Email Love Story...the Real Story!

About seven years ago, a story started being emailed around. The story was about a supermarket clerk who fell hard for one of his co-workers, an older woman with two children, one disabled. Have you seen it? It's a fabulous tale of true love, and the punch line is that it's about Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner. It's inspired millions of smiles with it's very sweet message of love and acceptance. It's a story of a man with the right attitude, and how that attitude helped him achieve success in marriage and in life.

There's just one thing...it's not really a true story. The emailed version has a lot of things wrong and leaves out a lot of the best parts of Kurt and Brenda's true-life love story.

Brenda and Kurt met in 1992 when Kurt was the starting quarterback at Northern Iowa. They were both in a country bar, enjoying the music, and ended up talking for hours. She told him about her two children, one of them disabled, just so he would know what he was getting in to, should he decide to continue their budding relationship.

The next morning, Kurt brought roses to Brenda, and met her children, daughter Jesse Jo and son Zachary. Zachary was injured as an infant when his biological father dropped him. That's how he ended up in a wheelchair, not Down's Syndrome as the internet story tells it. No one expected him to live, but he did and while he will never have the vision and motor skills his sister has, he is doing well in life.

Kurt and Brenda dated for five years before marrying. Kurt adopted Jesse Jo and Zachary at the time of the marriage, and the couple now has a total of seven children, adding Kade in 1998, Jada in 2001, Elijah in 2003 and then the twins, Sienna and Sierra, arrived in 2005.

The email version of this love story leaves out how hard Brenda struggled when her first husband left her, 8 months pregnant with Jessie Jo, because he couldn't live with himself for what he'd done to Zachary. Food stamps, student loans and moving in with her parents was how Karen made it through nursing school so she could support herself and her two children.

It also leaves out Kurt's struggle to play the game he loves. He wasn't drafted, he was a free agent when he was signed by the Green Bay Packers, then was released the same year. He was supposed to try out for the Chicago Bears, but a spider bit him on his throwing arm while he and Brenda were honeymooning, making it impossible for him to throw the ball at a tryout. He played in the Arena Football and European Football leagues, honing his skills and keeping his eyes open for an NFL opportunity. In 1997, one finally happened for him, when he joined the Rams as a third-string QB, and moved into the spotlight in 1999 when an injury to the starting QB gave him the opportunity to shine.

And shine he did...he had an amazing season with the Rams that year, and went on to be the NFL's MVP in 2000 when he led the Rams to victory in the Superbowl with a record-breaking 414 passing yards. Now with the Arizona Cardinals, he led that team to victory in 2008, and racked up more impressive throwing stats with that team.

Did they really work in a supermarket together, as the internet version of their love story tells it? No, but Kurt worked in one after he was cut from the Packers. Kurt and Brenda's volunteer efforts showcase the challenges they have faced together. They set up the First Things First Foundation to help people with developmental disabilities and also to assist single parents.

The sweetest part to the Warner love story was totally left out of the internet version of it. When the Rams won the NFC Championship game on the way to their Superbowl victory in 2000, then 10-year-old Zachary presented Kurt with a card he had made for the occasion. Crafted in Rams blue and gold, the card read, "You're as good a Dad as you are a quarterback!"

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, but in this case, truth is far sweeter.

Almost Forgot - Huzzy Wednesday!

Duffy posed two weeks ago.

I downloaded the shot, cropped it and saved it a week ago.

And derned if I almost forgot Huzzy Wednesday! Thanks for the reminder, Khyra!



That's Auntie Bonnie, all prim and properly tucked in, at the far end of the couch. Happy Huzzy Wednesday, no matter how you flaunt it!

Learning a New Language

Today I went to the National Speakers Association - Georgia Chapter meeting. Though I've done a lot of public speaking, I'm not a speaking member, I'm a vendor member because I have services to offer that many speakers, coaches and trainers use. I joined for the business opportunity, but I go to the meetings for the learning opportunity.

I can't imagine an organization with more to offer its members than this one. On the third Saturday of each month, speakers who are paid tens of thousands of dollars at big corporate meetings, industry confabs and public gatherings show up to share their messages with those present at the NSA-GA gathering. Since every person who gets behind the mic at these meetings is a professional speaker, the quality of the meeting is nothing short of amazing, and the entertainment value is always great.

