Ride The Lifetrain w/Chuckie

We only had one slice of pizza left, but I told my date, “don’t worry wheelchair!” dierks bentley sideways mp3

…What?

Who cares as long as in the words of that great orator, Rondey King, “can’t we all juz get along?”.

Am I the only one that has been engaged in what I call “I’m right and you are wrong contest”?  Whether it is with one of my boys, a possible intended, or a wife as the case may be.  There are always power struggles.

In my experience, power struggles begin to emerge around developing NEEDS AND WANTS that need to be related to. For example, at times I have felt like the person I was dealing with and myself both had the need to be heard and be seen. There also seems to be a need to listen and resolve past hurts – I find that the secret here is to respectfully articulate and listen to each other about past hurts.   That usually does the trick – it’s the ability and willingness to enter into a dialogue that is important.  Right and wrong, guilty and innocent, belong in a courtroom and not in a loving relationship or a valued friendship, where both sides are usually right at the same time (how’s that for complexity!).

I suggest that you do as I have committed to do. Buy a book that teaches emotional communication so we can learn to avoid that ugly struggle of “I’m Right!”, “You’re Wrong”.

Hey LifeTrain passengers, join me today in learning the path of loving and respectful communication so that differences may be addressed.

OH!…and about the picture.  I know, it had nothing to do with today’s post…but it did make you read didn’t it?  GOTCHA!!!

All Aboard, The LiFeTrain…

Is the glass half empty or half full is a common expression, used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be a cause for optimism (half full) or pessimism (half empty); or as a general litmus test to simply determine if an individual is an optimist or a pessimist. The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on one’s point of view and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.

Hey Passengers, let’s look at the life of a cat and dog to see how one cat’s captivity is another Dog’s good time!

Dogs and Cats

DOG DIARY

8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm – Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with my people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.

They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed
hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the
rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to
keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape.

In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet.
I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly
demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made
condescending comments about what a “good little hunter” I am.

Idiots!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was
placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event.

However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my
confinement was due to the power of “allergies.” I must learn what this
means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this
again tomorrow — but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.

The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and
seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the
guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors
have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is
safe…

For now…

Hey fellow passengers…It doesn’t hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started.

During a visit to the mental asylum, Ole asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

Well,” said the Director, “we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.”

Oh, I understand,” I said. “A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.”

Now pause and be honest fellow Passenger…WWUD?

What would you do?

No.” said the Director, “A normal person would pull  the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?”

This picture is Very personal to me.  What does it say to you?

Optimism!  That’s the word on the card I hand out to each of you as you board the LiFeTrain today to start a new week.

My favorite quote (which I believe to be but one of the greatest statements ever uttered) is from Nelson Mandela. Mandela is an icon – a rare species of a man, who was jailed for more than twenty years yet stayed focused and came out to break apartheid’s back, becoming his country’s first black president. In his book, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela has a quote that I have shared so many times with different people. He says,

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature of nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lay defeat and death“. (p. 377)

What it means to me:

Leaders face many unique situations. There are times when their vision is clouded by present circumstances and it is so easy to give up and throw in the towel. There are times when even driving the process of change becomes a weary task and their motives and judgments are brought into question. All leaders experience those times when they are surrounded by situations that don’t seem to align with their purposes and plans. It is in those situations that true leaders thrive. True leadership demands an optimistic attitude. If you are going to achieve that which you set out for, you must stay focused and continue to believe in the vision. That is the key to success as a leader.

It is my prayer that as you leave the Train today you will be pumped up and full of O-P-T-I-M-I-S-M

So, as we say each and every Monday…”MERRY MONDAY”…

All Aboard…The LiFeTrain!

Oops…One Mo Thang…Let’s try to find some beauty this week, some Beauty in everything.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. – Emerson

Hey Passengers, give it some thought the next time you decide to pay for that meal with plastic.  Read it and see…

Wait staff at several Washington-area high-end restaurants stole credit
card numbers from customers and ran up a $750,000 tab at stores like
Gucci and Barney’s of New York, federal authorities said in court
documents.

Six servers have been implicated by the Secret Service in the operation
that comes as some investigators are concerned the recession will
stretch law enforcement budgets, providing credit card fraudsters with
the space they need to operate.

