Saturday, April 1, 2006
My first promotion as a
member of the Safety Patrol at St. Michael's School was from Patrolman to
Sergeant. I still remember taking the colorless patrolman badge off my
safety belt and replacing it with the new green sergeant's badge. Life was
good and within a few months I made it to Lieutenant and a very cool red
badge.
Being Captain was next to impossible, since there was only one in the morning and one in the afternoon and a new Captain was chosen only once a year...always from the 8th grade. Nonetheless, it was what I dreamed of and knew I could do the job. I visualized giving all the others a pep talk each morning before marching out their assigned posts, explaining what an important job they were doing.
I dreamed it and worked hard at proving I could do it.
And so, on the first day as an 8th grader, our principal - Sister Urban, announced that the two captains for the coming year would be Manuel Macias and yours truly....just as I had dreamed it.
I could not have been prouder and fulfilled my duties to the best of my ability.
One of the highlights of the year was attending the annual patrol rally at the Municipal Auditorium. It was great fun and we were always motivated by a speaker whose job it was to make us feel even prouder and more important.
This morning - April 1, 2006 at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas, I was that speaker.
As I looked out into the crowd at the faces of students who had earned their right to be there, I could feel their dreams and offered five words of advice that might help them get to where they wanted to go:
1. Create the POSITIVE world you want to live in.
2. Work hard to make your dream come true.
3. Serve those who cross your path daily.
4. Help others to achieve their dreams.
5. Believe with all your heart that you can do it.
While the Captain's badge can only be worn by one at a time, there is no limit on how many can dream of that moment.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Motivation
can jump out and surprise you when you least expect it. I find that more and
more it is the people I meet and share common goals with that are my
constant motivators. Such is the case with a man named Hector Salazar, who
for the last 28 years he has dedicated his life to caring for youth as the
director of what is now the community center that bears my name. While I am
honored to have this distinction, I am even more honored to know someone
like Hector Salazar. You see, many of the children who are served by the
center, which is located deep in San Antonio's West Side, have very little
and it has been Hector's loving direction that has brought joy and
encouragement into their lives.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay him is to share a quote that was given me by one of the many friends attending the retirement luncheon in his honor this week:
""The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." -Nelson Henderson
The trees planted by Hector Salazar will shade children for years to come. The leaves will remind the rest of us of the lasting difference one person can make.
Monday, March 6, 2006
Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." My good friend, Nacho
Estrada likes to point out that the word enthusiasm comes from the
Greek word
enthousiasmos meaning "to have God within". Maybe that's why
children are so enthusiastic about all that fills them with joy.
They seem to have no problem letting us know about the grandness of their dreams. It is those who hold on to that enthusiasm who go on to the top of the mountain.
Perhaps within you there is a great accomplishment that would benefit all involved and just maybe, you need only to tweak your attitude to get it done.
For, if nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, it would follow that all things done with enthusiasm stand a better chance of greatness.
Be enthused. Be great.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Don Knotts was committed
to what he did best - making people laugh. From his first appearances on The
Steve Allen Show to his big screen career, He never stopped doing what he
loved.
I was fortunate to have met him when I was a young broadcaster in El Paso. He was on a nationwide tour promoting his then latest movie, "The Shakiest Gun In The West." (I smile just writing that title.)
A few members of the media had been invited to have lunch with Don at the Plaza Hotel and as we finished our meal, seated at a large table for ten, I asked one last question... "Are you going anywhere else from here or is this the end of the road?"
Very seriously, he looked at me and said, "No, this is the end." And, with that, he dropped his face straight down on his empty plate! It took us all by surprise and after half a second of recovering from the shock, we burst out laughing.
Don Knotts was Don Knotts.
He just never stopped and we will miss him and love him for what he gave us. Certainly, he taught me a lesson about comedy that I will never forget -There's no such thing as halfway when you're committed to the joke.