Mom Was an ODD Lady…Part Two
Mom was an only child. Too bad. She could have used some allies. When Mom was ten months old, her real father left the family. About a year later, my grandmother married a very nice man named Jim. He was too nice. Jim either wouldn’t or couldn’t protect my mother from her mother. As the years went by and my grandmother’s mind deteriorated, only two people stuck with her: Jim, who suffered in silence, and my mother, who suffered at the top of her lungs. Sometimes, you do not understand a book until the last page has been read. As I’ve said, Mom was one tough lady and...
Read MoreMom Was an ODD Lady…Part One
It takes courage to be ODD. Courage is contagious. Mom was a carrier. She was far from perfect but closer than most of us will ever get. Mom was one tough lady. She had to be. She was raised by my grandmother. Because of my grandmother, who was mentally ill, my mother was highly neurotic. Because of my mother, I’m no slice of sunshine either. Mom always had the courage to say what she felt had to be said or do what she believed had to be done. She never shrank from challenging the conventional thinking of those around her. Like my grandfather, my father’s father, my mother loved...
Read MoreFirst Times and Last Times
Just a couple thoughts about the notion that there is a first time and a last time for everything… From my grandfather: “When you sit down to dinner, look at those faces around you and cherish that moment because there was a first time and there will surely be a last.” The next time “busy” becomes a burden, go to a nursing home. Hang around with some people who have nothing to do all day. “Busy” will look good. One of the great lessons that children teach us is the immediacy of “now.” First times and last times. In they’re own way,...
Read MoreDon’t be anything…be more!
…A world far beyond what you can now imagine… There are motivational “experts” who will tell you that you can be anything you want to be. You already know that statement’s a lie. Those “experts” are idiots. If you are five-two, three hundred pounds, and forty-one years old, you are not going to be a Rockette. Or a basketball player. Get used to that idea. You cannot be anything you want to be…but you can be far more than you ever imagined.
Read MoreLove Letter to the Lake
Recently, on July 4 in a Lake Geneva city park, my wife and I were asked to read ”love letters to the lake” that people had submitted in response to a request from the conservancy group in our area. My oldest daughter, Jacey, wrote one which I want to share with you. She grew up here, went to college “out East” at NYU, and is now pursuing her musical theatre career. It was fascinating for us, as her parents, to read her reflection on this particular place we call home and what it meant — and still means — to her. Hope you enjoy...
Read MoreDo What You Love
My grandfather believed in living a life of total joy — loving who you are; loving what you do. He would often say, “Do what you love, and you’ll be known as a smart person. But sometimes, life doesn’t give you that opportunity. Then you must learn to love what you do, and you’ll be known as a wise person. But if you can do neither — if you can’t do what you love or learn to lvoe what you do — then do something else. Life is too precious to waste even a moment of it.”
Read MoreBest in the Business
- John Powers receives over a 98% audience approval rating
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- Written a Broadway musical and 2 one-man shows
- Author of 5 Best-Selling Books
- Holds a Ph.D in Communications from Northwestern University
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