And the main speaker at each meeting is there to share how their specialty can help other speakers hone their skills and be better speakers, marketers and businessmen and women.

Today, Terry Brock was the featured speaker, and his specialty is using new technologies and the internet to market a business. I typically take a page or two of notes - today I took 5. Got home and started searching for some of the things he talked about, loaded a tool that lets me track Facebook and Twitter posts at the same time, and did a bunch of reading about web 2.0.

Much of it was stuff I knew and was already using. Some, however, is brand new and exciting. As three new ventures are poised and ready to take off, I'm excited to have this new knowledge to help them get wings on the internet.

And if you want to see some of what I learned today, go to the second-biggest search engine on the planet and search for Terry Brock. Where will you be going? YouTube.

Happy viewing, and happy marketing!

Mother's Day

I remember her last Mother's Day vividly. She was failing right before our eyes, and we knew that her nearly 10-year battle with breast cancer was coming to an end, and she wouldn't be the winner.

Mom was amazing. I know a lot of people speak well of the dead, but I thought she was amazing even when she was alive. There was about 20 minutes when I was in my early teens that I didn't appreciate her, but thankfully I grew a brain again and got over myself.

Eileen White Weaver was an optimistic woman who sometimes worried. When she was worried, it was usually about whether she was going to hurt someone's feelings by making the wrong decision. It was often said about her that "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" and that was probably true. Mom didn't say anything bad about anyone, even when she was disappointed in them. She always found the very best spin to put on even the most dastardly-looking deeds, and that was probably the best gift she ever gave me. Watching her give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I learned to do it, too. And watching how good it made her feel to help me see someone in a better light taught me how to help others do the same thing, and delight in it, too.

Mom was sad when I told her that Bob and I didn't really feel the need to be parents, because she loved us both and knew our offspring would be amazing. But she never pushed, and never mentioned it again. She meant it when she said she supported her childrens' decisions once they were made, and I know she gave that huge gift to my brothers, too.

Cancer was something she faced with courage. She never felt sorry for herself, never complained, and never, ever asked "why me?" She was as cheerful as she could be, until the cancer took over her brain. Then she didn't seem to know us very well, though the light of recognition was in her eyes sometimes.

For her last Mother's Day, we all gathered in the house she and Daddy shared, everyone with gifts for her. We all tried to put on brave faces, but it was obvious that her world was shrinking by the day, and we wouldn't have many more lucid days with her. I don't remember what the gifts were, but do remember that she was delighted with each and every one of them. She might even have gotten to use some of them before her August death that year.

I cherish the life lessons Mom taught me, and try hard to be the kind of daughter she would take pride in. Each person's actions echo throughout eternity by the effect they had on those in their lives. May Mom's actions live forever in the good her children do in this life.

Dog Spa Day

Holding down the couch right now, sipping from a glass of wine when I can work up the energy.

It was dog spa day.

There are days when I question my sanity - owning 4 Siberians will make you do that. Can't possibly walk them all at once, because they're miles too powerful for me. Can't train them together, because they're all very vocal about not being the one being trained. And when dog spa day comes, it's 4 solid hours of bathing, blowing out, combing out and trimming feet and nails. Whew...but that's not the end of the job.

I trash the garage, so the garage has to be cleaned before the job is done.

A friend remodeled her bathroom and offered me her old tub. It's a steel one with an enamel finish, and it sat in the garage for nearly a year before it became functional.

It became functional because Bob and his golf buddies got rained out one weekend and were looking for a chore. Bob brought them over, showed them the tub and what lumber we had left over after finishing the kitchen remodel, and by the time I got home from whatever I was doing that day, there was a raised tub in my garage. A waterproof backsplash, a set of stairs so the dogs can walk into the tub (HAH...great idea, not reality!) and a good place to bathe dogs was born. When we bought the house, we wondered what my garage had been used for, and guessed that the previous owner who added that addition probably had a boat. There's water in the wall (cold only...poor dogs!) and two drains in the floor. Those items were put to use for the dog bath, making the construction-instead-of-golf-day a day of instant gratification for all involved.

