My New Year!

My New Year

Monday, December 26^th, is my New Year. That’s right. It’s not the same as everyone else. It doesn’t begin on January 1^st but it begins on December 26^th. That’s when I make my resolutions. That’s when I begin planning for the next 365 days. That’s the day when I decide how I’m going to work each day, to get myself to that point in life where I become the person that I want to be in the eyes of my fans, friends, family and loved ones.

Monday is my new year. My birthday. The beginning of my new year. I’ll probably take December 31^st to reaffirm the resolutions that I make on my birthday. I’ll take the month of January to decide if I made the right decisions. I’ll decide if I need to tweak anything in order to reach the goals that I want to reach. I’m going to do the things that I need to do, to be successful this coming year and be the best person, the best writer and the best businessman that I can be.

I know that no one can change overnight. I understand that change, no matter how well intended, needs to be planned out, prepared for and executed in such a way as to ensure success. If you don’t do that why even bother? I’ve seen so many people who decide that tomorrow is the day when they will begin a new behavior. They do so without any preparation, and they end up failing in their efforts.

I’ve taken this past year to try different things just to see what would work, and what wouldn’t, and now I’ve come up with a plan. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be the most difficult year of my life, but in the end, it’s going to be worth it, and every year after this will be the best, the most fun and the most wonderful years of my life.

I want each of you to come with me on this journey. I will keep you updated on my progress and I would love to hear from you with your thoughts, suggestions and comments. You can post your thoughts here, or feel free to Email me at author@drewbankston.com.  If you go to my website (drewbankston.com) and sign up to be on my mailing list as part of my team, you’ll most likely have the opportunity to get free books, free other stuff and help me get this year underway. So, yeah, tomorrow is the first day of my new year and a year that’s going to be incredible. Tomorrow will begin the best of all years that I’ve ever lived. Come. Join me. Let’s make this year the very best, together.

Preparing for 2017

It’s really interesting to me, that at the end of 2015 people were saying what an awful year it was and how 2016 will be the best year ever! Now I’m seeing posts on social media echoing the sentiments of last year. People are talking about how 2016 was terrible and how 2017 will turn lives around.

For me, 2016 was an amazing year. No, I didn’t win the lottery and I didn’t inherit millions of dollars. But, I did decide to make each day a wonderful day, and I was able to maintain that thought everyday. I started each morning by encouraging others to have the best day ever. In doing that, I feel that I was encouraging myself to do the same. It worked! Even though, as with every road, I encountered bumps and ruts and daily discouragements, for some reason they didn’t seem as bad as they might have been. I found myself focusing on the solutions to the problems rather than the problems themselves and looking for answers rather than dwelling on the difficulties in finding them. This type of attitude made each day, when the day was over, a joy and a blessing. Life became something that I looked forward to each moment of each day, and the next day was anticipated with great zeal.

At the end of the year, just like the end of each day, I’m able to look back and say that this was an incredible year. I can see where my shortcomings cropped up and the parts of my life that need work for this coming year so that I can make 2017 even better than this year has been. I can honestly say that 2017 will be amazing. I can already see it coming. I know where I want to be at the end of the year and I know how I want to get there. Will I make it? I hope so. I want to be a well known author. I want to be even more successful than I was this year. I want to be a better person. These are big “wants” and will only be realized through hard work, daily evaluations, goal setting and ever changing action plans. I believe that I’ve laid down the foundation to bring it all together. 2017 will be a year for change. This will be a year of progress. This will be a year of realizations. Better than 2016, which was amazing. So yes, 2017 will be a better year, but 2016 wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad at all. It built a runway to launch my dreams to new heights and from there, I’ll be able to see for miles. I’m prepared for 2017. Are you?

Drew~

Holidays in Alternative, Colorado. A Christmas Story

Holidays in Alternative, Colorado. A Christmas Story

I wasn’t sure what to expect from such a small town as far as the holidays were concerned. There wasn’t a lot of snow and, in fact, there didn’t seem to be much snow in any of Colorado this year, but still there was a small dusting. There was just enough to make the sidewalks a little icy and it turned cold enough to let you know that winter was getting close.

I bundled up and went for a walk. I’m not sure why I like to walk through this quaint little town, but I do and somehow I always manage to see something a little different each time. Today as I was walking, I passed by the Downtown Hardware Store. Joseph Benjamin, the proprietor of the store, was out in front putting up some Christmas lights and hanging a few other decorations on the store front. He didn’t go by Joe, just so that you know this. He insisted that everyone call him Joseph. It had been that way all of the 46 years he had been alive. He didn’t want his name shorted at all, Something about being a tribute to his great-great-grandfather. Joseph’s ancestor was the first in his family to come to Colorado in his family. Joseph decided that he would carry on his great-great-grandfather’s name and, on this particular holiday, he decided that he was going to carry on the Christmas traditions of his relative by decorating in an old fashioned way. He was even putting the stenciled snow scenes on the window of the store.

Mrs. Esther Williams walked by and had to point out a few things to Joseph, being the proper English woman that she was. At least, she came from a family who, several generations back, lived in England before migrating tot he states. But still. Esther fancied herself a proper English lady and attempted to carry on the traditions, as she saw them, that her distant family would do, although she really didn’t like the thought of such things as blood pudding. She preferred to enjoy the Christmas cakes and cookies along with the fudge that her neighbor, Barnaby Costello would bring by. Barnaby wasn’t really a person who celebrated Christmas. He didn’t celebrate much of anything, but he was lonely and enjoyed Esther’s company, so he would either bake or purchase holiday treats and wrap up a plate with plastic wrap and a bow on top and bring it by to Esther’s house. It would give them a chance to sit and talk and perhaps have a glass or two of a rum punch that Esther was so fond of making to go with the cookies.

Esther’s house was always decorated nicely for the holidays and, if he admitted the truth to himself, Barnaby enjoyed the festiveness of it all, almost as much as he enjoyed Esther’s company. So when she pointed out a few things to Joseph about his decorations, like the fact that he needed a little more holly around the door frame, he ready agreed, nodding his head as if listening tot he wisdom of the Christmas sage, and hurried off to gather a little more of the plastic holly.

I like walking through town this time of the year, because the lights are mostly the old fashioned kind, the plastic manger scenes are older and Joseph always has a few spots where the paint is missing on his cheek. Rick Jones has three plastic life-sized choir boys on his lawn, and he plays music that makes it seem like they’re singing. There are no competitions here in Alternative as to who will have the biggest and best display. The Swensens decorate in a Swedish motif. Their neighbors, the Goldsteins, put a menorah in the window. Everyone decorates modestly but sincerely as they see the holidays and each family stands out in front of their houses or businesses and they smile and stand close to each other to admire their work. Us? We just put up a tree, a few lights outside, and made sure that we had firewood to burn in the fireplace each night while we drink hot chocolate and watch the old Christmas shows on TV. Family and traditions live on in this small town, and our family will share in the diversity of those over the next few weeks.

