing.” That’s clever, but there’s a hint of spite in the quip,
the subtext being, “Too bad we can’t say the same about you.” I prefer this
comeback: “It’s true. I’m always looking upward, which is fine with me; that’s
where I get my inspiration.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I believe there’s a limit to how forgiving a person
should be when it comes to “flaming” schadenfreudes. When the attacks are crushing
in abuse, it may be time to move on. Life is too brief and too precious to be
wasted on those who are emotionally unfeeling and ethically bereft.<br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In <i>People of the Lie, </i>the American psychiatrist M.
Scott Peck wrote, “When I say that evil has to do with killing, I do not mean
to restrict myself to corporeal murder.” I agree. People are endowed with
awareness, curiosity, ambition, desires, and expectations. An evil person can
destroy those endowments without laying a hand on the victim.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I once proposed a new training program to the executive
staff of an international company, a group of fifteen men. At the end of my
presentation, the president of the organization said he supported my idea.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pleased with his endorsement, I turned to him and said, “I
think you’re absolutely right.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The president then glared at me, his eyes without pity, and
said, “I don’t give a shit what you think.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m sorry, that’s unacceptable. There’s no humor there, only
meanness. Despite his position, I wanted nothing to do with him. I immediately
updated my resume, ultimately went into business for myself, and incidentally
made three times my old salary.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some might ask, “Why didn’t you discuss the issue with your
boss?” That’s an important question. There’s certainly a time for
confrontations. To determine when I recommend asking four questions: How
serious is the conflict? How important is the relationship? Does the offender
have the maturity to change? What is the risk to my well being if I stay? Ultimately,
I decided though the offense was serious, I was not invested in the
relationship, and I gravely questioned the depth of his empathy and,
consequently, his ability to change. It was better to leave before my
well-being was damaged.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m conflicted in what I’m about to say because every case
is unique—all with interrelated factors to consider. However, <i>in general</i>,
if you have a vicious schadenfreude in your life—one who physically or verbally
abuses you or even treats you as if you were invisible—don’t stand for it. If the
offender is important to you, let him or her know the behavior is unacceptable
and will not be tolerated. If a second offense occurs, leave. The devastation inflicted
by a mean-spirited person can be lethal—fear and anger gnawing at your soul—and no
one merits that. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A mature adult might argue, “Hold on a minute. What if the
offender has a damaged spirit? Am I helping him or her by leaving?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s a good question, denoting compassion. However, it’s
not the victim’s job to attempt to heal the other while being battered. The
offender needs to take responsibility for his or her own psychological and
spiritual health. Sticking around can turn one into a codependent enabler, one
who rescues the other by encouraging insidious behavior. For the chronic victim,
the higher road should be the first road to freedom.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECMHDWff-TMHgrhPcpvHNV9_O2MdAOAGjJ_ObPz4ua4l4UWOtB3Xizw1raxYjJK4mhSsvFEdo2gkEB0cARZYU1vmoLZJM_y_2YzUuEORxZ6MmfJXdYSj1Pz1M7VKh0KQ-DQG5cPkp6Vc/s1024/Youth+Villages+standing+ovation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1024" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECMHDWff-TMHgrhPcpvHNV9_O2MdAOAGjJ_ObPz4ua4l4UWOtB3Xizw1raxYjJK4mhSsvFEdo2gkEB0cARZYU1vmoLZJM_y_2YzUuEORxZ6MmfJXdYSj1Pz1M7VKh0KQ-DQG5cPkp6Vc/w400-h254/Youth+Villages+standing+ovation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ABOUT THE IMAGE: This photograph was taken from the stage
during one of my keynote presentations—one of a multitude of national presentations
after leaving my ignoble schadenfreude. On this occasion, I was speaking to the
good folks at Youth Villages in Tennessee, whose mission is to heal abused children
struggling with emotional and behavioral problems.</p>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-26001122853264473182021-08-17T12:20:00.002-07:002021-08-17T12:20:48.893-07:00On the Power of Bouncing Sideways<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was not a good student in grammar school. My report cards
from Emerson Elementary were peppered with only Cs, Ds, and a few Fs. It was my
fifth-grade teacher, Miss Byrne, who wrote, “Allen always turns in neat papers.
He should spend a bit more time checking them for mistakes such as spelling
errors.” That’s like saying, “He’d be a nice boy if he didn’t set ants on
fire.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I was never bothered by poor grades. I had my eye on becoming
the next Jim Brown, the greatest football player of all time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was a silly notion. As a seventh-grader, I was five-foot
even and weighed one hundred pounds. If I stood sideways and stuck out my
tongue, I looked like a zipper. Still, I earned a halfback spot on the JV team for
McLoughlin Junior High School. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then it happened. We were running a scrimmage with full
pads. The play was called, and the quarterback jammed the ball in my gut. But the
gap between the tackle and guard was rudely filled by the biggest, fastest, and
strongest lineman on the squad. He looked like a shadowy phantom for his mass eclipsed
the setting sun. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I had known then what I know now, I would have bounced
sideways to avoid the terrible hulk. But that evasive tactic had never been
mentioned by our coach, Mr. Stapler. So, I slammed directly into the beast, or
rather he into me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did not see stars; I saw constellations.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFeJ5-fEsBnvb-lGdYAdTKNkDyYKG3K5gYPLyPpI4zMEJFmCblaRdyPmxirUmrfKgaq85-lKYtQzbk96AWy541N37Rufh_Jaj8FIDqbZ8Bt8Ciyq5NhF_asEgHwEPri9M_9QNxk0C3D4/s2048/Allen+Johnson+1968+at+NNC+retouched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFeJ5-fEsBnvb-lGdYAdTKNkDyYKG3K5gYPLyPpI4zMEJFmCblaRdyPmxirUmrfKgaq85-lKYtQzbk96AWy541N37Rufh_Jaj8FIDqbZ8Bt8Ciyq5NhF_asEgHwEPri9M_9QNxk0C3D4/s320/Allen+Johnson+1968+at+NNC+retouched.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At that very moment—no, that very nanosecond—I had a
life-changing epiphany. Flat on my back, with my chest concaved, my eyes still
twirling, I said to myself, “I . . . am going to be . . . a scholar.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it’s one thing to say you’ll do something; it’s quite
another to actually do it. Somehow—through ego or grit or divine intervention—I
followed through.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From that day forward, I carried my books home and, first
things first, marched to my room to do my homework. I followed that routine month
after month, year after year. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I graduated from Pasco High School, I was one of the
top fifteen scholars in my class. When I graduated from college, I was enrolled
in Phi Beta Kappa and elected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges
and Universities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get
going.” That may be true for some. But for me, the answer was bouncing sideways
to find a gap where I could bust through and drive for the goalposts. I would
never be a great football player; I neither had the frame nor the agility. But
I did have a dream, a decent brain, and the resolve to chip away at the
challenges—flake by flake. And that knowledge has made all the difference.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, lest you think this story pretentious, I freely admit
my success is meager in the grand scheme of things. After all, I’m a rather
insignificant pollywog in the sea of humanity. But that’s not the point. The
point is finding the right gap—one that allowed <i>this</i> pollywog to become
. . . a full-grown frog.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ABOUT THE IMAGE: This Who’s Who Among Students photograph
was taken in 1968 for the Northwest Nazarene College annual. The trophies were
garnered for my intercollegiate wins in oral interpretation and public
speaking. The image of the old man in the beard is a portrait of me as Shylock
in NNC’s production of Shakespeare’s <i>Merchant of Venice.</i></p><p></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-47008624267043031822021-07-29T13:55:00.000-07:002021-07-29T13:55:45.501-07:00On Lessons Learned<p> Nineteen sixty-eight was a big year for me. I graduated from
college, married my sweetheart, and accepted a position to teach speech, drama,
and English at Kelso High School. At twenty-one, I was so dewy-eyed I couldn’t
leave class without a hall pass—portending why I bonded so readily with my
students.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This weekend, I shared a barbeque dinner with three of my former
scholars: Pat, Mike, and Hud. As stars salted the firmament, our conversation
drifted to more serious subjects.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s been fifty years since you graduated from high school,”
I said. “When you think about your experiences and what is yet to come, what
lessons would you offer your classmates?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was a heavy-duty question, which is my style. I can only tolerate
so much blather about Seattle Seahawks, physical decline, and grandbabies
destined for fame and fortune. I’m intrigued by existential insights, which is not
everyone’s groove.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The boys squirmed, then, out of loyalty or common courtesy, began
to unwind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hud, who is the director of a recovery center for those
struggling with addiction or mental malaise, broke the ice. “Take nothing for
granted,” he said. “I lost my Fran three years ago. Her death was so sudden and
unexpected, I’m still shaken. And when I left that awful morning for work, I’m
not sure I told her I loved her. That still haunts me.” He paused. “Never underprize
the people you love.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After we all took a long breath, I turned to Pat, a former
wrestling and football coach. In gridiron fashion, he said, “Never give up.
