Friday, June 13, 2008

Flag Day, June 14, 2008

Tomorrow, June 14th, is Flag Day. I was going to write a little about the history of the flag and Flag Day. However, I found a TREMENDOUS website that covers just about everything you could want to know about the flag of the United States of America. What is not there probably has a link to a site where there is more information. I found this while at work and had to make myself get off the site and get back to my day job.

I encourage you to read the history of the flag and the History of Flag Day. Navigate around and read some of the essays, poems, and speeches. I strongly recommend the essay by J. Ollie Edmunds. Here is the link: Click_here.

When I see the Stars and Stripes fly, it still gives me a chill. I know that may sound corny to some or overly dramatic to others, but it is truly the way I feel. I proudly fly the flag outside my home. I love my country and love the flag that represents it. When I see a flag flying, I see in my mind the picture taken at Iwo Jima. I see the firemen at the wreckage of the World Trade Center buildings.

I feel the pride of a military family that has served our country. My mom’s uncle’s remains have never been found after his plane went down in North Africa in World War II. I have an uncle that was wounded in Vietnam. Both my parents were Marines. When my dad had to accept a medical discharge, he looked to join the CIA. This was at the beginning of the Vietnam War and when the military was beginning to be scorned and looked down upon.

I feel the pain of those who have lost love ones, both throughout history and in the current war against Islamo-Fascism being fought today in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world. I haven’t known anyone personally that has lost their life in the current conflict but I have friends that have lost loved ones. While I regret the loss of every life I also remember that the lost souls are approximately the number that died on the beaches of Normandy, June 6, 1944, D-Day.

What inspires me are the stories I have read or been told of how the Stars and Stripes inspired so many of these willing to give their lives in service to this country.

I honestly feel the pride swell when I see one of the giant flags that often fly along an interstate highway. When the wind is blowing and Old Glory is ruffling, I tend to think, wow, I love this country. Yes, I put my hand on my heart when the flag goes by or I remove my cap. It is an honor and a privilege to salute the symbol of the United States of America.

If any one reads this blog, I encourage you to fly a flag on June 14th, Flag Day. And you might as well fly it again on Sunday, June 15th, as Father’s Day is another day the flag should be flown.

Keep Smilin’!!

© Eddy Seegers 2008

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Life Lesson: Push Through

Monday through Friday, I awaken at 4:30 a.m. so I can be sure I get a work out for the day before heading to my day job. My primary exercise is a walking, jogging, running trip around the neighborhood. I go for about 45 minutes and I have gotten to a point where I look forward to the exercise and time spent to improve my health.

Today was 'one of those days', however. My first sign was that I pushed the doze button on my alarm clock and had to rely on my backup alarm to get me going on time. Now, I have had to use the backup alarm before but something about this morning was different. As I started to put my workout clothes on and tie my shoes, the thought kept going through my mind, “Go back to bed. It won’t hurt you to miss one day.” I pressed on even though other parts of my body seemed to join the chorus with the brain about taking the day off.

As I went out the door, my mind decided that the first attack wasn’t working, so it hit me from another direction.

“Instead of including the jogging and running, just take a walk.”

Normally, on the weekends, since I allow myself to sleep in, I usually just power walk but go for a longer distance. My mind was screaming, “just take a short version of the weekend walk.” As I reached the first corner at the end of my block, I was starting to agree. Okay, just a walk today.

As I rounded the corner, to leave my subdivision, my body decided to put its opinion into the mix. My legs and arms felt stiff. They didn’t really loosen up like they normally do by this point. Instead of a power walk, let’s just make it a nice stroll. The temperature outside of Houston this morning was a little lower that it has been, in the lower 70’s. It was a very pleasant morning. "Go on big guy, let’s just take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the cooler morning." It was about this time that I hit the point where I normally begin to jog a little.

Personal note – I have done athletic activities since I was a small boy. I have had all manner of injuries and ailments from minor to major. One of the things that I pride myself about my athletic background is that I have learned to listen and understand what my body is telling me. I know when it is just sore and wanting a break and when it is not good for me to continue. A good example is from probably the worst injury that I have suffered, a dislocated knee while playing baseball. All the ligaments, cartilage were damaged. For the most part, the bottom of my leg was not really still in connection with the top part of my leg. I knew it was bad when my sister the nurse gasped when she first saw it at the emergency room.

Anyway, I was going to the doctor on a frequent basis, following every instruction to ensure that I healed quickly and correctly. It came a time when I was on a doctor’s visit when he told me that I could probably start to wean myself from the crutches in about two weeks. I picked up the crutches, walked across the exam room, and told the doctor that I already had gotten off them. I just used them for his benefit when I came in that day.

