Some Light On The Commemoration Of A Dark Day

Something light for you on this day, September 11th, the 15th anniversary of the worst foreign attack on U.S. soil since the beginning of this country. Remember those who died then and since then due to long term injuries or illness caused by that event, all as a result of a creed of hatred

A friend sent this to me as an email. I've seen it before. It passes around periodically. It's attributed to the late 60 Minutes contributor, Andy Rooney. I tried to vet it since so much of what passes around on the Internet is attributed to people who had nothing to do with it. Whether Andy Rooney had anything to do with these thoughts or not, I hope they lightened your heart a little on this darkly commemorative day.

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned .....
That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.....
That being kind is more important than being right.

Photo-of-the-Week #251 – Once in a Lifetime – WWII Veteran Honor Flight, Fresno, California, April 2015

This photo is one of those once in a lifetime photo ops. This was taken at the Fresno International Airport in Fresno, California in April of last year. This was the Welcome Home celebration for a group of World War II veterans who had just spent a couple days in Washington, DC being honored for their service to their country and getting to visit their World War II Memorial.

This was a VERY special time for me and a great honor because the lady in the photograph with me is very special to me. She is my former mother-in-law, but even more than that she has been one of my best friends in life, for nearly 40 years and continues to be so. Her name is Bonnie June Gardner, but she goes by her initials, BJ. She served in the medical corps of the U.S. Navy. . . READ  MORE

Thursday Thought: "TMI" - Not What You Think!

Dedicated to my late friend, teacher, mentor and inspiration,
Charlie "Tremendous" Jones

The acronym, TMI, has pretty much come to mean "Too Much Information" to most people. But, that is not what I have in mind for this article. Yes! We live in a society of great magnitudes of information that is ever growing exponentially. In simple terms, we live in a world of "information overload." But, this is a topic for another time.

Here is my definition of TMI for this article:

Teachers

Mentors

Inspirationalists (my coined word)

These are the people who come through our lives at various times and teach, mentor and inspire us and in so doing guide, mold and direct us down paths that become our future lives. I call the times, "pivotal times" and I call these people "pivotal people."

Photo-of-the-Week #189 - American War Memorial, Ash Flat, Arkansas, December 2014

There are so many interesting finds as one travels the United States. This is one of them. My friends, John and Sharon Abert, currently of Cherokee Village, Arkansas (soon to be full-time road warriors and nomads) brought me to this park in a small rural town, Ash Flat, Arkansas. In this park is one of the nicest small community war memorials I've seen in my travels. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #184 - Remembering Our Veterans, Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina, December 2004

I want this photo to stand on its own. It was taken at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. It was at this location that the first shots were fired of what became the bloodiest war in U.S. history. A civil war that pitted brothers against brothers and fathers and sons against one another.

There is not much more to say except that I'm proud and glad to be an American despite all our problems as a country. As a Vietnam Era, U.S. Air Force veteran, I'm proud to be one of those who took the oath to defend our Constitution and serve our country during one of, if not the most, unpopular wars in our history.

As an American and as a veteran, I salute every American man and woman who took that oath and served our country regardless of whether they are alive today or passed on or suffered disabilities or made the ultimate sacrifice, from the Revolutionary War through our current strife. It doesn't matter what branch of the service, whether a member of the Union or the Confederate military, what war they served in or what their job was. Everyone deserves our undying gratitude and I hope everyone reading this who is a U.S. citizen will remember that on Tuesday, November 11, 2014, Veterans Day, especially my fellow veterans. I'm sure there are citizens of other countries who are grateful for our veterans' sacrifices on their behalf, too.

Thankful Independence Day

I composed this letter last night on July 4th and sent it to a long list of friends. I share my thoughts with you here on the blog since you are also a long list of friends. 

My Letter

Dear Friends, 

On this Independence Day evening, I've been reflecting on the meaning of this national holiday, so I thought I'd compose this short epistle to wish you, not a Happy Independence Day, but a Thankful Independence Day. Sure, we should be happy for our Independence, but even more, we should be thankful for it. 

Exactly 238 years ago a group of people gathered in Philadelphia, put their lives and fortunes on the line and agreed upon and signed a document informing the King of England that we, as a people, were declaring our independence from the tyranny and taxation imposed upon those who braved the challenges of coming to a new world and carving out a new life and society based on liberty, personal freedom and certain inalienable rights. 

Nearly six years ago I chose to change my lifestyle to live free, on my own terms, replacing a more traditional, mainstream lifestyle embraced by the vast majority of U.S. citizens. Living free simply means I chose to live simply, minimally and economically. I am thriving and living a comfortable, fulfilling, happy life while not needing and using most of my resources and those assets I have retained.

I am traveling this country in a "tiny house" of my own design and construction built into a 17-foot van providing approximately 50 sq. ft. to live in. You might say it's my own version of a modern Conestoga wagon. One of the best features is that I have no mortgage or payments for "My McVansion." It is my "magic carpet" that is taking me from sea to shining sea, gulf to great lakes, over mountains and across great plains. I travel the "Blue Highways," those roads that were once our national road infrastructure, but have been mostly abandoned and replaced by high-speed interstate highways where everyone always seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. I drive the speed limit, take my time, and enjoy discovering nature's beauty that I've never taken the time to experience before. I travel through small towns, villages and hamlets and meet the hard working, patriotic people who live in these places and learn about them, their families, their lives and what's important to them. 

Yesterday I was in the town of Bedford Falls. Remember George Bailey from the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life?" Well, the real name of the town that Bedford Falls was modeled after is Seneca Falls, New York. In the past week I went to an American League AAA minor league baseball game, was a guest on a legacy radio station in Syracuse, New York, revisited my alma mater, Syracuse University and toured the two Newhouse School of Public communications buildings that have been added since I attended 46 years ago. I enjoyed all kinds of great food and visited with a fellow grad school classmate and his wife, John and Pat Hottenstein, who also was the minister who married my former wife, Cynthia and me. I even had the great pleasure and privilege of seeing their daughter, Kirsten, who I bounced on my knee 46 years ago. Then I met Kirsten's daughter and three month old granddaughter who I bounced on my knee. I took a wonderful photo of the four generations. How time has flown. 

This is just a small part of why I'm having a Thankful Independence Day as I sit in my tiny house on wheels in Ithaca, New York tonight. Earlier. I enjoyed the day driving down along the western side of Seneca Lake (one of the beautiful Finger Lakes). I drove around Watkins Glen, New York and went over to the Watkins Glen Speedway where I shot pictures and a little video of Grand Prix cars doing time trials at 150 to 200 miles per hour. Oh, and while I've been enjoying my version of the American Dream and living free, I accomplished some audio production projects for a long time friend and client. All this because of those men in 1776, all the men and women who paved the way since then and those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives and limbs to secure the independence and freedom of this great nation

I do have some concerns about the future of our country and what we're leaving behind for our grandchildren and great grandchildren. I'm including a link to an article that spells out where The American Dream may be in some trouble. 

