Young People And Change

Most Fridays I try to spend an hour on a conference call with the group called "The Good Men Project." It runs from 12 noon till 1 PM Eastern time. Today we had an interesting discussion on change and changing cultural norms towards how society views men and what men are doing to try and change some preconceived notions.

Whenever I get a chance to listen in, and the topic is appropriate, I have to make some comments based on my experiences. We were discussing the way men procede down their own road to discovery and how our experiences affect our journeys.

I believe everyone has a journey they travel which affects their perception and their outlook on not only their situations but the people they deal with. One man talked about his struggle with chemical abuse. He is now more than ten years chemically free and doing very well, thank you.

My comments regarding each one of our own life path or journey was one of reflection on my own "recovery" if you will of my spinal cord injury. Now more than forty-two years later, I still find myself dealing with issues that go way back on an ongoing basis.

The interesting thing that came out of the conversation was how our journeys began at a fairly young age. Several people mentioned times when they needed mentors and may not have had one when they began their particular behavior that led them down a self-induced destructive path.

I believe as we all travel our journeys we need mentors and teachers to guide us in a positive direction. Some of us are fortunate to have positive role models to teach us starting at an early age. Others are not so lucky. They may not have grown up in a functional two-parent family, or a dysfunctional two-parent family. They may not have grown up with a functional adult role model at all.

In our ever-changing world when young people do not grow up with positive role models, they often learn behaviors from peers who may not have their best interest in mind. Another example is when the adult role models boys and girls grow up around our dysfunctional themselves and teach negative behaviors to impressionable young minds.

The discussion will often take off in many directions as it did today. The good thing about that is those discussions often lead to more interesting topics than what was on the original agenda. I like that flexibility when learning takes place you were not expecting.

The discussions are always interesting and open to anyone interested in becoming involved. If you have any interest I encourage you to go to their website by clicking on the address in the first paragraph, and checking out The Good Men Project!

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Mitchell Marcus Scores!

If you know me, you know I love basketball! It has been, is and always will be my favorite sport! I was playing with a mini basketball about the time I started walking. In my last post I showed a picture of my father teaching me how to use a basketball scorebook when I was five or six. In that picture, I was holding my mini basketball.

That is why this story is so important to me. I love basketball stories on any level. This one has a very special meaning because two boys did something very special at the end of a basketball game in El Paso, Texas.

Friday night I was watching the news on CBS. Steve Hartman has a job I envy. Every Friday night he goes on the road and does a segment to end the Friday night news. Last Friday night he did a piece on the last basketball game of the season for Coronado High School in El Paso and young Mitchell Marcus.

Watch this video, see what Jonathon Montanez, a senior on the opposing team, does in a very classy example of sportsmanship for the subject of this post Mitchell Marcus. It is truly what high school sports are all about!

Watch this video and see if you are not touched like I was:



If the video does not show up, click here.

In looking through one of the pages of comments, I found this. I think it is especially gratifying to know other people besides myself think this was an incredible act of sportsmanship and everybody wins in this game:

What an awesome story! I tear up every time I watch it. Y'all restore a little of my faith in humanity. Yes, the kids on both teams are winners! I don't know if the opposing team was aware of Coach Morales' plan. Regardless, it was nice of them to go along. Congrats to both teams for your sportsmanship and kindness!

Do you think the world would be a better place if everyone played and/or watched sports on any level showed the kind of sportsmanship that was exhibited by these teenagers?

I know this video has already gone viral, and I think it is wonderful to see the true value of what sportsmanship is all about.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike

People Always Amaze Me!

The last two days have been extraordinary in so many ways. I think they will be the basis for Volume II of my book I Still Believe in Tomorrow. This post will eventually be turned into a chapter. Let me give you a summary of yesterday but I really want to focus on this afternoon.

