I am a 61 year old, father of two boys and have been happily married for 33 years. I have been a Physical Education teacher and coach for 38 years and have loved EVERY minute of it. I enjoy making people laugh and feel good about themselves. It’s fun collecting inspiring and heartwarming stories.from people. So, if you have a good story…let me know! I hope you enjoy my page!! :)
Remember:
Everyone is fighting a battle that you know nothing about.
Be kind.
Always.
According to Google, the definition of a “Life Skill” is “a skill that is necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life.” Sadly, many young people (and scores of adults) don’t know how to perform many of these everyday skills.
What are these skills? Well, I am glad that you asked because the following is a list of fifteen of these skills that everyone should know.
Basic first aid.
How to say “No.”
How to use a credit card.
How to write an essay.
How to grocery shop on a BUDGET.
How to jump-start a car.
How to do their laundry.
How to cook something that doesn’t come in a box with powder labeled “sauce.”
Basic car and home repair and maintenance.
How to send a professional email.
How to budget and pay bills.
How to change a tire.
How to study.
How to proof read.
How to be kind to others
~ Source: Face Book
What are some “Life Skills” that YOU think a person should know how to do??
Years ago a John Hopkin’s professor gave a group of graduate students this assignment: Go to the slums. Take 200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and investigate their background and environment. Then predict their chances for the future. The students, after consulting social statistics, talking to the boys, and compiling much data, concluded that 90 percent of the boys would spend some time in jail.
Twenty-five years later another group of graduate students was given the job of testing the prediction. They went back to the same area. Some of the boys – by then men – were still there, a few had died, some had moved away, but they got in touch with 180 of the original 200. They found that only four of the group had ever been sent to jail.
Why was it that these men, who had lived in a breeding place of crime, had such a surprisingly good record? The researchers were continually told: “Well, there was a teacher…” They pressed further, and found that in 75 percent of the cases it was the same woman.
The researchers went to this teacher, now living in a home for retired teachers. How had she exerted this remarkable influence over that group of children? Could she give them any reason why these boys should have remembered her? “No,” she said, “no I really couldn’t.” And then, thinking back over the years, she said amusingly, more to herself than to her questioners: “I loved those boys…”
If you’re spiritually alive, you’re going to love this!
If you’re spiritually dead, you won’t want to read it.
If you’re spiritually curious, there is still hope!
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. I’ve gone for 30 years now,’ he wrote, ‘and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons, but for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them so, I think I’m wasting my time and the priests are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.’
This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!’
Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!
I have been a coach of many sports on all levels for 30 years. For most o those years, I coached three sports a season in a row. People used to ask me, “how can you do that?” “How do you find the energy to be able to coach so much? spend so much time with players and not get tired of it?”
Well, world famous author, Mark Twain, once said this, “If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life.” This quote is one of my favorite of all time because it is so true. I have truly enjoyed every season that I have coached my players.
Besides the joys of victory and the agony of defeat of the games on the field, it’s the everyday coaching, teaching, and building relationships with people on a daily basis, that makes the job so rewarding. There is nothing that means more to me than when a player (or parent) tells you how much they learned the sport, enjoyed their experience, or other things that may have touched their lives.
I recently came across the following “Letter to a Coach” on FaceBook that I thought would give you a glimpse of what players sometimes say to a coach and illustrate why the profession of coaching is so fulfilling.
~ Coach Muller
Since I have graduated high school there is one phrase that I miss saying more than I ever thought I would. “Hey Coach” left my lips at least once a day. Anyone who has ever had a coach knows just how important they are. I’m sure everyone will say that their coach is the best. But this post is not about the coaches you’ve had. This is about mine. If I wrote just how much one person has changed my life, this post would be unreasonably long. But it is crazy to me that one person can do so much.
What makes a good coach? Well, don’t ask me! I’m a little too picky, grumpy, and “my way or the highway”.
What makes a good coach? My coach. My coach has pushed me to success, and pushed me to tears. My coach has been a parent figure when times got tough, my best friend when we could celebrate our wins, and a shoulder to literally cry on. When we succeeded my coach succeeded. When we failed we knew we let coach down. But that never stopped coach from loving us.
What makes a good coach? Compassion. I never doubted the love coach had for me. Not one day went by without my coach showing, or telling me how much I was appreciated.
