Friends – Dave Glardon

If You Want a New Direction, You Have to Change Your Path

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a nice start. Yes, it’s been a while since my last post, so I thought it was time to visit old friends.

First things first – some of you have asked about my stroke recovery, and I’m happy to say it’s going really well. The damage appears to have been minimal, affecting mainly my left-side strength, short-term memory, and my ability to regulate body temperature correctly. Otherwise, I’m the same old me.

I attribute a lot of this to the fact that I was pretty healthy before the stroke. Overweight, yes. But still healthy. I take really good plant-based vitamins every day, and I’m sure that helps. But our lifestyle when we travel is so much healthier than when we’re home. We walk, we swim, we visit friends. It all adds up.

We’ve lived in our current home for 23 years. We have some pretty awesome neighbors, but the fact remains, most of us stay hidden within our own four walls. Other than the occasional wave as we drive past somebody sitting outside and a once-a-year block picnic, we’re mostly just occupants of the same street.

And, let’s just say it – that pretty well sucks. We are all social creatures by nature (some more than others), and sitting in a closed-up house in front of the TV is not healthy, physically or emotionally. We need interaction. We need camaraderie. We need hugs. And most of all, we need adventure.

Do we live this way by choice? I guess so, since we’ve done it for so long. But if you had asked me 23 years ago if this was a choice I’d make, the answer would have been a resounding “NO!” It just sort of worked out that way. And, judging by the lack activity in the neighborhood, we’re not alone.

It’s easy to start down a path – any path. Changing that path is uncomfortable, even when we realize it leads someplace we don’t care to go. It takes effort and a fair amount of self-discipline to find a better path. And that’s true of everything, from finances and personal habits to socializing and chasing our dreams. Sometimes, the rut is just the easiest path to follow.

But, as a good friend said years ago, a rut is nothing but a grave with the ends open. It takes a conscious decision to get out of that rut. Yes, we all face challenges and obstacles to achieving the life we desire. But it can be done. We just can’t do it by following the well-worn path to the other end of the grave.

If life isn’t what you’d hoped it would be, do something about it. Set a goal and go after it. Make some new friends. Spend more time with the friends you’ve got. Learn a new skill, take a trip someplace you’ve never been, volunteer in the community. At the very least, you’ll develop new interests. And you may just find yourself on the path to where you always wanted to be.

That’s all for now, friends. Life is short, and tomorrow is never guaranteed. Get out and make the most of it. Meanwhile, have an awesome day!

If You Want to See More Clearly, Try Covering Your Eyes

November 10, 2020November 10, 2020 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post. Some of you have commented, and I think a few have enjoyed the reprieve. I get a little wordy sometimes, which is to say I never shut up. If you knew me personally, that would come as no surprise.

I can’t say this break was intentional, but I’m learning not to force myself when the muse just isn’t there. We all need time to reflect, and sometimes to just step away. The past few weeks have brought a mix of emotion, so I let it flow the best way I can. I know a lot of you feel the same.

A month ago, a very close family member was diagnosed with Covid-19. Thankfully, the symptoms were mild, and it resolved without any treatment. We can be thankful that, for some people, it isn’t as severe. The rest of us were tested as a precaution, and we were all negative. Funny how, in the medical community, “negative” is good. I’ve never quite understood that.

Last week, we got news that our dog may be very sick. We’re taking him to a canine oncologist today to confirm what appears to be bladder cancer. He’s shown some symptoms for a few months, but veterinary appointments were not plentiful during Covid. It took more than two months to get him in, and the outlook wasn’t good. We’re praying for better news today.

And through the middle of all this came the election – a quadrennial event that used to bring out the best in us, regardless of our differences. It was a time of hope, a time for us to make our voices heard, and to pat others on the back in the knowledge that, whether our side won or lost, we could all at least hope for a positive outcome.

I was reminded the other day of my last Indian Ocean cruise in the Navy, way back in 1984. It was in the final days of the Cold War, and just in case we weren’t aware of the adversarial nature of our relationship with Russia, we received a daily reminder every morning as a Russian spy plane would fly past with an F-14 on each side. They saw us, we saw them. Cat and mouse.

One afternoon, the captain told us we were allowing a Russian cruiser to come along our port side. I grabbed my camera and joined a dozen other guys on a weather deck to view the enemy first-hand. There they were, casually bobbing along as if taunting us to make a move. As cameras clicked, we shielded the sun from our eyes to get a better look. The mood was somber.