I had an acupuncture treatment at 1:45pm, arrived early with a backpack full of books. I started talking to the two women at the front desk who have to put up with my constant teasing. I asked Cindy to open my backpack and grab a book. Then, Mary wanted to see one. I told them to open the Acknowledgement page and read it. They recognized several names and we talked about them. I had them go to the passage on my acupuncturist, Bob Decker, and my experience with Eastern and Alternative Medicine.

Then, Bobbee came out and he wanted one. Bob came to get me for my treatment. He looked at the passages, and guess what? Yup, he wanted one! The manager was not there, but I am hoping she will sell them in the Institute's bookstore. I was going to give them the books to plant some seeds, but they all insisted on purchasing the books. After my treatment, I was a puddle again.

Off to Doogie's office to give him a book, because he wants to buy a large quantity to give to his patients. Before that, I showed it to his receptionists, Tammy and Kathy. They enjoyed the Acknowledgements and the passage when I called Doctor Jason Reed, "Doogie" in front of some mortified staff.

Next, it was off to the lab for a blood draw. Guess what? The lab tech bought one. By the time my day was done, I had sold seventeen books! I thought that was a good first day for selling by myself. Plus, who knows how many patients Doogie has?

That was yesterday. I have not even gotten to today! Like Mister Scrooge, I counted my mound of money and my attendant, Kelly, helped me fill out my Deposit Slip, and it was off to the bank to deposit my fortune. I asked my banker, Dave, if he would help sell the book by putting a copy on the teller's counter and offering it to customers. Well, he bought a book.

Now, I am off to Magers & Quinn Booksellers to talk to their Acquisitions person. Aaron was not in, but I started talking to Steve. He mentioned he graduated from Berkeley. You can imagine where that conversation went! Before I know it, he wants to know if I would do a reading at the store some evening!

Are you kidding me? Of course, I replied, "Let me think about it, and I will get back to you." I did not say that. I said, "Sure, that would be GREAT!" I left the store feeling pretty good.

I went a few feet, hit a bump in the sidewalk, and just like that, my chair died, nothing! I am stuck, I cannot move. I could recline, but that was it. I must have had that look on my face that said, "I need help!"

That was when Jill stopped and I asked her if she would help me. I had her check the cable to the joystick and it was plugged in. I asked her if she had a smartphone and she told me she had just bought one two weeks ago when she and her fiancee moved here from Boston. She found my wheelchair repair shop, we called the shop and Kris came out to fix my chair.

She stayed with me for over an hour, bought me a bottle of water, and left only when Kris showed up. We had a wonderful conversation, I made a new friend, and guess what? They each bought a book!

I could go on, but I think this is the longest I have ever posted! Thank you for reading to this point.

I will tell you more in Volume II.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

My new buddy, Jacob

I was back in Denison, Iowa yesterday at the Denison Job Corps. It was my fourth visit to their campus, and once again, I had a great day! I did my assembly for the whole group; then, I did three small group programs.

In the second group was a young man whose name is Jacob. I was having a good time doing some experiential learning exercises and he seemed to be very engaged in what we were doing. That group left and when the last group came in, Jacob was in that group as well.

I had my website hooked up and we were using it to look at the pictures of my accident, photos in the hospital and I showed them pictures of my van and how I drive. I also wanted to show them some of the educational materials I have to build on some points from my program.

The staff person who had helped me the hour before had to leave, so I asked for a volunteer to assist me with navigating my website. Jacob volunteered right away. Like most young people today, Jacob is very adept at using a computer and he was a tremendous help.

To say Jacob strikes me as a character is a huge understatement! He was wearing a nice leather jacket, heavy, work jeans and steel-toed boots. He told me he was studying to be a welder. I'm betting he'll be a very good one.

We started joking with each other about his thick, full beard, and about our slowly expanding foreheads. I told him I can empathize with the whole idea of male pattern baldness!

The reason I wanted to write about him is I feel like I made a great connection with him and it didn't take a whole lot of effort on my part. I don't know how he feels, but I know I won't forget my new buddy, Jacob!

It was just another example of how we, as adults, can make a difference in a young person's life in a very short period of time. It happens to me ALL of the time.