Speaking Lesson #1

by | May 26, 2011 | Dorothy Sarnoff | 0 comments

Do you know who spoke BEFORE President Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863?  It was Edward Everett.  He was the main speaker that day. Do you know the first sentence of his speech? No, of course you don’t. Here it is.

Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now reposing from the labors of the waning year, the mighty Alleghenies dimly towering before us, the graves of our brethren beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature. 

Two hours later he finished his speech.  I bet the audience had stopped listening long before he stopped speaking.


After he spoke, President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address.  Do you know the first sentence? If you are an American (and even if you are not) I bet my bottom dollar there is a great chance you do.  Here it is. 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

9 sentences later he finished his speech. 138 years later and we are still listening.


OVERCOME – It’s A Tornado! #6

by | May 25, 2011 | Anonymous, It's A Tornado! - 2011, 2013 | 0 comments
You know the saying, ‘All good things must come to an end’.  And it is true.  But the napkin quote today is also true, ‘All bad things must come to an end, too.’


We have had a wicked week of weather.  The town of Joplin, Missouri is only 125 miles from my town.  As most of America knows, it got hit a few days ago by the most damaging tornado ever measured in the last 60 years.  There are 123 less people in that town today, all killed by the tornado.  Yesterday the weather situation in Oklahoma was terrible as well.  8 people died in the Oklahoma City area, about 100 miles from Tulsa.


That sort of destruction and life loss is a terrible thing, a bad thing, to live through, witness, experience or just watch.  But just as good things don’t last forever, these bad things are now passed as well.  The damage lingers, but new life and new determination to overcome emerges.


In our case we were very lucky.  Storms passed but didn’t have the ability to suck in enough energy to become tornadic.  We had our emergency plan, which included bolting across the street to our neighbor’s underground storm shelter if a tornado was coming. Luckily that was not the case, though we did spend about 15 minutes in our bathroom with our pets just to be sure.

In the bathroom, riding out the storm.
Emergency supplies!
Our freaked out pets waiting out the storm with us.
Quote by Anonymous

Writing Lesson #1 – Proofreading

by | May 24, 2011 | Anonymous, Writing Lessons - 2011/12 | 0 comments
I have been writing a short story lately. You have probably been reading it as I am posting it as a weekly series on Sundays. I have taken on a new appreciation for proof readers as a result!  It’s hard work, made HARDER by spell check, not easier.

If you ever notice a mistake in my writing, be sure to write to someone else who has read it and talk together about what a bad writer I am, ok? Don’t write me about it.  JUST JOKING, I want you to write me if you have good suggestions!

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – I Wonder Whether Art

A Week of Rescues

by | May 23, 2011 | Sathya Sai Baba | 0 comments
This is the true story of my week:
Tuesday – We came home to find a strange cat in our front yard pursuing a baby bunny.  We shooed the cat away and I caught the bunny.  It was not harmed but was vulnerable on our lawn.  I put it in the field next to our house in the high grass for protection.  
Baby Peter Rabbit, saved it from the mean cat.
Wednesday – I was running with a group of about 15 from Fleet Feet Tulsa when we saw a small bird in the street up ahead. We assumed it was dead or would fly off but it did not move as we came upon it, we had to yell out to everyone to watch out.  We ran and jumped right over it.  We could see that it was alive.  On our way back I crossed the street, picked up the bird and placed it under a tree in a yard.
Baby bird as I set it on the lawn.
Thursday – My daughter woke me up from a dead sleep at 2 am.  There was a baby frog on her window sill, under her AC unit upstairs in her bedroom.  I got out of bed, got the frog and put it out in our front yard.  I was actually rescuing my daughter from the frog more than the frog from anything particularly dangerous.

Baby Kermit before we set it free outside.
Saturday – I was a course marshal for the Jenks Aquarium 1/2 marathon in Tulsa.  I was stationed at mile 8.  A woman came up to me and asked if she could get back to the start by going straight down Harvard Avenue. I told her no, the quickest way was the Creek Trail she had just taken.  She started to cry. I asked her what was the matter and she said, “This is my first 5k.”  She had gotten mixed up and started the 1/2 marathon instead and was 5 miles OVER the distance she would have run for her 5k.  I lent her my phone and she called her husband, who came and got her.
Jennifer Lebeda – runner of the longest 5k EVER!
Click here to read her story of the race.
Sunday – We were sitting in All Souls Unitarian Church listening to the sermon when the fire alarm went off.  We all got up and those towards the front went out to the garden on the side of the sanctuary.  I noticed a frail elderly woman 3 pews ahead of us. I gave her my arm, assisted her outside and found a bench for her to sit on (I didn’t get a photo of her).  My wife did the same thing for another woman.