And that’s the news this week from Alternative, CO., where people think about different things.

Blink of an Eye

Life is an amazing swirl of, well, everything. Nothing in life is static. It’s constantly changing and ever evolving. Often, life takes twists and turns that can make us high as a kite one moment and lower than low the next. It’s a lot like jumping on a trampoline. Yup. That’s life.

Often we hear of people who just can’t see beyond the next moment. Those people, sadly, choose to move on and away from this life. We all have different beliefs about what happens after this life, and this blog is not to talk about that. This blog is being written to talk about the changing moments in this silly little thing that we call life. You never know when that big break, or that million dollars, or that new love will be there. It could be years away, yes, but it could also be on it’s way only to manifest itself to you in the next few minutes. Everything that you’ve hoped for and everything that you’ve ever dreamed of, could be waiting for you right now, just a few centimeters away. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop believing that your dreams can come true. I have been in that low place. I have looked at that brick wall and wondered how I would ever scale it. I have stared into my future and wondered if it was really as bleak as it seemed to be. Then, the next few moments arrive and bring a peace and a joy that I didn’t think could be there. Sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye.

If you reach a point where you don’t think life is worth it, and you don’t feel like you have the strength to go on, please take one small moment to speak with someone. There really are people who care. You might not know who they are, but they are there none-the-less. Reach out and give yourself the benefit of that one more moment in your lifetime. The fact is that no-one knows when our lives are supposed to end. Why rush it? Once that final blink happens, there’s no turning back. Your life is forever changed as are the lives of those around you.

Take a moment to see what’s in store, Smile a little more. Love a little more. See what comes back to you. 


Drew

Keeping Up With Life

A little over a week ago, I started a new full-time job outside of the house. After 8 years of only working for myself, it’s been different to now be following the scheduling of someone else. To be honest, it’s really thrown me into a tailspin, trying to get used to the new schedule while maintaining the other things that I’ve grown used to doing, for example, writing my weekly blog. Yes, last week I missed that opportunity and yes, it was because of the interruption of my usual week’s routine.

But tonight, I remembered that it was Sunday and time to write something fun, witty and/or educational.

The job that I started was being an Asset Protection Detective. Impressive, yes? It basically means that I’m a professional security guard. The detective part is actually pretty interesting. It is detective work. I get to solve mysteries and figure out “who done it” while maintaining a large bubble of secrecy. I also get to catch shoplifters and help the company prosecute them. This is not my most favorite part of the equation, but a necessary part to keep the company assets safe.

It might take me some time to get a new routine down so that I can continue to get everything done that I used to in a timely manner, but in the end, I’m sure that I’ll be able to do that. It’s like other things in life. Things happen to us each day in life to change what we had planned, even if it’s very minor. We learn, throughout our lives, to adapt to these changes and make them work. These moments prepare us for such things as what I’m going through now.  So, as this week flies by, I’ll be documenting, planning and scheduling so that next week, my blog will be up on time. Much like this one, but with more information about whatever it is that I’ll come up with for you then. Make sense? Good. Have a great week and let’s chat again next week, shall we?

Changes Push Through like a Storm

At the end of last week, I had major changes in my life. It’s been interesting and will take some time to get used to. Many of you who know me, know that for the past  8 years, I’ve run a video production company. It’s a full-time job with wonderful monetary returns as well as great emotional high for the wonderful people that I work with. The problem that I encountered with it, was that it wasn’t a steady paycheck. It actually came in waves. If you’ve ever experienced that, you understand how difficult it can be. Bills pile up until a payment comes in and then that payment is used in full to pay those bills. That leaves precious little for things like food, gas for the car and other necessities for the family. As a result, this major change arrived in my life. I haven’t given up my video production which is still a wonderful part of my life, and I haven’t given up writing. Instead, I’ve procured a new job. A full-time job with a company outside of my house. So now, 40 hours each week will require my presence elsewhere while I’m still working on my full-time video and part-time writing job. It’s going to be interesting. What’s going to be the most challenging of all of this will be working on time management. I’ve never had to really manage my time like this. I’ve had the pleasure of being able to make my own schedule without regard to another employer’s schedule. 

My family was all for my change at first, but now they’re beginning to realize how much they’ve come to rely on my flexible schedule for transportation on a daily basis. I can’t provide that now and ,in fact, we need to begin some financial planning so that we can purchase a second car. It turns out that no matter what changes happen in life, there will be parts to which we need to adapt. Good points and not so good. But this is life, isn’t it? 

Life brings us surprises and changes each and every day. Some good changes and some not so good. These changes help us grow stronger and learn to adapt to each new day in our lives. Change, to me, is not something that should be feared, but something to be embraced. I embrace every change that comes my way and learn from them all. Learn to do this and your life will change for the better. I expect that it may get stressful, but I’m going to try hard to not let it get that way. Look around and be the one to make a change. When you do, keep the momentum going so that your life will always be filled with surprises!

Adding a New Chapter When You're Older

Adding a New Chapter When You're Older

We all go through change. It’s inevitable. No one experiences a life of no change. This past week I realized that it was time for a change, and because change needed to occur, and because I wanted to have control over that change, I went about doing my best to create it by applying for jobs all over town. Yes, that’s right, the change that I needed to have happen was an increase in base income. Now don’t get me wrong, our household income has been pretty good for years. We can pay all of our bills, make our rent payments on time, and even go to a movie from time to time. But the place that we couldn’t focus our money was in our savings account. Yup, the time had come to begin padding that monster.

Now, I’m not as young as I used to be, and to make things worse, I’ve worked for myself for over eight years. As most people do, I looked at the worse case scenario and pictured that no one would contact me. No one. But because I’m a positive person, I decided to canvas my area with job applications. Eight years ago, when I was working for someone else, applications were submitted at the business. Now, things are different. I can sit at home and apply for jobs all over town. I can see who’s hiring without even walking out the front door. So I did both. I applied for five jobs and guess what? I got phone calls back from four of them asking me to come in for an interview. I was curious about the fifth one because it was, actually, the one I was hoping to get the most. It was the movie theatre down the road. Cinemark. I went it to follow-up on the application. I went to the cashier and told her that I was here to follow-up on an application. She got on her radio and started talking in low tones and actually walked away from me, only looking back from time to time as she spoke. After several minutes, she said, “Someone will be with you in a minute.” I felt odd about the fact that the cashier, even though she had nothing else to do, continued to stay out of sight. The woman that came out was probably in her twenties. She walked straight up to me and said that she had gone through my application and I seemed to be overqualified. I told her that I just needed a steady paycheck and had always wanted to work there. She then told me that she couldn’t give me enough hours. It suddenly seemed to me that she was coming up with excuses, and I had to wonder if it was because I wasn’t the median age (about 22) of the others working there. When she told me that I wasn’t a good fit, I pretty much knew that was the case, even though she said that she would keep my application for a year. (Wondering to myself how I would be less qualified in a year, lol.) Oddly enough, Target had just offered me a job as an over-qualified cashier, and Old Navy asked me to be an over qualified sales person. So, a little grumpy, I left but knew that something better would come up.