Keep growing, keep learning, keep paying back.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We nodded in agreement. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I then looked to Mike, the funniest man I know, a taste of
which can be found in his semi-autobiographical novel. His career highlight was
counseling high school seniors and garnering well over a million dollars in
scholarships for the young men and women he loved. “Find your passion,” he
said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was my turn. “The more we observe the more we see; the
more we listen, the more we hear. And when we do—when we truly see and listen—we
expand our treasury of empathy and compassion.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I saw Hud rock in approval.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s like this,” I continued. “When we listen and observe
wholeheartedly, we come to know the other, not as a director, a coach, or a
counselor, but as a human being with both vices and virtues. We throw off judgment
in favor of understanding. Only then we become kindred spirits—where class, import,
and one-upmanship vanish.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The conversation continued late into the night: an evening rife
with laughter, goodwill, and love for one another—and, invariably, one more round
of stories about crackerjack grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMksJYnReZpwELasXKLBkrldndtwyhz0fN-crNcRJj6J0NVq1xRjhvl3sFTFFs8jj2zdT7SuWdtBPzP4z10RitgEDoemce96IA32mXoVIGbbmwIEcL8imExc7mqj3cVoHJ3AKa9RUEjZo/s2048/Sammamish+river+July+24+2021+12x7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="2048" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMksJYnReZpwELasXKLBkrldndtwyhz0fN-crNcRJj6J0NVq1xRjhvl3sFTFFs8jj2zdT7SuWdtBPzP4z10RitgEDoemce96IA32mXoVIGbbmwIEcL8imExc7mqj3cVoHJ3AKa9RUEjZo/w512-h319/Sammamish+river+July+24+2021+12x7.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">THE IMAGE: The next morning, Pat and I cycled twenty-two
miles from Issaquah to Bothell and back along a bucolic bike trail that followed
the Sammamish River. It was a glorious day. At one point, we spotted a blue
heron fishing on the opposite river bank. I quickly reached for my camera and eased
forward, knowing the wading bird would eventually take flight. When he did, Pat
shouted, “Get him!” And I did. <o:p></o:p></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-73708888050326475222021-07-21T08:53:00.000-07:002021-07-21T08:53:17.990-07:00What Happens After Death?<p> <span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">In Senegal, the polite expression to mark someone’s death is “his or her
library has burned.” That is to say, all the knowledge and experiences of the
departed have gone up in smoke.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">But not so fast. If you think about it, each slender act of kindness may endure
beyond the grave.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">In 1964, I was a freshman at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.
The course was English composition 101. While waiting for class to begin, a classmate
asked me to explain the secret to writing well (as if I knew). He must have ignited
my ego because I cleared my voice to speak.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">“I think it has to do with rhythm,” I said. “Does it feel right in your
mouth when you read your words aloud?” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">Overhearing our conversation, the professor looked at me, nodded, smiled,
and said, “Yes.” That was all. A single word.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">Although my idea struck me as commonplace, the instructor’s grin made me think
I might become a writer after all. That spark was the beginning of my quest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">These days, my ongoing mission is to share a paragraph of knowledge from
my library of words and pictures. If I’m lucky, a seed may take root in
someone’s heart and thereby preserve a snippet of reason or folly from my museum
of experiences. Although meager, what a joy to give, especially in light of the
fortune received.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: .25in;">THE IMAGE: The winter photograph taken at the Yakima Delta carries a treasury
of knowledge: the play of darkness and light, the tribal behavior of species,
the wonderment of nature. This (and nearly every image I capture), enriches my library.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fX6RNPhcAcnp90iG9k9uRGpF6mCPhcX6X1w74j9mSD9IS-VWIOoo1YJtqv3uJClo8SrGULjFDZD5R2qkEnoo7DBnaDWEbC3TBcS072pbXAFvrA4eErCklWJtyPBrIuaaJwo5PkTQ3Tg/s2048/Geese+and+folage+with+sky+in+jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1555" height="681" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fX6RNPhcAcnp90iG9k9uRGpF6mCPhcX6X1w74j9mSD9IS-VWIOoo1YJtqv3uJClo8SrGULjFDZD5R2qkEnoo7DBnaDWEbC3TBcS072pbXAFvrA4eErCklWJtyPBrIuaaJwo5PkTQ3Tg/w517-h681/Geese+and+folage+with+sky+in+jpg.jpg" width="517" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.25in;"><br /></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-10348541834709124162021-07-07T16:13:00.001-07:002021-07-07T16:13:33.362-07:00The Secret to a Long and Happy Marriage<p> I’ve been wondering how it’s possible my wife, Nita, and I
have remained married for over fifty-two years. Especially, given our
conspicuous differences. Then it hit me. Together we make a dynamite team.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To apply a metaphor coined by the American author and
educator Stephen Covey, think of marriage as an iceberg with its modest tower
of ice atop a tremendous mass hidden below the surface. The tower represents
the personality ethic while the metropolis below depicts the character
ethic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Personality is what everyone sees. When a couple says they
fell in love on first sight, they’re talking about personality: good looks, a striking
pose, a confident manner.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="310" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/54d3As5rR78" width="491" youtube-src-id="54d3As5rR78"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Character—that great mass below the surface—represents the
emotional and moral qualities of the marriage. The couple’s character is
measured by their depth of integrity, loyalty, and trustworthiness. Compared to
the personality ethic, the character ethic is vastly more important.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s the upshot: I’ve always been good at the personality
ethic. I know how to charm, how to put on a show, how to create, and how to
make sure everyone sees me in the best light—with my eyes shining and my smile
ready to bowl them over.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I could be better at the character ethic—a lot better.
That’s where Nita shines. She is slow to anger, reluctant to vilify, quick to
empathize, and loyal to the core.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, there you have it. I won’t say together we make a single
world-class human being; that would undercut our respective humanity. Consequently,
I never discredit Nita for having a reserved personality ethic; nor does she
discredit me for—ahem—having a shaky character ethic. What I will say is
together we make a damn good marriage. And I’d like to think we’re both better
for the union—I know I am.<o:p></o:p></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-61049917714860825662021-07-07T15:57:00.004-07:002021-07-08T15:48:33.016-07:00As Consistent as a Sunrise<p class="MsoNormal">Think about the moment the sun nips at the horizon, diffusing
its orange, yellow, and white light on the canvas we call earth. Scarfing the shadows,
the slow reveal of landscape is always breathtaking. For well over 27,000 days in a row, I’ve been
greeted by the rising sun. Although her pallet of colors may vary—sometimes golden,
sometimes scarlet—she’s always consistent.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But what about people? Are we consistent? The answer is . .
. it depends.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyone can be consistent when the sun is shining. But in
hard times—whether sparked by misfortune or irresponsibility—consistency
requires dedication to the four human endowments. More about that in a moment.
But first, let me explain how people routinely handle challenges. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Recently, I met a man who was haunted by the early death of
his best friend who was killed in a drug war.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“My friend was a crackhead,” he said, “and so was I. But not
anymore.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Although your friend’s death was a cruel ending, did it
make you a better man?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“It did. I’d be dead today if it were not for his death.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zGV4RyTMrEsAWO0WFZG_e1au0WiKVXaF3Eefg2bAsn7bjzIcDOZc4JcWLMs7WxNmwBVRyCmRc_pIxCHgv1C3K_1U4DGyPQov2kZdj8-AoWt5RaeL2NgdZZACRNufRpnh3LcxVpARxcw/s3013/sunburst+and+deer+cropped+jpg.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="3013" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zGV4RyTMrEsAWO0WFZG_e1au0WiKVXaF3Eefg2bAsn7bjzIcDOZc4JcWLMs7WxNmwBVRyCmRc_pIxCHgv1C3K_1U4DGyPQov2kZdj8-AoWt5RaeL2NgdZZACRNufRpnh3LcxVpARxcw/w564-h209/sunburst+and+deer+cropped+jpg.jpg" width="564" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Although he said no more, I believe the event was a “wake-up call”—one that hopefully changed his life for the better.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But living from one traumatic event to the next is like waiting for your car to die on the freeway for lack of gasoline—reactive thinking. And what happens when misfortune or stupidity strikes again? Will it take another unbearable wake-up call to overcome the assault?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We need a better strategy for managing hardships and missteps—something proactive. Enter the four human endowments: awareness, conscience, visualization, and independent will. I’ll explain through a hypothetical example.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Imagine you have a dear, though alcoholic friend, who’s been sober for the last five years. Despite his progress, you’ve stewed in silence as though you preferred to be angry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now, imagine firing up your four human endowments:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>You toss out your judgmental filters and become <i>aware </i>of your friend’s impressive headway.</li><li>You listen to your <i>conscience</i>—that small voice of wisdom within us all—which tells you it’s time to praise his victory over addiction.</li><li>You <i>visualize</i> what needs to be done—just as a springboard diver visualizes a twisting somersault before striding to the end of the board.</li><li>You employ your <i>independent will</i> by putting one foot before the other, knocking on his door, acknowledging his commitment to sobriety, and embracing him with all your heart.</li></ol><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Can we be as thrilling and consistent as a sunrise? We can, but only if we put our minds to it. It’s not always easy—ego is a stubborn fellow—but when we do, the view is unforgettable. </p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-37620155300467479502021-07-07T15:50:00.001-07:002021-07-07T16:17:28.167-07:00My Reincarnation Wish<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I can’t say I believe in reincarnation. I’m happy with the
life I’ve lived. But if I arrive at a heavenly front desk, and I’m invited to make
my next choice in life, I might choose to be—wait for it—an American white pelican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They seem to have an idyllic existence and not one terribly
different from my life as a <i>homo sapiens</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwMWviZMEzkp8hPO6H9KdmkIkyM-iOhHy2P4-NDLJft_SLoSSW-suyhrEi1xLgB6jPhgHEtCVqMrwDNDoqWqWQIAS8wY9Tj0PdFmNo8k4relROSZyVFHwm8_Jg5t4rVLMmrxdA_YoIIQ/s2048/Pelican+teatime+6x10+small.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1261" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwMWviZMEzkp8hPO6H9KdmkIkyM-iOhHy2P4-NDLJft_SLoSSW-suyhrEi1xLgB6jPhgHEtCVqMrwDNDoqWqWQIAS8wY9Tj0PdFmNo8k4relROSZyVFHwm8_Jg5t4rVLMmrxdA_YoIIQ/w219-h355/Pelican+teatime+6x10+small.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />Take their two-fold approach to courting: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(a) circling flights on thermal drafts and (b)
strutting dances at a nesting bungalow. Admittedly, I never romanced a mate by twirling
in midair, although there was that girl in college who had me spinning out of
control—but that’s another story. On the other hand, I have strutted. I can
still see myself leaning against my 1968 lime-frosted Mercury Cougar with its
optional landau vinyl top. Comparatively speaking, that has to be as sexy as a two-foot-wide
nest set in the sand for a pelican mistress.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The big birds are a gregarious lot, often traveling and
foraging in large flocks. And, get this, pelicans sometimes form a column on
the water, dip their bills, and flap their wings to drive fish toward shore. It’s
their way of corralling their prey for dinner. People have used a similar
technique with the added benefit of a net since the beginning of recorded time.
