A rundown of our trip to New York

Some of my friends have asked me about my trip, because they know that funny things happen to me when I travel, and because they know I’m not really the type to go to New York.

So here’s a run down of our experiences while visiting New York.

First: Arriving in Dallas. Holy barf bag batman! Our pilot trained on amusement park rides.

Upon arrival we’re told that our flight to New York has been cancelled.

Rush to a flight to Chicago where there's another flight to NYC waiting for us. Julie and I can’t sit together.

I sit by a Baptist minister who was about 6 foot 5. Seats in an MD 80 are small. He ate his lunch off the guy’s head seated in front of him. We had a nice chat. He assured me that I would like New York.

We buy Big Macs in O’Hare. ComAir to New York? Looks like a fighter plane. I worry that it's going to be bumpy. But we're very comfortable. Not too many people. Clouds break as we make our approach.

New York City.

Wow.

Really something to see from the air.

JFK. Intense. People here are serious.

But the young man at the exit was very nice. He told us to take the bus. We’d be crazy to pay for a taxi ride. The bus would drop us at Penn Station.

“What more do you want?” he asks me in a thick New York accent.

Very cool.

We take a taxi to our hotel.

Sheraton Towers on 51st and 7th. Nice. Dropped our bags in room 2620 and out the door to Xochi’s hotel on 50th and 8th. Hampton Inn. So good to see her. Couldn’t believe this was all happening to us.

Took a walk to Carnegie Hall to get tickets to her concert, but the box office was closed. So we walked to the Jekyll and Hyde restaurant for a fun dinner.

It was fine, it really was, except that I didn’t know that Les Paul was playing at that very moment in a club on the corner of 51st and 7th, spitting distance from our hotel. Would have been a dream come true.

After dinner we walked to Times Square. What an experience. I recommend it to everyone. Wow. We stopped in stores, wandered through the Hard Rock Café, and made plans for the rest of the trip.

Next morning, breakfast with Xochi in her hotel. GREAT!

We buy tickets on the hop off hop on tour bus. Uptown. Cool. No, I mean FREEZING. Very cold morning in New York.

Tours are VERY interesting. I want to stop at Grant’s Tomb.You see, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to see Grant’s Tomb, since in was a little kid. Learned about it in school, didn’t understand that it was in New York. And I didn’t get the joke till I was 13. (Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?) Very cool visit.

But I needed to visit the little boy’s room. There isn’t one at the Tomb. But the lady at the gift shop directs us to Riverside Church.Okay, cool.

Martin Luther King. Nelson Mandela. Good history. They’ll let me use the bathroom.

They were NOT happy to see us. Couldn’t find the mensroom. Guard un happy about my wandering. We left quickly and got on the next bus.

Harlem, brownstones, and then:

The MET!

We spent the rest of the day at the Met. WONDERFUL! I highly recommend it. I kept asking the guides: “Is this real or are theyse copies?” They hated me.

Funny thing, the experience of seeing it in real life is kind of emotional.

Xochi had tickets to the Lion King, so we dropped her off at her hotel and Julie and I wandered around Rockefeller plaza, got our tickets for Carnegie Hall, bought a hot dog (always wanted to do that) and visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. WOW!

Picked up Xochi after the play and went to 42nd Street. WOW!

We went to BB King’s club and had dinner and listened to the Chris Phillip’s band. FANTASTIC! After the show we sat and chatted with him for a long time and made a new friend. Everybody go see him when you’re in New York!

Wednesday, over-slept. Met Xochi at Rockefeller plaza. She wanted to just relax and get ready for her concert. We understood. Julie and I visited the Top of The Rock and were thrilled.

Then we hopped the bus for downtown. Still cold, but bearable. Saw all the sites. Got off for the St. of Liberty. Didn’t understand that the last boat leaves at 3:30. It was 4:00.

Rode the Staten Island Ferry with all the disgruntled commuters and disgruntled tourists who missed the last boat.

Then we wandered around downtown and found a fun little place for pizza. Great people. Then a walk down Wall Street. More to see than I thought there would be. Saw the place where George Washington took the oath of office. Saw Trinity church, and St. Paul’s. Saw Alexander Hamilton’s grave.

Then we visited ground zero. Very emotional.