Sure enough, I ended up getting a really cool position with, of all people, Macy’s. So, it worked out for the best. But still, the fact that someone didn’t want me to work for them because of my age was a little off-putting. I’ll still take my family there, but not cool Cinemark.

So, my change is underway. Monday I go in for training. Looking forward to see how this will help my writing, and I know that it will. The main point being, don’t let anything dissuade you from making a change or reaching a goal when you know that it’s the thing to do. In the meantime, perhaps I’ll see you at Macy’s!

Another Fall Day in Alternative, Colorado

Another Fall Day in Alternative, Colorado

This weekend, I went for a walk early in the morning and I could definitely feel a change in the air. There was frost in a few spots on the grass and for the first time this year, I could see my breath. The leaves are certainly feeling the changes and the colors are beautiful.

I didn’t think that I’d see anyone else out at this time on a Saturday morning, as most of the people who live here seem to enjoy sleeping in, or at least they don’t leave their houses until the sun is well in the sky, but today was different. Today, as I walked down the street toward the park, I glanced over at the house I was passing and saw Mrs. Harper in her rocking chair with a crocheted wrap around her. She was rocking back and forth and just looking out at the morning and the horizon. The sun hadn’t come up just yet and the clouds were a beautiful and bright orange which glowed against the varying shades of blue in the sky.

Mrs. Harper was in her late seventies and loved to head down to the Senior Center every Thursday evening to meet up with her friends in the Alternative book club, where they would spend a quiet half and hour reading the latest book chosen by the President of the club, Barb Walton. Barb liked romance novels and some months when she felt a little daring, she would choose a mystery novel for everyone to read. After the half an hour was up, they would all see where they were in the book and then discuss the finer points such as what the author must have been thinking when he or she wrote this or that. They would also find time to discuss how Alternative compared to the setting in the current book and who was the most like certain characters. There was one time when Barb and Greta Thompson argued for almost two days about who was the most like the heroine in The Alaska Valley Ranch telling each about long lost romances and strengths that each of them had that compared to the protagonist. Eventually, Barb won out as she always seemed to do, feeling would be hurt for a while until Barb would take the club out to a special lunch and honor one of the members. Of course this particular month Greta was the one being honored. Barb encouraged the entire club to lavish her with compliments and accolades and by the end of the evening, she was feeling much better about things. 

Barb was the kind of person that you wanted to try and keep happy. She had money, left to her by her late third husband, and she was more than happy to invest that money in things that she felt were worthy of the effort it took to write the check and several people vied for that money with promises of great inventions or the first ever to do this or that. Barb had seen them all. The one person that Barb couldn’t get to, however, was Mrs. Harper. I didn’t know her first name and I sometimes wondered if anyone did. Everyone that spoke with her, including Barb, called her Mrs. Harper. She kept to herself and was very soft spoken Some people said that she was a princess from some country in South America at one time and that her coming to Alternative was to escape her fallen kingdom which was taken over by a small dissident group of rebellious military rebels. But no one could prove it. Mrs. Harper nodded at me and called out, “How are you and the family?”

I told her that they were fine and asked about her. She simply smiled and nodded and then nodded toward the sky. “I love to watch the sun come up in the morning. Do you know why, young man?”

I shook my head because I wanted to her what this woman had to say.

“The sunrise is different every morning. The sky looks and does what it wants every day and doesn’t care what onlookers think. It is what it is and will only change according to what it wants to do. People should be more like that, don’t you think?”

I looked to see the sun just peeking over the horizon. When I turned back, Mrs. Harper was just heading back into her house, but not before turning back and giving a small queen’s wave and a slight smile. If you looked closely, you could see a glint in her eye just as she vanished into the house.

There were no others like her in Alternative, ever before and there would never be again.

I've Got Mail

I’ve Got Mail

Years ago, before the advent of Email, we would walk down to the mailbox and pull out letters from friends, bills, advertisements and of course, junk mail.

Now, most of my mail, I’m sure like yours, is on my computer. Don’t get me wrong, I still go to my mailbox 6 days each week, with some excitement to see what the mailman has brought. Truth be told, I actually enjoy going to the physical mailbox more than sitting down to look on my computer. You might be experiencing the same syndrome. Let’s see.

When the mailman would come to my mailbox and deliver junk mail, it was actually fun. Even if I didn’t order anything, there was a lot of imagination in the ads that were delivered. It was great being able to look through and see what I could have if I wanted. Now, junk mail has taken on a whole other meaning.

This week, I’ve been told that my Amazon points have changed by numerous people that I don’t know, even though I don’t have any Amazon points.

I have apparently been chosen by the Email gods to win more money than I ever thought possible from lotteries in countries around the world.

Those I can deal with,

I’ll also been delivered 23 viruses and one of my addresses was hacked by someone wanting to pay others big dollars to work from home. So junk mail is now something that can steal your identity, your reputation and attempt to destroy your work. Why would people do this?

The junk mail of my younger days is gone and now I’m trying to figure out why nameless and faceless people would do what they could to sabotage my life. Of course I take precautions and no one has stolen anything or destroyed my work, other than apparently, one email address that may or may not have been compromised.

In the end, I tighten security. I check frequently. I resign myself to the fact that days gone by are just that.

Please send yourself to my website and be sure to sign up for my newsletter updates! Free stuff and great opportunities to learn about new books as well as chances to win free stories and or books. See you at www.drewbankston.com

Book Review by Drew Bankston

Those of you who know me well, know that for years I’ve been a cowboy. I’ve trained cutting horses, I’ve sat on horseback in hurricanes in Texas to watch over the herd. I’ve been stepped on, knocked down, trampled, and kicked. I’ve delivered more calves and lambs than most people have seen in their lifetimes. So, if you had told me a month ago that I’d be sitting down and reading a romance novel, I probably would have called you crazy. And yet, here I am today about to review “Come Home, Cowboy” by Cathy McDavid.

Now, Cathy was a friend of mine from many years ago. We went out in my first year college, and I knew that she was good at writing then. When I saw that she was writing romance novels with cowboys in them, I had to see how she was portraying those involved in my lifestyle.

