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Old Timer – Dec 2018

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November 28, 2018

EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH TEENAGERS As I enjoyed my evening bourbon the other night, I realized that I think…

History – December 2018

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November 28, 2018

Keeping Christ in Christian or How I Lost All My Readers and Sabotaged My Career as a Columnist in Small…

Badass of the Month – Ben…

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November 28, 2018

Badass of the month: Ben Thompson I always make it a rule to let the other fellow fire first. If…

Dearest EXPLORE reader, Sometimes I think that I have lived two lives (so far). That might seem bi-polar, but if you think back on your own life, I bet that you could also identify some different “chapters” of your life that changed and shaped your life in ways that ultimately transformed many things about you….

From The Publisher

Dearest EXPLORE Reader, I just went on a long motorcycle ride. I have an old and cheap Suzuki cruiser (big and heavy) that I like to cruise around on. I bought it primarily as a money-saving vehicle because of fuel costs with my truck, but having spent the better part of my life in the…

Auntie Marj’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Well readers, can you believe it’s time for the holidays already? How did this possibly happen, what did we, enter a time warp or something? Here at HQ we haven’t even put away slip & slide! Of course, we still haven’t cleared up last year’s Thanksgiving paraphernalia either and there’s a stack of Dukakis yard…

Old Timer

We’re going to talk about one of the most controversial topics in all of Boerne. One that separates people, has led to gunfights, and has almost torn the entire town apart. Gateway Loop? Growth? $chultz’s beard? Nah. We’re going to talk about the River Road Park and Old Timer’s demands for how to fix things…

Publisher’s Letter – October ’18

Dearest EXPLORE reader, I knew a guy earlier in my life that was really the life of the party. He was extremely outgoing, the girls loved his charm and confidence, and when he entered the room the lights got a little brighter and the volume was turned up. He lived in a nice area of…

Badass of the Month – Santa Anna

There is probably no more famous villain in all of Texas lore than that of Generalissimo Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , otherwise simply historically known as SANTA ANNA. Yes, THAT guy. The one that killed all the soldiers at the Alamo. Hated by the entire population of…

Old Timer – Sept 2018

God bless the Boerne Star. They did what is one of my all time favorite annual issues, which is their “BEST OF” issue. Now, MOST of the categories contain legit winners. From “Best AC Company” to “Best Housekeeper”, I am sure that these categories are won by companies that truly are some of the BEST…

Publisher’s Letter – September 2018

Dearest EXPLORE reader, Coach Stan Leech retired from coaching this past month. He was my basketball coach from ’90-’94 and I couldn’t even begin to start laying out the memories from those years as they would be an encyclopedia. Boerne was a different town in those times, and we were all just a bunch of…

From The Publisher

DEAREST EXPLORE READER, James Robertson is a factory worker in Detroit. Each day he wakes up and begins a 21-mile journey to his job that pays $10.55/hour. He has no car, so James walks that distance each day. At the end of his 8 hour shift, he reverses course, and completes his 42 mile roundtrip…

Unwanted Guests

For a long time I’ve been wanting to tell you the story of a Connecticut Yankee who, before he became famous as one of the first American landscape architects and the guy who designed New York’s Central Park, the grounds of the US Capitol building, the Biltmore estate in North Carolina, university campuses all over…

Old Timer

You just moved to Boerne? That’s great! When you’re done unpacking and installing your enormous security lighting system, I need you to come back to this article and review a few things that we all need you to understand. As Boerne’s newest citizen, PLEASE take at least a few minutes to recognize how to assimilate…

From The Publisher

Dearest EXPLORE Reader, When I was in college, I worked at the Rainbow Play Systems showroom on weekends in Lubbock. It was a pretty cushy job, I liked the owner (who was also named Ben), and the pay was pretty good. I could get a fair amount of studying done in between customers, and I…

I Give Up – Spiritual

I had a rough idea of what I wanted to write about for this month’s column, and as I frequently do, I hit Google just to help me find some inspiration and to hone my thoughts into the message I wanted to pass along. I like to simply review some verses and devotionals about the…

Old Timer

Ah, good ol’ Boerne local government went and surprised itself yet again by trying to sneak a giant monstrosity CVS drugstore onto the corner of River and Main. You know, the most visible intersection in the entire town. The entrance to our entire Historic District and currently the most congested intersection in town. Yes, that…

From The Publisher

Dearest EXPLORE Reader, I’ve wanted to write this particular Publisher’s piece for a while (as in years) but could never quite sculpt it in my mind in a way that made any sense for you, the reader. In fact, now that I think about it, I believe that I’ve been kicking the topic for this…

Publisher’s Letter – Dec 2018

admin

November 28, 2018

Dearest EXPLORE reader,

Sometimes I think that I have lived two lives (so far).

That might seem bi-polar, but if you think back on your own life, I bet that you could also identify some different “chapters” of your life that changed and shaped your life in ways that ultimately transformed many things about you. Sometimes I think that you are changed for the better, and unfortunately, sometimes you are changed for the worse.

