The Sixth anniversary of the Connections blog and the Good Night podcast is coming up. Drop me an email… Dick@DickSummer.com , and let me know if there’s a blog or podcast or two that you might like to see or hear as part of the celebration.
Did you ever look for something, and have somebody say, “There is is…it’s right under your nose.” The next time that happens, instead of saying something about having a senior moment, just haul yourself up to your full height, look that person right in the eyes, force your voice down to disc jockey pitch, and say, “You probably don’t know, but there is a place right under your nose that’s a blind spot. Therefore you can’t really see anything directly under your nose. So button your lip.”
And that’s really true. There’s a blind spot right under the middle of your nose. And 99% of the guys listening right now, are checking it out, and 100% of their ladies are watching them in horror.
Which that brings to mind something Big Louie, his own bad self, the Chief Mustard Cutter of the Louie-Louie Generation always says. He says, “Some people see milk and honey. Other people only see calories and cholesterol. And one or two weirdoes tend to see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.”
Three things happened this week, and two Emails came in…and I didn’t see the connection till just now. Maybe that’s because it was right there under my nose.
The three things that happened went like this: first, My Lady Wonder Wench saw a Blue Heron land in a little stream on our neighbor Randy’s front lawn. It was exquisite. And she was as excited as I’ve seen her since our little Cecelia was born. Then my friend Chuck called to tell me that he arranged to buy his friend David’s girl friend. And the other day, driving past a hospital parking lot, I saw a license plate that made me stop, back up, and spend about thirty seconds thinking about it. The first email said, “Thanks for sharing those little pieces of your life with us.” The second one said, “Some of the things you said in this week’s podcast reminded me of someone I once loved/love.” At first, I didn’t see the connection, but it was right there under my nose.
Dick’s Details Quiz. All answers are in the current podcast.
1- Why is Henry Wolf hoping his local TV station news runs a story on him.
2- What should you never do with your cat ?
3- What caused the first pre-computer social networks ?
Dick’s Details. They take your mind off your mind.
Right there under my nose…the Blue Heron lands on my neighbor’s lawn, Chuck buys David’s girlfriend, and an amazing license plate…then the one email thanking me for sharing little pieces of my life, and the other one from a lady who wasn’t really sure a love affair was really completely burned out. And I didn’t see the connection…because it was right there under my nose.
As Big Louie says, “Good judgement comes from experience. And a lot of experience comes from bad judgement. There’s a story about a guy who’s about to have a bucket full of experience dumped on his head…in the Night Connections Personal Audio CD, and in the current podcast. It’s called, “The Tiny Dancer.”
I can’t help but wonder if the lady really didn’t see him. Women know what’s going on. And then I wonder what it would have taken to have plugged their connection back in. What would have happened if she looked back at him…and he smiled at her. I can’t help wondering.
The Tiny Dancer is from the Night Connections Personal Audio CD. If you like it you can just keep the current podcast. Or if you want a fresh copy, just download it from the Night Connections Icon on the home page.
The Blue Heron, the bought and sold girlfriend, the very profound license plate, the e-mails from the girl who might be wishing she had looked back…at least once, and the other one that just said thanks for sharing little pieces of my life. You’ll probably see the connection if I fill in a little about each of them.
The first Email about the lady who wasn’t quite sure she wasn’t in love any more…sounded to me like she was seriously thinking of re-opening a door that had slammed shut between two people who really cared about each other. And something unexpected in one of these podcasts, had made her put her hand on the door knob. And she was happy. Really happy about it. And that was a special thrill for me…having something to do with that. The second email came jumping out of the spam and trash in the email collection late in the afternoon of a day I’d rather forget…except for her note. It was un-expected, and I wanted to hug her for it.
My Lady had just pulled out of our driveway when she saw the beautiful blue heron land on my neighbor’s lawn. She called me on her cell phone, she was so happy and excited. It was something wonderful that she didn’t expect. And I haven’t heard her that happy and excited since the day our daughter Kris told us that her little girl Cecelia was born. She’s been hurting a bit lately…it’s the result of that accident…and she was smiling and laughing for the first time in almost a month.
David and Chuck are both friends of mine. They’re heavy duty big time airline pilots. I fly my little four seater mostly for fun. David’s “Girlfriend” is really an early Louie-Louie Generation Piper Cub. He called her his, “Girlfriend.” Pilots are that way. One day when Chuck came for a visit, he saw her parked right next to my plane in the hanger. He has wanted an old (1932, Fabric covered, no electric) plane exactly like that for years. And when David said he’d sell her to him, because…well…he hated to do it, but he had to…something sad…sad but wonderful happened again…to two very special friends, who certainly didn’t expect it to happen. And the license plate on the car parked in the hospital parking lot that made me stop and…frankly made me break down a bit…it said in single letters…letter i, letter m, letter s, letter u, letter j, letter o, letter e. I miss you Joe.
I was passing that hospital on the way to an appointment after having an argument with my Lady Wonder Wench. I almost lost her in that same hospital after her accident a few years ago. I got luckier than Joe’s friend. It was a slap on the side of the head that I certainly didn’t expect. It said, “Oh my God you are the luckiest guy alive.” I bought her flowers on the way home. And she gave me a long, wet, warm, Wonder Wenchy kiss.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it right away. But I finally figured out the connection here. It was hiding…right under my nose all along. I guess that’s why it took me a while. You probably understood it much faster than I did. It’s simple. Even when you’re having one of those days when your lava lamp has burned out, you can’t get your hula hoop over your tummy, your computer has crashed and there’s a report due tomorrow morning, and you can’t remember any of your passwords, and your wrinkles are beginning to hurt…you just never know when something wonderful…really wonderful..is going to happen to you.
Jimmy Stewart was right all those Christmases ago…in that classy old black and white movie. If you just hang in there long enough…the odds are very good that something special is going to come along…when you least expect it.
You know what? I guess it really is… A Wonderful Life.
Hi Dick, You asked that we send you any thoughts re the podcasts for the 6th anniversary, so I gave that some thought. I liked the recent one ZAP, and the idea to seize a good opportunity when it comes. I liked LEAP, because I think at the age a lot of us are, we need to be reminded to leap, or at least try the best we can. And WHISTLE MISSLE I think is the one that reminds us to smile. I like your story, YOU SHINE. I think there’s a theme here, I like the ones that encourage us, and that’s something we all need. I was taken with captain Eric’s story, and hope he’s doing OK. I liked the podcast about life being basic – I think a lot of people get into trouble when they expect too much out of life. Not that one shouldn’t grab all the gusto they can, but bottom line is, it really is pretty basic stuff. I liked the story about your buddy Al and his wife buying him the Corsair. I liked CHEERS. I really like your GOT A MINUTE story and the idea around that, because a minute, a thought, a feeling, a choice, etc really can change a person’s life. I liked the one about a person’s “type” and your idea about that. I really liked this last one too — encouragement to keep going and hang in there when things get tough, and remember that something very good could be right around the corner. Happy 6th anniversary!