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The
"Your Life is Your Story" Blog Archives
© Tom
Gilbert
Read
about
quality family history and life story news, views, methods, products,
links, services
...and whatever else catches our fancy of personal
historian
September,
2018
current
blog entries
blog
archive
index
Baseball
Season Ending Drama
September 30, 2018
Oh how I love baseball! Those of you who have followed my postings over
the years know this to be true. The game represents so many things that
I find important in life, suoing above and beyond, doing your best, and
also
knowing how to handle both winning and losing.
ch as facing each
moment, knowing when to
to take a pitch (pause and reflect) or be laser-like focused and ready
to hit (when you have
to make
a decision). There is offense and defense, teamwork and camaraderie,
leadership and rules, g
It really is a game that
encompasses it all. I even wrote about this in Seeing
Life Through the Eyes of a Baseball Fan.
Today is the final day of the regular season of Major League Baseball.
Some teams are just playing it out and then heading home for the
offseason. Others have clinched a spot in the playoffs and are gearing
up for the games to determine who will play in the World Series. And
there are still a couple of divisions in the National League (the
Central and West) where things are up in the air and four teams who
will be in the playoffs are battling to determine who wins their
division and who will be in the wild card one game playoff. So it is
pretty fun to be a fan and exciting to follow the exploits of the Los
Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs.
As a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan I've already enjoyed watching my team
win well over 100 games and locking up their division. It has truly
been a historic season, but anything less than winning the World Series
will be a bit of a dissapointment after such a great season.
No matter how you feel about baseball remember that life is typically a
long haul, similar to the stretch of a baseball season. There are ups
and downs, high drama, injuries, rainouts, double-headers, intense
battles, great plays and a lots of fun.
I've been reading a very enjoyable memoir by Jon Peters, a baseball
star in his youth who set the record for most high school pitching
victories in a row (51) in 1989. He loves baseball and was sure he he
would eventually have a career in professional ball, but life threw him
a few changeups. He struggled through adversity and shares his story in
When
Life Grabs You by the Baseballs.
Family
History Helpful Resources
September 24, 2018
September is almost finished. The summer has wrapped up, Fall is in the
air, and when October rolls around it is a great time to take stock of
your family because it is National
Family History Month. What type of family
history have you "harvested"?
If the answer is little to none then I encourage you to start planning
to do something. It could be as small a project as a picture book or
scrapbook, or more extensive like a manuscript about the patriarchs of
your familly.
Personally, I favor doing memoirs. This form of personal history is
flexible because you focus on a theme, like your love of cars or
baseball, or maybe you want to write about a particular time in your
life, a slice of your personal history. A friend of mine recently did
this with his memoir, Head
Bangin' Radio,
about working in radio during the heady days of hard rock and heavy
metal, especially at the renowned one time king of metal radio
stations, Pure Rock 105.5 KNAC.
 I
worked at that station in the late 1980's and I remember well the
diehard fans and the love of music that we all shared, along with some
wild times and, let us say, adventurous exploits. The bands, like
Metallica, Guns n' Roses, Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne (just a few)
were heroes to our listeners and the station was something of a hero to
the bands because we played a lot of music that other stations in
Southern California wouldn't consider giving any exposure.
Ted Pritchard, better known as Thrasher or ThrashPie, morning man and
entertainer, worked hard to write his memoir. I read it over the
weekend and it was fun, funny and brought back a lot of memories. One
of the things that struck me was how it helped the author reminisce
about his life in radio and some of the amazing things that happened
along the way, including a real brush with near death (read the book to
find out more).
I've posted plenty of resources for you about preserving your story and
you can check
them out on this website.
If you haven't explored them then please take a look. And start
considering what an adventure your life has been. You
probably have a pretty good story to tell.
Accountability
for Our Actions
September 18, 2018
I am going to admit something that is not very flattering. In my early
adult years I pretty much did what I wanted to without much awareness
of how it affected others. That mean that I was frequently blunt or
even rude. And even when I did think I was being considerate - or
"diplomatic" - I could easily ruffle feathers.
Today I am better. But there are still times when I discover after the
fact that my actions or attitude was not as polite, kind or friendly as
it could be. It's a character defect and I am aware of it and still not
completely free of it.
The good news is that I know
that
I am sometimes abrupt. Often it is not a problem, but if my directness
collides with someone's over-sensitivity then it usually doesn't go so
well. So
the awareness of my poor interaction is the beginning of making
the necessary change.
What should we do as people to grow beyond our shortcomings? This is
the stuff of therapists and spiritual directors. Twelve step groups
such as Alcoholics Anonymous encourage people to take personal
inventory and when you realize you are wrong then promptly make amends.
This is called accountability for your actions.
It seems so simple and it is. But it's not so easy in practice. I
really think our world, with our light speed social media interactions
and rush hour all the time approach to life, needs more people taking
stock of their actions and doing something about it.
I know that a life worth living needs to include quality interactions
with others. Here's a call to all of us to daily review our actions and
think about how we can do better. I'd love to see a society that
steadily becomes more civil instead of running in the other direction.
Grand
to Be A Grandparent
September 9, 2018
Happy Grandparents Day
to all the grands! I must say, having been a grandfather for over 8
years now, that it is grand to be a grandparent.
The second Sunday in September is observed as Grandparents
Day.
It is nice to honor grandparents, but it is even better to have the
experience. Raising children is the greatest challenge for most people,
but it also can be the most rewarding experience.
Grandparenting
gives you a chance to be involved in a different way. You know, take
the kids sometimes, but usually you can give them back!
 Some people call taking a picture with your
grandkids to be a grandie.
Funny. Anway, I did that today (#TakeAGrandie).
As you can see, I have a grandson and a granddaughter. I love than more
than tongue can tell.
Grandparents these days are typically babyboomers. We've experienced
some wild times and seen lots of changes in technology. Grands these
days are feeling pretty spunky. But we do also have the depth of life
experiences that sometimes
passes for wisdom. Grand
Magazine, dedicated to grandparenting, has some excellent
reasons for celebrating National Grandparents Day - see more here.
John
McCain and the Measure of a Man
September 2, 2018
If we truly want to look at lives of worth, of legacy and service, of
recognizing what it means to care for life, liberty and dignity, then
we should certainly spend some time observing the life and times of
John McCain.
McCain was laid to rest this weekend and his life has been celebrated
this past week. The senator and Vietnam war hero (for a war where many
American heroes were treated as anything but), engaged in a life of
service. He was true to his beliefs, stuck with his values and
statements as a conservative Republican, and yet, had the ability to
work with those who were often at odd with his political party and
values.
The point of this post is not sentimentalism. If anything, I hope that
I take away from John McCain's life a sense of patriotism combined with
true values. Life is not about being better than others, getting the
biggest pile of wealth, pushing others away who you consider different
or less than, or touting your "greatness".
When I tell people that I believe everyone has a story to tell I am
saying it because we do need to share our stories, our struggles and
our triumphs. You might think your story is too small or insignificant,
but it is not. There are people in your family and circle of friends
who want to know the real you.
At the same time, we can look at McCain's sentiments about his life
through his books and communications to others, and realize that
sharing stories should bring us together and help us find gratitude and
appreciation for our lives, including our differences that often tend
to divide us.
The measure of a man is in the thoughts, words and deeds of a life. It
starts with what we think, gets shaped by what we say, and the proof is
in our actions. Thank you, John McCain, for showing us that in your
life.
| more interesting thoughts on McCain's life and legacy in this
New Yorker
article. |
|
