Back in Oklahoma... and a lot more...

What’s on water but doesn’t get wet?
Go ahead give it a guess. It's a riddle from a friend of my daughter's son...
I'm back in Oklahoma. Glad to be home and I had a great time. It's amazing when you dread an encounter with something or someone because you just don't know what to expect only to find out it was a fantastic adventure. Happened to me. Had a great trip. Met a bunch of fellow employees and shot sporting clays for the first time. I learned something again. You just never know how a thing is going to go until you try it. I'm not saying it always turns out good but I believe you have an opportunity to learn either way. So if there's an opportunity to experience something new I would challenge you to try it. If it doesn't turn out well then write it in your history and don't repeat it. If it turns out great then what have you lost? What have you gained? Go ahead, I dare you. Feel free to  wonder about my journey. What did I discover to be the crux of the trip? All of it. I met some really fantastic people. I had a great time on the course. The BBQ was good. The flight out wasn't bad. The flight home was outstanding. The worst part of the trip? I couldn't sleep. The food we went out to eat on Thursday and Friday was very expensive. The traffic was horrible but the balance of the trip made up for every negative. What is the opportunity in front of you that you don't want to pursue? The challenge? Just move forward. Try it. Let it play out in the natural flow of the journey. Don't try to control it. Let the journey take its course. Ease into the ride and try something new. It's amazing what you'll find. I'm serious, you'll never forget it. I would tell you about the high points but not here. You'll have to text, call, or invite me to lunch to hear the details. If it's lunch just remember I buy.
I discovered some things during this trip. It's okay to talk to someone you don't know as long as they seem receptive to conversation. I'm typically the guy that sits down, puts my headphones on and doesn't take them off until I get to the gate at my destination. There was something about the lady sitting next to me that it just felt right having a conversation with her. Turns out she is from the same town I live in. I've known her brother and sister for a long time and just never met her. The point of this is I'm an introvert and do not talk to people I don't know 99% of the time. We talked the whole way home. I really enjoyed the conversation and it made the flight shorter. Topped off a really great trip. What are you missing by not entering the journey you aren't sure you want to take?

I bought another guitar yesterday. I paid a lot for it. I didn't try to get a better deal. I didn't need another guitar. I do like it though and I'm glad I bought it. There's a back story. There always is. I'll keep it short. I had discussed building a custom guitar with my guitar instructor. He pointed me to some parts he felt like I should consider so I spent the next week going through websites, making notes, trying to formulate what I wanted in a custom guitar. The following week I walk into his waiting area and there was a black guitar case with a handwritten sign on it "for sale $____". We talked about it during my lesson. He picked it up and played it then handed it to me. I played it for a few minutes and really liked what I heard and felt. Then he told me the story. The gentleman that owned it had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was not going to get better. The owner was selling his equipment to build up a cash fund for his wife to help her through the time they were about to face. The guitar sat in the waiting room for several weeks without moving. I finally decided I could buy it and not affect our household spending so I made the commitment to purchase it. It took a couple of weeks to get the money together since my taxes turned into a bill instead of a refund and took all my rainy day cash. Finally got all the cash put together and set a time to pick it up. I went early thinking I really didn't want to meet this gentleman because I tend to empathize situations like this and they mess me up. The more unfair they are the harder it is for me to not let it dominate my mind for weeks. I arrived fifteen minutes early. Gave Dick the cash gathered the guitar and all the extra parts and pieces that went with it and headed out the door. The beagles went out in front of me and were barking like they were on a rabbit. I eased around the corner of the studio and they were bouncing around an older gentleman like he was their long lost best friend. I nodded and said hello while commenting about the dogs being so excited to see him. He smiled and said, "they know I have a treat in this pocket". We both laughed. We introduced ourselves and I had to ask if he was the owner of the guitar I had just purchased. He said he was. We talked a while. He was glad I was buying his prized guitar. I shared with him the thing about me that causes me to have clutter. I never sell anything, ever. He talked about how much he enjoyed playing this guitar and I could see a tear welling up in his eyes. My mind was crashing. He said it started when he lost feeling in two fingers on his left hand and everything digressed from that point. I hate cancer. It's an evil disease. It's so hard for me to imagine humanity hasn't presented a cure for it. I want to believe man hasn't discovered the key to eliminate it but I also know there is an evil that resides in men. There is greed in men that causes them to place a monetary value on human life. This just flat is not fair. It's not just him. It's the kids all over the world, the mom's and dad's, the grandparents, the brothers, the sisters, the friends, it's every person who has been afflicted with cancer that lends utmost validity to the importance of prioritizing a cure above everything else. The thing that usually happens, if history is cyclic, is the discovery of so many other needed solutions are to be found in the pursuit of a cure. Why can't humanity get this right? There is a solution, there has to be. Who's going to do it? How can we help? I'll never sell the guitar and I'll never forget his story and I'm sorry he's going on this journey. I'm not sorry I didn't leave before meeting him. Again an encounter I wasn't meant to miss.

Enjoy your evening,

oops, it's a reflection... hope you got it...