What do they all have in common?  Their plight was brought to my attention in some way.  With the bunny there was was an actual attack taking place right in front of me.  With the bird, it was right in our path, we couldn’t have avoided it if we wanted.  With the frog, it was brought to my attention in a very definitive way by my daughter’s distressed voice next to my bed.  With Jennifer, she asked for help otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to tell she was in distress. In the case of the elderly lady, it was the only instance among the five where it had anything to do with me paying attention to something not particularly obvious.  All the rest grabbed my attention and I responded.


When you need help, do you make sure you are letting people know it?  Are you looking out in the world to see who else might be signaling in some way that they need help?


Drawing, photos and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily


Quote by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 1926-2011, Indian guru

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – Choir member partially submerged – I draw in church

Bible Wisdom – Neighbors and Enemies

by | May 18, 2011 | G. K. Chesterton | 0 comments
Actually, I have always had pretty good luck with neighbors. We did have one crotchety, cranky old man a few doors down when our kids were little. He yelled at them for walking on his lawn and ‘climbing’ his chain link fence. By ‘climbing’ I mean touching and holding onto it.   I think I chewed him out one time.  His name was Mr. Wilson. Really. 

But this quote isn’t just talking about real neighbors, it’s talking about people you are familiar with, maybe even were/are friends with.  I mean, when you think about it, how many of us have ever had an enemy who was a stranger?  All the vast numbers of celebrities who read my blog, I understand you can have stalkers and angry people who you don’t know, but for all us non-celebrities, it’s a good chance the enemy is our ‘neighbor’.


How to love them when they are so annoying, that’s the question! How do you do it?

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English Writer

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – Sports do not build character, they reveal it.

Vision, Leadership & History

by | May 17, 2011 | Isaac Newton | 0 comments
You know who you never hear Donald Trump talk about?  His father.  Trump Jr. always gives off the impression that he is a self-made man, didn’t need or get any help.  The story seems to be that his father was a low level real estate guy, nothing big.  The truth is Trump Sr. was a very wealthy, very successful commercial real estate developer.  His estate was worth 400 million when he died.  Trump Jr. would never have been able to achieve what he did without the start his father gave him.  
This quote is by Sir Isaac Newton.  There has never been a scientist (yes, including Einstein) who was a more brilliant genius over the course of his entire life.  Nobody during his life could come close to competing with his intelligence and scientific discoveries.  Yet, he says this.  He says his genius existed simply because he climbed up on the shoulders of the scientists who came before him and looked out from there. 
In leadership it is perfectly fine to take credit.  It’s fine to know who you are and what you contribute.  But if you are honest, you will acknowledge that some person, some company, some idea, some invention came before you did, without which, you never would have been able to achieve what you have.  
It’s sometimes called humility.  It is also called self-awareness.  If you are to be a leader, you have to have that at the top of your toolbox of skills.  You can’t use the rest of the tools effectively without it.

Quote by Sir Isaac Newton, 1643-1727, English scientist.  The title ‘scientist’ does not adequately convey all that he did. I highly recommend reading up on him, he had one of the most amazing minds of his or any era. 

Going to Church Doesn't Make You a Christian

by | May 16, 2011 | Laurence Peter | 0 comments
The question then becomes,  If you bring a car into church, does that make it a garage?
Seriously though, the labels and definitions we use for ourselves and others are often decided by what we do.  But what about when the definition of something, in this case ‘being a Christian’, is defined by a person saying and believing they are one, nothing more.

I have a daughter who is soon to get her Ph.D in Neuroscience.  She will be a given the title ‘neuroscientist’ because an established institution says she is one.  But what if, over the years, she never progressed in her field? What if she failed at her experiments, failed at getting grants, failed at getting a professorship and making a career of it.  If she continued to show up at some lab and put on a lab coat, would she still be a neuroscientist?

She would be if her institution said the criteria was that she only had to say, “I am a neuroscientist” and believe she was one to be one.  Then she could go into any neuroscience lab and fiddle around; do good, do damage, do whatever, all because she simply said and believed she was a neuroscientist, and that was good enough.

That is how much of Christianity works.  If you say you are a Christian, then you are.  You don’t have to prove it, you don’t have to act like one, you just need to say you are one.   If you do that you can go in any church and fiddle around; do good, do damage, do whatever.



Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily


Quote by Lawrence Peter, 1919-1990, American Author and Academic.  Author of ‘The Peter Principle”.


The Peter Principle states:

In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence … in time every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties … Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.”

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – I draw elsewhere besides church – The Dental Patient

Sunday in Sunrise, Chapter 4

by | May 14, 2011 | Marty Coleman, Sunday in Sunrise - A short story | 0 comments

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapters Ten & Eleven

Epilogue

Chapter 4

Maria never saw the old man; she was staring at the redheaded girl with a thousand freckles.  “Hi, come on in.  My name is Art and this is Maria.” I said as I held open the door.  The old man reached out his hand, “Hello.  I am Angus and this is Melissa.” His hand was coarse and strong.  “Melissa, say hello and shake their hands”.  Melissa, still with eyes wide and unblinking, reached to me, then Maria.  Maria smiled and said a simple “Hi”.  I said, “Actually, Melissa and I have already met.  She stole my watercolors at the quilt shop”.  She squinted her eyes and pursed her lips “I did not, I was there first!”  I laughed and said, “Yes, you are right.  You got there first, fair and square, and the watercolors were yours to buy.” She smiled and said, “I am glad I got there first but I am no good at watercolors”.

