Turn your head when you smile!

“Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity.” Og Mandino

My colleague finishes his column with a delicious, tasty recipe for a good meal and adds quite a bit of flavor to his witty manner. Maybe I can draw a picture in your mind of a tasty, spicy, Mexican dish. This will surely add a little flavor to this article. Your mouth will sizzle and you’ll want to shout Caliente, caliente… que te quemas!! Ola!

Do you remember a couple of years ago, when Al and I were invited to an elaborate banquet in California? We were our daughter’s guests, and we needed to be on our best behavior. Fat chance that would ever happen!

The night before, we were at the dinning room table and Al ate his tooth. Yes, ate his tooth. Al said, “I must have eaten my tooth, it’s gone.”

The artist in me said, “Give me your plate. Let me look at it. Not your plate, but your partial plate,” After the family had a good laugh, we discussed various ways we could make that black hole go away.  I engaged in one of my talents, I made a tooth for him. I took Pearl White fingernail polish and painted a tooth on his plate.

He went to the banquet with a painted tooth. I told him, “Don’t smile. If you have to smile, turn your head, no one will be the wiser.”

He made it through the banquet. When he got back to Albuquerque, he went to the dentist and had a tooth put into the empty spot. All was well until it fell out again.

Al’s brother, David, told him he needed to get his tooth fixed.

Al said, “It’s on the list to do, but new tires for the car are first before winter.”

Meanwhile, Al’s brother has been wining and dining his lovelies in Mexico. He has met the rich and famous there.  One of them is a reputable dentist, who has a chain of dentist offices in Columbus, Mexico.

David called Al, “Get down to Albuquerque, I’m taking you to Mexico to get a new set of teeth.”

I had my doubts. I would rather have him fall into my hands as an artist, than a dentist in Mexico. I had at least painted the tooth white. No telling what they might do to my Sweet Al. He might come back with a grill on his teeth, like ‘lil John. He might come back with Elvis on black velvet, or little red and orange paper flowers painted on his partial plate. They can be very creative in Mexico. You just never know how colorful they might get.

I could see it now! My Sweet Al will come home singing La Cucharacha. On a side note, did you know, the song is about a cockroach that had lost one of its six legs and is struggling to walk with the remaining five. A “Cockroach” has got to add a morsel of flavor to this delicious picture.

Back to my story!  When he got back to the states, he called. I asked him what his teeth looked like. He said, “Oh they’re pretty and really white.”

I got the picture! A flashing set of white teeth that sparkle. With a little tanning he’ll be dancing on Dancing with the Stars. He can hold a rose between those pearly whites and dance the Mexican Hat Dance with Cheryl Burke.

Or better than that, he will be eating what he loves, hot, hot chili. His new teeth will be spiting fire as he chomps down on his favorite meal, which is any kind of Mexican food that is en caliente.

After this article, I hope he doesn’t leave me for a senorita who will make him homemade flour tortillas, enchiladas and love his pearly whites.

Final Brushstroke! Al’s trying a new Mexican plate. I had to warn him, if you smile, turn your head, your teeth will surely blind them.

A Speech that almost happened!

"Most great people have achieved their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure." ~Napoleon Hill

Timing is everything.

My speech was a great one. It was tweaked, streamlined, power-pointed, and ready. I showed up, but it didn’t happen.

We were invited to our pastor’s house for lunch. I was telling the four at the table that this speech I prepared for a writer’s conference was burning inside of me to be told.  I said, “I’m fertile to tell my little speech.”

My Sweet Al’s eyebrows went up, his eyes started blinking and twinkling.

The pastor’s wife said, “WOW! We have a extra bedroom in the back.”

I said, “I’ll take a rain check. I’d rather give my speech. I’ll make it quick.”

The pastor asked, “What’s it about?”

“I’m glad you asked. It’s about the Rhythm of Time for a Writer. It’s that moment when you’re prepared, you’re in alignment with the universe, the market is ready, your words flow onto the sheet of paper, and someone gets excited about it.

It’s not about your age — you might be a late bloomer.

It’s not about your education —you might have barely graduated from high school because you were too busy looking at the boys.

It’s not about how ready you are — you might have lived your whole life thinking you were ready.

It’s not about the sale of your book — only your friends and family have bought it. It’s not about money — you might be living on a limited income.

It’s not where you live — you might be living on the Lower Blanco at your computer.

It’s all in the timing.

For a mystery writer, it’s when to hold back that final clue to solve the mystery. For a humorous writer it’s about rhythm in your humor and voice. I don’t know if it’s a learned instinct or you’re just born with it. It’s all about timing.

I have said many times and many ways, “I think it’s my time.” and nothing happened. “It feels right,” and I’m still on the launching pad. “It’s right around the corner,” and it wasn’t there. “I feel like I’m in a Sweet Spot,” and the ball goes out of the court.

One thing I’ve never said is, “It’s not my time.”

Here’s my little speech that didn’t happen. “The Rhythm of Time for Writers.” Rhythm of Time will bring your Place, Vocation and your Goal. There is an appointed time for you. You need to be ready!

Jeremiah 9:7 says even the birds have a vocation and know their time, but my people don’t. Wow! Even nature chastises us, because we’re not in tune with the One who made us, and what we are called to do.

