Everyday Extraordinary

Often times I’ve wondered what is it that makes one person seem extraordinary and another person ordinary, and I think I’ve finally figured it out. It’s simply public knowledge of what you did. That’s it! Take for example you’re walking home and you hear some kittens meowing from a storm drain. You look down the storm drain and indeed there are some kittens that have somehow fallen in. You lie down and attempt to reach them, but they are just too far away. You quickly go home and get what you can to help you retrieve the kittens and then go back and make the rescue. The kittens are now safe and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did a good deed. Now take this same scenario but this time have a camera crew there. Nothing has changed except the fact that your good deed is now broadcast for everyone to see. Suddenly people you’ve never met before are walking up to you to shake your hand, pat you on the back, and tell you how inspiring you are to them. Your good deed is the same with or without the public attention, but somehow this makes you extraordinary as compared to before when you were alone and just plain ordinary.

What we don’t see are the everyday extraordinary feats that we ordinary people do. We give to charities, we volunteer our time for others, we take in lost and stray animals and give them homes, we give someone a dollar at the checkout line when they come up short, and we hold the door open for a stranger whose hands are full. So many things we do simply because it’s the right thing to do. Not for any public image or adulation, but because someone once did it for us and we want to repay the kindness, even if it’s not to the same person. It’s like the old adage that “It’s the little things in life that count.” This couldn’t be truer. We take for granted so many things we do every day to help one another, and then move on like it was nothing. Then when we get home and watch the news later that evening, we see a story about one person doing something kind for another person, and we think to ourselves, “What an extraordinary person they are! I wish I could be like them.” Truth is, you already are. You never hear on the news about someone who married, took a job, worked 40 years, raised a family and put them through school while teaching them right from wrong. Sometimes the most extraordinary thing to do in life is to keep plugging on day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year...

New York City, a Girl, and a Cello

Last January I made my first trip to New York City. Even though I now live in North Carolina, I’m not a stranger to large cities having lived in both Los Angeles and Houston, not to mention many childhood visits to Chicago. But New York had always eluded me, until now.

In the past I had always waited until I had someone to travel with, but this time I made the trip on my own because there was someone I wanted to finally meet. My favorite actress of all time, Lori Singer, is also a cellist, and even attended the prestigious Juilliard School of music before turning her attention to acting. Anyway, I found out that she would be performing at Carnegie Hall and I knew I just had to attend! So I made my reservations, planned my trip, and boarded the flight to La Guardia.

Being that this was my first trip to New York City, I was like a wide eyed kid at Disney World wanting to experience everything in front of me. My first experience was the shuttle bus ride to the Hotel. I had been told that taking a cab from the airport was my best bet, but knowing the shuttle bus was $17 and the cab ride would be about $50, I decided on the shuttle. So there I was, crammed in with a bunch of strangers staring out the window at my new playground. First one stop, then another until the very last stop an hour later…me. At least the shuttle drove through Times Square and right by Carnegie Hall where I would attend the concert in a couple of days. Once I checked into my room, I hit the streets!

Being a guy, I have a great sense of direction so I set off on foot to the fabled land of Central Park. After a few blocks of walking however, I found myself in Riverside Park on the west side boardering the Hudson River. “Yes, I meant to do this!” I said to myself. Perhaps I’ll go down by the river and wave at New Jersey. Needless to say, I did walk up and down the park and found it a nice retreat in a large city.

The next morning I set out towards Central Park again. It was easy to find this time because I already knew how to get to Riverside Park and knew that Central Park was in the opposite direction. I had been told that one place I definitely had to try was The Tavern on the Green restaurant, so in that direction I walked. The restaurant was crowded, but that was to be expected. I checked my coat and was seated at a table in the main dining room. I ended up ordering the fillet mignon which was the most expensive item on the menu. I figured if I was going to experience this restaurant, I was going to do it right. Of course what’s a steak without a nice cold beer? Perhaps I should have looked at the menu first, because I wasn’t aware that Heineken costs $10 per 12 oz bottle there. Thankfully I only had two. The restaurant’s atmosphere was wonderful, the location was absolutely perfect, but the food was only OK. $71 later as I’m leaving the restaurant, I was still glad that I had this experience to take home with me.

