This morning I was sitting here drinking my coffee...and I got to thinking. Always a bad sign, don't you think?
Several things occurred to me about my past life, and I thought I might mention them here to see if anyone else has ever experienced the same.
All through my life, I have been talked at, talked about, talked down to, talked over, and talked around...but very few times has someone actually talked TO me!
For most of my life, my opinion has been demanded of me, given to me, subject to change for me, bribed for, ransomed for, offered to pay for, and misinterpreted or misunderstood...but seldom has anyone just simply and honestly ASKED for it!
I have been looked over, looked through, overlooked, looked in the direction of, looked at but not seen, looked at to size up..but very few times has anyone looked straight at me EYE TO EYE!
Often I have had my hand pawed, pumped up and down, drowned by a sweaty palm, engulfed limply, slapped both playfully and for real, symbolically shaken, and even almost raised...but only on a few happy occasions have I ever had my hand firmly shaken as a new or reunited FRIEND!
Far, far too often I have been pushed out of the way, pulled down, pushed aside, pushed down, pushed in the wrong direction, pushed to the edge, pushed to my limit....but only a few remembered times in my life, have I ever had anyone offer to help push me UP!
I have been picked on, picked last, not picked at all, picked over and even picked clean...but once in a great while, I have had the honor of being picked as a new acquaintance or maybe even an advisor!
Most of these actions hurt a little. Most are done without even thinking about it. Most are done by nearly all of us from time to time, either on purpose or by accident. No matter how they are done, the impression and the damage is always the same.
To make sure that I do the best that I can to avoid these negative actions as much as I can. For instance, if you (or I) are in a gathering, such as a party or meeting or group activity...take the time to look around you. Scan the crowd a little and carefully look at the faces.
You'll probably see at least one person, maybe standing with their back to the wall, not far from a doorway...that has a look on his or her face that can only be saying "What am I doing here?" When you find that one person, walk purposefully up to them, offer them your hand while looking them straight in the eye, give them a nice firm hand shake and say in all honesty "Hello, my name is (your name) and I'm really glad to see you!"
Most of the time you'll immediately see the lost look disappear and a smile replace it. You will have just made a possible outsider feel as though they are a participating member of a group, and you will quite possibly just have made a new friend! Best of all, deep down inside...you have the satisfaction of knowing you have done something positive FOR someone and not TO them.
Now, let's have another cup of coffee, my friend!
Showing posts with label handshakes and honor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handshakes and honor. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Follow-Up To Dad's Gun...
I was talking to my Mom about Dad's old gun yesterday, and got a little more history about it.
The story about how Grandpa King came to own the gun is probably like many other stories from those times, and could be a good indication of things to come.
It's the time of the Great Depression in America. Jobs are scarce, part time work was almost impossible to find. Homes were lost and families , unable to feed themselves, left the cities looking for work in the harvest and and other farm work in the country.
Many of the people that fared the best, although not that much better, were the Farmers that owned their land and were able to at least to grow their own food to feed themselves and their families. Such was the case with Grandpa and Grandma King, who had a small place in the country, complete with some farm animals, such as goats, that helped to furnish food for the family.
The story goes that one day a man and his family, traveling by in a wagon, stopped by and requested a little help from Grandpa king. It seems as though they had no food or money, and one of the children was sick. The mother was no longer able to furnish the milk needed for the child. The father was asking Grandpa King about making doing a trade for one of the milk goats, and although he had no money he did have a nice gun...a Winchester Model 1873. He offered to trade the Winchester to Grandpa King for the milk goat for his family . Both men must have been satisfied with the trade, I'm sure that a handshake sealed the deal because that was the way most business was done with country folk back then. Still is the way that most things are done today with most country folks. A man's word, his handshake...that's all that was needed to do most business.
Anyway, that's the story the best as my Mom remembers it. Grandpa King owned the gun until his death, then the rifle became my father's. Lots of history behind that old gun, as there is with many things that we all have around if we just ask and research a bit.
Wouldn't it be something if we could get back to the old ways of doing things? I'm talking about the way that a man was as good as his word, and a handshake was all it took to do a deal. For most country folks, that way of life is still the case...but for the Folks on the Hill, it is a foreign way of doing things and always will be. Maybe what they need the most, is a small dose of "the common man" in their soul! Maybe that would help...just maybe!
C'mon, my friend...let's get a fresh cup of coffee!
The story about how Grandpa King came to own the gun is probably like many other stories from those times, and could be a good indication of things to come.
It's the time of the Great Depression in America. Jobs are scarce, part time work was almost impossible to find. Homes were lost and families , unable to feed themselves, left the cities looking for work in the harvest and and other farm work in the country.
Many of the people that fared the best, although not that much better, were the Farmers that owned their land and were able to at least to grow their own food to feed themselves and their families. Such was the case with Grandpa and Grandma King, who had a small place in the country, complete with some farm animals, such as goats, that helped to furnish food for the family.
The story goes that one day a man and his family, traveling by in a wagon, stopped by and requested a little help from Grandpa king. It seems as though they had no food or money, and one of the children was sick. The mother was no longer able to furnish the milk needed for the child. The father was asking Grandpa King about making doing a trade for one of the milk goats, and although he had no money he did have a nice gun...a Winchester Model 1873. He offered to trade the Winchester to Grandpa King for the milk goat for his family . Both men must have been satisfied with the trade, I'm sure that a handshake sealed the deal because that was the way most business was done with country folk back then. Still is the way that most things are done today with most country folks. A man's word, his handshake...that's all that was needed to do most business.
Anyway, that's the story the best as my Mom remembers it. Grandpa King owned the gun until his death, then the rifle became my father's. Lots of history behind that old gun, as there is with many things that we all have around if we just ask and research a bit.
Wouldn't it be something if we could get back to the old ways of doing things? I'm talking about the way that a man was as good as his word, and a handshake was all it took to do a deal. For most country folks, that way of life is still the case...but for the Folks on the Hill, it is a foreign way of doing things and always will be. Maybe what they need the most, is a small dose of "the common man" in their soul! Maybe that would help...just maybe!
C'mon, my friend...let's get a fresh cup of coffee!
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