At one point, a guy next to me handed me his camera with a high-powered zoom lens. As I focused in on the other ship, I saw my enemy’s face for the first time. There they were, dressed in dungarees, not unlike our own. Some were snapping pictures as the others shielded the sun from their eyes to get a better look. Their mood was somber. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

You see, in that moment I realized my “enemy” was a sailor, just like me. They missed their family, they missed good food, and wanted nothing more than a peaceful existence with prosperity and hope for a brighter future. The only difference between us was geography, and the leaders we would follow into battle if the time ever came. Thankfully, it didn’t.

It’s easy to see somebody else as the enemy when all we know about them is that they don’t look like us or think exactly like we do. It’s easy to take one aspect of somebody’s life, a simple difference of opinion, and assume the worst about their motives and character. After all, your intent is pure, so anybody who disagrees must be impure. It’s that easy, friends.

And it’s just as easy to look across a few hundred yards of separation and see somebody who, deep down, wants mostly the same things we do. They want peace. They want security. They want justice and a brighter future. We may define those things in different terms, and we may see a different path to achieving them. But that doesn’t make us enemies. It just means we need to look closer to find that common ground.

Our nation has been through a time of turmoil like most of us have never seen. In some respects, the worst is behind us, and in others, it’s just beginning. But make no mistake – we will never begin to heal until we put down the swords and work toward a common purpose. It’s there if we only reach out and embrace it. There is no other way.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Follow @dglardon

Busy is a Four-Letter Word

October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your day is off to a great start.

My goal for the past few years has been to send out some words of inspiration each morning. For the most part, I’ve accomplished that goal. Some days are better than others, and some days there’s nothing at all. I’m sure I could come up with some pretty good excuses, but the fact is I’ve just been really busy. Boss, I hope you’re reading this.

Any time we run into old friends, the conversation goes something like this. “It’s so good to see you! Has it really been that long? I’ve been meaning to call you but – (here it comes) – I’ve just been really busy!” And, nine times out of ten the other person nods their head and says, “Me too.” Good save! Because, let’s not forget the fact that they didn’t call you, either.

Busy is a way of life. We’re all busy. We all have too many things to do and not enough time to get them all done. And it doesn’t help that we’re still not supposed to be going out and spending time with friends, or even spending too much time in the grocery store. There’s a virus out there folks, and it’s picking up steam again. This has been a really long year.

I miss my friends. At work, I was designated the “official greeter of the fifth floor” because I said good morning to everybody. Bosses, janitors, co-workers, they all got a daily greeting. My day couldn’t really begin until I’d made my rounds. Sure, it took a little time. By “a little time” I mean a few seconds each. But it put all of us in a more productive frame of mind. Win-win.

Now, I’m working from home. My office is in the basement, and nobody comes down here unless there’s a tornado. My daily greetings extend to anybody sitting in the living room as I take a bathroom break, and the people I interact with in online meetings throughout the day. It’s better than nothing, but I miss being able to chat with old friends.

And here’s the thing – I could talk to some of those people every day. Only problem is, we’re not supposed to do that while we’re on the clock, and I’ve never really exchanged phone numbers with anybody. Not even close friends. Why? I know how to find them, and they know how to find me. But knowing is one thing – doing something about it is another matter entirely.

When was the last time you gave a friend a call? When was the last time a friend called you? Odds are, if you’re over the age of forty, you have to think about that. There are just too many other things competing for our time. Work, kids, household chores, football games, presidential debates … the list goes on and on. “I meant to call you, but I’ve been too busy.”

Well, let’s just throw this out there – if you’re too busy to call a friend, then it’s time to offload some of that “busy-ness” and carve out some time to live. I’m not talking about exchanging oxygen – I’m talking about living, finding some level of enjoyment and personal accomplishment every day. Not just on the job – in life.

Just about every company I’ve ever worked for talks about work-life balance. Okay, usually in their recruiting material, but they at least recognize the value of rejuvenating at the end of the day. And here’s a tip, friends – rejuvenating doesn’t mean cooking dinner, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, or fixing the car. It means finding something that makes you smile, maybe even laugh.

And few things make us smile and laugh more than talking with friends. On your worst day, it’s hard not to enjoy the company of an old friend. You may not be the life of the party, and you may walk right back into whatever gloom is waiting as soon as the encounter is over. But for that brief moment in time, you feel better.

Are you too busy to call a friend? Then do something about it. Don’t have any phone numbers? I doubt that, but okay – get some. I know most of us haven’t seen a phone book in a long time, but they do still exist. You can find numbers online, look in the church directory, ask a mutual friend, or just send an email. “I miss chatting with you. Can I give you a call?”

Especially now, when we’ve all been isolated more than normal, it’s so important that we maintain relationships and spend at least a few minutes each day with somebody who can take our mind off the world’s problems. Make the time. Pick up the phone. Reach out. You never know – they may be missing you as much as you’re missing them.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Follow @dglardon