Pricetag for the American dream: $130K a year

I hope your day with family and friends was much more meaningful than just a day off from work, hot dogs, hamburgers and fireworks. I also hope you are living free and independently, as you define this for yourself, and are happy and fulfilled. God Bless You and God Bless America. 

Enthusiastically,

Ed Helvey

Afterword

But, just because we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th doesn't mean that we shouldn't celebrate a Thankful Independence Day every day of the year. For all our problems in this country, I still consider myself singularly lucky to have been born here rather than in most other parts of the world. Think about it. 

Photo-of-the-Week #151 Taking Care of Our Own, New VA Medical Center, Lake Nona, Florida, January 2013

Two photos this week because one couldn't begin to show the immensity of this hospital complex. It's heartwarming to see that the government is supporting our millions of military veterans. As a Vietnam era Air Force veteran myself, it is reassuring to know that the government is not forgetting or casting aside those who have voluntarily or involuntarily raised their hand, taken "the oath" and committed their lives to defend the American way of life.

These two photos only show the front, the back and a portion of the side of the complex that will not be open and operational for at least another eight months to a year. This depicts what I estimate about 25% of the complex and doesn't include several other buildings on the campus. It is, indeed, impressive. It's location, Lake Nona, is in the southeast quadrant of Orlando near the Orlando International Airport. Orland is a Florida city that continues to expand, exponentially, ever since Walt Disney arrived on the scene with the Disney World complex. This is a vast area that appears to be more of the land that once was the grazing range of large herds of cattle.

My only criticism, and I do have one, is how much taxpayer money has been expended in the architectural design and the construction of this design. Perhaps it wasn't all that much. However, knowing that creating very unique architecture is very expensive as is translating that design into a physical structure, especially when undertaken by any government agency, I feel sure there is a lot of money involved in this element of the complex. It is my thought that a modern, basic, functional, attractive complex without all the flare, could have been designed and developed, especially at this time when excessive government spending is a major point of contention. I doubt that a more cost effective design would have compromised the quality of medical facility or service provided to our veterans. Indeed, perhaps the equipment, medical facilities and ability to serve the intended individuals could have been enhanced with those additional funds, if not used for some other necessary government service. Or, I guess it just could have been saved and the federal budget reduced a little bit.

Otherwise, I'm sure this new complex will provide a huge universe of eligible veterans with the services they have earned and rightfully deserve. And, it appears it will be in the center of another diversified medical community based on the other organizations that have already built and opened new research and medical facilities adjacent to the VA complex.     

BUSTED!!!

Yep! Your friendly, living free nomad was finally busted.

No! No! No! Not by the police, the FBI, IRS or Interpol. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say My McVansion was busted, broken down, on the fritz!

Yep! Sixty-nine days into the first trek of 2014, I had to rein in those 185 horses under the stubby nose of My McVansion, ultimately ending up in the parking lot of the Home Depot in Blue Ridge, Georgia. I knew the problem was in the rear end of the vehicle where there was a loud clicking sound and white smoke was emanating from the right rear wheel.

And here is the culprit . . .

You can see how the bearing failed and was breaking apart and the poor shape of the rollers themselves in this photo

It's the right rear wheel bearing. Such a small part compared to the overall size of My McVansion, however, we've all heard of Achilles' Heel and this part was McVansion's Achilles' Heel in this instance.

So, here I was, stranded in a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of western Georgia. I had just left the company of Leonard Steward, a new friend in Jasper, Georgia, who is in the process of converting a 40' Bluebird school bus into his dream home on wheels (complete with Jacuzzi). I was on my way to Tumbling Creek campground in the Cherokee National Forest near Copperhill, Tennessee to meet up with two more vandweller friends (by Internet, we hadn't met in person before), Cuzzin Dick Tracy and David Hair, both from Dalton, Georgia.

Fortunately, I had cell phone connectivity, as did Cuzzin Dick. So, I called and told them that I wasn't going to make it to the camp and since it was the middle of a Saturday afternoon, it wasn't likely I was going to find a mechanic (or at least one with the skills to diagnose and fix this unknown problem) until Monday. However, I walked to a couple auto parts stores (very close to where I had come to rest). Amazingly, one of the guys at one of the auto parts stores took a wild shot at calling a local auto service business and they just happened to be working on Saturday to get some extra work completed. Meanwhile, David Hair told me to hold tight and he was on his way from Tumbling Creek to meet up with me.

OUCH!!! 

The local mechanic came to look at the van and brought his trailer with him to carry it back to his garage. He and his partner were nice fellows, but immediately seemed to conclude the problem was that the "rear end" also known as the differential was burned out and would have to be replaced. The rear end or differential is where the power to drive the vehicle connects from the transmission through the drive shaft to the rear axle that ultimately drives the vehicle. This is a major component of the drive train and a major undertaking to change.

Basically, I was told they could take the van back to the garage where it would sit for the weekend. Then they'd have to locate a used differential and probably an axle that they probably couldn't get until Wednesday or Thursday and then a day to do the actual job. And, I couldn't stay in the van; I'd have to find someplace to stay even though I told them that the van is my home. So, almost a week of lost time, a major component and labor cost and the expense of staying in a motel and eating all meals out.

So, what did this add up to? Well they estimated $400 to $600 - up front - before they would move the van as a deposit for a used differential. The labor would probably be around another couple hundred dollars. A motel and meals for the duration would likely set me back another $500, plus or minus a few dollars. So, total cost would be about $1,300. OUCH! They had me by the short hairs. This is one of the challenges of being a wandering, living free, nomadic type traveler.

The Cavalry To The Rescue!

Up to this point in time I had been parked in a Burger King parking lot. The Home Depot was across the four-lane highway and behind some stand-alone stores and a small strip mall. The cavalry came in the form of David Hair who dropped everything at Tumbling Creek campground, where I was supposed to meet up with him and Cuzzin Dick, and drove to my location. I moved the van backwards and forwards and David assessed the situation. We went into the Burger King and had some lunch while we awaited the mechanic and his trailer to return. I made a couple calls to the mechanic's wife inquiring as to when he would be coming back. She was nice, but emphatic that I could not stay in my van . . . PERIOD! This perturbed both David me, so David said lets get move the van over to the Home Depot parking lot. Home Depots are known to be friendly to RVers and vandwellers.

He drove over first and made sure I could take the most direct route to get there with the least amount of driving on whatever the problem was. He then called me and I carefully pulled out of the Burger King parking lot, crossed the highway when I had the green light and made my way over to the Home Depot where David was waiting for me to drive past him slowly so he could hear the noise emanating from the rear of the car. He from the outside and me from the inside ascertained that the noise was not coming from the area of the rear end, but was actually coming from the right rear wheel. One would have hoped that the local mechanic who had listened to the noise earlier would have come to that same conclusion.