The story revolves around Cara, a young divorced woman who had lost her son from an accidental fall a few years earlier. She runs a wild mustang sanctuary in Arizona and when the owner dies, his sons come out to run the cattle portion of the ranch. Josh, one of the sons, is a single father with two children whose ex-wife had a drug addiction. So, there’s the set-up.

The first thing that I noticed about the book is how comfortable I was reading it. Cathy does a great job with the cowboy lingo and doesn’t overdo. She realizes that cowboys are tough, but they are also people. We tend to love life and animals more than most, because animals are our lives. Her portrayal of the cowboy made me feel very much at ease and his patience is something that I’ve seen not only in myself, but others whom I work with, often. Cathy’s a very talented writer and does an excellent job exploring the characters and revealing the strengths and weaknesses of each in small enough portions that they’re easy to digest and, as in real life, we get to know them over time. I became involved in their backstories and I found myself rooting for them to reach that point in their relationship that felt inevitable, even if they couldn’t see it. Does love blossom in this story? I can’t tell you that. You’ll have to find out from someone else or by picking up this book and giving it a read.

So, if you’ve never read a romance novel before, give this one a try. Whether you’re a city slicker or, like me, a cowboy, I think you’re going to fall in love with falling in love in this wonderful story. You might even get a little insight into the author as well. 

Having Teenagers in Alternative, Colorado - Week Two Living Here

When we moved to Alternative, I thought about the fact that we had teenagers and it concerned me. It didn’t so much concern me that we had teenagers as it did that we were moving them to Alternative from our, or their, hometown. They have friends there. They went to school there and would probably continue to do so. Since my wife still works in Fort Collins, I have to drive into town anyway, so I promised them that they could continue attending their school.

Alternative has a school. It has three in fact. It has an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. Alternative, in fact, is the seat of the school district in this part of the county. They provide schooling for over 600 children, which is less than the entire population of the high school that my kids attend.

Marcy McDonald teaches tenth grade math at Alternative High, home of the Aardvarks. The principal, Jordan Beavens, always liked to say that “there are a lot of A’s in Aardvark, and a lot of A’s in Alternative High.” Mr. Beavens liked to think that he was everyone’s best friend, but if you asked Miss McDonald, you would find out that students thought about Mr. Beavens as all students thought about their principal. They feared him as an authority figure. Miss McDonald liked Mr. Beavens and thought that he was a good man who cared about the students.

Miss McDonald happened to be at the only restaurant in Alternative, which happens to be a Mexican restaurant. She happened to be there when my family walked in and sat down for a meal away from the house. Miss McDonald, seeing our teenagers sitting at the table, came over and introduced herself asking if our kids would be going to the local school this fall. We told her that they wouldn’t be. She seemed sincerely disappointed and even though the kids really liked her, I had a feeling that they were going to stick to their guns. I watched as Marcy spoke to the kids about the local teens. Alternative is small but easily hides most of the people there, especially because of the hot days. But Marcy seemed to know the names of several teens that lived in Alternative much to our surprise. She talked about one in particular named Charlie Tanner. He liked to go by Chuck, but people still called him Charlie. She wasn’t sure why, but they did none-the-less. Chuck and his family moved to Alternative from Maryland about two years earlier when his dad got fed up working for the corporate office of one of the countries largest banks and just wanted to settle down in a simpler and quieter life. He figured that moving to a small unassuming town like Alternative, would be good for not only his sanity, but his family’s sanity as well. His first day in Alternative, Chuck’s father felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. His wife was unsure at first, but quickly learned to love the small town and the people that preceded them there. Chuck took a little longer to convince. As a teen, Chuck had to work at not being an outsider, or at least, that how it felt. His first day at school, though, he was the most popular student there being the new kid. Everyone wanted to know about him, his family, his past and what he wants to do after high school. He had never been so popular and he was happy. Marcy talked about this with my kids. They smiled and nodded and stuck to their guns of going back to their old school. They would eventually meet a few of the local kids and learn that their popularity wasn’t being called into question at all.

The main thing was that our family was together. We had each other to cling to, to grow with and to support. My kids were going to maintain their status in their old school and maintain their mystery in town, bring hoards of new friends to find out who they were and where they went to school. But that’s another story for another time.

That’s the news this week from Alternative, Colorado, where people think different things in a little different way.

A Lazy July Day in Alternative, Colorado. Week one living here.

It was just another lazy and hot day in Alternative, Colorado in the middle of July. Even the birds decided to get as far into the trees as possible in order to escape the heat. That sometimes happens in the summer in the mountains. Temperatures reaching into the lower 100s are not uncommon.

Those who had air conditioners ran them and those who didn’t ran fans and swamp coolers. Our new house came with A/C so we were among the fortunate, although we quickly became popular among the folks who had no air conditioning. Martha, our next door neighbor, was one of the unfortunate ones who had no cooling system, and so it came as no surprise when she showed up at our door with a home baked cherry pie, baked a few days earlier when the weather was cooler. Once inside, it was important for her to begin telling us a few stories and suggest that the pie be eaten right away, perhaps with a scoop of ice cream, even though it was two in the afternoon.

Most of the cars in Alternative had air conditioners, and so people weren’t at all averse to taking a drive to some nearby larger city like Greeley or even down to Denver to go to the malls and shop and possibly see a movie in the air conditioned buildings there. Had it been three years ago, they might have stopped at Jimmy’s Market on Main Street and do some grocery shopping, as it was the only business on Main Street that had air conditioning. Jimmy had run the store for twenty years. After getting it up and running and being successful during the first two years, Jimmy’s wife blessed him with a baby boy. They named him Jimmy Junior and just called him JJ.

Jimmy couldn’t remember a day during that last eighteen years that he had the store, when JJ wasn’t around. Jimmy figured that eventually, JJ would take over running the store and Jimmy could retire and take his wife, Clarise, on a cruise to Alaska or even down to that Disneyland Island around Florida. But when he turned eighteen, JJ announced that he was heading off to Montana to get a job on a ranch. Jimmy was crushed but wouldn’t forbid JJ from leaving and figured that he would eventually come back, but after two years of waiting, Jimmy decided to just close the doors on the grocery store and sell the building. Some out-of-state investor came in and bought the building and used it as a write-off, pretty much leaving it to fall into disrepair, until the city council had to contact him about it and he had it torn down.