And I’ve certainly shared a small boat with a friend or two with a fishing pole
in hand. That said, unlike pelicans, I have not tasted tadpoles or crayfish or
salamanders, but I have eaten snails, oysters, and sushi of unknown ancestry,
so being pelicanized in my next life
does not seem like a giant leap.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mostly, I’m captivated by the bird’s nine-foot wingspan and aeronautical
prowess. Pelicans can fly 40<br /> mph at heights of 25,000 feet and water-ski onto a
water’s surface by virtue of their webbed feet. In comparison, I can jump one
foot off the ground and maybe walk a twenty-minute mile (recalculations
required after the first lap).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC06IVl9J01iRxTvVi8BBKpVSkGVvg_4bX2ieoO8sHo1ZcPjjI8cqLfminHNkieo1xFhM79Zm408K4E_I8vA4OvSwUrFl63HlR5IlZUunQmgfOZr2x9oQMvkVaxUvxsNU1k-dzQLq87Gs/s2048/Pelican+taking+flight+6x10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC06IVl9J01iRxTvVi8BBKpVSkGVvg_4bX2ieoO8sHo1ZcPjjI8cqLfminHNkieo1xFhM79Zm408K4E_I8vA4OvSwUrFl63HlR5IlZUunQmgfOZr2x9oQMvkVaxUvxsNU1k-dzQLq87Gs/w347-h231/Pelican+taking+flight+6x10.jpg" width="347" /></a></div>So, yes, the possibility of being a strutting, sushi-eating,
soaring flyboy does appeal to me, which may account for my love for
photographing the bucket-beaked wonders. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These two images were taken on the Yakima Delta Habitat near
Richland, Washington. The photograph that looks like five birds in flight was
actually a timelapse image of a single pelican who was peeved by my proximity. I
called him “Sam.” I like to think he and I could become fast feathered friends
in my next life, soaring over Mount Rainier and back again to the Yakima Delta.
On the other hand, I could return as a frog, be scooped up by Sam, and swallow
in a single slurp. Now that’s just rude.<o:p></o:p></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-40059526050388554302021-07-07T15:44:00.001-07:002021-07-07T16:18:13.594-07:00The Meaning of Integrity<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">I’ve got a bad refrigerator. That’s
not a reflection of its morality but a condemnation of its mechanics. To
protect the guilty, I’ll call the international frig maker “Bad Boy
Appliances.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">The refrigerator just doesn’t work; sometimes the freezer will heat up to
plus forty degrees. But happily, the icebox is still under warranty. So, I called
the Bad Boy customer service number for assistance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">A pleasant female voice said, “Thank you for your patience. We recognize
your time is valuable, and we’re working hard to personally respond to your
call as soon as we can.” I know the words by heart because she repeated the
pitch at the end of the same galling 30-second music loop—over and over again. Thirty
minutes later, after 60 repetitions of her message, after 60 reruns of the same
damn jingle, I was ready to strangle . . . anyone.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">That was only the beginning. Over the next three months, I kept calling with
the same vexing problem. Each time I was told someone would call me in five to
seven business days to resolve the issue. And each time, no one called. Not
once. I’m still stuck with a very nasty $3,000 refrigerator.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="312" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NPj22r3RGVY" width="498" youtube-src-id="NPj22r3RGVY"></iframe></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">So that got me thinking about a simple concept: integrity. There are scholarly
versions of the word, but I prefer my definition. Integrity is doing what you
say you’ll do. Simple isn’t it. And, yet, for many seemingly impossible to
achieve.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">If the makers of Bad Boy Appliances had any integrity, their mission
would <i>not</i> be “We’re the best” or “You’ll love us as much as we love you”
or any other such nonsense. If they were a company of integrity their mission
would be “The company who lies—constantly—and doesn’t care one tinker’s damn about
you—or your precious time.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">I’m one little person backtalking to a very big company. But I’ve heard
the same fiction from some of my dubious friends. “Hey, Allen, good to see you.
I’ll drop by soon to catch up.” At first, I was happy to hear that friendly
promise but not anymore. Because I’ve learned my dishonest pal will not drop
by—ever. Why? Because apparently integrity is not important to him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">Here’s the zinger I would never dare to speak. “No, my feckless friend,
you will not drop by. Why? Because you’re not a person of integrity. Oh, you smile,
you tease, you caper about, but you will not do what you say you’ll do.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">If I did say that, imagine the consequences. My short-sighted friend would
say to himself, “Allen is high maintenance. Way too much trouble. Too demanding.
Just not worth my time.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">To be fair, I understand that response. In today’s culture, we live in a
world of instant gratification. The only thing people seem to want now is a thousand
likes, without breaking a sweat. If we’re bored by what we see on our screen, we
click to the next channel or scroll to the next post, which requires no time,
no effort, and no integrity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">But it doesn’t have to be that way. All we have to do is remember and
apply what we learned in kindergarten. Three little words: “Tell the truth.” It
needs to be imprinted in our brains. Because if we don’t tell the truth, we become
people without shame, people who will do anything—lie, steal, attack—for the
sake of greed or convenience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">I’d like to rip into Bad Boy Appliances, but it wouldn’t do any good. So,
I’m taking this out on you in the hope you may agree and make the principle—to
tell the truth—real for yourself . . . and the people you love.<o:p></o:p></p>Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-44185692302899910342021-03-11T14:41:00.004-08:002021-03-11T15:04:14.440-08:00Release date for Athena's Piano is set<p></p>I'm thrilled to collaborate with Boroughs Publishing Group, a company that is passionate about romance--all kinds of romance, from steamy to sweet, fantastic and suspenseful. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ciS-qgnKj2269zeNOMgWGYM9u8CyxJaefsZgwSOfAJZ5SX_9jG1iSxknmQQum0fA4d3e6aCgBO8MEvjOD7hMa7oeiYgRKJChDPcDH3Be6qgAUPjTFasdIpFgp7v0ql0ukjCNlZz2mwU/s2048/Athena%2527s+Piano+with+Hatolie+font+stretched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1376" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ciS-qgnKj2269zeNOMgWGYM9u8CyxJaefsZgwSOfAJZ5SX_9jG1iSxknmQQum0fA4d3e6aCgBO8MEvjOD7hMa7oeiYgRKJChDPcDH3Be6qgAUPjTFasdIpFgp7v0ql0ukjCNlZz2mwU/s320/Athena%2527s+Piano+with+Hatolie+font+stretched.jpg" /></a></div>They have an impressive and gifted collection of authors. I'm humbled and proud to be among their company. <p></p><p>Boroughs will be publishing my new novel, <i>Athena's Piano</i>, a romantic thriller with a sci-fi twist. Well, <i>Athena's Piano</i> is the title for now. It may very well change before the book is officially offered to the world on September 21, 2021. <br /></p><p>Something, too, that may change is the cover. I photographed and designed this cover. The somber tones are meant to be ominous. After all, the book sometimes shrieks with danger. We would be wise to wonder what crouches in the shadows. </p><p>Then, too, we might pause to ask, "Who is Athena? And what is so special about her piano? And what's the story about the trumpet on the piano's lid?"</p><p>To learn that, you will have to read the book. And I hope you will.</p><br /><p><br /></p><br />Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-19458185501138682472019-05-22T12:59:00.002-07:002021-07-07T16:19:42.746-07:00Athena's PianoAllen Johnson wrote <i>Athena's Piano </i>in 2020. Unlike his earlier novels, which were literary, <i>Athena's Piano </i>is a romantic thriller.<br />
<br />
The storyline:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-indent: 13.7pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Tony Marco is a
present-day white surgeon, musician, and Special Forces veteran. He appeared to
lead a perfect life with one exception: the inability to be at ease with any
beautiful woman. Then he is mysteriously seduced by Athena Cruz, an
extraordinary black musician from another time—a woman who is stunning, powerful,
independent, and in mortal danger. Marco and Cruz share a common nemesis, Cal Craven, a jazz-club owner who will stop at nothing to destroy his
challengers and feed his manic obsessions for respect and revenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
In the novel, the protagonist Tony Marco composes and performs a song that he entitles "Athena's Song." The actual composer was the author, Allen Johnson. Below is Allen's performance of the song, followed by his score.<br />
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<br />Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-15396974947685137732019-02-25T10:08:00.000-08:002019-02-25T10:08:05.512-08:00Charlie's World: The Story of an American Expatriot<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">It was September 2016, and I was vacationing for a month on the mountainous French Polynesian island of Moorea, eleven miles northwest of Tahiti. My morning routine included an early morning bicycle ride on a section of the twenty-two-mile road that encircled the perimeter of the island.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">One day, I stopped alongside the road to take a photograph of the Catholic Church with the silhouette of Moorea's mountains in the background. It's a spectacular view: the white-steepled nineteenth-century church and the dense jungle of palm trees, ferns, gigantic chestnut trees, and dark green plants with round leaves eighteen inches in diameter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Just then two bicyclist—a schoolboy and a man in his early forties—pedaled across my frame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b0glZIxGKuw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b0glZIxGKuw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"You need to get a lot more sun," the man called out in a raw American accent. "You're way too white."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Get out of town," I shouted back with a laugh, which was the first and only thing that came to mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I quickly snapped the photo, swung a leg over my mountain bike, and sprinted toward the two riders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Do you always ride this slow?" I quipped as I came alongside the audacious American.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Ah, good one," he said with a laugh. "I deserved that."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I asked him where he was from. "Jersey," he told me and then corrected himself with "New Jersey."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I told him that I was born in Jersey City, which he liked, but then added that I was living in the State of Washington, which he liked even more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Ah," he said, "I'll call you 'Washington.'" And so he did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"What's your name?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Charlie," he said, without sounding the "r."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Hey, Cha'lie, how ya do'in?" I asked in my best east-coast gangster voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie laughed. "Doin' just fine, Washin'ton."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I started firing questions at him, which is my style when traveling in a new land, and he was happy to oblige, once stopping to say, "It's not often that I get the chance to talk with an American."