Well, you may remember there is country song made popular by one of the mainstream country singers, it may have been Garth Brooks, I'm not sure at the moment, but the main chorus went, "I have friends in low places. This vandwelling, living free, nomad is fortunate to have friends in HIGH places. Even though this was the first time David Hair and I had met face to face, I immediately had major confidence that he know what was what and where the problem was. He said it's not the differential most likely, but the right rear wheel bearing and axle. We walked about three minutes to one of the nearby auto parts stores and bought the Chilton repair manual for the series of vans My McVansion was a member of. He looked to the section on the rear axle and bearing and asked a few questions, and fortunately, there were a couple other people in the store who knew the answers.

The conclusion was that, while it would be a difficult task to do in a Home Depot parking lot, and barring any unforeseen damage, the axle could be removed, the bearing replaced and the differential checked for any damage. With that, David Hair and I returned to the Home Depot, spoke to the store manager, Keith, and apprised him of the situation and got a 100% affirmative, "No problem with me overnighting in My McVansion in his parking lot." With that David said he was driving the 50 to 70 miles back to his home in Dalton, GA, would spend the night, gather the necessary tools and return by around 9:00 AM Sunday morning (the first morning of Daylight Savings Time) to begin the project of removing the rear axle, ascertaining the damage, acquiring the necessary parts and supplies we'd need from the auto parts store and . . . fix the problem right there in the Home Depot parking lot.

True to his word, David was there the next morning and the following photos document the scene and the damage we found and repaired.

My McVansion's In The Field Operation

The van up on jack stands with the right rear wheel removed.

The wheel and brake drum (where we found a broken spring) removed

David at work under the rear of the van. This was the view I had of David most of the day, taking his instructions to do what he needed done on the outside

David at rest between major segments of the operation

At last, the axle is out and now we can see the problem, a defective wheel bearing (from when I had a new axle and wheel bearing installed only 14 months earlier) that had carved a deep groove in the axle and was the actual problem

A close up of the actual groove and damage to the axle, you can see the rough edges creating metal filings and really destroying that rear axle.

There was no way to get the axle replaced on a Sunday. Finding either a used or new axle was not in the cards. So, fortunately, there was a "repair" bearing available that actually allowed the bearing to ride on the undamaged part of the axle nearest the tire. It's not a permanent fix, but should get me the rest of the way back to base camp in West Virginia and then I can take it to my regular mechanic and have it done permanently

By about 3:30 PM or so, My McVansion had all its pieces and parts back together and I drove it around the Home Depot parking lot and it was sounding perfect. I stopped and thanked the Home Depot manager, again, for his cooperation and then off we went.

Tumbling Creek At Last!

Here's My McVansion at the Tumbling Creek campground in Cherokee National Forest near Copperhill, Tennessee, about 20 miles from the Home Depot. 

Here is a shot of David Hair at rest, again after a yeoman's rescue of yours truly. That's Cuzzin Dick with his back to us.

Here's Cuzzin Dick after stoking the fire a little and loading his ever present pipe.

The Rest Of The Story

Oh! And here is the rest of the story. Remember that $600 to $800 estimated cost for repairing the van from the local mechanic in Blue Ridge, Georgia, plus the additional estimated $500 in motel/food expenses? Well, the total cost for parts, the Chilton manual and a couple lunches for David and myself came to under $100. Now, David did a masterful job of saving my behind and pulling me out of the quicksand. I need to do something nice for a great guy (whose reputation for such acts, precedes him, I might add). The one thing I've found being a wandering nomad and vandweller is that there is a fantastic community of people - maybe I should call it a network - but whatever, there always seems to be someone around with the knowledge, skills, experience, tools, whatever one needs and they are always sharing all of it with each other.

I wrote this article at Tumbling Creek campground where I spent the last few days with Cuzzin Dick Tracy. I have no cell phone or data coverage here, but Cuzzin Dick does and shortly, I'll be on his Millenicom mifi hotspot to post this before I hit the road to make my way back to the base camp in Keyser, West Virginia where I wouldn't be getting to until several days later had it not been for David Hair. Thank you - is inadequate, but still THANK YOU, DAVID!

Photo-of-the-Week #142, First Recording Studio, Thomas Edison Laboratory, West Orange, New Jersey, September 2013

In an earlier Photo-of-the-Week I featured a photo of the Thomas A. Edison Laboratory where, not only did the great inventor create most of his world changing inventions, but where my father also worked from the late 1950's until his death in the beginning of 1967. As I drove through West Orange, New Jersey by a GPS serendipity, I came upon what is left of the huge many block manufacturing complex that was Edison industries. The storage battery plant is now a derelict factory building covering an entire square city block 46 years later. The rest of the huge complex has been demolished and returned to other uses. However, the small, red, three story building that was Thomas Edison's personal laboratory and that housed his personal library and where most of his inventions were created (along with about four other smaller buildings) has been preserved by the National Park Service as a National Historic Park site.

Of the many wonders I discovered as I went through the laboratory building was what may be the first actual recording studio. This studio was where some of the earliest music recordings were recorded, most likely purely for experimental and demonstration purposes. This photo is that room inside the Edison Laboratory building. It doesn't remotely resemble a modern recording studio . . . because, back at this time of pioneering a new medium and industry, no one actually knew how a recording studio should be designed or look to carefully control sound for the best sonic fidelity. 

Of course, since I have been actively involved in the recording industry since 1963 when some of the early technology pioneered by Edison was still being used, this room was of particular interest to me. I sincerely doubt that the air conditioning duct, at the top of the wall in the photo, existed when this room was being used for its stated purpose. The room also wasn't designated as a recording studio, but as a recording laboratory, since in those days, everything was experimental.

I don't know if the piano in the room is original or there for the purpose of recreating the atmosphere. And, certainly, all of the gramophones on display were not likely there when it was being used for experimental recordings. I can't honestly say if this room existed in this condition when I visited the building when my father worked in it. I don't remember seeing it and I hadn't become involved in the recording industry, yet, so it wouldn't necessarily have caught my attention then.

But, here it is. Behold! One of the magical wonders to be found in a building where, perhaps, more world changing technological inventions and advances were dreamt by one of the most creative minds of modern time and turned into reality, touching the lives of every human being on this planet directly or indirectly to this day. My father touched these hallowed floors and walls and I made a career of an industry spawned here. 

More Progress On My McVansion And Other Things

So, I've been a bit lax on posting lately. My apologies. It's not that I have nothing to say. It's simply that I've been running out of time before running out of things to do. I'm sure you've experienced this situation from time to time yourself. The last road trips have been excellent, however, they were typical of most of my road trips during my earlier years. I was on a "mission" and attempted to include as many things as I possibly could into the trips. As a recovering "Type A" workaholic personality, my "To Do" list always had far more items on it than could be accomplished in the day I had designated to do them all. So it is with my road trips. Now, that's not to say that I didn't accomplish a lot. Actually, I accomplished most of the things I had planned, just not everything. And, of course, keeping up with emails, blog posts, phone calls and other similar activities seemed to fall behind. I guess the old saying, "the faster I go, the behinder I get," aptly applies here.