I think I’ve been changed for both good, and bad.

I was daydreaming the other day and looking at houses that are for sale. It’s fun sometimes just to see what’s out there, what they cost, etc. As I looked at some of these houses, several caught my eye and would be an improvement from my current modest living conditions. I would think “Ya know, that one would actually work AND I can still afford it.” Yes, it costs more than my current home, but I could make the payment. Then I quickly realized that I would shut down the idea because I don’t trust my income anymore. This made me curious as I’ve been 100% self-employed for over 11 years and I’m not broke yet, so I wondered why I would suddenly distrust my income.

The reason why is because one of the unfortunate changes I’ve experienced is that my trust in the stability of life has been eroded due to the past few years. What is here one day, is gone the next. Marriages, jobs, clients, and even people…in the blink of an eye, they can be erased through no fault or action of your own. That’s a crappy perspective, though it’s an honest one. I am a bit relieved to realize, though, that the perspective is mirrored by a positive change in that it has made me immeasurably more thankful for everything that exists around me in this very moment. My house. My family. My job. And you, dear reader, who make this small business operate. So even though I fear that I cling too tightly to things now, I do think it’s good that I’m aware of the fragility of my existence and appreciate it far more.

In my job, I talk to small business owners all day every day. Most are successful people that have worked at their business for a long time, are astute with their strategies, and plan accordingly. Most are thinking 5, 10, and even 20 years down the road with their planning not only for their businesses, but for their lives. They are already talking about their 2020 budgets, what they are going to do in their personal lives in 10 years, and where they ultimately want to retire. I used to think in similar ways. I would think things like “In 5 years, I hope to be doing this or that in business…” or “If I invest my money here, in 20 years it will be worth a whole lot.”

Nowadays, I kind of smirk and chuckle when I hear these types of statements from people because, you see, in “My Life 2.0”, there is no room or space in my consciousness for such foolish statements. Why? Because I have come to learn, unfortunately, that as I sit here typing this I am in good health and might expect to live a long, good life…but that can change literally in an instant. We all know this to be true, but I think our own arrogance tells us “Pfft – you are YOU. You are destined to a long wonderful life!” So while we all know that we could walk outside and be flattened by a dump truck, or the next phone call could be a cancer diagnosis, we tend to shrug these thoughts off and resume our retirement planning.

Not so much for me anymore. In fact, I’ve been changed so much that I have to force myself to engage planning beyond perhaps a few months. While appreciating our present situation is a good thing, my new refusal to make any long term plans is probably not so good. That bill that is due next month? I’ll worry about it one the due date. Retirement? Are you kidding me? My summer vacation plans? Meh – I’ll figure it out when it’s summer. I’m not putting things off, I’m just figuring that I’ll worry about an issue when it’s time to worry about that issue.

Like every young person, I figured that the older people in my life were no smarter than I, they were simply older. I’m not “old” yet, but it does give me new appreciation for those elders around me. I can think of my 94 year old grandfather who is still as sharp as a tack: I don’t think I’ve ever sat down to ask his advice on things, but maybe I should. Logic would tell me that he has experienced more situations than I have by far, and thus, possesses more knowledge with a perspective I’ve not been given yet. If I’m on Life 2.0, he must be on Life 8.6. I wish I had his knowledge for my Life 2.0 – I bet his knowledge coupled with my Life 2.0 would make me a pretty vibrant and intelligent person. Alas, I do not have his knowledge yet…and won’t…until I get to Life 8.6.

I suppose I don’t really have a moral or even a point to this little column other than I hope that you might lean back in your easy chair and think about what Life Version you are on right now. If you recognize that your life is constantly altering and vacillating with its priorities, you might look at particular situations a bit different. Maybe you’ll find that your priorities might be different if you look around at other people (like me) that have experienced a different life than you and try to apply a different vantage point to your Life 3.X.

Here’s one thing that none of us will argue over: LIFE IS SHORT. It doesn’t matter if it’s 4 years long, 104 years long, the people in both situations were probably ready to carry on longer. And that perspective, as they neared death knowing it was to be soon, is the perspective that we all should have in every single chapter of our lives:

Life is short…and life is precious. Everything else is secondary.

Welcome to December. We close out one year and prepare for a new one. EXPLORE your life this month, open your eyes fully to what you see, and embrace every single part of it. After all it’s your life, and in the end, that’s all you have.

Smiling,

Old Timer – Dec 2018

History – December 2018

Badass of the Month – Ben Thompson

Doris “Dorie” Miller

Featured Articles

Old Timer – Dec 2018

History – December 2018

Badass of the Month – Ben…

Publisher’s Letter – Dec 2018

From The Publisher

Auntie Marj’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Old Timer

Publisher’s Letter – October ’18

Badass of the Month – Santa Anna

Old Timer – Sept 2018

Publisher’s Letter – September 2018

From The Publisher

Unwanted Guests

Old Timer

From The Publisher

I Give Up – Spiritual

Old Timer

From The Publisher

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