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie was a lean six-footer with an athletic build. At one point he peeled off his tee-shirt and revealed a Polynesian tattoo that covered his entire chest. His hair was a thick mousey blond mat with soft waves--definitely home cut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Twenty years earlier he had been a dirt-bike racer, winning a number of contests in New England. Then, crossing a street on a motorcycle, a motorist blew through a red light and slammed into him. (Charlie stopped to show me a long ugly scar on his right shin.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"I took the little bit of money that I got from the insurance settlement and came here. That was eighteen years ago. Two years later I married a Tahitian woman."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I asked about the boy who rode behind us. "His name is Duke," Charlie said. "He's my son."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Duke, huh? I see you're stickin' with the American tradition," I said, thinking about John Wayne.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie liked the idea but said he had chosen "Duke" because his son was royalty or at least carried himself like royalty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The boy was a handsome youngster with caramel skin, black hair, and straight white teeth. He wore nothing more than a pair of thongs and a motley pair of forest-green shorts. He was so beautiful I wanted to pick him up and give him a bear hug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie rolled to a stop. "My home's up there."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I followed Charlie's extended arm up the steep mountainside. All I could see were lush shades of green. There was no house in sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"I don't want to let you go," I said truthfully. "I want to know a lot more about your life."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"If you got time, why don't you come up to the house now?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I thought for a moment. I had told my wife that I would be taking a long ride, so I figured she wouldn't be worried. "Okay," I said quickly. "What about the bikes?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"We'll leave 'em here," he said, pointing to the side of the road. "They'll be safe. No one'll bother 'em."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">When I sucked in air and said that the bike had been borrowed, Charlie suggested we stow them at a friend's home a few meters down the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I said that would be all right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Follow me," Charlie said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We walked the bikes to a home that wasn't much more than a lean-to. Although it was only thirty feet from the road, it was engulfed by the encroaching jungle. Charlie said something to his friend in Tahitian who didn't bother to get up from a well-worn lawn chair. I parked the bike against the plywood siding and hoped it would still be there when I returned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie, Duke, and I marched back to the road, backtracked twenty yards, and then turned into the jungle. I couldn't figure out where his house could be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Hey, Washin'ton, you know <i>Lord of the Rings</i>?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Sure."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"My place is like the forest of giant Ents," Charlie said with a laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We were on what was nothing more than a goat path—small goats at that. Then we turned left into a funneled canopy of trees and tendrilous vines that looked like a hidden passageway to a fantastic land. I stopped to take a photo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Charlie said. Then he said something to Duke in Tahitian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The boy scampered into the woods, quickly returned, and handed his father . . . a machete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Holy shit</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">, I thought to myself. <i>What the hell am I getting myself into? Is Charlie going to chop me up into little pieces and feed me to his children</i>? The pang of apprehension was real,<i> </i>but so was Charlie—there was something refreshingly genuine about him. I had known him for<i> </i>fifteen minutes, and I liked him already. And besides, Duke was so angelic; surely he would<i> </i>protect me.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The thicket of woods turned into a narrow path that climbed up the mountainside. "I set every one of these steps," Charlie said with pride. "Stand straight, lift with your legs, and go at your own pace. If you start breathin' too hard, slow down, man. I learned that from every piece of lumber I carried up this mountain. Well, what <i>we </i>carried up this mountain," he corrected, giving his son a nod.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The stepping stones were smooth, chocolate brown, and mostly well placed. It was not an elegant staircase—some of the steps were planted left or right to avoid gnarled roots—but they did make climbing the steep mountainside manageable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">At 150 meters I stopped to take another photo and catch my breath. "How much farther?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"About fifty meters. We're almost there." Charlie waved his hands across the jungle. "This is my garden."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Where?" All I could see was a wall of green.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"There. That mango tree; that's ours. That breadfruit tree; that's ours too. And the banana tree." Charlie's voice raised a tone and shimmered with excitement. "Ah, Washin'ton, you see that blackberry tree?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I lied and said that I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"That's very rare. I'm proud of it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie's eyes flitted from one exotic plant to the other. "This is a pacaye tree," he said gleefully, scrambling to a tall tree with large dark-green leaves and lighter green fruit hanging like cucumbers. "The English call these 'ice cream beans.' You'll like this." He snapped off a low-hanging fruit, sliced it open--revealing some eight or ten seeds in the pod. The large fluffy seeds were perfectly white—like ten cotton balls aligned in a row. And, as I soon discovered, each "cotton ball" encapsulated a shiny black seed the size of the end of my thumb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">He handed me one of the white seeds, which I popped into my mouth. It was sweet, exceptionally sweet, almost like cotton candy. I sucked the candy off the black seed, savoring the nectar as I glided my tongue across my palate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"That's amazing," I said, scooping out a second seed from the pod and poking it into my mouth. "Umm, that's good."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We climbed on until we finally reached a small plateau—something, I learned later, Charlie had shoveled out by hand. There it was, his home. It was, well, modest. If I had not already felt like a lifelong friend, I would have called it a ramshackle shanty. It was a home for Robinson Crusoe. It was not built to last. It was built to serve a purpose until a ten-year storm washed it off the mountainside, only to be rebuilt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The footprint of the house was perhaps twelve by twenty-one feet--although Charlie assured me he had plans for additions. There were four mattresses—three leaning against the wall of a room separated by a dark drape, and the fourth planted on the floor in what Charlie called his family room. The floor was made of smooth wood planks, and the walls were a lightweight fiberboard, accented by two irregular holes. I imagined the holes were collateral damage from a friendly family wrestling match.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The roof was corrugated aluminum over a thin layer of shiny insulation. The open-air toilet flushed into a six-foot cube of stones. The water was delivered by a 1,500-foot stretch of PVC piping that drew from weeping stones high up the mountain. "It's good fresh water," Charlie declared with enthusiasm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">A small light bulb, no bigger than a Christmas tree light, was powered by a solar panel that charged two large batteries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"You are a survivalist," I offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"That's exactly right," Charlie said, his head bobbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">There were four children in all. The oldest was Charlie Junior, a sixteen-year-old boy who looked strong and healthy with a thick chest that angled down to narrow hips. The second child was their only daughter, Anita, a slender and lovely twelve-year-old who drew the neck of her blouse over her cinnamon shoulders. Duke and his five-year-old younger brother, Tupuna, were always smiling. Side by side, their faces beamed as if it were Christmas morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Then there was the mother, Faatiarau, who, wearing a light blue sleeveless dress, sat at the window that overlooked the jungle below and the turquoise sea beyond. Her skin was darker than that of her children. I noticed her blunted fingernails. I had the impression she was accustomed to working in the garden. She had a pleasant, welcoming smile. I was a total stranger, and yet she seemed perfectly at ease with me invading her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We all sat down on small wooden stools that measured eighteen inches high. Our discussion began—mostly in French, but occasionally drifting into English, or sentences that were half English, half French.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I asked Faatiarau if it was difficult for her to marry an American.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Not for my mother," she said with a smile. "She accepted him immediately. But my father wanted a man for me who had the same color of skin." She brushed her hand down her long, dark arm. "But my father accepts my husband now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"And they love your children, of course."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Of course."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"And your life now? How would you compare it to the days of your childhood?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"It was better in the past. In the past, we did what we wanted. We were free. Then the French came and made many rules."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"For example?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"For example," Charlie said in English, "I can't walk down the road with a knife anymore. I do it anyway, but I'm not suppose'ta. It's stupid. We don't hurt nobody. We carry a knife to cut down a piece of ripe fruit or cut away the brush. Why should the French tell us how to live? It makes no damn sense."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That exchange was interesting, but it was not what I was after. I was wondering how she felt about living with so little. I turned to Faatiarau again. "I was thinking about the quality of your life," I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"We have very little, but we are happy," she said naturally, without hesitation or a wrinkled brow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie stood and walked to a two-shelf cupboard and opened the doors. The cupboard was bare with the exception of a can of something nondescript, an onion, a carton of dried milk, and a rag. "My wife's right: we got nothin', but we're happy. Somehow each new day provides what we need. Maybe we catch a fish. Or maybe I sell a plant."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"What kind of plants?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Maybe a wine root," he said reaching for a green plastic bucket. "Or this."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"And what's that?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"What does it look like?" He asked with a smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">It was the smile that gave it away. "Is that marijuana?