But the heat, lack of air conditioned buildings and especially, the lack of a grocery store in Alternative, gave Lester Timberwick an idea. Lester arrived in Alternative about three years ago from California. Martha thought that she heard him mention once that he was a lawyer in California and that he just didn’t want to deal with the injustices of the world anymore, so he found his way to Alternative. At least, she was pretty sure that she heard him say that sometime when she was out. None-the-less, Lester had an idea. He bought a van and offered, two or three times per week, to shuttle people back and forth to either Greeley or Fort Collins so that people could do their shopping without having to drive themselves or put wear and tear on their cars. His van was air conditioned, and so whether they had to go or not, numerous people would pay the few dollars to have Lester take them into town and drop them off at the local air conditioned establishments. Lester was good at his job and managed to talk non-stop during the half hour drive into town. He’d talk about law, and Colorado, and the local politics, such as they were. Most people liked the current mayor, Mayor Tom as he liked to be called.

Mayor Tom was great at fishing, and encouraged people to buy their fishing licenses from city hall and go down to the well stocked pond near Alternative Park. People would take their families and sit on the shore of the lake, catching trout and throwing them back, They’d talk about where they wanted to go and the things that they’d like to do. But most importantly, they spent time together as families and loved every minute of it, waiting for the sun to go down and the cool breezes to fill their homes for the night of rest and recuperation to prepare them for the next hot summer day. They’d hug each other, and walk home, maybe stopping at Lyle’s Pizza by the Slice shop on the way, and dream about Alternative becoming a bigger town.

And that’s the news this week from Alternative, CO., where people think about different things.

Alternative, Colorado: Where the People Think of Other Things to Do

My family and I recently moved to a smaller town here in Colorado. Alternative. It might sound like a strange name for a city, but it’s nice here. The cost of living is lower than where we were before in Fort Collins, and housing is more reasonable.

Before we moved, I did some research on the history of the city, just to find out a little more about it.

This fine city of 687, (a little more since my family of five moved here), was incorporated in 1968. Originally, they wanted to name it either Summitsville or Rocky Mountain Town. The mayor at the time, Ike Atckinson, was in charge of finding out which name the townspeople wanted the most. He asked around and they had a vote. Turned out it was a tie, so Ike went to his brother-in-law, Marvin, to break the tie. Now Marvin was not the shiniest apple in the barrel, and Ike knew this. He had assigned Marvin a city job to keep his wife, Becky, happy. He never really thought that he’d have to come to Marvin for anything, but he thought that this job would be simple. So, he went to Marvin and asked, “Which name do you like better?”

            “What are the choices again?” Marvin asked.

            Ike sighed and said, “Summitsville or the alternative.” He was just flustered enough that he could remember the other name.

            So Marvin announced that he had made a decision and went off to register that decision and incorporate the new city.

            Originally, then, the city was named, “The Alternative” and people just nodded and accepted it. Mayor Ike, however, thought it was a little cumbersome and got the people to agree to shorten it to just, “Alternative”. So it was then that Alternative, Colorado was born.

            Our family was the main attraction for the single day that it took us to unload the moving truck and get everything into the house. Most neighbors walked slowly by, giving weak waves or looking away and walking their small dogs quickly to their destinations.

Our new next-door neighbor, Martha, tried twice to bring us cookies. The first time, she had been watching out of her window and thought that we were done moving in when in reality, we had only stopped unloading to set-up a few things inside the house and grab some lunch. When we headed back out to the truck, we saw Martha with her cookie tray ambling up the toward our driveway, but with her eyes growing ever wider, she decided to make a u-turn and head back toward her house.

            Once she knew we were done and had closed the door to the truck, she came timidly back and knocked at our door. She introduced herself and cheerily peered around my daughter, who had answered the door, in an attempt to see where we were placing our furniture. We all decided to come to the door and expressed our appreciation for the cookies. Martha made sure to tell us that she had been baking all day and that when was certain that we would love them. They were oatmeal and raisin cookies and she put in extra raisins because they were so much better for people than chocolate chips, although she admitted that she occasionally snuck a few chocolate chips when she was feeling scandalous. She proceeded to tell us that she would come by tomorrow and let us know all about the town and who we should and should not know about. I had a feeling that we would find out about all of them, one way or another.

            Martha smiled and with one more peek around us, announced her departure, waved and waked back down the path toward her house, stopping once to wave and smile one last time.

            This would prove to be an interesting new adventure for us.

That’s the news from Alternative, Colorado for this week, a small town where people think of other things to do.

A New Path

Last night I took the dog for a walk. I always give me time to think, plot and plan.

As I walked along the path that I’ve walked with my dog for the past six months, and thinking about how I’ll be moving from this neighborhood soon, it made me sad thinking that soon I wouldn’t be walking along this path that I’ve come to love and know so well. I’ve really come to enjoy the evening walks in the park; feeling the coolness of the evening and seeing all of the wonderful houses and green expanse of lawn and old established trees. It’s a path that I’ve become very comfortable with. But then I started thinking about how life is a lot like this path.

We walk a path everyday of our lives. We have our routines that we go through that make us comfortable and content. It’s when life throws in a difference that we become uncomfortable. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed change and look forward to the challenges that they bring.

So thinking about a change in paths should have been something like that, exciting and challenging. Then why was I feeling so sad about this?

It was at that moment that I changed my way of thinking about this. Where I move, which won’t be far from where I’m living now, I’ll still be taking the dog for a walk each night. It will be the same, cool air. The sky above me will be the same, with the same clouds and the same moon. Only the immediate surrounding will be different. Different, but not bad. It was then that I decided that this would, in fact be an adventure.

In our lives, we sometimes view change as bad. But when change comes, we should look hard to see if that change is something that we can use to improve our lives. How can we use that change to propel ourselves toward our dreams and goals? How can we change our discomfort into a new level of comfort? It’s important to embrace change and move upward using that change as the momentum that will drive us to new heights and new levels in our lives. So tonight, when I took the dog for his walk, I enjoyed the path and looked forward with anticipation, to the new path that is coming my way in a few weeks!

Life Goes On

The other day I learned that my father had passed away. I didn’t hear it from immediate family and I didn’t even hear about it the day he died. In fact, it was two days later that a distant relative contacted me and told me what had happened. I thought that my sister or my step mom would have contacted me, but that wasn’t how it played out. But that’s not what this article is all about, so to the point.

It was two days after his death that I was told about it. In the meantime, life went on. Since then, life continued. It made me realize that even when someone close passes away, life goes on.

I guess I realized that with all of the celebrities that have passed this year, but they weren’t someone close that I had known. I didn’t know that my dad had passed away, and my life continued on as it did each and every day. I woke up, I worked, I provided transportation to my family and did everything that I did all of the time. Even though my father was gone, I still had life to live.

We all lose someone, but until we don’t wake up one morning, we have a choice to make a difference. We have a choice, each and everyday that have breath in our bodies, to make someone else smile, to make someone else feel good about themselves and to tell someone that we love them or forgive them. The moment that we stop breathing or our heart stops beating for the last time, we loose that opportunity. As long as life goes on, we can make a difference in the lives of others.

