By George!

This is a story about siblings, the invasion on the British, and the British Invasion.

One of my siblings — my older brother John — invited me to go on an impromptu road trip last night.  Destination:  Harrisburg, Illinois (about 60 miles away.)

We went to hear an historian, reenactor, and storyteller extraordinaire Seth Graves as George Rogers Clark. 

Mr. Graves brought the Great Invincible Long Knife and founding father of Illinois to life. 

Georges Rogers Clark was an amazing Carpe Diem Life guy.  Clark is best known for his celebrated captures of Kaskaskia (1778) and Vincennes (1779) during the Illinois Campaign which greatly weakened British influence in the Northwest Territory.  Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Clark has often been hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest".

He did all that before the age of 30.  Unfortunately, after that, it was all down hill from there.   Most people outside of this area probably haven't heard much about old George; however, I bet you’ve heard of his brother.  George’s little brother was none other than William Clark — of Lewis and Clark fame.  Siblings.

Back to our sibling road trip.

On the way to Harrisburg we passed through Eldorado, Illinois (population 4,122).  That’s where my brother tossed out a bit of trivia about another set of siblings involving another George and another invasion involving the British:  George and his sister Louise Caldwell. 

This story takes place 184 years after George Rogers Clark captured Vincennes.   In mid-September of 1963, this British George takes  some time off from his busy life in England to pay his sister Louise Caldwell a visit at her home in Benton, Illinois.

Known across the pond as a pretty good musician, he’s asked to sit in for a set with a local four-man band called The Four Vests, playing a gig at the VFW club in Eldorado.

According to several accounts on the internet, after being introduced to the large crowd as "the Elvis Presley of England," George took over the lead guitar for the band's second set. George sang and played lead guitar on Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" and Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart." According to his sister Louise, the crowd, who had previously been quiet, stomped their feet, applauded, and whistled wildly as George played.

After the 40-minute set was over, someone in the crowd came over and told George that "with the right breaks, you could really go places."

That George was none other than George Harrison:  The first Beatle to play a gig in the United States.  

Carpe Diem Life Lesson: If one of your siblings ever invites you to go on  a road trip to some small town, enjoy a beer with fresh fried pork rinds, and take in some local history. . .  Carpe Diem!

Not my circus...

A co-worker and I were talking about a situation at work.  After realizing that, as peons, we had no power to create positive change, she concluded with, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

What?  How have I gone my whole life without ever having heard that phrase? 

Turns out that this is an old Polish proverb that reminds us that we don’t always have to jump into “fit it mode,” and try to control what is not ours to control. 

It's a great Carpe Diem Life Lesson:  Part of why I am developing the Carpe Diem Life system is to remind me that I have my own circus with my own monkeys to take care of.

Author Karen Ann Kennedy gives this advice:

When you find yourself getting sucked in to another person’s circus, stop and ask yourself this:
1. Does this situation really involve me?
2. If the situation doesn’t really involve me, what is my motivation for getting involved?
3. What will it cost me to get involved? We’re talking time, money, stress, etc.
4. Can I really bring something to the table that will help all parties get to a better resolution?
5. What will happen if I decline to participate in this situation?

Carpe Diem Life system is one that helps you focus on your goals, your actions, your resources, your own self-evaluation, your own new directions, your own improvements, your own LIFE!  In other words:  You are the ringmaster of your own circus! 

Jolly Tall Goals!

This is a short story about a very tall Santa – 35 feet to be exact.

I had always assumed that the Santa in question was part of an old billboard campaign for Santa Claus Land (now Holiday World) in Santa Claus, Indiana; however, news reports have it dating to the Christmas season of 1974, when it was built for part of a display at our Old Courthouse.  It has made the rounds since then; the past several years it’s been greeting passers-by near U.S. 41 and I-64 just north of Evansville.  It has also been greatly deteriorating.

When a new gas station was being built on the site last year,  the old Santa was taken down and loaded on a flat bed trailer and hauled off to the owner’s junkyard.  The intent of the owner was to restore it, but – as so often happens – life got in the way and he put his interest in other places.

Enter two local artisans with a tall goal.

Ron McKeethen and Bob Zasadny came to the rescue.  They knew that it would take a tremendous amount of work cleaning up the surface, applying new resin and fiberglass, smoothing it all out, and finishing with a brilliant paint job), but they never doubted it was doable.  It’s taken many months of persistent action to bring back the jolly old and jolly old self.  But they did it!

This past weekend it was transported to its new home on U.S. 41 and Old State Road.  Carpe diem and check it out for yourself.  Thanks to a couple of guys (along with volunteers and donations) with a Carpe Diem Life mission, it will be there for years and years for all to enjoy.