So, to set the record straight, I'm the guy with a blog titled "Living Free" and a philosophy of doing everything I can to have the least number of restrictions, limitations and encumbrances on my time and life. Yet, I'm still caught up in the whirlpool of having way too many irons on the fire and things to do. I guess I still have some work to do, would you agree?

A Road Trips Recap

#1

The September road trip to New Jersey was great! I got to visit most of the places I had planned to get to. I saw most of the friends I wanted to see on that trip including spending a little time with my younger (the middle child of the three of us) sister and her husband, went to the Voice Over Barbecue and met many on-line friends from that unique professional niche, sampled the foods at some of my favorite childhood restaurants and even, through interesting circumstances, enjoyed the serendipity of visiting the Thomas Edison Laboratory where my father worked until his untimely death in the beginning of 1967. The Edison Laboratory and the remaining grounds from the original, huge, multi-block complex in West Orange, New Jersey is now a national historical park. Again, the timing was right because, had I been there just a couple weeks later and the ridiculous government shutdown would have had the gates closed and locked and I wouldn't have walked through that historic building where not only did Edison invent many of the things that changed our lives forever, but where my father was instrumental in designing the guidance systems that made the space program and humans walking on the moon possible.

#2

The second road trip to Texas, again, on a mission to work on a conference at the Hyatt Grand Hotel on the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, was equally a successful trip. Of course, the conference was covered and recorded, though we experienced a few serious challenges in that particular property. But, I was able to deliver a plaque that posthumously recognized a beloved, humorous professional speaker to his daughter in Austin. I met a new friend near Austin who shared his vast collection of vintage magnetic recording equipment with me at his home. The experience brought back so many memories as I looked at and touched so many of the dozens of professional and semi-professional recorders I used during my 50 year career in the recording industry. Not only that, but I even saw copies of some tapes that were very likely edited, duplicated and distributed from my studios and tape duplication plant in Washington, DC during the 1970's. The circle completes. I visited one of my former business partners and his wife, Pat, from the '70's. Troy continued his military career and retired from the Air Force to retire to New Braunfels, Texas where he started a successful silk screening business, which he is now retired from. From there I met up with and enjoyed a couple days visiting a former author of my book publishing company and another unique professional speaker friend and his wife in Kerrville, Texas. Scott has been dealing with Parkinson's Disease for several years and is a fantastic inspiration as is his wife, Melanie. I also met up with another new friend I met through the Internet, specifically, LinkedIn. Marvin Willis is the founder of the Hometown Hero - Hero Card, a really great small business idea that I'm still milling over in my mind as to how I can work with Marvin and still focus on my own goals. Finally, I visited with a former employee, a recording engineer, who worked with me in my studios in Washington, DC during the mid 70's. Bill and his wife, Diane, hosted me to a wonderful dinner and breakfast at their beautiful home outside Austin, Texas. Bill is still active in audio and video production, though he indicated that he's also slowing down. Diane retired this past December from her position as the Director of Administration for the Lt. Governor of Texas. I also had an opportunity to meet Bill's son from his first marriage who is a contractor working for the U.S. government in Afghanistan. He was back stateside on some leave time. There were many more people along the routes to and from the San Antonio mission that I would have loved to have spent some time with, but, as seems to happen all too often on mission based travel, there was just no more time in the schedule.

#3

I made a short excursion to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in mid-October to attend the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Charlie "Tremendous" Jones Conference Center. Charlie was a long time friend, mentor, colleague, client and even a father figure at times. He passed away as the result of prostate cancer on October 16, 2008. Five years to the day of his passing his daughter, Tracey Jones, had the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony to remember her father. I enjoyed visiting with other members of Charlie's family including his widow, Gloria, still radiant and glowing and one of his sons and his youngest daughter. I also met several people, some I knew from earlier encounters, but four new folks included Giff Briner, Board Chairman and owner of WPFG, a Christian radio station in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Cal Beyer, Vice-president of Murray Securus, a risk management company from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and John Eshleman and his wife from Upland, California who is the Region IV Director for the Mennonite Disaster Service. Wow! I enjoyed very stimulating and inspiring discussions with everyone and came back from that trip with many new insights. Of course, my friend, Tracey Jones, who has stepped into her father's footprints, is an amazing woman and most assuredly, a "chip off the old block." I have great admiration for this very accomplished, motivated and inspirational woman. Once again, I stayed at Tracey's "guest hut," as she calls it, and she's made it clear that it's my accommodations whenever I'm in the area and it's not previously spoken for.

#4

Finally, the last road trip began on October 23rd and took me on a long day's drive from the West Virginia base camp to Riverhead, New York on Long Island for a very special wedding of my grad school buddy's daughter, Kelly. Riverhead is near the famous Hamptons and not too far from the eastern tip of Long Island at Montauk Point. The trip was a bit longer than it might have been had I not been dealing with what turned out to be a urinary tract infection. It's the first time (and I hope the last and only time) I've ever had such an infection. Unfortunately, due to the number of things on my agenda from the time I returned from the Pennsylvania trip I didn't have time to get to my regular doctor before I left. So, first I attended the wedding on Long Island (one of the best, if not the best, wedding parties I've ever attended). Friday morning after breakfast with my friends, I headed back to New Jersey for a late 2:00 PM lunch (that lasted until about 6:30) with my college friend, Greg, and his wife, Mary. Then to my overnight location at the Pilot Travel Center (you likely saw the "David and Goliath" Photo of the Week that I posted a couple weeks ago at the Travel Center). It was Saturday morning and I found a walk in "doc in the box" urgent care center in Parsippany, New Jersey where I went and finally saw a doctor, got the formal diagnosis and a prescription for some antibiotics. I took the prescription to another Walmart in the region to check it out as a possible overnight parking location. Well, the script was filled, but the Walmart was not a candidate for an overnight location.

I arrived at my favorite hot dog hang out, Rutt's Hut, in my hometown of Clifton, New Jersey at around 4:00 PM, just moments before my old high school buddy, Art, rolled in after driving about 100 miles from the New Jersey Shore to meet up, eat hot dogs, drink birch beer and talk about old times. We occupied a table until about 9:15 PM when Art went on to his brothers and I made my way to the North Bergen Walmart to consider it as an overnight parking place. It's on the list, but I decided to go back to the more familiar Walmart in Garfield, New Jersey, my father's hometown (just across the Passaic River from Clifton, New Jersey). Sunday I met up with my oldest nephew, had a brunch with him and then attended his hand bell choir recording session. I then checked out the Walmart at the Meadowlands where the Giants football stadium is located. I spent the night there, met up with some 18 wheeler truck drivers in the morning and then headed out for lunch with a couple of college friends, one was the former Chief Engineer for the college radio station we launched and the other took over the "reins of power" from me when I graduated. From there I met up with a couple more old college friends who were members of my Industrial Arts major. Tuesday was a day off and I decided to do some exploring and made my way out to the Palisades and up to the Alpine Marina on the Hudson River where I spent a couple summers boating with my grad school buddy and his parents. I also revisited the old Armstrong Tower where Major Edwin Armstrong, the inventor of modern radio communication and broadcasting, was the first to broadcast with his invention, frequency modulation or FM, as most people know it. I wrapped up Tuesday with a visit to the new Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria named Barilari's located about a block from my old favorite hometown pizza place, Mario's. I wrote about Mario's previously. Barilari's is owned by Kenny Barilari, the grandson of the original owners of Mario's, and his mission is to carry on the tradition of his grandparents. I'll write more about my visit to Barilari's in the near future.

