An Elephant Never Forgets . . . Her BFF

The above video is a story of love and devotion . . . between Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog. The bond they share is as deep as it is authentic. Sadly, the story has

Harry Chapin—”Flowers Are Red”

This little song is a powerful indictment of our educational system. May every child dance

A Wonderful Definition of God

Swami Sri Yukteswar

I really like this six-word definition of God given to Paramahansa Yogananda by his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar:

God is that supreme intelligence which governs everything.

But I also like this GOD acronym that just occurred to me:

Governing Omnipresent Divinity

Whatever and whoever God is to you, may you

Billy Vera—At This Moment

My wife, daughter and I vividly remember the Family Ties episode in September 1985 that featured the Billy Vera & The Beaters song, At This Moment. It was a poignant and powerful encounter between Michael J. Fox‘s character, Alex Keaton, and Tracy Pollan‘s character, Ellen Reed. The chemistry between the two was unmistakable, and indeed, they married in real life on July 16, 1988, and have since had four children together.

This song remains one of my favorites. Every time I hear it, I think of that scene from Family Ties. I love this story that Billy Vera told me about the song for my book, Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything. Here is an excerpt from his story in my book:

Charice to SIng at Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball

Now that the Inauguration is over, the post below is outdated. For coverage on Charice’s Inaugural Week performances, click here.

Charice Pempengco, the sixteen-year-old singing sensation from the Philippines who I’ve written about extensively, announced the big news live on Wowowee, a Philippines noon-time variety and game show, on Saturday, January 10. She’ll be performing at President Obama’s Inaugural Ball on Sunday, January 18.

UPDATE!

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Charice revealed that she will be singing God Bless America and One Moment In Time at the Inaugural Ball. The two songs were chosen by Obama’s staff.

You’ve Gotta Play the Foot You’re Dealt

Tony Melendez was born in Nicaraugua without any arms. At age sixteen, he began learning how to play the guitar . . . with his feet! 

When Melendez played before the Pope in 1987, the Pope approached him from the stage to kiss him in appreciation.

Tony now lives in Branson, Missouri, and works as a full-time musician.

People like Tony inspire me. I can’t imagine facing such a challenge. Yet what choice do we have but to accept whatever life brings our way? We must find the courage to

Go, You Chicken Fat, Go!

We played "Go, You Chicken Fat, Go!" on a phonograph like this one. That's me, Christmas 1959.

What a joy it was to hear this song again! I have happy memories of my sister and me scurrying to finish cleaning our rooms by the time this song had finished playing on our little phonograph.

I hadn’t realized that JFK had sent this record to every school in 1961. I had also forgotten it was the incomparable Robert Preston (of The Music Man fame) who sang it.

Does anyone else

“Sixty Seconds” Night at the Continuum Center

We had a great evening of storytelling and lively conversation at the Continuum Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, October 1. There were close to 100 people in the audience to hear six of the contributors to my book, Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything. I shared some photos from that evening in an earlier post but I now have the full video from that evening, courtesy of video master Roger Anderson. I hope you enjoy the presentations!

 

I KICK THINGS OFF WITH A STORY

Corey’s Coming

Harry Chapin

This song by Harry Chapin is one of my favorites, yet I don’t think anyone else in the world has ever heard of it!

I’m a hopeless romantic and have always been

“Still Alice” by Lisa Genova

My video interview with Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice

I read the first page of Still Alice and thought, Wow, this is really well written. I’m going to enjoy this. And enjoy it I did. It’s a novel about Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard professor who begins a sudden descent into early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. If that doesn’t sound like an entertaining bedtime read, I urge you to reconsider. It is written with great compassion and insight, and largely from Alice’s point of view. And did I mention it was well written?

I e-mailed Lisa to tell her how impressed I was with her book and we struck up a conversation. To my surprise, she asked me to write a testimonial for the back cover. She had self-published the first edition and it had subsequently been purchased by Simon & Schuster, which chose today as the release date for 250,000 copies.