I tell that story for this reason; I knew when I first tried to put weight on my leg back then, I realized it was too soon. So I backed off. But I tried it again, every so often, and finally there was something different when I put the weight on my knee. Yes, it still hurt but that was going to happen. I knew that it was time to start putting more pressure on it. Slowly but surely, the leg got better. I knew what my body was telling me.

This morning I knew my body was just trying to get off easy. I hit the spot where I begin to jog, something clicked telling me that I needed to jog until I got to the run portion of the workout.

You know what?

My body responded. I pushed through all of the negative thoughts I was having. I pushed through all the soreness and stiffness that seemed to hit me for some reason. By the time I got to the last portion of the workout, my body was ready to go. So much so, that I had to make myself back off a little to keep from over doing it. (I am still not in top form, so I have to be careful. I am 47 not 27.)

The life lesson that I followed today is that sometimes you have to push through. I used my morning workout as the example but it is so much more important in the rest of your life. We all have times when things are not going the way that we want. We feel like, “What’s the use?” Nothing is working out.

Or even on a lesser scale, we get to a point where we are like my body; life has us a little sore and stiff. So what if we just coast through the day, our job, the project we are working on, or maybe even things in our personal life. You know, the old story, my co-workers know I appreciate what they do, I don’t need to say anything. She knows I love her; I don’t need to tell her.

The problem with this is the same reason I was determined to have a good workout this morning, if I let myself slack off this one time, it becomes easier the next. If we coast through one day on the job and nothing bad happens, why not try it more often. Soon it becomes a habit. A bad habit. Hopefully, you can see all of the ramifications that would, could, and do occur in your personal life.

Learn to recognize the times when you need to push through and then push through. My workout was great because I pushed through. Just think about the things we can accomplish if we push through in the rest of our lives.

Keep Smilin’!!

© Eddy Seegers 2008

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Life Lesson: Enemies and Friends

This is a Life Lesson that is hard to learn and even harder to put into action.

Allow your enemies to be your teachers and beware of your friends.

No matter who you are and how you live your life, there are going to be people that don’t like you, those who you do not get along, and maybe some folks that you cannot find a way to like them. As I was thinking about this topic, one former co-worker just kept coming to mind. From the moment I met him, he took a disliking to me. Why? I don’t know. Like I said, it showed from the very first moment we met. I like to think that I can get along with anyone but this guy just did not want to be in the same area code as me. We were able to co-exist for a time. Then, even though he had seniority, I was promoted to a supervisory position where he had to report directly to me. There were several occasions where I thought he was going to get physical when our discussions did not go as he wanted.

Unfortunately, it was not until several years later that I realized how much of an asset he was to me. Yes, he was insubordinate, disagreeable, and I thought he often would deliberately make mistakes to cause problems. But because of this generally disagreeable co-worker, I was a much better worker and supervisor.

I knew that every function that I asked him to perform would be challenged. I had to be prepared to defend decisions. I had to make sure all policies and procedures were followed to the letter. I had to quickly learn how to inspire someone who did not want to be inspired. I also had to learn how to stand up for my mistakes because every little thing I did was being scrutinized and even the smallest error was highlighted.

He also provided one other benefit, and that was that he was brutally honest with me. He did not agree with me because I was the boss. He did not give me compliments to make me feel good. He did not give me answers that he thought I wanted to hear, and in fact, always tried to find a way to take an opposing view. If he did ever agree with my point of view, I was fairly confident that the other point of view had to be glaringly wrong.

That brings me to the lesson of beware of your friends.

I guess the best way to get my point across here is by asking a question. How is a friend actually a friend if they will only say nice things to keep from hurting your feelings?

This is a flaw that I had and still have to fight. If someone asks my opinion or what I think about their point of view, I reflexively want to give the answer that will make them have good feelings. I see this many times when a friend has a disagreement with someone else. I listen to the details of the argument. There have been times where I felt my friend had been a total jerk, without even hearing the other side of the story, but I still told my friend he or she was right/justified/or whatever. I gave them what they wanted to hear.

I know that I have had friends do the same thing towards me. I often ask people’s opinions about my writings, speeches, projects, and so on. 95% of the time, I just get courteous affirmations.

It is the other 5% that I truly desire. While I do not want to be ripped, “you can’t write,” or “you’re a terrible speaker,” I do want an honest and thoughtful response. If my writing is boring or too wordy (I know I can be that) or simple-minded, I want to know. Give me an example. I know I can go monotone if I get lost in thought while I am speaking. Tell me, because next time, I will have that on my mind and will be more likely to not allow myself to mentally wander as much.