“Credit card crime is almost seen as a victimless crime,” said John
Cutler, president of the private financial fraud investigative firm Beau
Dietl and Associates, adding that insurance companies typically pay for
fraudulent charges.

“As police department budgets drop, it’s likely investigators will get
pulled away from credit fraud and put on more violent crimes.”

The customers victimized at the District’s M&S Grill, 701 Restaurant,
Clyde’s of Gallery Place and Bowie’s Carrabba’s Italian Restaurant, as
well as National Harbor’s main hotel and Gaylord National Hotel, are not
alone. Similar scams have cropped up nationwide.

In New Orleans, a waitress at Bubba Gump Shrimp Seafood Co. was charged
last week with selling up to 50 customers’ credit card information, The Times-Picayune reported. The waitress sold the numbers for $220 apiece
to two men who provided her with a machine used to scan the credit cards. In January, a Buffalo, N.Y., man was convicted of hiring several cashiers at local restaurants and a department store to steal customers’ credit card information, the Buffalo News reported.

Secret Service investigators cracked the Washington-area scheme after customers began complaining to their banks of unauthorized charges on
their cards, Secret Service Special Agent Philip Soto wrote in a sworn
statement filed in Alexandria’s federal court. Soto discovered patterns
in the charges that led him to the restaurants, where managers helped
him trace the stolen information back to specific servers.

“Every employee has a unique number they put into the register before
ringing up a charge,” Clyde’s of Gallery Place manager Paul Walker told
The Examiner. “With that system in place, we can point back to an
employee very quickly. … It’s very traceable.”

At the other restaurants, Soto wrote, similar systems were in place that
helped investigators trace the stolen information back to the six
waiters and waitresses. Management at M&S Grill and Gaylord said they
were cooperating with investigators and declined further comment. The
other restaurants declined to comment.

Three men who allegedly bought the numbers from the servers – Joseph
Artemus Bush, Aarron D. Gilbert and Erick V. Burton – used the information to create counterfeit credit cards that were used at area stores, Soto wrote. The men were caught on tape using the bogus cards to either buy items at stores like Target or gift cards at CVS Pharmacy
that they later spent at Barney’s and Gucci in Chevy Chase.

Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford declined to comment on the
investigation, but said he wasn’t aware of agents uncovering financial
fraud that was directly “attributable to the economy.”

Cutler, however, said, “We’re only beginning to see the economic pain of
the financial crisis. … The cutbacks are just starting now.”

“Municipalities will try not to cut back law enforcement, but there’s
only so much in the balloon,” he said. “At some point it will have to
pop.”

Passengers, I am writing this with the utmost of props to this dude.  I went to the Birchmere (CLICK ) Tuesday night to see this dude.  Now, I have just about all of his CDs, but to say this dude is a must see is truly an understatement.   We were truly entertained!  So, if’n you ever get the chance run, don’t walk to a Boney concert.

I must confide, when I was coming up, I could NOT understand how dudes would sacrifice being on the field (Football) to be in the band.  After last night I am crying!  If I would’ve honed my craft, and became a SAXY sax player, I might have my twin boys now, Charles and Prince!   If I could play and entertain like this dude, even an old fat guy with no money…hey, if I played like him…I WOULD HAVE MONEY!

Anyway, Boney (AND his band!) is DA BOMB in concert, take it from your conductor…check him out.  Hey, and for you BUCKEYES!  He’s in Columbus this Saturday with Jonathan Butler and Bill “HUXTABLE” Cosby.

I’m going out on a limb here but aside from my “WIFE”, yes, truth is…I’m married (This be her:  CLICK).  This was one of the best concerts I’ve been to.

This just wrong!  Look how they were doing your boy!  Just because I took the last piece o Chicken!  They tried to hang me but I wasn’t having it.  So I lived to POST another day here on the Train!

Actually, this dude was found between Centre and Leesburg , Alabama near a house!  Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator  – guess he wouldn’t cooperate…

Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night. Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations.

‘I didn’t believe it,’ Charles Rogers said, but they realized the stories were, if anything, understated.

Alabama Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast. Joe Goff, 6′5′ tall, a game warden, walks past the 28-foot, 1-inch alligator 8.5 metres he shot and killed in their back yard.

PS.  Wonder if Old dude had some babies?  Hmmmmmm….

PSS.  Are you ready to go skiing on Lake Wiess ?!   That’s where he hung out.  Well, if you ski at the west end of the lake — try not to fall!