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That was when I noticed a bare-bone structure below the house with black netting to shade a dozen other plants. "Marijuana?" I asked, pointing at the structure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Marijuana."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Charlie was speaking to me without the slightest concern. For all he knew, I could have been a thief, but he was not the least concerned. He trusted me completely. He must have seen my eyes turn inquisitive. "I'll be honest with you," he said, waving his hand across his mountainside. "What you see was not always like this. We had a lot of marijuana, but the police found out, and they took all our plants."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Did you go to jail?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"You don't go to jail here," he chuckled. "They could come back ten times, and I would never go to jail."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"I see." I was trying to get my head around another kind of lifestyle—a life that depended upon the good fortunes of the day. It was a life that was entirely foreign to me, but not one I could berate. Finally, I asked, "Do you ever have to ask for money from your family?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"It's the last resort," Charlie said off-handedly. "But it happens. Maybe even every other day, but only a thousand francs." (That's equivalent to ten American dollars—not a lot in a country where food is thirty percent higher than in the States.) "I'm always amazed by what I have," Charlie said. "My life turned out just the way I'd hoped."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"And how's that?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"We're a family. We laugh, we dance, we exercise, we fish, we play games. We don't need nothin'." As Charlie spoke he leaned over and rolled a smoke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Are you rolling a joint?" I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Naw, this is just tobacco. Sometimes I smoke a cigarette to relax." He wagged his head. "Sure, sometimes it's a joint, but not so much."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We were silent for a moment as Charlie swiped his tongue across the cigarette. "It's like this. I can heat water for a shower with kerosene, but most of the time the kids want to save money, and so they find some dry wood, start a fire, heat the water, and dump the water in that." Charlie pointed out the doorless entrance at a blue plastic container the size of a pickle barrel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">To prove his dad's point, Duke ran outside and, with the help of his older brother, jumped into the barrel. "Like this," the boy said, peeling off his tee-shirt and sinking into the tub.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That's when I noticed a heavy, one-inch diameter length of rope with a loop on the end, hanging twenty feet from the branch of a massive tree. "And this?" I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Show him," Charlie said to Duke, who had already squirmed out of the pickle barrel. He dashed to the tree, snatched the rope, and disappeared into the green. The next thing I knew he flashed across the landscape, nearly swinging a full 180 degrees until he came to a dead stop—capping his spectacle by chinning up and down the line like a high-wire circus performer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">When it was time for me to leave, I said my goodbyes one by one. When I put my hand out to Charlie, he drew it into his chest and gave me a hug to one side and then the other. I could feel the grain of his three-day beard on my cheek. "That's the way it's done here," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"What, no kisses?" I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Well, not on the mouth anyway," he said with a crooked smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I paused, thought a moment, and said, "If I came back unannounced to visit some more, you wouldn't pull out a shotgun and shoot me, right?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Course not, you're welcomed here. I'll look forward to seein' ya."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"You will see me again," I promised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The boys guided me back down the trail, the five- and eight-year-olds scrambling barefooted like kid goats. Midway down, I asked Charlie Junior if he ever went to bed hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">He shrugged. "Sure. But hunger's in the past. I always know we'll find something good to eat the next day."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"Yeah," I said, "there's always tomorrow."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">"That's right," Junior echoed. "There's always tomorrow."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-29276092300695021792019-02-13T10:50:00.000-08:002019-02-15T10:48:21.092-08:00On a musical noteI love learning to play a new instrument. My newest musical conquest has been the baritone ukulele. The instrument is small and intimate, rather like holding a teddy bear with strings attached.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JpRHfzzm7AI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JpRHfzzm7AI?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe>The baritone ukulele is the granddaddy of all the ukes, measuring a full thirty inches in length. The sound is deeper, approaching the sound of a nylon string guitar. In fact, it uses guitar tuning (DGBE), which accommodates guitarists who would like to pick up a ukulele for a novelty number--or to serenade their sweetheart in a canoe (while the sweetheart paddles).<br />
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I decided to create a little five-minute video to highlight the sound of the baritone. And I offered a twelve-bar blues progression as an introduction to the instrument.<br />
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Here's hoping that you have a little music in your life--if not as a performer, at least as an avid listener who is moved by the swell of chords vibrating in your chest. You can listen and watch my little performance by clicking on the YouTube video above. And if any reader is a baritone ukulele player, the chords I'm using are noted below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPLjKw9hJIobVjLfMwEbAfZJn2MolCCavGliKMMtHimaXoDvXxEtmoBNVoqQfw312v8YEK_hSJazHzxqmJ8GJK2NbECNm2n7EPpnQKsN9KHeXi6Xvqk1JobwvbRpT3m1yU8BGJRup9uI/s1600/12-bar+blues+for+Baritone+Ukulele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPLjKw9hJIobVjLfMwEbAfZJn2MolCCavGliKMMtHimaXoDvXxEtmoBNVoqQfw312v8YEK_hSJazHzxqmJ8GJK2NbECNm2n7EPpnQKsN9KHeXi6Xvqk1JobwvbRpT3m1yU8BGJRup9uI/s640/12-bar+blues+for+Baritone+Ukulele.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
<br />Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-27740645896069611942019-02-09T08:34:00.001-08:002019-02-09T08:34:37.823-08:00The one word you don't know that may hold the secret to your happiness<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the first things I noticed was the deep “</span>cra<span style="font-size: 12pt;">-a-ar” of the Mediterranean tree frogs—just over two inches in length but sonorous when breeding. It was not an annoying sound but rather in keeping with the lighthearted and free-spirited conversation. My wife, Nita, and I were dining on a third-floor balcony that overlooked </span>a 19<sup>th</sup>-century<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> park in Montpellier, France. Our hosts were Elizabeth and Benoit, she an artist, he a university biology professor. The warm summer air snuggled us with pleasure, just as a crackling does fire in wintertime.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TX-EoAGiMPOpvMuUDmTzZCvFw2ADGCJli3t12pHOU8PkBA3j6rxz7-V4765KB0XZXzJGHKKuD-Xxuclwsp9j4CljEGEVzUno06avDc9nG5ym_g-tDvgwpBvTm4ujssEN9jSYdJFOls8/s1600/dinner+on+the+balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="550" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TX-EoAGiMPOpvMuUDmTzZCvFw2ADGCJli3t12pHOU8PkBA3j6rxz7-V4765KB0XZXzJGHKKuD-Xxuclwsp9j4CljEGEVzUno06avDc9nG5ym_g-tDvgwpBvTm4ujssEN9jSYdJFOls8/s320/dinner+on+the+balcony.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I turned to Nita and said, “This is one of those unforgettable magical moments.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The Danes have a word for the sensation. They call it <i>hygge</i> (pronounced “hoo-ga). We do not have an English equivalent, but you can think of it as a feeling of intimacy, hominess, coziness, and, as expressed in <i>The Little Book of Hygge </i>by the Danish author Meik Wiking, “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The Danes are masters of hygee, which may be the reason why Denmark is almost always rated the happiest nation in the world. Their manifesto is to bring out the candles, turn off the cell phones, bring on the hot drinks and cake, and get comfy. Their conversation is characterized by equal sharing, the expression of togetherness, and the absence of competition. In a phrase, security and peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">You have to hand it to the Danes. They have figured out that the key to happiness is not riches but relationships. They understand the crushing meaning of Rabbi Harold Kushner’s observation: “Nobody on their deathbed has ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">To prove my point, the <i>minimum </i>state-mandated vacation time in Denmark is thirty-six days. In contrast, the United States has no minimum federal requirement. It is up to the discretion of the employer. Some offer no vacation. Seventy-seven percent of private employers offer their full-time employees eighteen days of paid vacation and holidays after one year of service. As such, the Danes spend twice as many days as Americans gathered around the fireplace (or campfire) with their loved ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Here’s the upshot of all this. We are the architects of our own happiness (companies have other priorities). It is our job to take charge of our well-being by creating our own warm moments of hygge and to be grateful when they arrive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I will never forget the warm glow of friendship on the balcony in Montpellier with an orchestra of croaking frogs providing the soundtrack. That moment will remain in my brain as long as I am lucid. To this day, just the remembrance of those precious hours makes me happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Treasure your hygge moments, and if you are not getting enough—brooding, restlessness, and loneliness are the warning signs—get off your duff, buy (or, better yet, bake) a dozen Danishes, light up the candles, and invite family and friends over for a cozy conversation of souls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-34653969152060007442018-12-30T13:42:00.000-08:002018-12-30T13:42:03.533-08:00I will stand for and support goodness and grace<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">
There comes a time when enough is enough, when being silent for the sake of political decorum is no longer acceptable. Today, I am reminded of the stirring words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” I am not going to be silent anymore.</div>
<br />Let’s look at the most recent international development. Here are the facts—what sentient human beings call “reality.”<br /><br /><ol>
<li>The CIA has concluded that the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ordered the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi.</li>
<li>Trump has chosen to stand by the Crown Prince to boost arms sales to Saudi Arabia and prevent oil price spikes. “They have been a great ally,” Trump said of the Saudis, and “the United States intends to remain a steadfast partner. I’m not going to destroy our economy by being foolish with Saudi Arabia.”</li>
<li>On October 16, 2018, Trump tweeted, "For the record, I have no financial interests in Saudi Arabia (or Russia, for that matter). Any suggestion that I have is just more FAKE NEWS (of which there is plenty)!"</li>
<li>At a 2015 campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, Trump said of the Saudis, “I get along great with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much!”</li>