Your life is going on. If it wasn’t then you probably wouldn’t be reading this. Take a moment to think of someone else. Take another moment to say a kind word and smile at someone. Change a life one small deed at a time. When that person leaves, you’ll remember that moment for the rest of your life.

Food for the body, Food for the soul.

As most people do, I have my favorites regarding many things. I have my favorite people, my favorite movies, my favorite books, my favorite places to hang out and so on. I’m sure that you know what I’m talking about, because I’m certain that you have your favorites as well. When our favorites overlap with other people, we tend to get new friends. Sometimes, however, discovering new favorites can be hard. It can be difficult to tear ourselves away from the routine and venture out into unknown territories to discover what could become out new “favorite” of something.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I was in a rut. This is not a good thing. The rut, not the discovery of it. Anyway, I decided that it was time to get out of the rut and start trying new things. I asked friends about new places to eat. I figured that might be a good place to begin and by golly, it didn’t disappoint!

I was given several suggestions, and at first I was resistant to them. Not that I didn’t want to go, but my rut was fairly deep and it was difficult to get out of. I’m a strong and persistent person and finally made it out after speaking with one of my friends in person who asked me if I had tried their suggestion yet. “We have a really goo Sunday Brunch,” he said. “We?” I questioned. “Yeah, I cook there. We’re open on Sundays from 10 - 2. You should stop in and try it. You won’t be disappointed!”

I told him that I would be there and, being a man of my word, I was there.

At first I wasn’t sure what to expect from a place called “The Blind Pig” but after arriving, I was pleasantly surprised. The brunch was incredible! Not only was it a brunch, but it was an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch. The atmosphere was relaxed with a lot of college folks and a few families. The line wasn’t long at all at the buffet and going from station to station was an incredible journey of delight. From the normal scrambled eggs to the breakfast mac-n-cheese to the breakfast lasagna, this place was the epitome of original. I was even determined to try a few things that my brain has told me before, I don’t like. Well, I ate everything that was on my plate (and the plates are really good sized!) and went back for more. There was nothing there that I didn’t find extraordinary. On Saturdays, they have a breakfast menu and during the weekdays they have an incredible menu for dinners. Truly a one-of-a-kind restaurant, you’ll spend a good chunk of time wanting to order everything, as everything looks amazing.

So, if you’re looking for a restaurant with a great atmosphere, fun people, great service and yes folks, if you want there is a full bar for the drinkers among us, then take my advice and that of the amazing chef that I call friend, Gary Rosen, and visit The Blind Pig. You can find it at 214 Linden St. in Fort Collins, or check it out online at http://blindpigfortcollins.com/ to see what they have to offer as well as their hours and menu. I promise that you won’t be disappointed. I know that I wasn’t!

Intelligent Imagination

Imagination can take you anywhere and allow you to do anything. But when you’re writing, imagination needs to make sense to the person reading it, and that can only happen if you can draw the reader inside of the world that you’re creating and make them believe that an entirely new set of laws exist. 

If you ask just about anyone what powers Superman has, you will most likely receive answers like: he flies, he has heat vision, he’s indestructible, he can see through walls (x-ray vision) and so on. No one really says in answer to your question, “There is no Superman. He is a fictitious character that was created to the entertainment of children in a comic book.” At least, I don’t know anyone who would say that, and if someone did, I’d probably back away, slowly.

The fact that so many super hero characters have become household names, and their abilities well known, if due to the fact that we’ve come to accept this universe as something that, although not possible, is plausible in an entertaining sort of way. Super heroes touch us on a subconscious level. They can do things that we only wish we could do.

It’s difficult to do, but when I create new fiction, I attempt to find something that has never been done before. As an example, in my book “The Sounds of Tomorrow” I created a world where a young girl attains the ability to hear the sounds of traumatic events, 24 hours before they happen. When she hears a murder taking place, she has to figure out a way to let the police know without implicating herself or having those around her think that she’s crazy. In most stories, people can “see” into the future, but I had never heard of anyone only hearing the future.

In my series, “The Eyes of Tokorel”, I created a universe in which Permac and the Tokorellan people have the ability to mentally sense the emotions of someone else. In addition, they can influence others to feel any emotions. A person who is suspicious of you could be made to be trusting and accepting of you without understanding why. Have you ever met someone for the first time and decided that this is a likable person? Yet, you know little about them. Perhaps they are Tokorellan. So this ability plays on our subconscious desire to be able to enter any situation with confidence and control. If you could control the emotions of anyone you met, you could pretty much control the world. This give rise to numerous situations, especially when we find out that one person can actually “taste” when she’s being influenced. It makes for an interesting series. Good guys and bad guys alike have this ability, so the classic battle of good versus evil taken to a new level.

So the next time you create a new universe, think it through. Make it seem real and plausible. Convince your reader that such a universe exists. It’s great fun to know how much your readers will follow this new and intriguing universe that you have created!

Drew

An Entire Universe that Doesn’t Really Exist

When I first sat down to write about Permac Sudé, the universe of Tokorel did not exist. In fact, none of it existed until that very day that I turned on my brain and gave this strange character a name. It was interesting creating someone. I realized that I could make this person whomever I wanted him to be, and that he, in the absence of the laws that govern us, could do anything including things outside of our realm of thought and understanding. Phew! That was a mouthful. Subsequently, I made Permac and his entire race, have an ability that I only wish that I had. He has the ability to sense and influence emotions. Can you imagine?

We, as human beings, are very complex creatures when it comes to emotions and emotional responses to the actions of others. Sometimes we don’t even know why we feel what we feel. What if you could walk into any situation? Any situation at all!  What if you could immediately know what the person facing you was feeling. What if you could tell, in a crowded room, what each and every person was feeling? Further more, what if you could, with a thought, change what any of them were feeling into whatever you wanted them to feel? You could make a person trust you. Make them love you. Make them hate someone else. Make them trust you. Make them feel pleasure when they saw you. How many emotions do we have? I started to write a list, but it became too long and took up too much time. So, let’s just suffice it to say that there are a lot of emotions! Now, let’s move on to the next part of this equation. 

What if everyone had this ability? Well, maybe not everyone, just everyone on your planet. There would have to be certain social rules in place to make sure that people acted in a respectable manner. After all, we can’t just go around influencing everyone to like us, trust us and fall in love with us. So, certain rules need to be established and there needs to be some way to recognize when someone is invading your privacy. We’ll call it a “brain buzz” and use that to give someone a general idea that someone else is trying to influence them. You know that someone is trying, which is rude, but you don’t know who, but you’ve learned as you were growing up, that you could block others from doing this if you felt it was necessary. It takes concentration and probably isn’t that fun to do, but when someone is being rude, you need to take the time and energy, to show them that you are not someone to be trifled with. No sir.