Finally, on Wednesday I returned to Montclair State University where I had lunch with the general manager of WMSC, the radio station I started 46 years ago, hung out in the production lounge with a bunch of the current crop of "radio types," and finally spoke to a group of them at their weekly meeting later in the afternoon. My hope was to give them a bit of history and a challenge for their station's future and their own futures. I then found my way back to My McVansion, parked in a far off parking lot, and began my journey back to base camp in Keyser, West Virginia. I spent the previous couple evenings at the Garfield Walmart and I spent that last evening overnighting at the Phillipsburg, New Jersey Walmart. Oh, and that inconvenient little infection I was dealing with was pretty much gone as the antibiotics the doctor prescribed made quick work of the errant bacteria.

Why A Recap?

While much of this is a recap of some earlier posts, it's also a reminder to myself just how much I enjoy being on the road, meeting new people, reconnecting with old friends, exploring new sites and revisiting places that hold major significance in my life. It also served as a reminder that I'm still attempting to do too much in too little time. I didn't have, or maybe it would be better said that I didn't allow and make time to prepare meaningful posts for this blog. For those who read the blog regularly and look forward at least to something interesting if not enlightening and uplifting or, maybe, informative, I apologize. Writing this blog is one of the more important aspects of who I am and who I'm becoming. So, I not only let you down, who (I hope) gain some little tidbits of inspiration and ideas from this blog, but I let myself down.

This is something I have to work at. I tell other people we simply can't do everything. I attempt to help people realize that we'll all die one day and leave unfinished business behind...and that's okay. But, the one person who needs to truly believe and heed these thoughts is, yours truly...ME. As President George W. Bush used to say (and this has nothing to do with his or your politics), "I'm the decider." That's true for all of us and I especially need to realize and accept that I can't do it all, must select between the voluminous number of things I want to do and be the "decider" of what I really, really want to do. In other words, I need to pick and choose and then prioritize. Living free is a fantastic experience, however, it's also an awesome opportunity and responsibility. If we try to do it all we get mired down and ultimately get little or nothing done. So, hang with me and pass on your thoughts and ideas about the things you want to do and how you're able to (if you are, yet) pick, choose, decide and prioritize.

My McVansion Progress Report

So, to wrap up this post, today, here are the latest upgrades to My McVansion. People often wonder how those who choose to travel and/or live full-time in the confines of 50 or less square feet take care of various necessities of life. One of these necessities is, hopefully, to not be too indelicate or graphic, the elimination of bodily wastes. Yes! It's one of the things we all must do no matter what our station in life, but it's also something many people don't want to focus on, despite its importance to good health and hygiene. There are a variety of ways that people living in small spaces like the confines of a van or a utility trailer or the new trend known as Tiny Houses take care of this necessity. Each method has advantages and disadvantages and the costs vary across the spectrum. A full size, commercially designed and manufactured RV (motor home or trailer) will typically have an actual bathroom facility built in with running water and holding tanks for the waste. Periodically, the fresh water tank has to be filled or connected to an external potable water supply and the waste holding tanks have to be dumped in an appropriate waste dumping station or connected to an external sewage system. In this instance, taking care of necessary bodily functions is not much different than if one lives in the average house or apartment anywhere in the U.S.

The options are several for those of us who choose to use vans or utility trailers as our travel/living facilities. I won't go into all the options in this post. However, I will tell you about mine. First, when I'm traveling and when I'm parking overnight, my first choice is to find public facilities. Public facilities are plentiful and include rest areas along interstates and major highways across the U.S. Next come gas station/convenience stores/fast food restaurants. Most large retail establishments including Walmart, Target, Kmart, supermarkets, Costco's, Sam's Clubs, shopping malls and similar also have public rest rooms. There are, of course, others that can be added to this list.

When I'm not traveling and I'm parked for the night or even semi-permanently in a location where public restrooms are not conveniently located, my next line of convenience enters the picture. As a male, I have a distinct advantage over females when it comes to voiding my bladder, so for that purpose I carry a half-gallon, opaque, yellow plastic milk container. It's certainly not inconspicuous when I carry it into a public rest area rest room to empty, but at least it's not transparent making it even more obvious as to its contents. I use a little liquid bleach with some water to wash it out and keep it sanitary. This works very well for me and, frankly, has saved me from extreme discomfort on more than one occasion.

The other and, certainly, more obvious appliance addition to My McVansion is the new Sanitation Equipment Visa Porta Potty Model 268. This unit is well built, has excellent ratings everywhere I've looked for reviews, is economical and has the largest holding tank capacity of the numerous similar appliances available on the market. It has a 6.3 gallon solid waste capacity with a 3.7 gallon fresh water (for flushing) capacity. I won't go into any other details other than to say that depending on my travels and the availability of public facilities along my route, I can go between three and four weeks with this unit between visits to appropriate dumping stations.

  

The Visa Porta Potty is situated on a plywood floor with furring strips around the base so it can't slide. To the left of the porta potty on the same plywood base will be a 2.7 cu. ft. compressor refrigerator. The plywood base will be stained to match the rest of the wood in the van along with being sealed so water, although there should be none, can't seep through to the remaining carpet under the plywood. Additionally, when I'm finished with the construction, both the porta potty and the refrigerator will be enclosed in plywood cabinets, also stained to match the rest of the interior wood and there will be a cover over the porta potty with a cushion so that when not in use, the porta potty will be concealed and provide some seating space. The top of the refrigerator cabinet will support a small microwave oven. The yellow bottle is also concealed when not in use, but is readily available when needed.

 The wheel well to the right of the porta potty is going to be concealed by a wooden enclosure that will support a six drawer storage unit for office supplies, cables, cords and adapters for audio, video and photographic interfacing and similar misc. necessities along with a small file box to keep necessary paperwork in. The cabinet and the wheel well enclosure are under construction currently. By the end of next week, I am planning to have the large 245 amp hour, deep cycle battery on board the van so I can begin putting in the 12 volt DC and the 110 volt AC wiring. So, the progress continues on My McVansion to make it a very habitable and hospitable environment for me to travel and live in for extended periods of time.  