Lisa Genova

FYI, most books get a first printing of perhaps 10,000. Such a large run is indicative of how huge this book is going to be. Anyone who has ever been touched by Alzheimer’s or knows someone who has is going to want to buy multiple copies so they can give it to current and future caregivers to prepare them for what lies ahead.

Here is my full testimonial:

I wish I could have read Lisa Genova’s masterpiece before my dad passed away following a10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s. I would have better understood and appreciated what was unfolding in his confused and ravaged mind. I knew that he was “still in there” somewhere, and yet . . . I might have been able to more compassionately accompany him, as Lisa so brilliantly put it, beyond “the choking weeds and sludge in [his] mind to a place that was pristine and still intact, hanging on.” This book is as important as it is impressive, and

Million Dollar Man

I love this story from Daniel Schantz of Moberly, Missouri, which appeared in the November 2007 issue of Guideposts. The fact that he received the three bills was amazing, but what is truly wonderful is the way he interpreted the gifts.

This is a perfect example of “symbolic sight,” which bestselling author Caroline Myss urges her readers to use to  probe beneath the surface of their experiences so they can better understand how life events are woven into the tapestry of divine design. Interpreting events, relationships, and challenges symbolically, rather than literally, helps you perceive the deeper meaning of life experiences.

I hope you enjoy it!

I glanced at my bank statement and frowned. A familiar thought struck me again: If only I had a million dollars. That’s what it would take. Soon I would be facing retirement and, after years of teaching at a small Christian college, I didn’t have much in the bank to show for it. I recalled Mark Twain’s line, “It is good to begin life poor….” Yeah, I thought, and the time not to be poor is when you are growing old.

Good Night and Good Sleep!

Ever notice how you don’t sleep as well when you go to bed with troubles on your mind? That’s a typical night for many of us—worrying about financial, job or relationship issues as soon as the light is switched off.

It recently dawned on me how to break this habit and drift off to sleep peacefully and joyfully, which naturally results in waking up well rested and energized!

What works for me might not work for you, but just in case it does, I wanted to share it with you.

A few days ago, I recalled the following parable:

Sportswomanship At Its Finest

A women’s college softball game. A devastating injury. At stake, the outcome of the game . . . and one woman’s dream. Be prepared to

Relish Today, Be Excited for Tomorrow!

The quest for enlightenment is a wonderfully exciting journey. The more consciously you live, the sweeter life becomes.

Ironically, as you expand the scope of your awareness, the scope of your non-awareness expands as well. You glimpse the vastness of how much there is to know and humbly realize how little of it you comprehend.

If answers to crucial questions continue to elude you, do not despair. Rather, be excited that there is so much yet to learn!

I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try and love the questions themselves as if

Hello, Danger. You Go Now.

I do not have the need for speed; I keep my distance from motorcycles, race cars and even roller coasters. Nor do I relish the thought of climbing a wall of rock or a snow-capped mountain. In other words, I am not a thrill-seeking kind of guy—at least not in regard to external activities. I find all the adventure and exhilaration I need through the potent combination of a challenging project and a keyboard.

Please, no calls to the Geek Squad to hunt me down, sedate me, and release me into the wild. I do manage to get outdoors once every so often all on my own. I think once I even started to get a tan.

A friend sent me the following video of guys BASE jumping in a wingsuit with the note that it took her breath away. I agree that it’s amazing stuff. And I suspect that a good portion of those who watch it will add it to their Bucket List. Me? Just watching these daredevils terrifies me. Excuse me while I go throw up.

Speaking of wingsuits, here’s the story of Raphael Dumont, the first human being to land on water in a wingsuit without a parachute. I think I just passed out.

And here is Motocross rider, FMX rider and all-around daredevil Travis Pastrana skydiving . . . without a parachute! The only way I’d jump out of