So, there we have the ground rules. And obviously, no one plays poker where Permac comes from. But, what if you were to leave your planet, like Permac did. Poker might be an interesting game to be involved with. Your next question, however, might be, “What does Permac’s race look like?” and that would be an excellent question. They look pretty normal, really, except for their clawed fingers. That does make them look like another species though, and I’ll talk about that in my next blog. In the meantime, keep your feelings private and make certain that you know who’s controlling them. Let’s hope it’s you!

White Knuckling to our Goals

The other day, I drove sixty miles to do a job. It was a very straightforward job and I enjoyed doing it. It ended at a little past nine that evening and it was then time for me to drive home.

At the time, we were in the middle of a spring snowstorm. I have a good car with good tires, but the visibility was poor and cars driving on the freeway were splashing copious amounts of slush up and onto my windshield. There was enough slush on the road to make it difficult to see the lanes. It quickly became a white-knuckle drive.

The road and visibility remained consistent for about 40 miles. After that, the falling snow became more rain and the road became clearer so the drive became more pleasant as well as allowing me to drive faster. Home was a welcome sight.

I realized that this drive was a lot like reaching goals. I guess that in a way, I had set a goal of reaching home safely. In life, and in business, we set goals and create action plans to reach those goals. There are times, however, when life throws slush in the road, hiding those markers that will guide us safely to our intended goal. What do we do when that happens?

I could have chosen the safe route by pulling over and waiting for the storm to end. Unfortunately, the storm was forecast to continue throughout the night. It would have been a long night. Instead, I chose to drive carefully, looking for whatever guide markers I could find. When life throws things in the way of reaching my goals, I continue on by looking for markers that I have set in front of me and slow down a little. Sometimes, life has a way of telling us when it’s time to slow down, look around and possibly re-evaluate the direction that we’re going, or the way that we’re going. Perhaps it’s time to take a slightly different path. Whatever the reason, it’s up to us to stick with reaching the goal if it’s something that we really believe in and something that we truly want to reach.

So, the next time you’re feeling frustrated and ready to give up on that goal, slow down and take a look around. It might be that the storm will be over by the following day, and the roads will clear, giving you a straight shot at your goal, possibly faster than you ever imagined. Think of it as a snow day and let the rest energize you, propelling you on to greater heights! 

Drew

GPS

This past weekend, I had to drive from my home in Fort Collins, to a hotel in south Denver. It wasn’t a long drive. It only took an hour and a half. I feel like I know Denver pretty well, but I don’t know every street, and even though I used to have to work down there, it’s grown a great deal since I was down in that area, and so trying to find a specific address can be tedious. Thank goodness we have GPS systems!

I rented a car as I was going to be running down there over a period of three different days. I was filming a pageant for the contestants and their families. When I rented the car, I made sure to rent a GPS so that I could find my way to the hotel. I got the car all packed up, started it and plugged in the GPS. I typed in the address and received a message that, “maps are not available”. I really had to wonder about this, since that, as far as I knew, was the only thing a GPS did. It displayed a map and showed you how to get from here to there. Undaunted, I continued to try. After struggling with the device for a short time, I saw another sign appear. This time the sign read, “Low battery. Connect to external power source.” I looked at the back of the device and verified that it was plugged in, following the cord down to the 12v plug in the car. Yup. It was hooked up. I wriggled the cord at both ends, just to make sure that they were secure. Yup. They were.

Maybe a reset would help. So, I turned the GPS off and back on again. This time, before anything else, it told me that it had a low battery and to connect it to an outside power source. What the heck!  I thought. This was not going to be easy. Then, the GPS shut down and refused to turn back on. Dang it!

Okay, realizing that there was a USB port in the car, I took my cheap little Android phone, plugged it in, pulled up maps and asked for directions. It worked amazingly well and got me to my destination without any issues. It even helped me find my way home that evening.

The weekend went well, and it turns out that I didn’t even need the GPS because of my phone. Sadly, I still paid for it even though it was useless to me. That, however, is another blog for another time! The point is that I knew where I wanted to go, knew generally how to get there, but also knew that for the last mile or so, I would have been clueless. I realized that this same scenario applies to life. Many times we set goals. We know where we want to go and how to get there for the most part, but when we get down to that last little bit, we get lost and off track. Ever wish that there was a GPS for life? Well, there might be a device that will show us where to go all the way to our goals, but we have two things that will help. Knowledge and persistence. Whether it’s knowledge by learning for ourselves, or knowledge that we gain from asking others, it’s that knowledge that will see us safely through to the very end and help us avoid getting lost that last little bit. Persistence is essential in reaching your goal. You might get lost, but keeping at it will always keep you moving forward. You might hit road blocks, but keeping the rewards at the end, in mind, can keep you on track. Don’t let a little hiccup in the plan stop you from getting to where you need to go. Keep moving and find another way if necessary!

Always research the trip from where you are now to the goal you wish to reach. Ask for help and direction, and don’t let anything stand in your way and before you know it, you’ll have successfully arrived and be ready to plan the next trip to a great new goal!

Drew

Take a Step Back

The other day I went into WalMart to grab a quick snack comprised of a banana, an apple turnover and some milk. I didn’t want a gallon or a half gallon of milk, I just wanted one of those little bottles that one can drink in the car. After getting the banana, I went over to the dairy section to look for the milk. I stood at the section that had the smaller bottles of chocolate milk and looked. I couldn’t find the plain milk in the small bottles anywhere. I looked at the chocolate milk rack and just below it, and it just wasn’t there! Then an interesting thing happened. I took a step back. In doing this, I was able to see the entire case, in addition to the two cases on either side. Low and behold, there were the containers of milk that I was looking for.

The moment that I stepped back, I could see more, or more of the big picture, as it were. It was at that moment that I realized what that saying meant. You know, the one that says something like, when you are too close to a situation, you need to take a step back away from it. 

The dictionary talks about taking a step back as,“to withdraw from something, especially to consider it from a wider perspective”. It comes from what I literally did in order to see my situation more clearly, and to be able to find a solution to my problem.

I guess that most words of wisdom are created from something that is done, at least once, with a successful result. I have to wonder what the person was doing, who came up with this concept of taking a step back. Maybe looking for some milk to go with breakfast, but probably not.

It’s amazing, however, how something this simple and something that I’ve heard over and over for years, really didn’t hit me until I actually had to do it, and now it makes sense. So, when ever you run into a problem that you feel is difficult to figure out, take that step back. Whether it’s a mental step or a physical step that you need to take, remember that it’s a step back to get a better view of the entire problem as well as a view of the possible solution. In other words, don’t focus so hard on the one problem point that you lose sight of the goal. Take that step back and let it help you move forward toward the the solution or reward that’s waiting for you!