So take this lesson with you. Don’t discount the thoughts and opinions of your enemies. Often, they are going to be more dead on that we want to admit. Don’t let your friends’ and family’s opinion carry too much weight unless you know they are well-thought and truly honest. Finally, be the friend that your friends can trust to give an honest opinion.

Keep Smilin’!!

© 2008 Eddy Seegers

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Getting back on track with some Random Ramblings!

If you package the same old worn out, did not work the first time, liberal to socialistic ideas in a new package and call it ‘change we can believe in’, is it really change?

Michelle and Barack Obama seem to be fairly chummy with Louis Farrakhan. This scares me as much as their association with Rev. Wright.

I agree with many of the bloggers I read on a regular basis, I am going to miss having Hillary in the campaign.

Does anyone else feel like this election is going to be about selecting the ‘lesser of evils”, so to speak?

Why, if 31,000 scientists sign a statement saying the Al Gore version of man-made global warming is bull-squeeze, did this not make the lead of every major newscast and the front page of every newspaper still being published?

And if these scientists are making statements like this, why is the Lieberman-Warner bill still up for debate in Congress? And why are the likes of Senator Barbara Boxer still advocating the economy killing bill? This bill has been called the biggest reorganization of the American economy since the 1930’s.

Off of politics now. It has been a while so I had to vent a little there.

Why are people satisfied with mediocrity? I here so many people saying that they hope things get better but they are not willing to do anything themselves to make things better. This is meant for all areas of life.

I have been hearing quite a bit lately about ‘the Millennials’ lately, the group of kids, now beginning to get to the workplace, who were brought up with NO SCORE sports, ‘Participation Awards’, parents suing teachers if junior earned a bad grade on his report card, and just all around being coddled. Now, they are getting a dose of the real world and they are not ready for it. Gee, ya think?!?

Come to think of it, based on the Millennials format, I should be getting my Pulitzer Participation Award any time now. Just for writing this lil ol’ blog that nobody reads. Woo Hoo! Another trophy for on top of the filing cabinet to go with my bowling trophies. Which, by the way, I had to EARN by being on a CHAMPIONSHIP team. We didn’t win this past season, so no trophy. As it should be.

I am going to dust off the filing cabinet, just in case I my Participation Award is on its way.

Keep Smilin’.

© 2008 Eddy Seegers

Do you need a speaker for a company meeting or seminar? Send me an email to this address: Click_here

Are you interested in making money while helping others and yourself live a healthier life, check out my site at this link. Health_and_Wealth

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Beware the Cold Water Committee

You wake up one morning with a great idea for a new business. You jump out of bed and hurry through your morning routine full of energy and excitement. You tell your spouse all the little details that have come running into your mind. The more you think about it, the more specific the idea becomes. The more specific the details about the idea, the more convinced you are that this is going to be a great opportunity.

However, your spouse immediately talks about how you need to be careful taking too big of a risk.

You are driving for the carpool on this morning and you start to pick up the riders. You excitedly tell your idea to your friends. One by one they give you stories about other friends and family members who failed in their attempts for business projects.

At work, your tell your co-workers about the idea. Now you are hearing stories about how you don’t want to do something like that because of all the security you have at your job. Going out on your own means you might lose health insurance. Oh yeah, you are not yet fully vested in your 401(k) plan matching funds so you would lose that if you leave now. And what about the annual Christmas Party. You always buy the best gifts for the White Elephant gift exchange.

You boss seems to know business, so you decide to tell him about your idea. What you don’t know is that he has had dozens of great ideas for business but has been frozen by fear of going out on his own. He starts to tell you about all of the obstacles you will have to face before you can even put up the “OPEN” sign. He then tells you about all of the regulations which make it “impossible” to succeed if you open a new business now. And everybody knows that you don't open a business with the economy like it is right now. (No matter what the economy is like!)

By the time you get home, you are wondering why you were so excited about such a stupid, risky, dangerous business idea.

Congratulations! You have just become a new victim of the Cold Water Committee. Unknowingly, they make it their purpose to throw cold water on anything exciting or new. They become the anchor that drags others seeking to find bigger and better things for their lives.

My lesson to you today is this. There are members of the Cold Water Committee almost everywhere you turn. Family. Friends, Co-workers. Total strangers. Your best defense is knowing when you are having cold water poured on your fire of excitement. Knowing what is happening is the best way to fight. You can hear all of the negative talk and just realize it is cold water. You can change the topic. You can tune them out, which is a little rude but it works. Or you can do like I have done. Laugh at them. I laugh at them because I have learned that the better an idea is, the more likely there are to be naysayers. So when someone starts bad mouthing an idea I have had, I begin to think this might be an even better idea than I thought to begin with.

Keep Smilin’!!