The rest of the time I spent walking and exploring the city. I walked through Central Park to 5th avenue. I walked down 5th avenue past Trump Towers, Rockefeller Center, and many other landmarks to 39th street. Then I cut over to Broadway. I then made my way back up passing through Times Square and exploring along the way. The city is crowded, noisy, and smelly in some areas, but yet I loved every minute of it! I saw so many landmarks that I had previously only seen in movies and on TV, so it made it all the more special to me.

The day of the concert found me starting to get nervous with my anticipated rendezvous. Still, I pressed on. I put on my suit; made sure I had my ticket, and then proceeded to catch a cab ride to Carnegie Hall for the dress rehearsal. Once in the cab, I told the driver “Carnegie Hall, please.” to which he responded in a thick unknown accent, “Where is that?” "Are you kidding me??," I thought to myself. Hell, I even knew it was on 57th street, and I’ve never been here before. I told the driver it was on 57th, and made a point of also saying that it was one of New York’s most famous landmarks. He still didn’t know so he called into his dispatcher, and of all things, the dispatcher had no clue either and couldn’t offer assistance. What? Is this a joke? Is this a new reality show about New York cab patrons?? The driver then pulled over to let me out, and to his credit, didn’t charge me since he couldn’t help out. I hailed another cab, and before I got in I asked him this one question, “Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?” Just as soon as those words left my mouth, that old punch line of. “Practice, practice, practice.” came to mind, but thankfully this cabbie hadn’t heard the joke before. The good news is however that he knew how to get to Carnegie Hall, so off I went.

Once I arrived at Carnegie Hall, I marched through the front doors and up to the ticket counter and informed the lady behind the glass that I was there for the dress rehearsal. She then proceeded to tell me that for the dress rehearsal, I needed to go around back to the stage entrance. So I marched right back out the front doors and went around the block to the back of the building. Once inside I was led through a maze of stairways and hallways to where the dressing rooms were. Then suddenly in front of me I see Lori Singer as she's talking with the production director, and then she quickly ducked back into her dressing room. I was then led into the concert hall where I took a seat close to the stage where Lori would soon be.

15 minutes later Lori came out to practice her part for the concert, and I sat there quietly, hoping that I wasn’t grinning like the village idiot while she played. Once her time was up, and apparently she was the last to rehearse that day, the concert hall quickly emptied and soon there was only Lori, the conductor, a couple of other people and myself. I knew this was the best time to make my introduction, but I sat quietly while she talked to the conductor, and waited for the right time. I waited for what seemed like an eternity, but in truth was probably only 5 or 6 minutes. As I sat there, my heart was beating harder and harder in my chest. Finally I decided that this wasn’t going to work, so I got up and left the auditorium. Once out in the hall I realized what an idiot I was for leaving, so after a few internal words of encouragement, I turned around and went back in. As soon as I reentered the concert hall, she was by herself and walking up the aisle, and before I knew what I was doing I heard my own voice speak out, “Ms. Singer?”

Lori turned to me and responded, “Yes?” I responded and told her that I wanted to introduce myself, so I awkwardly made my way between the concert seating towards her. You know, like passing through movie theater seats. Then suddenly we were face to face. Wow, she’s beautiful, and tall! I already knew she was tall, but being that she was also wearing heels and standing on the upper end of a sloping floor, it really stood out to me. I first complimented her on her playing, and she politely thanked me. I tried to make some small talk, but being that I’ve always been bad in that area, it was difficult. Knowing that I was coming to New York to meet her, I had played out conversations in my mind so that when the time came, I would come across as relaxed and half way verbal. However, that changed once I looked into her eyes. Suddenly my college educated brain seized up and I was left speechless. Possibly my only saving grace was that I actually said, “I’ve completely forgotten everything I was going to say.” She quickly took over the conversation and everything went smoothly after that.

