Happy Holidays!!

I can't believe we are done with yet another decade. It seems like only yesterday when we were all concerned with Y 2 K. This decade has been one for the ages. 50 years from now, if we are still fortunate to be walking this great planet, we will all look back and still know where we were exactly on September 11th, 2001. You see September 11th, 1984 was the day I broke my neck, and my life changed forever. So it had already been a day of reckoning for me. I had used that day to reflect on my life and what I had learned as a result of living through a catastrophic event. I learned that life is short, that it's not guaranteed. I learned that life can be forever changed in a split second, and it is never exactly as it seems. But mostly I had learned that life is meant to be cherished and embraced. To be lived to it's fullest, and to live it exactly how you want. Because there are no promises of tomorrow. So when I saw those planes hit the World Trade Centers, I felt the pain and anguish and terror all over again. The incredible fear that life is so fragile. Yes the terrorist's took something away from us all that day, a little bit of our freedom, our trust in our fellow man. But what they did not expect was that some of us, learned to appreciate life even more, to live life even better, and love life even deeper. Yes it can be very difficult to find a silver lining in tragedy, but when you do, it's even greater.
Yes this has been one crazy decade. We have seen our nation elect an African-American as President in Barack Obama. I was watching the election with my wife Jenny and our beautiful daughter Molly Jayne. We both knew that we witnessed the kind of history that will be remembered by all who saw it forever. It truly was an amazing moment in time. We also witnessed two wars, and thousands of young men and women lose their lives. Whether you agree with the wars or not, any loss of life is tragic in my book. I live with the notion that we only get one life, and to have end to soon is indeed a terrible waste.
I could on and on about this past decade and what I learned from it. But that is not necessary. What I most want to convey to you the reader and to you my friend, that no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, remember that tomorrow is not promised. Love deeper, speak sweeter, give forgiveness, live like you are dying, yes Tm McGraw said it perfect.

Happy Holidays!!!

Joe