Playing Catch Up...Again...As Usual

Small Part of Martin Theophilus' Magnetic Audio Recorder Collection

So, I've been back from the "My McVansion Shakedown Cruise -er- Road Trip" and I'm way behind on blog posts. Actually, I arrived back at base camp in WV on September 25th, the day after my radio interview on WMSC. The interview has been listened to by way, way more folks than I thought and it is still getting hits and listens every day. So, thank you for your interest and support. So much happened during that shakedown cruise, all good, I might add. But, the trip became so busy that I ended up with virtually no time to blog. It was either blog or catch some sleep and I really did need the sleep. I also attempted to keep up with (not completely successfully) a plethora of emails. So, this is part of the catch up I have to do.

Currently, I've actually been on the road since Sunday September 29th on the road trip to Texas. This trip is a mixed bag. First, My McVansion is sitting, parked, in Front Royal, Virginia where I left it. I'm driving my former partner's huge Chevy Suburban that was loaded with materials and equipment for the project in San Antonio, where I am located as I compose this post. I couldn't sleep in the Suburban on the way due to the load I was bearing. So, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night I stayed in budget motels, an Americas Best Value Inn on Sunday night in Marion, Virginia and Motel 6's in Meridian, Mississippi on Monday night and in Austin, Texas on Tuesday night.

A Challenge 

Monday morning I had a little surprise that added three hours to my travel time. When I woke up, loaded my bag into the Suburban, got my phone/GPS, Bluetooth and dash-cam set and operating, I noticed a little amber light in the instrument cluster indicating one tire had low air pressure. So, I got out and walked around the vehicle and found a very flat right rear tire. I called AAA and they sent someone out to change the tire. Then I took the tire to Thompson's Tire Repair in downtown Marion (Marion is in southwest Virginia near Abington, Bristol and the Tennessee border). The folks at Thompson's were friendly as could be, very efficient and very thorough. So, while I lost about three hours, I felt like I got excellent service, a very reasonable price and by the time I left, I felt like I was leaving old friends.

Austin, Texas

From that point forward the travel was simply long and boring since I was using interstate highways to make time getting to my first stop in Austin, Texas. Upon arriving in Austin on Tuesday night, I found the home of the daughter of a deceased, well-known and loved humorous speaker friend, Dr. Charlie Jarvis. I personally delivered a plaque to Pamela posthumously recognizing her father as a "Legend of the Speaking Profession" awarded at the recent Veteran Speakers Retreat in August. Then I found some food and a Motel 6 to rest after a long day of driving. I had another long day planned for Wednesday

Austin is a large, very busy, very congested city. It is the home of the Texas state capital, the University of Texas, the TV show, "Austin City Limits," a former recording engineer employee of mine and, just a few miles outside of town, a private museum/collection of vintage audio recorders, microphones and various other items belonging to Martin Theophilus. It's currently maintained in his home, however, he's in the process of locating a home for the equipment in a facility where he can make it open to the public. Martin and I hit it off immediately and it turns out we've been in the recording industry about the same time - and his career and experience has been as interesting as mine. This saga will continue in the future. I might also add that I've owned and used many of the recorders in this photo as well as many more of the machines in his collection.

New Braunfels, Texas

After leaving Martin Theophilus, I headed south to New Braunfels, Texas where I went to my former business partner's ranch. Troy Brand, John Caughman and I were partners in a business in Washington, DC called Audio-Video Concepts, Inc. or AVCom for short. Troy, John and I also served in the Air Force together, in related capacities. I last saw Troy and his wife, Pat, ten years ago when I made a swing through Texas about this same time of the year. It was around forty years ago when Pat Brand put up with us. I so remember how she'd listen to Troy, John and me and just roll her eyes. Well, it was a great fun and when Troy and I started talking it was like we turned back the hands of time by 40 years. And, yes, Pat was rolling her eyes...again. It was great fun and I'm hoping it won't be another 10 years before I see them. I also stayed in their guest room at the ranch Wednesday night. I departed about 4 PM on Thursday afternoon to cut cross country through "The Hill Country" of Texas to the small town of Kerrville, about 70 miles +/- from New Braunfels and about 60 miles west of San Antonio.

Kerrville, Texas

The trip was great over to Kerrville, a town of about 25,000. I passed through several other small Texas towns that really caught my eye and make a commitment to myself to come back through here and learn about and enjoy these places. In Kerrville, I arrived at my friends (and a former author of my book publishing company), T. Scott Gross and his really cute and fun wife, Melanie. They go by the pet names of Tiger and Buns. Arriving at around 6:00 PM, Melanie had some dinner waiting for the three of us and we enjoyed communing around the dinner table. I had already learned by email from them that just this past Friday (a week ago) they had been involved in a major head on collision that totaled their vehicle (and the vehicle of the 20 year old woman who was texting or something at 70 miles per hour, lost control, flew across a 50 foot wide median strip and hit them head on. Scott had to be med-evaced to an Army hospital in San Antonio with five broken ribs and some other broken bones and a punctured lung plus a lot of cuts and abrasions. Melanie sustained a fractured wrist and some trauma to her abdomen. Both were very sore and in Scott's case, in some pain from time to time. Scott also is a victim (though he doesn't consider himself a victim) of Parkinson's disease.

Despite what they had just been through, they were in great spirits and they were still great hosts. I, of course, offered to be of assistance any way I could and helped whenever asked or saw something I could do for them. We had a wonderful time together and I learned more about both of them and they about me. We had a wonderful lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant on Friday and Scott took me (with me driving) on a spin around Kerrville and showed me, what I found to be, a beautiful little town. I was very impressed. Scott had a hand in making some of the improvements to the town during the six years he spent on the city council. I spent two nights with them, Thursday and Friday nights and left about 11:00 AM this morning (Saturday) to head for the San Antonio Airport to pick up the first member of our team for this project.

While in Kerrville, I had the opportunity to meet Marvin Willis, the creator and head honcho of the "Hometown Hero Card." I met Marvin through the LinkedIn business social network on the Web. We've emailed a bunch and spoken on the phone a bunch about his project(s) and idea. This was our opportunity to meet in person and take a possible working relationship to another level. I really enjoyed meeting Marvin and he and his wife, Myrna, joined Scott, Melanie and Scott's mother, for lunch.

Remember The Alamo

I can simply say my time in Kerrville was, once again, both enjoyable and memorable as were my two earlier visits. But, it is Saturday and this is the day that the primary reason for this specific trip is all about, providing conference recording and other support services for the annual CFDD conference (Center for Due Diligence). So, off I went to the San Antonio airport to pick up the second member of the team. He was flying in from St. Louis, Missouri. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for his flight, but checked the online flight status and found that his flight had been delayed. So, I waited the extra thirty minutes or so and finally we connected and I picked him up. We then headed into town looking for an authentic Tex-Mex, local restaurant to catch some lunch at. We succeeded. Then on to the Grand Hyatt hotel in downtown San Antonio near the River Walk, the former HemisFair and the Alamo ("Remember the Alamo").