Migratory birds each have a different vocation. The stork, returns to Palestine, and has been described as the “stork in the heavens.” It refers to the immense height at which they fly during migration.

The turtle-dove returns and is the sure sign of spring. It represents new life.

The crane and swallow is all about whooping and trumpeting that rings through the night air in spring.

The swift has a shrilling scream. There is no bird as more conspicuous by the suddenness of its return than the swift.

Birds are free to roam through illimitable regions of air, the high-flying stork, the turtle-dove, the swift and the crane all keep to their true course, not dropping down tempted by the attractions of leafy vales or fruitful gardens. They don’t turn aside terrified by the horrors of high mountains, lonely deserts, stormy seas, or my Sweet Al’s shotgun. They reach their destination in punctual obedience to the mysterious law of their nature. They migrate by their inward law, called instinct.

For man, it comes as a mandate of duty, an impulse in the conscience, a way to clearly perceive what we should be doing on this earth, our place, our vocation, and our voice.

So, that Sunday afternoon after the meal, I said to the wife of our pastor, you and I are like cranes and swallows. I’m not going to apologize anymore about who I am. I get too excited, I get pushy, passionate, over-the-top, and even loud at times. I’ve got to write it, talk about it, and paint it. It’s who I am. I think it’s my time.

Final Brushstroke! So there, I told it! I finally gave my speech. Was it the right time? Who knows? Someone out there might be waiting for things to turn around, for their ship to come in, or their book to be published. When it’s your time, be ready, be confident, and keep showing up. When you show up, things happen. It’s all in the timing.

When the Lights went out on a Friday Night

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." ~Christopher Reeve

The yellow flag was tossed higher than usual into the black sky. By the distance of the flag, I figured the referee was really angry. When it came down, the lights went out Friday Night at the Golden Peaks Stadium in Pagosa Springs. It was the last game at home and the last game for this senior.

“What happened?” The fans stood stunned as one of the players pulled off his helmet and jersey and was asked to leave the game before second half.

This young man has played football with his teammates since fifth grade. This is his team. After review of the film, all consensus was, “The punishment didn’t fit the crime.” It didn’t matter, it was done.

When the Friday Night Lights went out, was the game over? No, it’s the next step to proving your character — what you’re made of and how you handle an unfortunate situation. It’s part of life and it’s all about learning who you are under fire. It’s how you’re going to handle the next day, the next opportunity, and the next challenge.

I’ve said it a thousand times over my lifetime, “I needed that lesson, I don’t know how I would have learned it any other way. I didn’t want it to happen that way, but it did. I’m better for what I’ve gone through, than not. I’ve also had to apologize to many people who I let down and who were counting on me. I’m sure I’ll have to do it many more times.

I have always believed it’s how you deal with the challenge. Grandson-You’ve already stepped up and owned your mistake. You apologized to your parents, to your team and your coaches.  Your size makes you visible, threatening and vulnerable. Just know, it’s the size of your heart that makes you so much bigger, that’s what will prove who you really are.

Being a leader is not something you ever asked for, it’s part of your DNA. It’s in you to see a wrong and step up and challenge the situation. It’s in you, to go your own way, because you have a purpose and you know where and what you want it to be. You’ve also planned how you are going to get there. You are your own agent, but life will come in and challenge every decision you make, life will test you to see if you are really the man you say you are.

When you are a born leader, it’s in you to be passionate over something, so passionate that it will drive you to be out in front. The problem with being out in front, you become more visible to everyone around you. At that moment you don’t think of the people who are following you or looking up to you, but they are.

When you are a leader, there are those who secretly want you to fail. When you lead, it challenges people around you to step up. Some don’t want to be reminded that they could do better. How you handle things, proves to them, that you belong in that place as a leader.

It’s after the game and the next day, you will have a new challenge. You had a meeting with a college football coach who has been looking at you and your videos throughout your high school years. They are considering you to be a part of their team next year.  You’ve lost hours of playing time on the field. Have you lost credibility? It stands to be seen.

Are you going to get out on the field on Monday morning and practice with your team and help them in the next game, even though you have to sit on the sideline? Yes, you have.

Your football team came to your house for an already planned-end-of-the-season party, on Sunday night. The coaches, according to the rulebook couldn’t come, but your teammates did. Sixteen boys played a video football tournament, had a wiener roast, skits and bonded. Too bad, the rules didn’t afford the coaches who have admire you and who love you, the opportunity to bond and see what the team is made of under adversity. Their loss!

The team went home Sunday night with Mohawks, challenged to play their best with their rival, Bayfield on Friday night. You’re still a part of the team and a part of their hope. You’re still a part of Pagosa Pride. You’re a Pirate.

Final Brushstroke! Does your parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, teammates and friends still love you? More now, than ever before. Your Uncle Stephen wrote: My nephew, the strongest man I know next to my father. A born leader who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, carrying the burden of all, because he can. If only I was half the man this 18 year old is, I can't imagine how much further I could be in life.

Some times the loss is the real win. Sometimes that's all we need, to know how to move beyond ourselves to win a much greater prize. I sure love you "mini me".

Todays battle is tomorrows victory.