A Few of My Favorite Quotations

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Soren Kierkegaard.

"I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial." - Thomas Jefferson

"Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke." - Will Rogers

"We are ever bound in community:
We build on foundations, we did not lay.
We warm ourselves at fires, we did not light.
We sit in the shade of trees, we did not plant.
We drink from wells, we did not dig.
We profit from persons, we did not know.
We light this chalice in thanksgiving
For those who have passed their light to us." - Adapted from Deuteronomy 6:10–1.

“Freedom makes a huge responsibility of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

"You stay classy San Diego." - Ron Burgundy, Action4 Newsteam

"Stake my future on a hell of a past
Looks like tomorrow is coming on fast
Ain't complaining 'bout what I got
Seen better times, but who has not?" - from Bob Dylan's "Silvio"

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." —Wayne Gretzky

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Young Boy's Meeting with Stan Musial in 1970

It is hard to imagine a man who was more loved by his community. The legendary St. Louis Cardinal Stan Musial owned a restaurant which I recall was dimly lit with red leather booths.

It was 1970. I was in 5th grade when my father took me to "Stan Musial and Biggies" one night to celebrate my good grades.  Hard to imagine at this point they were actually that good, but apparently they warranted some recognition. We both wore neckties and jackets and the occasion seemed formal and special. This was the steak house long before the sanitized chain experiences we've come to know today.

I remember my father and I were sitting down, probably early in our meal when Stan strolled through the restaurant and saw that I was the rare child among his customers that night.

Dressed in jacket and tie himself, Stan 'The Man' came straight to the table and engaged us in what I remember to be a delightful conversation. He congratulated me for my would-be achievement. He excused himself saying he'd be right back. When he returned quickly, he had a personalized autographed photo in hand. I was thrilled.

That was one of first experiences meeting a celebrity. It was a time when we only knew mostly positive things about athletes, before the 24/7/365 news cycle and so much transparency. 

A year later we would move to my eventual Kansas hometown. Unfortunately, because of a number of moves by my family over the ensuing years, the autographed photo was lost. But that's okay. The wonderful memory and the image of the remarkably kind Stan Musial is emblazoned in my mind. I can treasure that with great pleasure after all these many years.

RIP Stan Musial.  It only took you a few minutes to make a positive difference in a young boy's life.