This is where I sit as I write this post. My room on the 21st floor of the Grand Hyatt is quite a bit more luxurious than My McVansion in a Walmart parking lot. The view is reasonable. We off loaded all the materials and equipment I had on board the Suburban, so it's once again, empty. Now, I await the other four members of the team who are flying in from Virginia. Unfortunately, their flight has now been delayed by about two and a half hours. So, it's rest and catch up time on this new blog post and some emails and some reading. It looks like I'll be at the airport at about 10:00 PM or later when I retrieve the rest of the team from the airport. I am now relaxing and preparing to go pick them up and be ready for the beginning of the conference, tomorrow morning. The next four days until about 2:00 PM on Wednesday will be BUSY days. After that I pack a very small amount in the Suburban, take only one member of the team back to the airport and begin making my way back to Virginia. I'll make, yet, another stop in Austin, TX (likely spending the night there), while I visit my former recording engineer employee, Bill Smith and his lovely bride, Diane. Then start marking time back to Virginia on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and back to base camp in WV on Saturday night.

I'll probably have one more post about this road trip after this, but I'll begin catching up on the earlier Shakedown Cruise trip and the many and varied experiences of that adventure over the next week.

Changing of the Guard - What A Weekend!!!

I'm just fresh back from the 26th Annual Veteran Speakers Retreat. I have personally attended at least 20 of them and possibly closer to 23 of them. I've also had the honor, privilege and pleasure of being the Coordinator of the retreat for the past 12 years. It's been a labor of love with love being the dominant word in that phrase. The event is by invitation only and is capped at 60 participants who include veteran professional speakers (those typically in the 50 and up age bracket and with 20 or more years of speaking in a professional capacity) and their spouses/significant others.

It's an amazing gathering of individuals, each with tremendous amounts of knowledge, experience and abilities. They have literally spoken to every level of individual from monarchs and heads of state of countries around the world, the President of the United States (in the White House) and his cabinet and invited guests, to virtually every major corporation in the world to small businesses to educators, religious leaders, students and those who find themselves, unfortunately, on the unemployment and welfare rolls.

As the Coordinator of this event, it has been my responsibility to pull together everything necessary for the three and a half day event including the venue, the program, the promotion, the registration, recreational/sightseeing opportunities, entertainment and the prestigious "Legends of the Speaking Profession" Awards banquet where we typically honor five new Legends and two posthumous Legends. Some of those honored have included Art Linkletter, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, (all posthumously), Zig Ziglar, Bill Gove, Dave Yoho, Suzy Sutton, Patricia Ball, Barbara Glanz, John Jay Daly, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones and many others, some names more recognizable than others. At current count, there are 83 individuals who have received this coveted designation over the past 14 years.

No, I have not done this all single-handedly. I have had a dedicated planning committee who has handled many of the various details for me. I also had a dear friend and colleague, the late John Jay Daly, who was my co-coordinator for the first 7 years until his untimely death in 2009.

But, as I have said, there comes a time for everything and the best time to pass the baton, hand over the reins, change the guard is when everything is at its peak. This year was, probably, the best-executed retreat of the dozen I have coordinated. Everything went off like clockwork. The venue, the small, family owned Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, (near Carlisle and not far from Harrisburg) was right on top of their game and went beyond the call of duty on several occasions. The playhouse provided us with a fantastic production of the long running, award winning musical comedy, "Hairspray." The Legends award banquet and program went off without a hitch and ended on time, a real challenge with a room full of professional speakers. However, they are professionals and followed their cues precisely. So, my decision to make this my last event to coordinate was correct. As I jokingly said to several people, "I finally got it right!" They all suggested that I've always had it right.

The New Guard

The new guard is made up of three long-time members of the Planning Committee. It was actually quite difficult in locking in a replacement team for myself. For some reason, no one wanted the job of Coordinator and kept saying they didn't feel they could live up to what I had done over the past dozen years. It's true that I've had some meeting planning/executing experience in a variety of venues during my professional career. But, I'm really not all that extraordinary. I simply create a list of steps and follow them each year. However, there are some things that take some special skills and, perhaps, a little finesse like selecting an appropriate venue and negotiating the best deal (that meets the needs of the group the best). I also happen to have management, administrative, negotiating, people and audio & video technical skills and experience. This seems to be somewhat intimidating to some others. However, they are all skills that can be learned and honed and I'm also a great support person and pretty good teacher.

The Changing of the Guard

So, on Saturday, August 17, 2013, I passed the sword to the new guards. I have complete confidence in their competence and combined abilities. But, mostly, I'm impressed with their enthusiasm. One of the reasons I determined it was my time to step aside was because I was feeling my own creativity waning with regard to the necessity for any event of this nature to continue to evolve and prosper. The enthusiasm, excitement and creativity is what I've already seen beginning to manifest itself in this new team. My position now is to support, provide whatever advice and counsel I can and be their cheerleader. I'm up for it.

The Sign

Now, the surprises for me were several. As the changing of the guard part of the morning session began, just before lunch, I was doing a low key thanks for the support of the group of people who allowed me the privilege of serving them for these 12 years, the "Father" of this retreat, Dave Yoho, who had coordinated it for 14 years prior to John, my co-coordinator, and me taking over in 2002, came up front and unveiled an Ed Helvey Appreciation Day sign.

The Scroll

The unveiling of the sign brought about a standing ovation. But, that wasn't all, I was then presented with a framed scroll that was presented to me on behalf of all in attendance and the many others who have attended in the past and weren't able to attend this year. And another standing ovation followed the presentation of the scroll. (I was beginning to think we were having an aerobics session.)

The Scroll read:

The Basket of Notes

But, that was not enough. I was then presented with an empty basket into which a huge pile of envelopes was poured. These envelopes contained notes from people, both in attendance and not in attendance, expressing their thoughts and feelings about my service and leadership of the event for these dozen years. They were all gathered without my knowledge (pretty tricky since I "pepper" myself throughout the various address lists we've created). And, yes, yet another standing ovation followed. Sheesh! I'm still opening those envelopes and reading the wonderful thoughts and feelings my friends (they are all my friends, even if we didn't know each other before they attended their first retreat) sent to me.

The Gift

Then I was presented with a small, gift-wrapped box. I unwrapped it and inside I found a beautiful leather wallet/card holder. It was empty, but was quickly filled when I was presented with a check for a sizeable sum of money. I should mention, this is an all volunteer organization, no one, other than those we contract with for services, is paid for our service. It was a wonderful gift and very gratefully received by me. I have already designated it as the "seed" money to begin my next project. Yes! That's right! I'm "living free" and I'm also living a "location independent" lifestyle (which will become pretty much full-time by sometime in September), but as a serial entrepreneur, I cannot not be productively doing something entrepreneurial and helpful to society. So, later in this post I'll introduce you to just what that's going to be.

One More Surprise!