Then we got back on the bus at Wall Street and headed back to Mid Town.

ot changed and walked to Carnegie Hall.

Found our seats, looked at each other and said: “Holy Cow! This is Carnegie Hall!”

I started to get it.

Xochi needed us. She’s not a little girl anymore.

She can’t jump up and down and yell: “Hey! Look at me!”

Tennessee State played first. Wonderful.

Then a lovely lady with a thick English Accent came out and started to gush about how wonderful Weber’s Wind Ensemble is. Listed great accomplishments.

It starts to sink in.

Weber’s ensemble walks on stage. We see Xochi. She’s a VISION! Long black evening gown.

They start to play. There is an actual GASP from the audience. Wonderful! They have two numbers with soloists: An operatic soprano (unbelievable) and a Euphonium soloist (main number of the evening).

Julie and I sit and cry. We can’t believe it. After the show (and ovations) I walk down and touch the stage. I’ll certainly never get the change to perform there. Xochi has lived a dream for me, and she REALLY deserved it. The Wonderful Weber State University Wind Ensemble is the caliber of performance you’d expect at Carnegie Hall.

Pictures outside. There is a bus waiting for Xochi, but we invite her for one last walk down Broadway. Can’t believe I’m feeling sentimental about it. We visit with other members of the band when we get to Xochi’s hotel.

Then we take Xochi to Roxy’s deli in Times Square for cheesecake. Emotions are high because we realize we’re really going to miss it all.

Left at 3:00 in the morning for Newark. Never went to bed. Good plane rides home, all MD 80s.

I've Never been on a big plane.

Dom Spiro Spero.

While I breathe I hope.

That has to be the bottom line to everything.

I’ve been speaking about overcoming adversity, learning to be self sufficient, and thriving. I’ve been speaking about reaching out and helping others to learn the same things.

At the base of all of it is gratitude for life itself. If you’re breathing tomorrow, your chances are wonderful. You’ll survive, you’ll endure, you’ll succeed.

Dom Spiro Spero. While I breathe I hope.

I’ve experienced this. I’ve felt it. Its been true for me.

I’ve watched it happen for people I love.

I know that teenagers tend to exaggerate, but I’ve seen this hope in the lives of my children. I’ve seen them go from the depths of worry, despair, and failure, to the heights of success and accomplishment.

Just this last week I sat in Carnegie Hall in New York City and watched my daughter perform with the wonderful Weber State University Wind Ensemble.

Tears ran down my cheeks.

I breathed, I hoped.

Her success was my success, her accomplishment was my inspiration.

Tomorrow these successes and accomplishments will increase and expand.

For me, my daughter and all those I love and teach.

Dom Spiro, Spero.

While I breathe, I hope.

What’s important to you right now?

I love this exercise.
It can really make you see the truth about yourself, and it can make you understand the truth about others.
It’s really very easy to do:
Just find someplace quiet where you can be alone.
It’s best if you sit down.
So, just sit there and think.
And ask yourself this question, OUT LOUD:

“What’s important to me right now?”

Maybe you need to use the restroom.
Maybe you’re hungry.
Maybe you’re worried about a loved one.
Maybe there’s a tune from a commercial running through your head.

Whatever it is, be honest about it, and say what it is OUT LOUD.
And sit there and think about it.

To give you an example,
I’ll go first:

Turns out that what’s important to me right now is:

My kids.

Can’t stop thinking about them.
We’ve had some thrills in our family over the last couple of weeks, or months.
My second son lettered in swimming, and he is a freshman in high school.
My first son has artistic skills that are going through the roof and his work will be featured in a gallery,
And my oldest daughter performed last week at Carnegie Hall in New York.
It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed.
Is that wrong? Is it wrong to be just a little proud? Can I brag a little? Do you all mind if I post some pictures?
I worry a little.
You see, I’m not trying to say: “Nener nener nener…”
I’m just seeing the struggles, the disappointments, and now the victories and payoffs in the lives of my children, and it makes me more happy than I could have ever expected.

But funny thing, it makes me feel a little paranoid as well.
Some people who know about these wonderful things happening in our family seem to scoff and sneer.
Why do they want to keep my kids down?
They probably don’t, and I realize it’s just all a part of this exercise.

How does this exercise help me?
Suddenly everything I want to do in life, my goals, my work, my priorities, everything has come into a new focus, and I feel revitalized and motivated.
I love how this feels, and I know in which direction I want to go.