What makes a good coach? Coaches leave their family, and dedicate their time to the people and the sport they love, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel worth it. Missing vacations, birthdays, and so much more, to give their time and love to us, even when we are ungrateful.
What makes a good coach? Everything my coach was, and everything I will be because of it. One single person can change your life. And I know my coach changed my life for the best.
I’m trying to be like my coach. Hard, yet soft, harsh but loving, a rock, a shoulder to cry on.
I don’t know how to even thank someone, who has done what they have done for me. I know I will never be able to repay coach for the things done.
If you had a coach who changed you, please, go thank them. If you have a coach now. Go now,and thank them.
You don’t know how much they sacrifice for you, and for your team. I love you coach. I love you for pushing me, I love you for accepting me, I love you for caring about me without fail. I love you for still caring even when new team mates have taken my place. I love you for being you.
I love cats! When I was a kid, we used to have many cats running, sleeping and playing around the house. Both of my parents really enjoyed having the critters around and my grandmother, who lived with us, loved them as one of her own grandchildren.
One of the funniest things I enjoy watching, are cats doing silly, funny, and surprising things. Sometimes, they make me laugh so hard that they make me cry.
So, what I decided to do today was to share some of these funny gifs with you (gifs are small movies, that last a few seconds). I think that you will find yourself giggling and laughing at the silliness and stupidity of our furry friends.
So, without further ado, let the laughs, snickers, and giggles begin!!
And away we go!Peek-A-Boo…I see you!Itsy Bitsy spider…..“I’m a monster!”“Has anyone seen Kitty?”King of the Hill!“Ok….enough of you Psycho cat!”Stop Thief!What the ?????“Wait….what was that??”Hit the SNOOZE buttonGeronimo!Houston…we have lift off!HA! HA! HA!
Photo Credit: Troth God of Knowledge via CC Flickr
One of my favorite TV shows that I used to enjoy watching when I was a kid, was about this friendly, caring and compassionate man who loved to share the good things in life and his positive personal thoughts with us kids…Mr. Fred Rogers, host of “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”.
He always had this kind and gentle way of explaining the important and every-day-things of life in entertaining and educational ways. I used to think that it must have been really a cool thing to live in a neighborhood like that. Unfortunately, or course, the neighborhood wasn’t real and “life” was a lot harder and different from the way it was portrayed.
The one thing that I learned the most from watching most of his shows, something that I still try to do every day…even now…is to show kindness and compassion to other people…especially individuals that were less fortunate than me.
One of the best examples that I ever saw of the great, beautiful kindness of Mr. Roger’s was the following video clip of Mr. Rogers and a little crippled boy in his wheelchair named Jeff Erlanger in 1981. The result of this interview and the way Fred Roger’s spoke and treated Jeff during this time, changed Jeff’s life forever.
Twenty years later, Fred Rogers was nominated to the TV Hall of Fame. During the H.O.F dinner something magical and beautiful happened…which you will see in this video.
It WILL touch your heart and hopefully, illustrate to you the fantastic power of showing kindness and compassion to others…just be sure to have a box of tissues with you…you’ll need them 🙂
There are thousands upon thousands of books, articles, and countless other kinds of information which tell us how to deal with the hardships of life.
Sometimes, it is the simple thoughts and / or stories that will remind us the most of the important things in life that we can use to remember.
Thus is the reason for today’s short story.
Is your life hard? Are you struggling with some difficult situations right now? Hopefully, today’s little tale will help you make your life a little easier.
A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside waiting for vehicles to come around. As soon as one came he would run down the road, barking and trying to overtake it. One day a neighbor asked the farmer “Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?” The farmer replied, “That is not what bothers me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one.”
Many people in life behave like that dog who is pursuing meaningless goals.
Life is hard by the yard, but by the inch, it’s a cinch.
A little while ago, I came across a great story told by Rudy Ruettiger, a renowned player for the Notre Dame football that inspired his squad for years with his determination and work ethic. Hollywood eventually made a motion picture about his exploits and help to inspire thousands of people around the world.
In the following story, Rudy tells a touching story of him and his father and how a certain situation turned his life around…forever.