The icing on the cake to this trip was finally meeting Lori Singer and being able to watch and listen to her perform. She’s an amazing person and I hope to see her again sometime in the future.


And the concert was fantastic!!

Corporate Rebel

Once again I was chided for crossing the street against the light today, and once again, it was so clear that I could have literally crawled across all four lanes blindfolded without any fear of being hit by a car. I’m starting to view myself as the corporate rebel because I say, “Damn the ‘Don’t Walk’ signs!” I’m a big boy now and can choose when to cross the street. “Damn the 8:00am start time!” If I get stuck in traffic and get to work 10 minutes late, the world will not stop revolving, I promise. “Damn being stuck in a windowless building all day!” Hell, if I want to know what the weather is outside, I have to look it up on the web! And, “Damn these small, depressing, work cubicles!” Seriously, just damn these damn things. They have a way of sucking the energy right out of you.

Lost Childhood

I was in the grocery store last night, and saw the cutest little girl. This was no ordinary little girl, but a disabled little girl. She must have been about 3 or 4 years old, and she was sitting in her little wheelchair. Her younger brother watched her from his perch in the shopping cart while their father did the shopping. Whenever they moved to another aisle, the little girl would hang onto the back of the shopping cart and roll along. This was both very cute and very sad. Cute in that they were both so young and innocent. The world is a big place and they haven’t even begun to experience life around them yet. Sad in that the little girl will never fully experience life in the way so many other children will. She’ll adjust, she’ll make the most out of the situation she’s in, but I can almost hear the other children as they say things like, “What’s it like not being able to walk?”, “Will you always be in that chair?”, and “Does it hurt?”. Not out of cruelty, just out of curiosity. But still, those words can hurt because it’s a constant reminder of how others view you. Eventually she’ll hear those lonely words, “We don’t hate you, but you just can’t do the same things we can!” as the other children run off to play.

I was in a wheel briefly when I was a kid.

Happy Birthday!!

About a week ago I hopped on my trusty bathroom scale to observe my weight loss, and to my surprise my new weight was 217 lbs. What?? Last week I didn’t even weigh 200 lbs let alone 217 lbs! You would think that I’d notice a substantial weight gain like that in such a short period of time, but my clothes didn’t seem any tighter than before and none of my coworkers called me a fat ass either. So I get off the scale, wait until it resets itself, and then get back on. Now I weigh 223 lbs. Wow! That last breath of air must have been loaded with carbs, and Dr. Atkins never said anything about limiting your oxygen intake. So once again I get off the scale, let it reset itself and then get back on. Now my weight is 239 lbs. WTF?? So my obvious conclusion is that my scale is broken.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I received some gift cards for my purchasing pleasure. How sad is it that the first thing I buy is a brand new bathroom scale. You have to love the irony in that as I get older, I went for what I needed instead of what I wanted. When I was younger that would have never happened. I would have blown all the money and have nothing to show for it. Now I buy household items that I need. I also bought weed killer, but I left the underwear for another purchase. Gotta spread the fun out you know…

Road to Nowhere

Today I wanted to get out, to explore, to see new sights and experience new things. I had decided to take today and tomorrow and do whatever I wanted to, within legal limits of course. Once I left the house I stopped by the ATM machine, filled up the Jeep, and hit the road. All I could see in front of me was my very own utopia. I was going to drive back up to the mountains where I lived for many years. Drive by a couple of lakes that I knew well. And even drive by some of my old stomping grounds. Then it occurred to me, what’s new about that?? Why should I spend my free time exploring the old terrain when I was yearning for something new? The whole idea was to get out and free my mind, but instead I’m just driving around in circles. Plus I really needed to pee. So instead of wasting so much time on scenic reruns, I decided to head home. Next time I decide to be spontaneous, I really should plan better. Perhaps I’ll plan a trip to the Pennsylvania Amish country. I’ve wanted to see that anyway.