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<br />I’ll let you connect the dots.<br /><br />I have had enough. As an American but, more importantly, as an admittedly imperfect human being striving to be principle-centered, I am not willing to sell my soul to a president (or anyone else) who will toady to a cruel and ruthless totalitarian dictator assassin for the sake of dollars. <br /><br />I know that I cannot dissuade the Trump true believers who are seduced more by emotional fear mongering than reality; they have to live with their own choices. As for me, I will no longer be silent. I will stand for reason and moral integrity, and I will support reasonable and moral spokespeople, regardless of their political party, for no single party has a monopoly on virtue. In short, I will stand for and support goodness and grace.Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-16775312927249050122018-12-30T13:19:00.000-08:002018-12-30T13:19:00.590-08:00Reason Trumps Emotion When Reason is Healing<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Recently, I cringed when reading a friend’s Facebook entry that struck me as crude and ineffectual. I won’t quote the post verbatim. Let’s just say it was a vulgar quip about an indiscreet body part of President Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I did not respond to the Facebook post, but I did email my friend, who I will call Blanche. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I first admitted that I was not a Trump supporter. In fact, I characterize the president as self-serving and morally vacuous. With that as background, I stressed that my challenge was to fight for right in a way that was rational and noncombative—no easy task for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“There was one thing that I knew for sure,” I explained to Blanche. “</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Though tempting, flinging insults is not the answer. It will not budge true believers; in fact, it will only toughen their resolve. When attacked, true believers will predictably double down. Understand, people in pain will cling to anything to survive. For some, it’s alcohol, for some religion. For still others, it’s a political savior. Assaulting their refuge, their safe haven is doomed for failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“True believers are guided more by emotion than reason, by the gnawing angst in their guts. That is why reason must always be constructed to ease the pain. When reason ignores the pain, the State risks dissolving into a heap of lies and propaganda, which is the foundation for fascism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> “We are not there yet. Although we are being tested, our nation is still a country of justice and reason. Proud new voices— women, minorities, immigrants, and young people—are rising up and pledging their allegiance to diversity and a healthy planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“I still have faith in America. I believe that every venerable champion of reason, every youthful voice for equality will—voice by voice, truth by truth—beat down the bastions of greed, racism, and, most importantly, internal pain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That was my message to Blanche, who replied within minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Allen, I really appreciate your comments, and, of course, you are right. Sometimes, when I become angry and frustrated, I loosen the ties of my discerning, discriminating mind, and my impulse control slips. My heroes have always been people of peace and goodwill, those who fight against injustice and social inequity. It is clear that I don’t always follow their examples. However, life is a process of learning and growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Please continue your wise and wonderful ways. I am sincere when I say it is a privilege to know you, and I thank you for your comments.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">There you have it. Although I blush by her characterization of my “wise and wonderful ways,” I do think it demonstrates that reasonable people can have a positive influence on each other—at least upon those who are still searching for truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Let’s make discerning reason a matter of routine—no, a sacred tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-69129911289903354212018-12-30T13:12:00.002-08:002018-12-30T13:12:48.964-08:00Love is Sustained by the Melding of Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">On Christmas Eve, 2018, my wife, Nita, and I celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary. That milestone has me thinking about the nature of love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In the beginning, our love was consumed by <i>passion</i>: a physical arousal that was so irresistible that I can still feel her slender body pressed against mine on the stairwell that led to her apartment. Although purely innocent (I think), she beguiled me like a puppy conditioned by treats for good behavior. At the time, I called it love although I hardly knew the meaning of the word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Eventually, passion was joined by <i>intimacy</i>: a feeling of closeness, understanding, and support for each other’s dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In 1991, I bought a new hunter-green Corvette with saddle leather interior. I called it “Blaze.” Physical arousal was not induced when I was cradled behind the wheel, but it came close. Meanwhile, Nita yearned to leave her lucrative administrative position and return to classroom teaching. Even with my salary, our budget would be strained. The solution was easy: I would sell the Corvette. Although Blaze could catapult me from 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, it was not fast enough to overtake my wife’s dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Stage three of our love affair was <i>commitment</i>: a covenant to nurture and protect our love for all time. When I was standing in the stairwell with my sweetheart in my arms, I could not imagine a greater love. I was wrong. True love expands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Today, our friends know that Nita has Parkinson’s disease. However, they may not know the consequences of the disease. Every day, Nita comes to me for help, always unassuming, unembarrassed, as if she were asking for the time of day. Would I help her button her dress? Open a stubborn jar? Slice a fresh tomato? Naturally, I’m happy to help her with those tasks, even with the knowledge that her skills will diminish in time. But here’s the miracle. I do not love her any less; I love her all the more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">How can that be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I think it has to do with the flow and fusion of passion, intimacy, and commitment. I am still aroused by her beauty, both physical and spiritual, still moved by the intimacy of her vulnerability, still thrilled by her commitment to our marriage, even with all my befuddling flaws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">But there is something else. Nita has always been a powerful, independent woman: gentle enough to revive a wilting houseplant yet strong enough to discern and heal a tormented relationship. And now, this dynamic woman is asking for my help . . . <i>my</i> help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Frankly, I think she is still beguiling me, the vixen. I suspect she knows that with every call for help, I am enriched, even exalted. She has sustained me for fifty years. Now she is inviting me to sustain her and, consequently, fill my heart with the joy of serving my true love. Thank you, my sweet, sweet Nita.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-73906042825038355752018-11-11T19:05:00.000-08:002018-11-11T19:05:02.193-08:00Success or failure is a product of both heritage and effort<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Don’t be so arrogant; you’re not as almighty as you think.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That is what my better self tells me, and my better self is always right. I am not solely responsible for my successes or my failures. Like all of us, I am a complicated amalgam of my heritage and efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Let me explain. Luck was with me when I was born. I am an American white male in good health and respectable intelligence, graced with parents who worked hard and remained married. In other words, my heritage was adequately, some would say notably, rich. As such, I am privileged. Yes, there are those who are more privileged than I but only in number, not in kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Millions of others are not so lucky and are handicapped by their gender (or gender identity), race, social/economic standing, and physical/mental capacities. They are the underprivileged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The other half of the formula is effort. Nurtured by my privileged status, I have worked hard. I have reaped a university education, earned a decent living, and pursued my passion for the arts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Conversely, when heritage is meager, the story is likely to become more strident. Many struggle to find their way. They lack initiative and are easily distracted or derailed. Sometimes, the promise of success is completely extinguished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Here is my point. <i>Our success is not solely a product of our effort, our self-governance. It is the product of heritage and effort.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Do not be so quick to condemn the misnamed slackers. You do not know the steepness of their climb. For when the slope is arduous, effort tends to dwindle and, with time, stall and arrest. For example, it is easy to study when the desk lamp is bright, the room is warm, and the belly is full. It is not nearly so effortless when deprived of these essentials. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">There are those who overcome their impoverished heritage, who, despite the odds, generate the will to break through the barriers and elevate themselves to positions of influence (although, too often, lagging respect). Those people are the true heroes. (In contrast, I am no hero. My life has been entirely too easy.) Such luminaries include Stephen Hawking, Thomas Edison, Jesse Owens, Helen Keller, Fredrick Douglas, Victor Frankl, and, most recently, the Pakistani schoolgirl advocate for human rights Malala Yousafzai. Although these people are inspiring, they are uncommon exceptions. Our 2.2 million American prisoners—56% Black or Hispanic—are more representative of the systemic interplay between heritage and effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Can we do this? Can we begin to honor the people who are battling to beat the odds? And can we stop fawning over the excessively privileged, especially those who merrily coast on the silken advantages of their heritage? They are no heroes; they are only the fabulously fortunate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-82606981603693857162018-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:002018-07-09T09:13:16.814-07:00I am the invisible man<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I am the invisible man, which is strangely horrific. I can flick my ears, lace my fingers, even witness the rise and fall of my chest with every breath, which makes me wonder if I am a ghost and only visible to myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">My translucence began two years ago when I offered my services free of charge to regional educators. I began by telephoning high school principals who refused to return my calls. My next tactic was to write to principals and teachers. The thundering silence made me question my existence, so I created a five-minute video (see the video below) that highlighted my half-century experience as an educator. I sent that video to principals and the superintendent of schools with the hope that their screens would not snap to black when they pressed “play.” Perhaps I’m invisible on screen as well for there was no response.