Except the dogs. It's easy to get the first dog, because no one knows what's coming. Once the first dog is done, the rest are less than eager to be "the special one" because they know what's in store for them. They're all very good, but spa day isn't their favorite day of the season.

But at least it's done. And so am I...wiped out, but glad to have clean, shiny sweet-smelling dogs!

When It Rains...

I'll start off by telling you that I can't tell you much. I even signed a non-disclosure agreement for one of the opportunities, so under pain of...well, something...I can't tell you about that one.

I can tell you, when it rains, it pours, and I'm not talkin' salt.

For the past year, I've worked to build my voice acting business. The going has been tough, but now work is paying off nicely, with clients finding me instead if me having to look for them. I enjoy the relationships I've built and have learned so much about marketing that it's almost scary. I've also learned that building and maintaining a business is much more than just a 40-hour week, and I love that part, too.

Over the past year, there have been inquiries from program directors, here in Atlanta as well as in other parts of the country, trying to entice me to go back to radio. Flattering? Yes. Appealing? On one level, at least...I do miss being on the air. But the face of the radio business right now is bleak, and the prospect of going back into it just to be "downsized" again isn't appealing in the least.

There's a current negotiation going on here with an Atlanta station, there's about two grand in new business that's come to me in the past week, and now there's a very intriguing offer to do radio in a different way, and in a way that's got a lot of potential for growth in earnings. That's the one I can't tell you about, but trust me...it's pretty cool.

The downside is that it would take a big chunk of time away from my own business. Perhaps the business has enough momentum going that it can take that time-hit, but that's a big gamble. The upside is the earning potential, which should take me over my career high in annual earnings within 24 months. The earning potential is just that - potential, but the business projections certainly look do-able, and much of the control over it would be in my hands.

In a couple of hours, there'll be a conversation about the one detail that is a sticking point. Hopefully we'll come to an agreement we can all be happy with.

When it rains, it pours. But it's all good, so come on, rain!!

Monday - New Beginnings

Many people dread Mondays. I guess it's because they dreaded school growing up and just carried that dread over when it came time to transition from school to work. Today's Facebook crawl contains a bunch of people whining about it being Monday, or whining that the weekend is over.

It's easy to fall into that negative rut, but it's not a good place to let yourself stay. And if you can keep yourself out of it, so much the better!

I look at Monday as a new beginning each week. It's a brand new week, filled with nothing but possibilities. Today, a client will come over at 11 and we'll work on her accent. Then at 1:30, I go meet someone who wants my voice services on an ongoing basis. Two clients spent the weekend reviewing work I did for them, and today I should hear how they would like me to finalize their work for them. An article I've written has been published in at least two places on the internet, so the possibility exists that new clients will come from that article.

Life is all about how you look at it. You see where you are looking - always, no exceptions. So isn't it better to be looking at something good?

A friend is going through a rough patch, and all she can see is the negative in it. When I help her understand that even in this rough patch, there are blessings everywhere if only she'll look, she brightens up a bit. But every couple of days, she writes a public journal to keep her friends posted, and for the last few entries, it's been nothing but negative emotions, negative outlook and negative statements. My heart hurts for her, being so stuck in her negativity, but it's not in my power to get her out of there. The power is all hers, and the sadness is that she chooses not to use her power.

How could she turn it around? I don't want to invade what privacy she has left by spilling her story here, so I'll tell you one of mine. I got down-sized out of my favorite job ever, and it was a total surprise. Ok, really a shock. That day stunk, so the next day I reached out to those who had also been downsized and felt better because I had done something pro-active. So I did something else pro-active - I decided to start a business. And just by making that decision, I shifted my point of view from loss to gain. From death to growth. From lack of purpose to purpose.

When you find yourself stuck in a negative place, it doesn't take much to find a positive shift. And no one can do it for you but you. Life is all about how you look at it. You see where you are looking - always, no exceptions. So isn't it better to be looking at something good? From your negativity, look for something good. It's Monday and you dread going to work? But work pays your bills, and isn't it nice to be able to drive the car you drive, live in a safe home and wear nice clothes? Focus on what your job brings to your life, instead of on how you'd rather be anywhere but work, and your attitude will change. Focus on what makes you smile instead of what makes you grouchy.

Happy Monday!