A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. – Proverbs 17:22
Scheming in Front of a White Board
An Analog Practice Connected to a Digital World
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Most of my work is done on a screen with a keyboard. It is terribly efficient, organized, and synced to the cloud.
It also gets somewhat routine, and I find it sometimes stifling my creativity.
Recently I stood in front a freshly cleaned white board with some markers. I began scheming, making marks, erasing, and making some more marks.
It was exhilarating.
Of course, in a nod to the digital world I took a photo of my masterpiece and emailed it to myself so I could take the next steps…on a screen and a keyboard.
Sometimes productivity and creative work is best done by old methods that get linked with modern advances.
If you have not recently schemed in front of a whiteboard or on a yellow legal pad, I highly recommend it.
In Tribute to Toby
A Royal Corgi to Us
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On Wednesday of this week (4/18/18) at least two beloved corgis ended their stays on earth. One belonged to Queen Elizabeth (the last of her famous corgis), and one belonged to us. Both the Queen’s Willow and our Toby were 14 years old.
The news coverage all says that Queen Elizabeth was hit “extremely hard” by the loss of Willow. We understand. Both of these dogs were important and loved.
I know how it is when other people lose a pet. I empathize with them, but there is no way I can know about everything they will miss about that pet. So it is with our Toby to you. He was our family member, not yours. I am certain you can understand what we are feeling, but you cannot know exactly what made Toby special to our family. So for my sake I need to write a few words. You might find something here for you as well, but even if not I hope you will understand my need to pay tribute to our royal corgi. He was certainly treated like royalty around here.
Margot and Toby – March 2004
In tribute to him I need to say that he was our first corgi. We got him as a puppy from Yvonne Gerhardt in Fredericksburg, Texas. I will never forget that spring break when we spent a few days in Fredericksburg. Our primary mission was meeting with Yvonne and getting our new family member. He was so tiny.
He was everything we wanted in a dog.
As he grew we added another corgi, Fiona, to the mix. We also added our daughter’s corgi mix, Rhett. They were quite the threesome. Fiona ruled the roost until she left us. Toby and Rhett got along splendidly, and now Rhett is wondering why the house is so quiet.
Toby loved food. Breakfast, midday snack, dinner, midnight snack. He would eat as much as we would feed him. He never lost that right up until the very last. More about that later.
Toby’s “personality” was not without its challenges. Many years ago when our son’s girlfriend was at our house for a Super Bowl party, she reached down to pet Toby and he bit her finger. We think it was the anxiety of having a house full of young people, but he did it. We were very cautious after that, but when he would get surprised, he would sometimes snap. Many years ago he bit a vet (at our former clinic) despite our warning her that he sometimes bites. Instead of exercising caution, she reached down to pet him and drew back a bitten finger.
Matt, Toby, and Fiona
That particular bite was especially costly. When the vet went to the emergency room for her finger (which I still think was unwarranted, but whatever), the authorities filed a report and we got a knock at the door from the puppy police. City ordinance required that Toby go to dog jail (quarantine) for 10 days. The only place we could find that would take him was Premier Animal Hospital in Cedar Park, Texas. That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship that continues to this day.
Not only did Toby graduate from quarantine, he thrived under the care of Dr. Todd Rabon and the staff at Premier. I wish I could properly convey the gratitude that my family and I have for Dr. Rabon. As a Longhorn with a lot of friends and family who are Aggies, he is right up there as one of my favorite Aggies. He is a compassionate human being who understands what people go through when it is time to say goodbye. He does it right.
Before I get to the Toby sendoff, I have to say that Dr. Rabon’s care of Toby over the years included the removal of a toe that had to go and the removal of a cancerous tumor last November. Through all of the years of care, no one at Premier was ever bitten. That is a testament to the professionalism of this organization.
The Gum Caper
Two years ago there was also The Gum Caper. The child of a friend who was staying with us for a couple of days left a pack of sugar-free gum in her suitcase in the guest room and left the door open. Toby found it and enlisted Rhett’s help in consuming pretty much every last bite. When I discovered it I saw enough of the remaining package to know that they had eaten gum sweetened with xylitol. As you may know, xylitol is very toxic to dogs. Since it was after hours, off we went to the ER. After staying all night in the ER getting treatment, they were then transferred to Dr. Rabon at Premier where he successfully treated them. The total bill between the ER and the follow-up was $3,646. That hurt, but we were so grateful that they were both in such great hands. I understand that Toby and Rhett were known for a while at Premier as The Xylitol Twins.
Toby and his buddy Rhett
It was the cancerous tumor that was removed last November that came back and ultimately led us to the recent decision. I mentioned how much Toby loved food. Let’s just say that the awesome vet tech, Meredith, knew this and lavished Toby with incredible treats and sent him out a very happy dog. We will forever be grateful to both Meredith and Dr. Rabon. You guys are simply the best. Our entire family appreciates your compassion and professionalism.