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Finally, I set up face-to-face meetings with two principals, quickly presented my proposal, and, with one principal, forced him to watch my five-minute video. At last, I might have been visible because both principals said they would recommend me to their staffs. Those meetings were followed, once again, by an infinite black hole of silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">How could that happen? After all, the only compensation I sought was the reward of helping young people become the best versions of themselves. Whatever the administrators' misgivings, all doubts could be easily allayed by testing the water—by simply allowing me to correct a single essay or critique a single speech. If I offered little value, they could send me home to tend to my garden in silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The nature of invisibility<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> Many people know about invisibility:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> As for me, I take solace in the lines of Dylan Thomas:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I will not be deterred. Why? Because I can still make a difference. Humility be damned, I’m a master teacher. I’m a doctor of psychology but also an entertainer. As such, I know how to reach teenagers. I am an authority in English, speech, drama, musical theater, and counseling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Surely someone somewhere can benefit from that expertise. I just need to pound on the bolted doors until someone with eyes to see and ears to hear releases the latch, swings the door open, and says, “Come in, Allen. I’ve been expecting you. Let’s put you to work.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-6878351439161017992018-06-25T08:28:00.000-07:002018-06-25T08:28:34.975-07:00Would you tear off the wings of a monarch butterfly for a million dollars?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh251DZt-kojTSyeXBep0nhJscD5uPTVT0zQ2cm1i96DoPUfXSPj3MQahd30IREGj8PICb9zgL72gVytqypc0r8KazBiGCwVc6L12yG5IJDN8vbzZEIda8JW1LoGHmEBLEWrjF9uXekNJw/s1600/monarch+butterfly.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh251DZt-kojTSyeXBep0nhJscD5uPTVT0zQ2cm1i96DoPUfXSPj3MQahd30IREGj8PICb9zgL72gVytqypc0r8KazBiGCwVc6L12yG5IJDN8vbzZEIda8JW1LoGHmEBLEWrjF9uXekNJw/s320/monarch+butterfly.jpg" /></a><br />
My brother, Ray, was always more athletic than I, which is not something that I like to admit because brotherly rivalry may be the last puerile impulse to be tamed. On the rare occasions I beat him playing horse on the Emerson Elementary basketball court, it was because I reverted to my patented trick shots, like my blind, backward bucket launch, a shot that my brother would protest with a squawking voice because it was not an orthodox play that anyone would use in a real game.<br /><br />Ray particularly excelled as a softball pitcher, able to throw a whirlwind fastball that made me jump out of the batter’s box out of raw fear—even when the pitch streaked through the center of the strike zone.<br /><br />He had an arm with pinpoint accuracy—no question. He proved it in the summer of 1960 on the banks of Newman Lake. Ray was twelve and I thirteen.<br /><br />It was a cool, still evening. We spoke quietly, feeling wonderfully languid after a full day of swimming, waterskiing, and sunbathing. The sky was cloudless and the water a blue-green plane of glass. We were standing mid-calf in lake water, watching the fingerlings swirl around our ankles like shinning orbiting moons.<br /><br />It was a chirping robin’s call that interrupted our reverie. Ray looked up and spotted the bird mid-way up a tall sycamore tree.<br /><br />“Watch this,” Ray said, selecting a smooth, flat stone from under his feet. He drew his arm back and let it fly. <br /><br />It was a direct hit. The bird tumbled mindless, wingless to the ground. It was dead still.<br /><br />“What a shot,” I said. “I’m gonna call you the ‘bird killer.’” It was a stupid thing to say, in the way thirteen-year-old boys often say stupid things. The idiocy of my comment fully registered when I looked into my brother's eyes.<br /><br />The blood had drained from his face. He looked sick as if he would throw up in the next heartbeat. “I didn’t mean it,” he said, his voice full of remorse that rose from the depths of his gut. “I didn’t mean it. I just wanted to scare him; I didn’t wanna kill him.”<br /><br />“I know, Ray,” I said. I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was okay. But it didn’t seem right; nothing was okay. It was personal, and my embrace would distract Ray’s need to sort out his own grief and shame.<br /><br />Decades later, I came across an article that reviewed a self-report survey that measured morality. One question caught my eye:<br /><br />Would you tear off the wings of a monarch butterfly for a million dollars?<br /><br />I once put the question to attendees at a seminar I was leading on ethics. The class was divided. Most said “no,” but several said “yes.” A catholic nun argued that a lot of good could be done with a million dollars. A burly man, who looked like he drove a pickup with a gun rack and a bumper sticker that read Duck hunters need love too, said, “Hell, for a million dollars, I’d eat it.”<br /><br />When rethinking the question, I asked my wife what she would do. Her face scrunched in disgust. “Why would you even ask such a question? Of course not.”<br /><br />“Not ever?”<br /><br />“Never.”<br /><br />I have not put the question to my brother. I don’t need to; he would be equally horrified.<br /><br />Call it his unique nature or, if you prefer, divine design. Whatever the source, my brother has a tender heart. He helps those in need; he champions people on the fringe; he lowers and drives his shoulder into building community.<br /><br />Those two incidents—the felling of a robin and a profound survey question—have both haunted and inspired me for years. They both represent a pivotal moment for any conscientious human being, a time to be reflective, to ask, “What are the important things in life.”<br /><br />For me, I am disgusted by all braggarts who glory in causing harm: the grinning hunters alongside their kills, yes, but also the greedy, the heartless, the rabid nationalists whose perverted definition of empathy is “behavior that makes my life easier, more luxurious, more grandiose, more privileged.”<br /><br />In contrast, I will always exalt a person who celebrates the dignity of all living things, of those who know the danger of throwing a smooth stone and grieve—as my brother grieved—when the stone hits it mark.Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-84558224110279238782018-05-19T08:53:00.000-07:002018-05-19T09:30:07.614-07:00BOING and the power of commitment<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This video is a 13-minute presentation I offered at Northwest Nazarene University, commemorating the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the class of 1968, the year I graduated from NNU.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">I quickly describe how the pivotal and decisive crossroads in our lives require a faithful commitment. But here is the happy news: if we are loyal to our commitment, we are abundantly rewarded with peace, love, and joy—perhaps not constantly or supremely, but, as a whole, steadily throughout our entire lives.</span></div>
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Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-70794820525140815142018-05-13T08:44:00.002-07:002019-02-13T16:20:17.802-08:00Reflection on Community from a Golden Graduate<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In 1968, I graduated from Northwest Nazarene College (now University) in Nampa Idaho. In the next fifty years, I became a teacher, entertainer, professor, consultant, speaker, and author, (which is more information than any human being should be allowed to know about Allen Johnson).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">While at NNC, I observed, experienced, and subconsciously integrated a college principle into my life. That principle was a commitment to community. Consequently, all my work has been guided by a passion to serve—to bring people together, to deepen their awareness, to move them toward mindfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">On my return to NNU as a golden graduate, I was thrilled to find that the university’s zeal for community had not diminished. That realization jumped out at me and grabbed me by the throat wherever I turned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">During my three-day stay, I made it a point to seek out and talk to young NNU students. To each one, I posed the same pivotal question: What are your feelings about your experience at NNU? Their sentiments became quickly predictable: “I love the sense of community. The classes are small, and the professors are caring. We are a family.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">When the alumni went to a small chapel on campus to reflect on who we were and who we hoped to be, we sang two venerable hymns. I was swept away by the harmony and power that reverberated in my chest like a bass drum—so stirring that I surrendered my own voice to be filled with the blend of love, gratitude, and, yes, community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">The late-night conversations with former NNC classmates were, in essence, the definition of community: a covenant one with another to be transparent, empathic, and nonjudgmental. The conversation cycled upward like a spiral staircase—disclosure kindling understanding followed by even deeper disclosure. The friends we had not seen for fifty years told their stories freely—their greatest joys and most challenging tribulations—all with uncommon honesty. Then they listened to other stories—not to persuade, but to truly understand the often tortuous pathways to faith and reason that other classmates had discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I felt the same sense of community to the power of ten at the 2018 graduation ceremony in which we, the class of 1968, participated by marching with the young graduates. The entire gymnasium rumbled with euphoria, pegging the gauge of love and community. It was a lovefest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Even the commencement speaker, Dr. Stephen Shaw, NNU professor of political science, mirrored the covenant of community that the university holds sacred. He called for humility, inclusion, diversity, the tumbling of walls, and the building of bridges. At the heart of it, he was a fervent champion for community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">When I walked on the campus—especially early in the morning or late at night—with only my thoughts for company, I felt a swell of nostalgia. It had been fifty years since I walked the campus—scrambling to class, the student center, the library, play rehearsals, or Saturday night dates. Suddenly, my student days did not feel like a half century of ancient history; they felt like yesterday. How was that possible? How did time reverse itself? The answer struck me like a new paradigm, first ignored, then finally understood for its wisdom and simplicity: <i>Community has no expiration date</i>. I was not shackled by my age for community was as real in 2018 as it was in 1968. In a way, walking the campus was like time travel—only the excursion did not take me to a specific date; it took me to <i>a timeless way of being</i>. It transported me to community, and I was young again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Today, my theology is no longer strictly Nazarene, but my principles are. NNU and I hold the same sacred values of love, peace, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, and community. That is our legacy. Moreover, we garner and cherish the same outcome when we faithful to those principles. That outcome is joy. Not happiness; happiness is short-lived. But joy! Joy is an awe-inspiring, uninterrupted flow of transcendence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That awareness is an ageless truth that this seventy-two-year-old alumnus is willing to shout like a full-throated teenage Nazarene chorister. Yahoo! Let the joy roll like thunder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-49409743214144824972018-04-07T17:29:00.002-07:002018-04-08T08:51:02.736-07:00Laughing Out Loud: How Today's Language Made Me Crazy<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%;">I’m old, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">and it’s all my fault. I ate every day, went to bed at night, and invariably woke up the next morning. The next thing I knew, I was tottering to the bathroom for the third time in the middle of the night to dispense a tablespoon of liquid the color of brake fluid, which makes sense because for decades the damn broth has put the “brakes” on any semblance of a good night’s sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I’m getting carried away before I’ve started. My point is this: I’m old, which may be the reason I’m feeling so cranky. Everything seems to upset me these days: rap music, tongue piercings, and facial tattoos—to name a few. And when did electricians and plumbers start charging $85 an hour for connecting a wire or unclogging a sink? But mostly I’m miffed by today’s vampiristic attacks on language.