A Breaded Tenderloin Connoisseur, God, Work is Life; Life is Work, One Angry Fellow

“I do this real moron thing, and it’s called thinking. And apparently, I’m not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.”
— George Carlin

Happy Saturday, I hope you had a good evening; we did; I’ll share more about that later, but for now, let’s do some meditation together.  Are you ready?  Breath in, breath out, ok, now we are ready to consume some words from a happy ass white guy.

I was up and out of here early yesterday; I had a few stops I needed to make, friends and clients that needed some attention. So my morning started picking up coffee at the new Starbucks in Daleville; when I got up to the window, old friends screamed, Anson, how are you?  They used to work in Muncie; it was a small reunion of sorts, it was nice to be remembered.

I drove to see a long-time client and friend, Scott.  I met him at his shop; we talked about family, kids, community, and a little bit of business; it was good to catch up.  I then stopped by and chatted with Jordan; he’s a little concerned about the direction of the country, we shared our thoughts, and I headed to my next stop. Again, I walked into long-time clients to see some new faces. 

One of my old friends from Muncie Sunrise Rotary had taken a job as his controller, he has a new management team, and we spent some time bringing the team up to speed on our risk management program.  It’s nice to go back in time and work as we did in 2019.  After the review, I offered lunch; we headed to an old Muncie iconic bar called the Oasis and had lunch.  I had not been to the “O” for a couple of years; the place has been remolded, someone did a hell of a makeover!

I am a breaded tenderloin connoisseur, no bun, just the tenderloin with a side of pickles and mustard; it’s my Indiana delight. But, as I sat there, I couldn’t help but notice how much the place had changed.  I asked who the owner was; she happened to be in her office, she came out and sat down, and I introduced myself.   She said I know you, and I realized this was a young lady from Beautiful Parker City. 

Cheryl had three kids my kid’s age; we attended the same sporting events but had not seen each other for years.  She heard I moved, and I said, well, I did, but still have a home here.  At the end of the conversation, I reminded her what my company did; she gave me her cell and asked that I have one of our people give her a call.

I left there and headed to my parent’s house.  I met my wife; we had a call at 2:00; as I got out of my car, my cousin from the east coast and his mother were walking by, great timing.  I got a hug and said, “I have a call in 2 minutes!” we ran inside, jumped on our laptop, and ran our call.  It was a good call; we joined my mom and dad on their infamous Beautiful Parker City porch when it ended.  We learned about all our community events and sat for a spell, just enjoying the company of the people who gave me life.

My mother is bothered I don’t use the term God to describe something bigger than myself.  I explained that I was not writing to my mother; I was writing to the world, and not everyone believes in her God.  I reminded her of over 2000 worshiped Gods in our world; she is an atheist to 1999; I love her faith and try and navigate my faith without forcing others to believe what I believe. I know my Christian friends will scold me, but it’s not my place to push my religion on others.  According to one great philosopher:

“Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don’t make me wear your shoes.” — George Carlin

On my way out of town, I stopped and saw my friend Melissa and Karissa; I like that their names rhyme. I saw other locals at their shop, got caught up on their lives, shared some news on our front, and enjoyed an old-school barbershop chat.  After half an hour, I hit the road and headed back to our Indy home; traffic is a shit show and will be for the next two years; it’s a good teaching of patience.

I spent the day in the car, and when in the car, I was listening to old clips of Norm Macdonald. Although Norm is my favorite comedian of all time, I was shocked a couple of weeks ago to learn of his passing.  Norm battled cancer for nine years, never told anyone, and passed without the pity most people seek when going through a traumatic event.

I posted a photo of my daughter on LinkedIn, a connection by the name of P Dutt shared that LinkedIn is not Facebook or a Whatsapp family group; I shared he seemed lovely. But, my work is my life, and my life is my work; I do not make a distinction, and if you have a problem with my way of living, well, maybe we should not be connected. So, it was a fun run, Mr. Dutt, but your negative energy will no longer flow through my sharing of joy and happiness.

Our daughter’s bridal shower is today; my wife and a bunch of other ladies are going to get together to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of our kid.  I will try and see my grandkid; it’s a good friend’s birthday tonight; we will be celebrating a young man turning 50; welcome to the club, Jay.

Well, there you have it, words, ideas, thoughts, and perceptions from a man that appreciated life.  I am at peace, have a grandkid, another on the way, and I suspect more will follow.  I’m in the golden age of life when I am winding down, enjoying my time on this earth, and living it with the love of my life. I hope you, too, are living your best life, learning, living, loving, and learning the ability to turn everything into a gift and opportunity. I am, and for me, that has made all the difference.

“I do this real moron thing, and it’s called thinking. And apparently, I’m not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.”
— George Carlin