Salt, Corn, Moonshine and the Value of Action over Words

"If we don't fight for what we 'stand for' with our passionate words and honest actions, do we really 'stand' for anything?" 

— Tiffany Madison (Black and White)

Saturday morning 5:54 a.m., welcome to Sober October when I get up early on the weekends. One thing about sobriety is I tend to create tasks that need my attention. Abstinence is terrific if I can keep myself busy. It’s a beautiful reminder of how much time I might spend drinking when not sober.

I’m sitting on my magical 6-foot purple beanbag chair, I’m sitting at 8232 feet above sea level, it’s dark, but I can see the city lights of Denver. We now have 4 six foot bean bags strewn about the main room of the mountain home. We think this will serve as our furniture until we figure out what we want to do and even then, once we update the house to our specifications, we might just keep these blogs of love as our only furniture.  Our mountain home will eventually be one of the most unique homes in the world, trust me on that.

Every once in a while you will meet a man that impacts your life.  When I first arrived in Colorado, Bob Dodge took me under his wing and helped me fly higher than I should have at a much faster rate. Jim Gosselin invited me into his network of amazing people and helped fuel the launch of our western expansion.  I could go on, but without those two men, I would not be sitting in a purple bean bag on the top of a mountain. Thanks, guys.

But today, I want to tell you about a man named Salt. That is his real name, I’m not going to change it, I asked him if I could share this story and he permitted me. Salt is a man of Faith; he works inner cities providing training to pastors to help develop their churches.  He runs multiple children’s programs to help those without fathers to have a rock when they need a man to turn. I’ve known Salt for about six months, and he has made an impact on my life.

He does not push his faith but instead using his actions, words, and kind face serves as an example to others.  My hope for you reading these words is that you one day meet Salt. But even if you don’t, let me tell you a Salt story. Salt and his wife have a son that lives in Hungry. They had not seen him for a couple of years, so they planned a three-week trip to go overseas, explore and connect with their son. 

This was a big deal for Salt and his wife; they are modest people, they don’t live a life of flash, their wealth is used to help others, not for their own existence. But they decided to put some money back for their dream trip, and this last month they flew to see their son and have many other experiences.

The story he shared with me was about his son’s future father in law. His son has met a young lady, she’s Hungarian, and her family lives about an hour outside the city. Salt, his wife, son, and future daughter in law went “home” to visit her family. Upon arriving, they learned that her father had recently had some brain trauma. His frontal lobe had failed him, and for a time he will not be able to speak. 

Salt, being Salt, wanted to communicate with his new possible in-law, but in addition to a language barrier, the man was not able to talk. 

The second day they were there, Salt got up and found the father outside on a bucket. There was a large basket of corn, and he was out there cutting the corn off to feed to his chickens. Salt watched as the man meticulously removed the corn into a large bucket, and decided he would help. Salt grabbed a stool and began mimicking his new friend’s actions. Grabbing the corn and removing the tasty nuggets for the family of chickens that provided for his new friends family.

As he removed the corn, Salt began to hum a few songs, although the man’s face is partially paralyzed, Salt said: “I think I could see him smiling.” Salt worked that corn until he had a blister and every piece of corn was removed from the husk. The man got up and left Salt alone. He returned with some Hungarian moonshine. Salt, being Salt, took a couple of shots and his new friend shook his head in the affirmative showing his appreciation for his help.

As Salt told this story, I thought of how beautiful the scene must have been. I thought about how even without the ability to communicate Salt was able to connect with his new friend and provide an act of service that made an impact on his life. 

My message today is that words are overrated and it is the actions we take as humans that impact our world. Do not let language barriers disable your ability to connect with others. Do something, be kind, help others, get involved and make the world a little better than it was yesterday. I’m off to clean a mile of Cherry Creek Trail; my Rotary Group has taken on that piece of land to improve its appearance for all Denver residents.  Although we will chat and laugh during our work, it is our actions and the clear trail that will result from our work. Help us make the world a better place.

"If we don't fight for what we 'stand for' with our passionate words and honest actions, do we really 'stand' for anything?" 

— Tiffany Madison (Black and White)