Everything I described above took place on Saturday morning, just prior to lunch. But, one of the "newbies" to the retreat (a newbie is a first time participant) was a fellow by the name of John Doe (no that's not his real name, but he asked to remain anonymous). John and I are in the same age bracket. (That now means we both sport white beards. John was sporting his. I have not sported one in several years.) We've known each other for close to 30 or more years, but haven't seen each other in years. John kept catching up with me as I was running around doing my usual coordination of the many behind the scene details that make an event like this run smoothly and enjoyable for everyone in attendance.

John kept telling me he needed to get with me privately. Well, snatching private time with any of my friends during these events has been one of the pleasures I've personally had to forego most of the time. But, John was insistent. I've always liked John. He's a terrific person and since this was his first time at the retreat and the first time we've seen each other in years, I wanted to spend a little one to one time with him. So, I set a time on Friday afternoon after I had supervised the contractors installing the rear projection screen and draping and the staging people installed the small stage for the Legends award program and I knew I could take some "me" time.

John and I met, passed some pleasantries and did a little catching up. Then John started to describe some things about his early speaking career and how one individual had helped him, taught him about audio products and professionally producing them, all of which he'd been using through his 30 year career to this point. He said this person never asked for any kind of remuneration and placed no expectations on John. He simply shared his knowledge and expertise to help someone else with his career.

The Medal

That's when John said that the person he was speaking of was me. WOW! That floored me. I've helped lots of people with many different things over the years and I continue to do that today. Even though I've made the major part of my living from my work primarily in audio and to a lesser degree in video production, I've always felt whatever talent I may have and the knowledge and experience I've gained throughout my career has been a gift and it's meant to be shared. Sure! I could have made a lot more money if I'd have been more ruthless and focused on myself and the dollar sign, but I've done well enough and been blessed to spend my life "living free" in another way, essentially, doing what I loved doing and earning enough to have a great life. Back to John. He then explained about a new concept he was working on for the business world to recognize "heroes." At which time, he revealed the "Hero" medal you see pictured below and presented it to me as one of his heroes. Whoa! I was floored and speechless, folks. And you know, by reading this blog that it's not often I don't have lots of words to express myself. He went on to tell me that only six of these medals have been presented to date, so I fell into a very elite group of people. Behold! My Hero Medal.

You can probably read the words around the outside of the gold medal. They say, "Help, Respect and Encourage Others." So, let me say, it's a very humbling experience to have someone call you their Hero and let you know that something you did so many years ago made such a powerful impact on their life.

John explained more about why he created this medal, its importance and the value placed in this symbolic gesture. Remember, it's been years since I shared my talent, knowledge and experience with John. Who knows how many years it's been since we've visited with one another? What set me back more was that, as John was explaining all this, I, too, have been working on a project and our thinking and values, without any coordination, were in the same channel. Déjà vu?

The Hometown Hero Project

I am now unveiling, for the first time anywhere, what I will be doing as I travel across this great land exploring the geography, national and state parks, natural beauty, rural areas, farms, villages, small towns, medium sized cities and big cities (yes, while I've been to most of the big cities of our country, there is still plenty more for me to see and learn there, too). But mostly, I want to experience as many people as I can. I want to find and eat at "Mel's Diner," Betty's Cafe," "Bill's Barbecue Barn" and all the other great, small, privately owned and operated restaurants and businesses. I want to visit businesses, large and small that are the economic pulse of our country. I want to visit the farms and ranches where food is grown. You get the point.

But, for many years I have felt that we don't even scratch the surface in recognizing the REAL heroes of our society and country. Sure, we hear and see all the celebrity athletes, movie/TV and political stars who are called "heroes," but are they really? They are highly paid professionals who may be winners and champions at what they do, but they are not true heroes. We have our giants like Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Jeff Besos, Meg Whitman and other well-publicized business leaders who do great charitable works, but are they really heroes?

How about my friend in Virginia who operates his volunteer farm that is completely operated by hundreds of volunteers and who has contributed about one million pounds of produce to the Blue Ridge food bank that helps feed undernourished folks in 21 counties.

How about the young boy in Pennsylvania a number of years ago who gathered blankets and other necessities and had his parents drive him in to sections of Philadelphia where there were homeless people and passed these items out.

How about the wounded warriors who put themselves in the line of fire to save or rescue his/her comrades and returned home forever scarred, yet still selflessly goes out of his/her way to help others in his or her community.

How about the dedicated Little League coaches who accept all kids on the team and make everyone feel worthy and important regardless of winning or losing.

How about the volunteers who have saved lives in home, business and wild fires.

How about those who risk their own lives saving people from floods, tornadoes, accidents, etc.

The list is long, but the recognition is short. If these true hometown heroes are lucky, they may receive a short article in a local paper and it's gone, a flash in the pan, so to speak. In my thinking, it's these volunteers, military men and women, schoolteachers, college professors, religious leaders, business leaders, men and women from all walks of life, boys and girls to senior citizens who are the Hometown Heroes who need to be recognized.

These heroes don't ask for anything in return whether remuneration or recognition. They do what they do selflessly, often without regard of personal expense, personal safety or what others think. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors, all religious and secular backgrounds, all intelligence, educational and talent levels. The mainstream media occasionally does a story about one of these folks, but while these stories provide good public affairs material, they don't sell commercial time or push the ratings up. However, these are really the people who are the foundation of this nation. They may be or someday become great business people, champion athletes, Emmy, Tony or Academy Award winning actors, Grammy winning musicians or a recognized artists, well-known scientists, astronauts, medical doctors, etc. But, it's not what they do professionally that makes them heroes. It's who they are in their hometowns and who they selflessly share with to the betterment of someone else's life or at personal risk of life and limb to help someone else or save his or her life. This is what the Hometown Hero Project is about.

Now that I've wrapped up my tenure as the Coordinator of the Veteran Speakers Retreat and have been so richly rewarded by my friends and colleagues at VSR and have been recognized by my friend John Doe as a hero to him, it's my turn to begin recognizing those I feel are much more deserving of the title of "Hero" than I am or ever will be. I have the time to focus on those few things that I feel driven to accomplish to leave behind as a positive legacy of my time on this planet, the greatest of which is the Hometown Hero Project. I'm hoping that once I get this launched it will spread around the world and will raise the stature and values of all people. I will, of course, be looking for all forms of support for this endeavor including moral, business, personal and financial assistance to carry it out. But, all those things will come as the project evolves. Look forward to more information about the Hometown Hero Project in the near future as I develop the groundwork and reveal the scope of this project.

And, finally, I want to, again, shout out to my friend, John Doe, for his wonderful gift to me and the encouragement that I know will spur me on. I hope he will allow me to reveal his name, so I can truly give him credit for the inspiration he and my Hero medal have provided me. And, to all my professional speaker friends - Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! It's been an honor to serve you. It's my privilege to know you. Thanks for 12 great years - to my dedicated planning committee members and VSR participants. I'm truly blessed.