© 2008 Eddy Seegers

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Random Thoughts for February

I have never been known for my ability to sing, other than how much of a lack of ability I have. But I want to thank Teddy Kennedy for letting me know that there are people who do sing even worse than I do.

Speaking of Senator Kennedy and his song, did it bother anyone else that a UNITED STATES senator singing a song glorifying another country and pandering at one of the lowest levels for the votes of a cultural demographic.

I would love to be a fly on the wall at the Shillary Clinton campaign strategy meetings. If the stories of her temper are true, I bet she could put some of the most hot tempered football coaches to shame when it comes to a good ol’ fashioned butt chewing. Did anyone say peel the paint off a wall?

Still on Shillary, I have heard no less than five radio talk show hosts or callers to their shows apologize to sailors for comparing their ability to use profanity with the former first lady. I get chills just thinking about the combination of the language and her shrill voice.

As February winds down, we get closer to the excitement that is March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament. March Madness and the Super Bowl are the two sporting events that get extraordinary attention even from non-sports fans. Have you started thinking about your bracket yet?

Baseball Spring Training started this past week. Grapefruit and Cactus league games begin this week. And in about 5 weeks, the regular season begins. The great thing about this time of the year for baseball fans is that, no matter which team you pull for, there is the hope that this year is the year. Come the end of October, fans of 29 teams will be disappointed. Look out, I know this is the year for my Houston Astros!

Why do people that park their shopping cart so it blocks the entire aisle seem irritated when you say, “Excuse me” while trying to pass by?

I really need to be more understanding with people that say they could never give themselves a shot. That is a common reaction I get when I tell people that I give myself 5 shots of insulin a day for my diabetes. I need to be understanding because I used to say the same thing. To this day, I hate the sight of needles but I have learned to not think about it. Just hurry and get it over with. You truly do what you need to do. Especially when it involves your health.

If you are one of the people that wants to take the “outrageous profits” from evil corporations, just remember, it is the consumer that will end up paying more. In other words, you and me.

Speaking of corporate profits, it amazes me that so few politicians seem to know the basics of economics. I would love to ask one of the two current Democrat Presidential candidates to explain the difference between profit and profit margins. I have a 5 dollar bill in my pocket that I would wager that they couldn’t answer in the spur of the moment.

Until next time, think positive, happy thoughts. Combine those thoughts with a smile and you can’t help but feel better.

KEEP SMILIN’!!

© 2008 Eddy Seegers

Do you need a speaker for a company meeting or seminar? Send me an email to this address: Click_here

Are you interested in making money while helping others and yourself live a healthier life, check out my site at this link. Health_and_Wealth

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Feeling Disappointed

I know, I know. For the most part I am supposed to be sharing things that are uplifting and positive. And for many people, my last post was not the most uplifting prose I have ever written, even though it was uplifting to me. I love to tweak liberals. For those of you that don't realize it, I feel like liberals are some of the most depressed and depressing people in the world. If you want an example, listen to what Sen. Shillary and Sen. Obama actually are saying once you get past the empty "time for a change" slogans they throw about. If you listened to them, the United States sounds like the worst country in the world in which to live.



Side note: If this country is so bad, why are there 25 million illegal immigrants here from Mexico. Oh yeah, our health care system is terrible. But wait, don't we have heads of state from around the world come to our country for medical treatment? Not to say that I don't have issues with the FDA, but people come here because they knew that a mostly free market health care system provides the top of the line research, care, and treatment they desire.



Another example is Nutcase Nancy Pelosi, a charming lady who failed to find her way out of the 60's except in the way she dressed so she could get elected, is talking about how the "surge" in Iraq is an absolute failure. How unfortunate for this preacher of gloom and doom, that the same day she made these comments, it was being reported that intercepted Al-Qaeda documents stated that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray due to losses in battle, defections, and lack of leadership. A couple days later it was reported that 2007 saw an increase in U.S. contractor deaths in Iraq, but the incidents of these deaths spiked significantly downward after the surge. Sorry Ms. Speaker, but your comments don't fit the facts.

Okay, okay, I will get to why I am disappointed. I know not many people read my blog yet. I am hoping (or am I channeling Senator Obama) that it will gain a more consistent readership in the near future. However, I am disappointed that not one "progressive" read the article and sent me some hate mail. Or called me greedy, a racist, or a bigot. None of which I am, but these are part of Chapter One of the Liberal Book on how to attack a conservative. "Forget the facts, call him a politically charged name!"

Sadly though, not one little peep. I guess that means I have to get the word of my blog to more people. Until then, unless you are part of my family, if you want to send me some hate mail or call me an insulting name to make me feel better, I would truly be grateful.

Until next time, KEEP SMILIN'!

(c) 2008 Eddy Seegers

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