I escorted them into our kitchen, and asked them if they wanted some tea, both said yes.  As I poured the tea I said, “So, Melissa, I guess you want to learn how to use those watercolors?”  She responded, “Yes, I tried to use them but I made a big mess and ruined everything”.  “What did you ruin exactly?”  I asked.  “I ruined this.”  She pulled out an envelope from the little bag she had with her. There were some bits of color on the edges but for the most part it was it was grey, muddy and quite waterlogged. It was still damp.

“Well, the first thing we might do is let you use some better paper, that’s one of the reasons this didn’t work out so well.” I said.  “NO!” she exclaimed.  “I need to be able to paint on an envelope because I need to send it to someone.”  “Well, we will keep that in mind, but I still think you might learn more if we at least start on some better paper, is that ok?”  “NO! I want to learn on envelopes.” She squinted her eyes again.  “I know pretty paintings can be done on envelopes because of this one.”  She brought out another envelope. It was the one I had seen in my box the week before.

“Actually, not only have I met you before Melissa, but I have met this envelope before”.  “What does that mean?” Angus asked.  I didn’t think he had been paying attention. He had been looking out the kitchen window at our birdfeeder, watching the cardinals and the blackbirds fight for food.  “Well, I have Box 745 at the Post Office and they put this in my box instead of 845.  Of course I noticed how beautiful it was.  I remember thinking that Melissa, whoever she was, was a lucky girl to get such a beautiful letter.  Bettina at the post office really liked it too.  She said it was ‘love in the mail’.”

Angus didn’t show much of a response, but Melissa smiled wide. “It’s from my brother, he lives in Alabama”.  “Wow, that’s a long way away.  What’s he doing there?”  I asked.  Melissa was just about to say something when Angus stirred in his chair and said, “We should get on with the lesson.  I have to be back home in 45 minutes.”  Melissa shrank just a bit.  I took the hint to not ask any more and we went into the studio for her first lesson.  Angus went outside to smoke a cigarette. I could see him through the large north window of the studio. He stood motionless, head down, contemplating the smoke.

Melissa said, “I want to be able to paint a sunrise to send back to my brother. Can you teach me how to do that?”  Maria who had been by my side the whole time, still watching the redheaded girl, piped up, “He can teach anybody anything!”  Melissa looked at Maria and smiled.  “Good!” she said.  I turned to Maria, “Maria, can you go get some envelopes from my office?”




A Man That Hordes Up Riches – Well Wealth #4

by | May 12, 2011 | Richard Burton, Well Wealth - 2011 | 0 comments

I learned a lot from my first father-in-law. He was frugal and planned well. He was able to retire at age 55 and have a long second career in a field he had great passion for. He taught his whole family to be conscientious about money and I appreciated learning how to be that way as well.
 
 
It did bring up some issues however.  When my first wife and I went on our first vacation we had to have a discussion about money. This is what it came down to:  she was worried about spending too much, and I was worried her concern would override our willingness to have fun and enjoy the vacation.    Now, I wasn’t going to go out and buy something expensive and crazy, but I did want us to enjoy ourselves and to do that we would be spending some money. 

I came to realize something on that vacation.  You know the cliche statement ‘I want to get away from it all’ that accompanies planning a vacation? Well, what exactly is ALL? It might include your job, obligations, stress, location, routine, family, weather, etc.  You know what else it might include? A desire to escape worrying about money. That is what I wanted a vacation from.

There is a time to worry about your money and be frugal. There is a time to enjoy it, share it, spend it.  My first wife understood what I was talking about and agreed to loosen up the wallet a bit. I, in turn, promised not to spend $10,000 dollars on a painting of Elvis on black velvet.

 
 
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
 
Quote by Richard Burton, 1925-1984, Welsh actor
 
 
One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – Bullying
 
 
Where in the world is the Napkin Dad Daily?  Everywhere! (well, except Africa, we need to get more Napkin Kin there)
 
 

Money is Usually Attracted, Not Pursued – Well Wealth #3

by | May 11, 2011 | Jim Rohn, Well Wealth - 2011 | 0 comments

What is money attracted to?  It’s attracted to worthy people. Who is worthy? Those that invite money in, give money something to enjoy and appreciate, and appreciate money in return.  Just like personal hospitality with family and friends, right? So, treat money (and the people who have it) with respect and admiration, offering something of value and money will be attracted to you.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Jim Rohn, 1930-2009, American businessman
One year ago at The Napkin Dad Daily – Manners Are a Sensitive Awareness