Closing Thoughts
I vividly remember 16 years ago both of my kids, dogless at the time, exerting maximum pressure on me to add a canine to our feline household. I resisted for two years until I was finally worn down. They did not know the real reason that I resisted for so long. It was not because I disliked dogs. In fact, it was the exact opposite. I love dogs. I grew up with a wonderful beagle named Snoopy. I still get teary-eyed thinking about Snoopy. What I knew sixteen years ago about dogs is that they do not live forever. There always comes a day like Wednesday when the Queen and I have to say goodbye to our corgis.
Toby and Kellen at Christmas
Sixteen years ago I was basically a coward not wanting the hurt of saying goodbye. I was wrong. This really does hurt terribly, but I was wrong. I would not trade one day of our 14 years with Toby to avoid this pain (OK, maybe I would trade the days that he bit someone). This pain is rendered irrelevant compared to the incredible journey of sharing our lives with old Toby.
Margot and I both thanked Toby for being such a great companion. Our house will never be the same, but our lives are richer for having shared them with Toby. The tears will slow, but the memories will never stop.
I will miss you and those big beautiful ears, Toby-Bear.
I Was Going to Quote Wayne Gretzky on the Puck, but…
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I like to share wise and pithy quotes on this site from time to time. Let’s admit it, we all love those kinds of quotes. We care what influential people said when it seems to capture some helpful advice or viewpoint.
The quote I was planning to use is one of Gretzky’s most famous:
Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.
This is great because it is a call to look to the future and not be bound to the past (or even the present?). However, as I was searching for the exact quote, I came across an article that correctly warns us about using pithy sayings without really thinking about them. I recommend the article.
The obvious question raised by the quote is how do we know where the puck is going? If I knew where the price of my favorite stock would be next month (whether up or down), I could make some money. In hockey, Gretzky honed his skills and worked with his teammates enough that he had a pretty good idea where it was going. In business, in personal decisions, and in life it is not quite like that for most of us. The future location of our metaphorical pucks is not always so clear.
I still really like the quote. We are all trying to make educated guesses on the future, but we should also be humble enough to admit that we don’t actually know where the puck is going.
Another takeaway for me is that it is also a good idea to think critically about famous quotes and to look for the complexity that is often masked by the genius of word-smithing.
The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. – Pearl S. Buck
Life Happened for Sean Adams
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Photo courtesy of AM 1300 THE ZONE @am1300thezone
Austin media personality Sean Adams passed away yesterday at the age of 46. That could be one of those impersonal headlines that you see and think nothing of. For many people in the Austin area it is very personal. It is for me.
I recently wrote about change. Yesterday things changed for a lot of us.
Sean and I were not close friends, but we knew each other and liked each other. I went to church with him for many years and always admired him. There were many exceptional things about him. He was a great son, husband, father, and friend. He took all of those roles and responsibilities seriously. He was a man of faith, and he had a remarkable breadth and depth about him. He had talent coupled with a terrific work ethic. He and Chip Brown in the mornings were a special team discussing sports. There was true chemistry there, and it was great to listen to. It was a morning staple for many of us. It was about more than just sports – it was sports generously seasoned with wit and wisdom.
I had lunch with Sean a couple of times at his favorite restaurant, Cover 3. We talked about our families, business, and he encouraged me when I was writing my book. He was also an encouragement to our children. When I got the stunning news yesterday about his passing, I looked at my text message history with him. There is nothing profound there, but I will always treasure it.
My heart goes out to Karen, Damon, Alex, and Sean’s mother and siblings. I also grieve for Chip Brown, Mike Hardge, Mike Weigand, Anthony Williams, Thomas Graham, Geoff Ketchum, and all of the other many people who shared a close bond with Sean. He had a lot of true and genuine friends all across the country. You cannot say that about many people.
My lasting memories of Sean will be his faith and his heart for elevating others to higher planes. He was famous for the wisdom in his many sayings. They will stick with me.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- “The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately. Go to work.”
- “Do something good for the world today, because the people who are making it worse aren’t taking the day off.”
- “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.”
Photo courtesy of Enrique Garza @goodstuffcvms
He and I also shared a perspective on the value of sports. He spoke often of the huddle. The huddle is sacred, he would say. It is the one place where northerner and southerner, rich and poor, black and white, conservative and liberal, come together, put their arms around each other, and bond for a common goal. They sweat and bleed together, and special things happen.
Sean often said: “Life happens for those who show up.”
Sean showed up.
Life happened for him.
Thanks for showing up for all of us, brother. Rest in Peace.