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Okay, I know that speech does change and that there is always a new form of twisted underground chatter among youngsters to give them a sense of identity. For heaven’s sake, when I was a kid, the secret language was pig Latin, which, by the way, is created by transferring the initial consonant or consonant cluster to the end of the word and adding “ay.” In that way, “really stupid” becomes “eally-ray upid-stay.” I could never get the hang of it; it just sounded really upid-stay to me—and more work than it was worth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I admit that we said some pretty dumb things in our day, but it seems to me that today’s youth have taken language to a new septic low. And, what’s worse, the new jargon has been taken up by perfectly sane and socially responsible adults—some of them matching my age!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Time for a few examples. Here are four expressions that make me want to go to bed early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>No problem</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">This is the young person’s response to requests for courtesy or service. The exchange plays out like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Excuse me, where would I find the bathroom?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Straight down the hall and to the right,” says the twenty-something-year-old with a tattoo of her ex-boyfriend’s name on her neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Thank you very much.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“No problem,” she says over her shoulder as she strides away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">That sends me into a tirade of internal dialogue. <i>No problem?</i> <i>Was there a possibility that my question might be problematic? If I had asked for directions on a bad day, would you have punched me in the bread basket? Are you being magnanimous for taking a moment out of your day to help another human being find his way to the John? Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t know the word “magnanimous”? It means agnanimous-may.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dis, dissed, dissing </b>(transitive verb, if you were wondering)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">As far as I can tell, “dis” is shorthand for “disrespect” or, on occasion, “criticize.” “I’m not dissing you when I say you’re ugly; I’m just tellin’ you the truth.” Or “You have the nerve to dis my driving skills?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Is there anything wrong with the verbs “disrespect” or “criticize”? I’m sorry, but “dis” is not a word, it’s a prefix. The antonym of “respect” is created by attaching “dis” to the beginning of the root. It’s a nifty tool. Try it, you might like it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">So, what if we only spoke in prefixes? Let’s take another prefix—“un”—which also reverses the meaning of a word. But without the root, understanding the message is impossible. If you said, “He was really <i>un</i> the other day,” does that mean that he was un-happy? Un-forgivable? Un-dressed? There is simply no way of knowing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">But wait a minute. Maybe I’m being too crotchety. Maybe we should speak <i>entirely</i> in prefixes. Just think how much time we would save by saying things like, “I de the para on my tri,” Which could mean, “I deciphered the paradox on my tricycle,” or—less likely, but still possible—“I defrosted the parachute on my triceratops.” You figure it out and get back to me when you have the answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Totes presh adorbs </b></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Young people are equal-opportunity corruptors of the English language. Their abuse is not limited to verbs. They also take great joy in snipping the sense out of adverbs and adjectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">It took my friend Melinda, a street-smart Millennial, to teach me that “totes presh adorbs” means “totally precious and adorable.” It’s a descriptor applied to budding romance, cuddly puppies, or cute babies. I’m glad that she explained because my best guess was “Tote bags for preschool doughboys,” which didn’t make any sense to me either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">So, if adjectives can be used to paint a world of sugar and spice, how about adjective splinters to describe the things that are nasty. To that end, I have invented a new expression: “ex vi vish” or—to squeeze it into one word—“exvivish,” meaning “extremely vile and vicious”? Exvivish! Pretty cool, huh? Start using it around the water cooler at work. “Oh, man, the boss was really exvivish this morning.” “Yeah, I’ve never seen him so exvivish.” People will think you’re really like . . . uh . . . with it, dude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Lol</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Since I’m focused on clipped words, allow me to end with the acronym “lol.” It took me three years to realize that lol did not mean “lots of love,” but, to my horror, “laughing out loud.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Let me tell you, that was a letdown. Whenever I wrote a few words on Facebook that was slightly humorous, I would often receive a friendly comment or two that ended with lol. “Oh, Allen, you tickle my funny bone. Lol.” “You are a CRAZY man. Lol.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I was feeling the love. I was thinking, <i>I’m just too darn hot. Everybody loves me. </i>And then I learned the truth of the matter. In reality, all the love was really laughter—nor was it clear if the laughter was a friendly titter or a malicious guffaw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">It felt like the night in Las Vegas when I was strolling down the street past the time when every other reasonable town was asleep. A beautiful woman with high heels and great stems was walking my way. No, she was not “walking”; she was sashaying. When I was close enough to make out the details of her figure—firm and curvaceous—she smiled at me. When I was close enough to make out her ravish-me-red lipstick and thick, extra-long, eyelashes, she lowered her chin, lifted her bare shoulder, and puckered her lips. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">I tugged at my belt and thought, <i>God, I’m good looking.</i> And then when she had passed, it suddenly hit me like an interstate smashup: She was a lady of the night and I was her unsuspecting mark. I swallowed a warm wad of delusion, while my stomach seized up and gurgled. I was not her prince; I was only a walking, talking dollar sign. I don’t know when I ever felt so devalued, so defiled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">So there it is: a few gripes about contemporary language. And to tell you the truth, it has made me a little depressed. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight, which is sad. I’ll just wake up before dawn—one day older and a little more grumpy—and start my day by mourning the trashing of language in a plugged-in, checked-out, hopped-up world made for people who don’t understand why “rap music” is an oxymoron. Humph.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4862555211296897272.post-5102456310543328002018-03-27T08:19:00.001-07:002018-03-27T08:43:21.030-07:00The Making of an Artist<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I’m passionate about the arts—both visual and performance—which is why I decided to create this special video tribute entitled “The Making of an Artist.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Artists will endure almost anything for their professions. Writers will brave months of dreaming and researching and plotting and rewriting—and rewriting again. Painters will paint all day and late into the night--often on huge, expensive canvases. Dancers will practice for years, torturing their feet, and stretching beyond incomprehensible limits. Musicians will sit at the piano for hours every day, practicing one scale after the other—even when they would rather be hanging out with their friends. Metal sculptors will work through heat and ice to create gargantuan works of art whose heights are only surpassed by their expenses. Actors will audition, rehearse, memorize thousands of lines, and study the craft of acting throughout their entire careers. Photographers will study the art and technology of creating powerful images—and do it all in very expensive studios.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Being an artist is demanding—no question. So what is it that draws people to the arts? What are their missions? What brings them joy? What challenges them? And what are their recommendations to young artists? These are the questions that we posed to seven professional artists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dancer Reneé Adams has been a professional dancer, dance educator, and arts administrator for fifteen years. Recently, her work has focused on implementing programs that bring dance experiences into community centers and K through 12 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">classrooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Photographer Richard Breshears begn his career as an enthusiastic and skillful amateur. Soon, his talent and passion transformed his burgeoning hobby into a booming profession. With 20 years of award-winning images to his credit, Richard is a Master of Photography and a Certified Professional Photographer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Painter Heidi Elkington hales from the Pacific
Northwest and enjoys using paint to explore what it means to be human. Her work
is often characterized by the liberal use of color and the themes of life and
death.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Musician Debi eng started her musical journey with piano lessons at age five. In 1994, she became a high school music educator. Add to that a host of professional gigs dating back to 1979 and continuing to this day. One could easily say that music is her life--24/7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Author Maureen McQuerry is a novelist, poet, and teacher. She taught middle school, high school, and college for twenty years and is a frequent presenter at schools and literary conferences. She has published three novels for young adults, and her poetry can be found in many literary journals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sculptor Joseph Rastovich has been creating large steel sculptures since he was fourteen-years old. He has completed thirteen public sculptures and participates in many of the top art festivals in the Western United States. As a bonus, he is also a musician, dancer, and writer who strives to create space for others to express themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Actor <span style="color: #222222;">Michael Thomas is an
established stage actor with many leading roles to his credit, including <i>Of
Mice and Men, The 39 Steps, Same Time Next year, </i>and <i>Frost
Nixon. </i>He also provides voice over and acting services for both film
projects and commercial industries. A native of the Tri-Cities,
Washington, he is an active member of the regional theatre communities.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allen Johnson is a full-time doctor of psychology and a part-time author, actor, painter, jazz vocalist and pianist, photographer, and videographer.</span></span></span><br />
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Allen Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671208269637625810noreply@blogger.com0