Carpe Diem Life to all,
and to all a good night!

(Thanks to Jim Cox for the photographs)

Enjoy the dash!

Today’s Carpe Diem Life Lesson is ripped from the headlines (okay, copied and pasted from the sports page).

I opened the sports page yesterday to be struck by two headlines:

Palmer, ‘The King’ of golf, dies at 87 (The great Arnold Palmer)

and

Ace had irrepressible spirit (Jose Fernández, one of the greatest young stars in baseball, was killed in a boating accident.  He was just 24)

Arnold Palmer
September 10, 1929 — September 25, 2016

Jose Fernández
July 31, 1992 — September 25, 2016

The Carpe Diem Life Lesson:  Enjoy the “dash” every day, because we never know how long or how short our “dash” will be!
.

When people pull our string...

This past weekend my wife and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of the daughter of dear friends of ours.  We’ve known Jennifer since she was a baby and have watched her grow up into the amazing woman she is today.

During the speeches and toasts at the reception, Jen’s maid of honor told this story:

While doing research for the bridal shower I was throwing, I called Jen’s fiancé DJ and asked him, “If Jen were a doll with a pull string that made her talk, what phrase would she say?”

I was expecting all sorts of funny answers, but DJ responded without hesitation that she would say, “I love you!”

 - - -

What a beautiful description of Jen and a golden lesson for all of us.


When you get down to it, love is all there is.

“If we divide everything in the world into two piles, love and fear, and we know that all there really is, is love, then everything that is not love is a cry for love.” — Lisa Marie Nelson.

Thank you Jen for teaching us that the most important Carpe Diem Life lesson is — even when people are pulling our strings — a loving heart the answer. 

Yes, we're all born ignorant, but . . .

I’m wrong… alot! (Um, I mean a lot.  Allot?)

Which leads me to today’s Carpe Diem Life Lesson:  Hunger for knowledge!

Knowledge is power (at least the potential power).   

"It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end."  -- Napoleon Hill

Sound familiar?  Again, I've never claimed to invent this stuff, just give it an acronym that's meaningful to me.  

Choose your goal.
Action Steps need to achieve it.
Resources (Relationships and research) 
Persistent Action
Evaluating the reality of the situation as you move along.

Direction (change as needed).
Improvement along the way.
Enjoy the process.
My Life!

Example:  I once saved a ton of money fixing our old dryer which stopped working. 
A few minutes on the internet watching a YouTube video and downloading a manual helped me purchase the right parts and fix it myself. 

For me, the greatest lesson I learned that day -- and honestly one that I need to keep learning -- is that I DO have the aptitude to succeed.   Granted, my learning curve might be longer than most, but I’ve come to try to live by the motto,  I may not know the answer, but I believe in my ability to solve the problem.

Part of the MY LIFE tenet is:  We are all responsible for our own education. 

My Carpe Diem Life Map is one tool that helps me;  I hope it helps you.

Stay hungry and Carpe Diem Life!

Forfeit Trivia and Success

Here’s a couple of trivia questions for you sports fans:

1. What’s the score of a forfeited NFL game?
2. What’s the score of a forfeited baseball game?

(Answers below)

Why a discussion on forfeits?  One last Harvey Mackay lesson:  There is a quote attributed to Woody Allen that goes:  80% of success is showing up. 

Harvey’s Odds on Beating Your Competition starts with

Just show up! . . .
Show up on time . . .
Show up on time with a plan . . .
Show up on time with a plan and a commitment to carry it out . . ..
Show up on time with a plan and a commitment to carry it out, and then execute it . . .
Show up on time with a plan and a commitment to carry it out , and then execute it, and then deliver more than you promise.

Anything less than that and you risk a forfeit!

Answers (from some research on internet, but it all seems reliable):

According to the official NFL rulebook, a forfeit occurs: “... when a game is not played because of the failure or refusal of one team to participate. In that event, the other team, if ready and willing to play, is the winner by a score of 2-0” (the points earned in a safety). Why a two-point safety? Because those points are the league’s only scores that are not credited to any one player.

Baseball games are forfeited, usually when a team is no longer able to play. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as 9-0, as stated in rule 2.00 of the Major League Baseball Rules Book. However, the actual game statistics are recorded as they stand at the time of the forfeit; the game is recorded as a loss in the standings for the forfeiting team and a win for the other team, even if the forfeiting team is ahead at that point. The 9-0 score equates to the number of innings in a regulation game. Sports with seven-inning games, such as high school baseball or softball, generally award a rule-based score of 7-0.

Showing up is 80% of success; see Carpe Diem Life system for working the other 20%!