By the way, the graphic that comes with this post is a study my son is doing for a larger project. The work was done on a scratch board.

Another Joke, and something more about me.

Okay, I said we’d have jokes here, and here’s another.
But first:
We’re also going to have some confessions here.
For example:
Today I’m going to tell you how I forget how to spell when I get excited or flustered or angry.
I’ll try to use the spell check, and I’ll try to do some editing when I find problems, but please note that I won’t be offended if you point out my spelling and gramme.. gram.. g… word order problems.
I just hope you’ll never come here and think: “What is it with this guy? Is he some kind of moron?”
Answer to that will come later.

In the mean time, laugh it up:

A woman’s husband got a little carried away and began to flirt with the gorgeous blonde playing the piano at the party. But in the course of his exploits he bumped the piano cover and it fell on his hands, so the couple had to leave early.
“Remind me to put a cold pack on your black eye when we get home,” said the wife.
“But I haven’t got a black eye,” he corrected.
“You’re not home yet,” she reminded.

What’s the best idea you ever had?

I LOVE this conversation! People tell me the best stories.

“I had this GREAT idea once!”

And they ARE great. I talk with people and they share truly great ideas that have occurred to them.

So what’s the problem? Why aren’t these people rich and famous? Why haven’t their ideas changed the world?

Well, some of them have. I meet people who have had great ideas, and they have seen their ideas come to fruition and work, just as they envisioned them. That’s fun. It’s inspiring, and it’s worth talking about.

But what about all those great ideas that never became more than just a great idea someone once had? How do we take our great ideas to the next level?

A great piece of Oak is still a great piece of Oak, even before it’s been worked into a great piece of furniture.

But that’s just a frustrating piece of nonsense if I can’t tell you how to work your idea.

Well maybe I can.

The first thing you need is feedback. Don’t worry, no one’s going to steal your idea.

Well, probably not. But statistically, no one’s going to steal your idea. But even if they do, it’s a mistake NOT to share your idea for fear of having it stolen. You need positive and negative comments about your idea from people with WORTHWHILE opinions.

Second, you need to educate yourself. Go to the library, get on the internet, and find out everything about every aspect of the idea you’ve had and the industries, trends and people it will affect.

Third, you need to brainstorm. This is different from feedback. Brainstorming is getting people involved with your idea. Getting people to invest time, effort or thought into your idea. The challenge here is for you to be open minded during the brainstorming process. Your idea might go through some changes.

And sharing? Yes, you’ll have to share your idea. Remember that your idea in many hands will have more room to grow. Would you rather have 100% of $100.00, or 10% of $1,000,000.00?

So, what’s the greatest idea you’ve ever had? Tell me about it, I’d really like to hear.

Do you know what a bore is?

A bore is someone who when you ask them how they are, actually tells you.

So this is a big part of the problem we face when we endeavor to reach out and serve others.

People tend to yammer about their problems.

Blah blah blah I was in the hospital.

Blah blah blah I lost my job.

Sometimes we can look at another person and see their problems from a unique perspective. Have your ever thought about someone you knew who was struggling, and thought that the solutions to their problems seemed so obvious?

What would you say to this person to help them? Something blunt? Something to the point?

“Stop whining.”
“Stop being stupid.”
“Stop being lazy.”
“Get out and TRY.”
“End your toxic relationships.”

Is it possible that someone else sees YOU in the same light? What could we learn if they would tell us honestly about the problems they see in our lives?

Okay, We need a periodic joke around here.

I love jokes.

That's just the way it is. I'll try to keep it clean.

People who know and love me accept the fact that I am a relentless tease.

Don't fall, falter or fail and let me find out.

I'll never let you forget it, and I'll make sure you learn from it.

Does that make me cruel? My kids say yes, I say no. I love the people I tease.

If I've ever given you a cruel nickname, written a demeaning song or limerick about you, you can be sure that I care about you.

Real things are almost ALWAYS funny. Funny is the proof that things are true, and that life goes on. That's why I LOVE jokes. So from now on, we're going to have frequent jokes on this blog.

Here's the first one:

As this man was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way the freeway. Please be careful!"
"It's not just one car," said Herman, "It's hundreds of them!"