The Wit and Wisdom of Wade Phillips

November 9, 2015

The Broncos were fighting hard to hold the Colts to a field goal late in the game yesterday. Maybe you were watching them trying for their eighth straight victory of the year. It looked as if they would force the field goal and regain possession of the ball. There was a chance that they could […]

Hold the fries please

November 8, 2015

For six years between 1998 and 2004, a very young tennis pro made a commitment to eliminate French fries from the diet. It took that long and weekly counseling for over a year to put a certain event behind me. We were having dinner in a basement level restaurant in downtown Chicago. The waiter delivered […]

Tennis Smile

November 8, 2015

It was a hot afternoon in early June, 1978.  Mark Tapp (age 7) arrived for his first tennis lesson at The Jewish Community Center in Denver.  He wore a floppy white hat and his doting mom had covered him with sun tan lotion. His very young coach wore a stylish Afro and could tell immediately […]

Here fishy fishy

November 8, 2015

It was a hot day in June of 2000 and perfect for swimming at the beach. Not the ocean mind you….but the terrific beach at the lake in Bow Mar, Colorado.  A very young tennis pro had a full day of lessons at the courts about a half mile from the beach. Our daughter, Carly,and […]

Life is amusing

November 8, 2015

Well, I hope it’s a sign of maturity but the jury is still out. Jake and Levi (our neighbor’s Alaskan malamutes) were at it again last night.  Howling at all hours of the night is obviously wired into their DNA. It used to get me riled up but now, thankfully, I’m just amused.  When you […]

Encourage

November 7, 2015

“We learned as children that ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But that’s not true. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can break my heart.” Words have a tremendous power for good or for ill. We have a choice in the words we use.” We can: […]

Kids say the darnedest things

November 7, 2015

Forty cars were parked near Linksview Park this morning and another soccer Saturday began. As we teed off on number one at South Suburban, the soccer kids were flying around the field and coaches were feverishly shouting instructions that…..truth be told, the kids never heard. I had a flashback to nearly thirty years ago.  Our […]

Coach Wooden

November 7, 2015

John Wooden was the legendary basketball coach at UCLA where his teams won ten national championships in twelve years. He was a mentor and spiritual light to players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Walton, and others. Coach Wooden loved words, poems, and quotes. Mr Wooden is in heaven now with his beloved wife Nellie. His […]

The Key

November 7, 2015

Dan Gottlieb was paralyzed thirty years ago in a traumatic car accident. He is a respected family therapist, author, and radio show host. His most recent book is entitled The Wisdom We’re Born With.  In the book, he writes about a chemical in the brain called serotonin.  It is the ingredient that helps put the […]

Enough is Enough

November 6, 2015

‘All right, I get it. You’re the biggest Elton John fan ever. You have seen him in person eleven times. I am forced to listen to ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me’ each night before bed. But this……this is unacceptable. I will not wear these silly glasses to Tommy’s birthday party tomorrow. No […]

You cannot be serious

November 6, 2015

“Ok….ok…..let me just see if I understand this. We’ve gone on the same walk to the park for fifty-one days in a row. You and I have played with the frisbee and I’ve been rewarded with treats for ‘Olympic’ catches time and again.  Today, you put your hand on my head and say…. ‘sorry, Buddy, […]

A tough day at school

November 5, 2015

John Montgomery is a freshman in high school. His girlfriend of three months broke up with him today and wants to see other guys. He wonders if it was something he said…..or did…..or failed to do.  John thought everything was going great and now feels that his heart has been hijacked. He could not bring […]

Hindsight is 20/20

November 5, 2015

Dr. Gerald Bell, a professor at The University of North Carolina conducted a survey of 4,000 retired executives.  He wanted to determine what they would do differently if they had their life to live over again.  Thought you might appreciate the results. I should have taken charge of my life and set my goals earlier. […]

A Paradigm Buster

November 5, 2015

This picture by Dave Irey sparked a cowboy’s imagination within seconds. Immediately, I thought of how exciting it must have been for Dave to witness this battle of wills in the wild. The next impression was even more potent. How often in the human kingdom do we get tangled up like this with other people? […]

Old Lady Gates

November 5, 2015

It was the summer of 1960 in Prairie Village, Kansas.  Neal Dufur, Tom Finholm, and a much younger cowboy were having a raft race in the creek behind Neal’s house.  Raft might be exaggerating a bit.  We each had small sticks that were designated with long forgotten names and we followed them for a half […]

Love space

November 5, 2015

On Wednesday, two young boys ages 7 and 9 were attending 6:30 a.m. Mass with their mother. The boys wore light blue sweater vests that seemed to be the uniform at St. Thomas More school. The kids flanked their mom one on each side. Ten minutes into the Mass, the nine year old stepped in […]

Stamp out Hunger

November 5, 2015

John Chapman was born in Leomeister, Massachusetts in 1774. His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry. He always carried a leather bag filled with apple seeds he collected for free from cider mills.  He soon became known as Johnny Appleseed. Legend has it that he was constantly […]

Hannah

November 4, 2015

Hannah is six years old and misses her dad. His Ft. Carson unit was called to duty two months ago. Master Sergeant Rick Dailey is training the military police in Afghanistan and hopes to return by Christmas. Hannah sits quietly on the window seat and wishes he’d be back next week for Christmas. That would be […]

Appreciate

November 4, 2015

“The earth laughs in flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pheasants Forever

November 4, 2015

In early November of 1992, a group of dedicated pheasant hunters traveled to western Kansas in search of ringnecks. The group consisted of Al Sigman and his son Darrell, Tom Flaming, Rich Bloch, and a very young cowboy named Bob.  A steady rain greeted them on Saturday morning. By 11:00 am., the party was soaked […]