At least it's the weekend...

This morning as I left the house to head to work, this is the first sight that greeted my day.


We do have a population of Canadian geese in the area, and something this large most definitely didn’t come from your garden variety sparrow. At least not one that was able to get off the ground with a payload like this. I just hope this isn’t an omen of how the day might play out. Anyway, I show up for work and ride the elevator with a cute, young, bubbly girl who seemed delighted to greet the day head on. Obviously she’s new because it seems she still has hope. Once I reach my floor, this is what I have waiting on me.


Perhaps that feathered pterodactyl was trying to tell me something.

The good ol' days...

As gas prices continually rise, a part of me wants to reminisce about the gas prices from when I had my first car, a 1970 VW Bug. I’ve had much nicer cars since then, but I’ll always have a soft spot for those old bugs. Mine was crème yellow with red front seats, a black back seat, a rusty coat hanger for an antenna, and the heater barely worked enough to keep the frost bite from forming on your toes. I loved that car!! Of course knowing what’s important in life, I had a killer stereo system in it. Do I remember how much gas was per gallon? No. But it seems as though it was less than a dollar. What I do remember is that it only took about $10 to fill the tank. It always took $10 because I had to always fill the tank. The gas gauge never worked so I never knew how much gas I had, so my best bet was to fill the tank, drive 200 miles and then fill it up again. This worked pretty well until I got lost once on a back country road. Thankfully the people at the house I walked to were kind enough to let me use a can of gas they had reserved for the lawn mower. Once I was back on the road, I vowed never to run out of gas again. Well…at least I was close to a friend’s house when did it happen again. Now instead of $10 to fill the tank, it takes just over $70. Ah, the good ol’ days…

Don't Walk

I work for the wimpiest company when it comes to safety. Don’t get me wrong, safety should be an important part of our daily lives, but there’s a limit to it. Recently I was chided when I crossed the street while the “Don't Walk” sign was lit up. Not only was the road clear, but when I say there were no cars anywhere close to the intersection, what I really mean is that a disabled person using a walker could easily cross the street while walking their pet turtle on a lease behind them! But no, the corporate policy states that I stand there staring at that damn sign until it finally releases me from the electronic mental grip it has on me. Then, and ONLY then can I cross the street safely. Of course that’s assuming that all cars and buses pay attention to the red light and actually stop, but I’ll leave that for another time. So if you’re ever in my city and you see a group of people standing on a lonely corner with blank looks in their eyes as they wait for a sign to change, stop by and say, “Hello!”

When trust is lost

Obviously this isn’t an everyday blog for me, but more “when I feel the notion” to write something. Why have I taken keyboard in hand today? I’ve been thinking of friends, or more the so-called friends in life that is. For instance, take someone you’ve known for many years. Someone you trust. Someone you can count on. Then one day this person violates your trust in a most profound way. I don’t mean the little arguments that friends have, or even the blowups that can occur on occasions over the stupidest things that later become fodder for jokes. But in a way that really digs deep and forgiveness just can’t be seen on the horizon. Why? What was the reason? What was the gain? The result however is the loss of someone you thought you could always trust. No more that supportive voice on the phone when you need it. No more that bond that helped you through the hard times. When it comes down to it, no matter how many people we’re surrounded by, you stand alone. What should we do during these times? Find something to hang onto. It doesn’t have to be a person, and in many ways it’s better if it isn’t a person. People have a way of letting you down. What should it be then? Music, books, pets, a destination you like to travel to, a hobby, a charity. There’s an endless supply if we just look and reach out for it. I’ve had to do this myself, so I can speak from experience. Is it a sure cure for what ails you? No, but it does give you something to look forward to, and in so many ways, that alone is enough.