Drew ~

It’s Taken Care of…

It’s Taken Care of…

by Drew Bankston

I look around at people and see the worry and concern that they have for their lives, and I have to wonder…why?

Okay, truth be told, I don’t really wonder why. I used to be right there, and righty so! There wasn’t a month go by when I wasn’t worried about something. Mostly money. I think that we all worry about money at least once in our lives. I had other worries too, though, oh yes sir I certainly did! When I look back on things I really wonder why I was so worried.

Here I am, so many years later, and not without worry, but my worries are somehow fewer than they used to be. Life has not, by any means, become simpler, but I have come to understand it better.

One of the biggest things that I’ve found is the need to play. We’ve all heard it before. When we’re kids, out work is play…and so on. The fact of the matter is that we are no longer kids. We are adults. We have responsibilities, lives, jobs, families, bills and payments and probably a lot more than I have time to list here. We do however, have one thing that can benefit us, reduce our stress, lessen our worry and make us feel so much better in life. It’s something that won’t cost you anything unless you want it to. It’s a gift that allows you to live a little better. I know that you’re wondering what this miracle is, and how you can get it. Here it comes! Relaxation.

Okay, so now you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Take a look at the title of this blog. So many of us just go, constantly, without stopping, and never give ourselves the opportunity to relax. We go straight from one project into another, without taking any time to reset. Some of us, only take five minutes to relax. What the heck is that? How do you relax, or do you? Do you take time to sit down with a good book and a cup of tea, or glass of wine. Do you rest your mind as well as your body? Here’s the advice: Take a break! When, as the title indicates, it’s taken care of and the project is over (or the day for that matter) give yourself the time that you need to relax. Rest your body and your mind. Don’t say that you don’t have the time. Make the time and time will make way for your needs. It’s really amazing how it all works and comes together. Try it. That’s all I’m asking. Give it a couple of days and see if I’m not right about this. You’ll feel so much better and get so much more done, you won’t believe it.

Melt your troubles and worries away, become more productive, and live a better life by relaxing on a regular basis. Take a walk. Read a book. Look at art. Listen to music. Do whatever it is that helps you to relax and reset, and the world will be yours for the taking. Come on, try it.

Roundabout Life

Over the past few years, the city that I live in has started installing more and more roundabouts in intersections. At first, I wasn’t sure why they would do that, but then I was told that these would help us save gas because people wouldn’t have to stop as frequently as they would if a stop sign had been placed in the same spot. Made some sense, so okay. Not that there was anything I could do about it. Anyway, I learned rather quickly what the rules of the traffic circle were. Basically, if someone is in there, they have the right of way, and I need to wait until it’s clear. Simple enough, or so I thought.

It all seemed to work well for a while, but then I started seeing more and more people who felt that they should just bolt out into the circle regardless of who was in there or how close they were. This seemed to cause a lot of hard feelings in addition to scared drivers!

So, as I tend to do often, I looked at this as a great opportunity to compare life to a roundabout, and it seemed to work well. Staying with me? Okay, here we go.

In life, for the most part, we travel straight with an occasional bend in the road and maybe a right turn or left turn just when we need to adjust our course. If we’re lucky, there are sign posts and maps along the way, to help us reach all of the destinations that we want to in life. Then, somebody up and decides that they’re going to put up a roundabout. It throws some new rules into our everyday travel through life, and makes it so that you discover how many strange and unknowing people there really are around you. You do your best to keep on going, but every now and again, there’s something that happens to cause you to have to circle another time. Did you miss the turn that you needed by not being prepared? Were you feeling the pressure of the guy behind you or others competing with you? Whatever the reason, you find yourself going around a second time. Eventually, though, you make it out alive and none the worse for wear. In fact, you make it out and find yourself a little more savvy when it comes to maneuvering these traffic circles of life. 

When you find things that apparently send you spinning, out of control, and wondering where you’ll go next to get out of this, you eventually find your way to a better place and realize that you now know more than you did before the event. It’s never just smooth sailing through life. If it were, there would be no challenge and nothing to shoot for. As it is, life’s little roundabouts help us all to take a breath and then carry on, knowing that our destination is just up ahead. Keep going folks. You’ll get there, maybe a little dizzy, but better for having thought your way through it.

Drew

Fresh Eggs...

Have you ever taken out a carton of eggs and cracked one open, only to find that it’s been frozen? When that happens, you have to wonder what’s wrong with your refrigerator? Why did the egg freeze? So you go back out to the refrigerator and check the milk, at least, that’s what I do. I want to make sure that the milk isn’t frozen as well. When I say, go back out, it’s only because I have teenagers, and that forced me to buy a second refrigerator that I keep in the garage because there’s not room in the kitchen. So, I go back out to check the milk and make sure that it’s not frozen as well, and once I get out to the garage, I notice that someone, or several someones, have not thrown away the cartons that once held the cans of Pepsi on the garage floor. With a sigh, I pick up the empty carton, break it down and carry it over to the recycle bin, break it down and drop it in. How hard was that? I begin to walk back over to the refrigerator, when I hear the phone ringing inside of the house. I run in to answer it, but after looking at the caller ID and noticing that it’s not someone I know, I choose to ignore it. So I run back up the short flight of stairs to the kitchen, and I go to the kitchen refrigerator to get out the milk so that I can make the scrambled eggs. Getting out the milk reminds me that the eggs were frozen and that I wanted to check the milk outing the garage, and the cycle is complete.

How many of us experience days like this? You might not experience the specifics of the day, but the general idea of it. You experience the inability to be able finish one task before another one rears it’s ugly need! So what do you do?

I’ve had this difficulty a lot recently, and i’m not really sure why. It hasn’t been a problem all of my life, just within the past few weeks. So what am I doing to solve this untimely dilemma? I’m really focusing on the task before me. I am determined to get this one thing done and then move on. If something comes to mind that threatens to draw me away from my current task, in order to satiate the craving for more than I can handle, I have a note pad where i write down the task and get to it when it comes up on the rotation. I’m finding this to be incredibly effective as well as providing me with a great ToDo list. I’ll be busy for weeks to come at this rate!

So, just my two cents worth. If you’re experiencing this issue, give my idea a try and let me know if it worked for you. You can always reach me at author@drewbankston.com or, for more fun things delivered monthly, go to my webpage (www.drewbankston.com) and sign up for my monthly newsletter, where you’ll get life tips, info on my new books, my touring schedule as well as information on book give-aways and contests. Later my friends!

Drew