My Journal

Here I will be posting random notes and articles, thoughts on writing, sometimes the writings of those whom I have enjoyed, and events where I'll be participating.  I will be posting things here on a regular basis, and I will try to keep it interesting.  If there is something you would like to see or read about, please feel free to drop me a line.

May 10, 2008

“Dad, I have a question.”    Whenever I hear that, it’s usually followed by a question about bugs or bodily functions. Sometimes, it’s followed by a family history question, or a question about how old the family dog is. However, as the kids get older, what I like to refer to as a BIG question will occasionally follow that sentence. At dinner one night, my son hit me with a BIG question. As I mentioned, there are always questions, especially with 10 year olds, but this was a BIG question.    "What's your favorite part of your job?"   I work as a physical therapist in a nursing home, and spend a lot of time helping people who, because of physical and mental impairments, can't help themselves. It can be very trying, very physical, and at the end of the day exhausting. I don’t usually see people at their best, but it falls upon me to be as cheerful as possible, even when I don’t really feel particularly cheerful. This was one of those days. So it took me a minute to give him something positive to hang on to.    "My favorite part is making people smile, maybe even get them to laugh a little."    "But Dad," he said, "I thought you were a therapist, not a clown. What do you do, wear a funny nose, and fall down?"    My daughter, also 10, almost choked on her ginger ale as she giggled. “Dad, what do you do?”    "I poke fun at myself, sometimes tell jokes, pretend to do goofy things, and mostly take an interest in who my people are and what their lives are like. If they smile, or if they laugh at me or even with me, they don't worry so much about how they feel. For a short time, they feel better."    "You still do real therapy too, right?" he asked.    Oh yeah, I work very hard. My patients count on me to help them to walk and move better, and to help them get back home. But sometimes, there's a place for fun. The trick is always knowing when and where."    “Kinda like in school. There’s always work to do, but then we get to have Fun Fridays sometimes.”    “Just like that.” I was pretty sure he grasped the idea. I wanted the two of them to know that even work can be fun if you approach it right, and that your approach determines how much fun you can have. It was a good reminder for me, too. He seemed satisfied, my daughter nodded, and my wife smiled. One BIG question down, a lifetime more to go.

May 15, 2008

Recently an old classmate of mine from Randolph High School back in Massachusetts got in touch with me via e-mail. He caught me up on a few things in his life, and a few things about a mutual friend and classmate. With our 30-year high school reunion coming up in October, it got me to thinking about where my life has been. He mentioned in his e-mail that I should try to send a note home to let everyone know whether I would be attending, and to let them know what I’ve been up to. This is a summary of the past thirty years in more or less chronological order:    Since high school, I went to college in Buffalo, New York. I got drunk, met my future wife, got sober, and got my degree. I worked nights and weekends and summers in construction, warehousing, landscaping, garbage collection, babysitting, teaching guitar and even bouncing for a short time to pay for it all. I moved to New York, got my first job as a physical therapist, got married, moved to State College, Pennsylvania in a two compact cars and one small U-haul trailer. I worked as a rehab director for a rural hospital, took a job in Warren, Ohio to start a new clinic for a large private practice. We moved back to New York when mom-in-law became sick to help take care of her, and went to work for the same person I started with. We spent the next eleven years trying to start our family. Finally adopted two brilliant children from the city of Chita, Russia. We started a business, ran an outpatient rehab clinic for ten years, lost it to bad decisions and poor advice. Cost me more than I can describe, including a good friend. Found work as a salesman, an injury prevention consultant, a program developer and on site support specialist for an equipment manufacturer. I began writing my first novel, and published it 3 years later. Lost another job when the corporation I worked for pulled the plug on the program they hired me for. Another period of severe character building followed, including getting my limo license and driving for a friend’s company. Returned to work as a therapist, this time in geriatrics, and have been enjoying it more than ever. I am still writing, with a second novel coming out soon, and three more in the works. Twenty three years later, I am still married to the love of my life, and I’m head over heels about my son and daughter.    So, what have I learned in thirty years? I’ve learned to appreciate what I have by losing almost everything. I’ve learned that there is nothing so devastating that you can’t start over. I’ve learned that there is nothing more important than family. I’ve learned that love and luck are never to be underestimated or taken for granted. And I’ve learned to laugh, long and loud and hard, because life is far too important to be taken seriously.