I have said for a long time that customer service is all but dead in America. Instead of listing examples of poor customer service, I am going to list a recent example of wonderful customer service and draw a conclusion.

There are coincidences in life, but not this time. Last evening I landed on a televised interview of a very successful man. His message was to never give up, never quit. I filed it in the back of my mind as I turned off the television to go to bed.

Today is Saturday November 12, 2016. Seven weeks ago tomorrow I brought my wife to the hospital. ICU visiting hours do not begin until 9:00 AM, but for some reason I had to be here almost two hours early on this quiet Saturday morning. Well, quiet may be stretching it a bit.

I must confess something to you. I’m having a bit of a difficult time right now emotionally, so I am putting my thoughts to paper. Six weeks ago today, this very hour, it all started. I would have never conceived the thought that reflecting on a smile would make me this emotional

The words in the title above appear to be totally opposite, but the following few paragraphs will unite them. I believe many of society’s ills would be vastly diminished with a good dose of compassion, laced with a pinch of selfishness. For that to take root, as the saying goes, would take a come to Jesus meeting.

In the business sense, holding hands carries the connotation of an employee who is incapable of following instructions without someone “holding his hand.” Musically, a song about holding hands was a runaway hit for a new group called the Beatles. But, as you would expect, I am taking the idea of holding hands in a different direction.

Most of us would associate “For Better or For Worse” with words spoken in a wedding vow. I repeated those simple words many years ago with little or no thought of what they might one day entail. Today, however, my mind went beyond the original intent of those words to consider what it would be like if we applied that vow to other areas of life.

Most of us remember times when our world stood still, when the event was so traumatic that to this day we remember where we were when it happened. I am old enough to have had several of those moments. Most of those, like 9-11, weren’t personal, but 61 hours ago everything changed.

Our personal and professional lives are interconnected in numerous ways. Both require decisions that are made in an instant and over time. If life gives us anything, it gives us the ability to reflect on decisions great and small that have become life altering. What we choose to do with that reflection can become an integral part of our success or our failure both personally and professionally. 

The above five words have been on my mind for several months. Let me begin by using a fairly innocuous example. I live in a city where it is not uncommon to see people standing at an intersection holding a cardboard sign that says they are hungry.

My wife and I had taken our oldest granddaughter to Chic-fil-A. She is a cute, smart, and social nineteen-month-old. As we were eating an older woman walked by noticing our granddaughter, but she was on a mission to get to a table. Her husband lagged behind. Walking stooped and slow, he managed about six inches per step. Yet, he spoke to our granddaughter with the energy and vigor of a man half his age.

For those of us who have been around for a little while longer than others, we may have distant memories of supposed faith healers who seemed to profit off the sufferings of others rather than actual healings like those in the Bible.

The above question came to mind a few minutes ago as I pondered the connection between a series of contacts I attempted to make this past week and the responses I received. Allow me to set the stage for a minute.

Several weeks ago, while watching a town hall meeting of one of the presidential candidates, an elderly man came to the floor microphone and introduced himself as a WWII veteran. 

The title above, advertising personal tech fitness devices, was in the subject line of an email I received today from Best Buy. I added the question marks. Although all of us could probably benefit from being more physically fit, my mind drifted in other directions.

The flight was full, but there was still one seat open between me and the guy who sat in the isle seat. I knew the empty seat would soon be filled and wondered who it would be. Shame on me, but I am usually not one to strike up conversations.