A Reminder from Walt, The Schnell Family, A Boutique Body Part, and Ziggy Alberts

"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

— Walt Whitman

Sunday, oh glorious Sunday, how are you, welcome to our home, take your coat off and relax, we assume you will be here all day. You look amazing as always; I like what you have done with your hair and those shoes, where did you get those shoes?

Shortly after 6:00 a.m. on this amazing crisp day, we’ve had a great weekend, I thought I might share what some have called stupid rhetoric, but rhetoric nonetheless that is read by a few folks that seem to enjoy this word soup. Our friends, the Schnell family, flew in with us on Thursday and had been hanging out at our mountain house.  They fly home today, but I think they will return, they are an amazing group of humans, we are lucky to have them in our lives.   

The Schnell’s are Jay, Angie, Aaron, and Kate, Baily, and Nick. Kate is not yet a Schnell, but the writing is on the wall, and we love her as if she already had joined the “fam.” Both my Queen and I worked on Friday,  the family took a car and explored Golden taking the tour at the Coors plant, enjoying our mountain communities.

We spent the day in Boulder yesterday meeting some of Jay’s family for lunch and then walking Pear. Street for a few hours. We got home last night, I grilled some burgers and was able to avoid a 25 feet while grilling. It was a major accomplishment for me and kept the level of drama down to almost zero. No EMT’s required last night, just a calm night of laughter, joy, and fellowship.   

The kids played Euchre (a Midwest card game), the adults listened to music, prepped food, enjoyed the beauty of the night mountain view.  I was introduced to a new artist, Ziggy Alberts, if you like music, check him out. Jay just got up; the sun is starting to rise; it’s akin to a religious experience watching the sunrise from our deck.

As we were going to Boulder yesterday, the term “boutique” was used.  I think it a cute word, boutique to me is defined as small but well maintained, well-groomed if you will. I thought about the word boutique and announced I had a part of my body that I thought boutique; I’ll not spoil the answer, letting you the reader conjure in your mind that specific part of my body, this white guys body that might be deemed boutique. I think some of my friends might want to use this term as well to describe a small portion of their body. White men, you are welcome. It’s no longer small and adequate; it’s now BOUTIQUE!

Our friends fly home tonight, taking the red-eye, so we will again spend the day enjoying Colorado. I’ve got some work to do this morning, but I think a hike or two is in our future. I have failed to mention that our daughter has been with us as well, Carly “MF” Durr, I’ll ask you to send her positive thoughts, her gin skills seem to be on the decline. I started a hashtag on twitter #positiveenergyforcarly I don’t know if it's trending. She needs support, help, and I hate the continual beating of her maybe lowering her self-esteem.

I did a program on Friday to a small group on how to self publish a book. I think it went well, folks seemed to resonate with the message, I offered anyone help if they ever wanted to publish a book, I’ll make that offer here as well. I’ve helped others self publish and think that most of us have wisdom and knowledge that others do not and sharing that wisdom is a blessing for the world. 

I explained why I write, how it’s not for others, but for myself, it’s my way of cleansing my mind before I start my day. Some days it’s just a mind dump, but some days I’m able to connect some dots and get a reasonable message for one or more people. Most people don’t share their daily journal or blog, but I’ve been doing it for years, it’s who I am, it’s what I do. I would encourage you to pen a few thoughts when you wake, start with how are you feeling, and then ask yourself why are you feeling that way.

For example, I’m feeling very blessed, lucky, and fortunate. My life is filled with love, friendship, and opportunity. I’ve got some pretty cool challenges at work, they are not problems, but challenges I’ve yet to find a solution. I understand it’s my job to use my mind to solve puzzles, that’s what my role is these days, find a problem and then work on the best solution. I think that is the job of most business owners; we all become masters at solving the story problem.

The sun is up and so is mama Schnell, she snuck out as I was typing, she and Jay are taking photos of the sunrise. They won’t see it tomorrow, but I will, I’ll wake up, pen more thoughts, and watch as the sun slowly rises from the darkness giving me light for my problem-solving opportunities.

Well, the soup today is warm, but not too hot. I could serve this at the home of the three bears and not face any backlash.  I added some cumin in to see if you could determine the new flavor, the color is unique, it’s almost the color of a squash, although I didn’t add any squash, it might be the peppercorn peppers I added, maybe the maize, I never know how the soup will look or taste, sometimes I throw it out before serving, but not today, I like the color, the bouquet, and the presentation with the topping of scallions.

Enjoy this day, it may be your last, but it might be your first if you choose to change your life. I don’t know what that means, but if you are in need of a change, some major life overhaul, why not start today, no one will mind, if you think you can improve, do it, make that change or changes you can make to become the best human being you can become.    

"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

— Walt Whitman