Turn, Turn, Turn

My youngest sister recently sent retirement good wishes my way and included the YouTube clip shown below. Wow...talk about taking you back in time instantly! The angelic voice of Judy Collins and the melody penned by Pete Seeger (with the help of the book of Ecclesiastes) put me right back in the mid-sixties.

And for me, it's time to turn into the retirement season, right after I listen to Ms Collins' beautiful voice while gazing into those beautiful eyes!

To Everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To Everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To Everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To Everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

So God Made a Farmer

From the time my paternal Grandfather placed me on the seat of an old John Deere tractor, I've always had an interest in farming. I'm sure that led me to purchase the 40-acre farm we lived and worked outside of Allegan, Michigan in 1975. More on that ten-year endeavor to follow, but first...

A friend sent me this YouTube video featuring the unique narration of the unforgettable Paul Harvey. It speaks for itself.

Short-Timer

My final work day at this company is rapidly approaching. It's coming at me so quickly that I'm afraid I'll look back afterwards and think, "why didn't I...? I should've...". I must admit that my focus is on what type of part-time gig will follow. It's a terrific time though, to be sure, very exciting and filled with both anticipation and just a bit of melancholy-ness, too.

The past 13 years with this company have been terrific and I consider myself fortunate to have been here and participated in the growth we've experienced. But things have changed as one would expect, so it's high time this old guy moves on.

A retired friend encouraged me to make the most of the time left here, because the relationships and the day-to-day regimentation will soon be gone. Words of wisdom, I'd bet.

So, here we go down the very short road leading to that last day. You can be sure I plan to make the most of it. Fasten your seat belt, Paul, we've begun our decent as we prepare for landing.

Arizona Time-Lapse Beauty

Incredible natural beauty, captured, modified and presented in a unique way. 

Be sure to view in HD on Full Screen with sound. Kudos to Dustin Farrell.

Think Different

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Don't Settle

We lost a genius yesterday. I'm not using the word lightly. One of, if not the world's best innovator has left the building. Thank God he had time to give us so much.

Apple Computer's main man and driving force, Steve Jobs, admired by many and despised by a few, lost his seven-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He couldn't innovate his way out of that one, very unfortunately. Jobs' life proved the existence of the American Dream. Strange, isn't it, that the way so many people heard of his passing was via a tool that he created and constantly improved upon.

I fondly remember that my first home computer was a Macintosh SE which I used along with a desktop publishing program, Aldus PageMaker, in the late 1980s to publish a financial newsletter first, and then a genealogy letter detailing my search through our family history. I can smile now remembering the limitations of that machine (it did have dual floppy disk drives!) compared to what we have today, but it was a start down the road that opened the computing world to everyone. Innovation at its very best.

I hope my sons and my grandkids—anyone reading this—will heed the advice Jobs gave to the Stanford University graduating class at their 2005 commencement ceremony. Take these challenges to heart and act upon them—now. After all, our time is limited.

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. 

*************

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”