———
Notre Dame is a legendary place. A spot on the team means a chance at great fame. Rudy Ruettiger is a legend himself. He made the Notre Dame class. He then went on to become the heart of the Fighting Irish. His dad, Daniel Ruettiger, was a war hero and legendary dad. 14 kids. Married a world-class mom. Worked three jobs. Yet he always found time to attend his kids’ games.
“Bullied, badgered and mad, I became a rebel in school. Sophomore year it came to ahead. I befriended a rough kid who well could have spelled my end. A big fight was planned for that Friday night. My friend said, ‘Rudy, we’re tough. Let’s go.’
I foolishly agreed. I had a big head. It was a chance to show off. I’d smear those kids who had made me so mad.
I waited until the family was fast asleep. Quietly, I slid out of bed, pulled on my clothes, and tiptoed to the back door. I was careful not to make a sound.
Dad knew something was up. He cut me off at the door. With his hand on my shoulder, he insisted we talk.
I admitted where I was headed. The kids we would fight had belittled us. It was our turn to teach em’ some stuff.
That’s when Dad rescued my future, and maybe my life. He replied, ‘You are no man when a meaningless fight is your way. You become a man by knowing when to walk away. Learn it now and remember.’
I’m blessed that Dad stayed up to catch me that night. Bad news came the next day. Several were badly hurt in the fray. With a blow to the head, my friend was now dead.
It could have been me, or I might have been cuffed and taken away. Either way, that would have spelled the end of my dream – no Notre Dame.
Dad, you were the best: You taught me to stop the big talk; to get in life’s game, then go out and fight to make the big plays. You taught me to know when to walk away.”
By: Rudy Ruettiger
“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” ~ Proverbs 1:8
Today’s world is filled with hundreds of thousands, even millions of people who are struggling with financial hardships each and every day of their lives. As the Christmas and Holiday season fast approaching, this is much sadness and despair that these people suffer as they know that they may not be able to buy a gifts or food for their children or family.
What you see in the following video is VERY touching and heartwarming story of an individual who has the goodness and compassion of “Santa” and what he does to touch the lives of the unfortunate.
It makes you wonder…what do YOU DO to bring happiness and joy to others? Why not take a few moments to think about that today then create ways to brighten someone’s life.
I came across this great story a while ago which perfectly illustrates the life and mindset of a coach. I have been a coach for 30 years and I think this tale hits the subject right on the head. I hope that it inspires you as much as it did for me.
———————-
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, tried to explain the problem with college athletics. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to be a coach?”
He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about coaches: “Those who can’t play, are those who coach.” To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a coach, be honest. What do you make?”
Having a reputation for honesty and frankness, the guest replied, (At this moment Coach Ridder was FIRED up and getting after it!) “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids run through 90 minutes of practice and sweat. I make kids turn dreams into reality.”
“You want to know what I make?”
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them cooperate.
I make them competitive and respectful.
I make them show all their work in front of hostile crowds and perfect their acts of sportsmanship.
I make them understand that if you have the will to follow your dreams, should anybody try to judge you by a mistake you made you must pay no attention because you tried and gave it your all.”
“I make teams from individuals who work together to build success.”
He paused and continued. “You want to know what I make?” I MAKE A DIFFERENCE, I MAKE LEADERS, I MAKE OTHER PROFESSIONS POSSIBLE.”
Today, I have decided to share a little bit of myself with you.
I have been a Physical Education teacher and a coach for 30 years…and I love taking pictures (and my my blog :). It is funny how many people are tell me how surprised they are when they find out that I enjoy photography and writing as much as I do. They seem to think that someone who is an athlete (or least used to be) and is as big as I am (6’3″, 275 lbs) can’t possibly be someone who likes to do these things.
That’s OK. Because everyone is different and and have different passions for various things. I found my interest in photography by the one man who had the most influence and biggest impact in my life…my dad.
My father was a photographer for over 45 years. He had his own studio, took pictures for a local paper, snapped pictures at an untold number of weddings and took pet, individual and family portraits. He closed his shop for the final time just as the digital camera was becoming popular.
When my father passed away a few years ago, I decided to use some of the money that he left me to purchase a really nice camera. The following pictures are of some flowers that I took in Philadelphia last summer while my family was visiting some of my in-laws and nephews and nieces.
I hope you like them. I am planning on beginning to post more pictures that I have taken and edited in future blogs.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them!
My Good Time Stories 