Real story.

I drove 15 minutes to a local airport. Parked within 100 feet of the ticket agent. Showed my ID, no e-ticket. Received a boarding pass. Walked 50 feet to security. Walked 20 feet to waiting area. Walked 100 feet to climb stairs to 737. Boarded. Flew 3 hours 10 minutes. Landed in Gary, Indiana. Walked 100 feet to car rental office. Walked 100 feet to car. Conducted business. Parked car at airport. Walked 100 feet and dropped keys into lock box. Walked 30 feet to ticketing. Showed ID. Received boarding pass. Walked 100 feet to plane. On landing in Mesa avoided mid air collision with Cessna by our 737 pilot applying full power to boost us up and over. Landed. Man pushed stairs to plane. We disembarked. Walked 150 feet to car. Headed for home. Let me tell you, compared to Phoenix International, Charles De Gaulle, Heathrow, Moscow, this was a delightful experience. Too, I was able to give my business associate an empty seat beside her by finding another seat in the plane. No sniveling by flight attendants. Neat. And the flight to Gary was less than $90.00 and the return flight was a whopping $1.00. True story.

Try your very best to get what you want, and if you don't get it, keep trying, and you will get what you need.

And here is one for the books. The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

Russia is nationalizing its industries again. It is clear that countries need security and predictability before many other aspects of government or methods of commerce. "Tis better to sleep with a devil you know than an angel you don't." seems to be a world mantra. Having lived in Siberia a very short time, I can see the need for abusive rules over no rules.

I was in Savoy, Illinois on this trip. It was near zero and the wind was cold. Within two day, I could take the weather without an overcoat for short walks. Coming home to Mesa where three days before I thought 40 degrees was cold, it was no longer cold.

Cycling today, outbound was slightly up hill and with a slight head wind. Not much, but some. I saw a fellow cyclists going the other way. Decided to turn around and join him. Came up on his six. He was doing 18 but struggling. I wondered why. Soon, I took the lead and upped the crank to 20 to 22 mph. He could travel easier now and quicker. At a stop light, he mentioned that he had just returned from a rather strenuous hill climb and a three hour ride. He was bushed and just wanted to put his steed in the barn. I pulled him home. I mention this because I was just limping along myself until it was clear he needed the pull. In the military, this is called a field promotion. We all can do it.

If we always do what we have always done, we will always be what we are today. That could be good.

One of the best ways to get unstuck is to clean the bathroom to spotless condition, or straighten the garage, or clean one's desk, or start being on time, or going to bed on time, or shining one's shoes. A clean 1973 car is better than a dirty 2007. Why? Because the clean car is saying something mentally that is good and the dirty 2007 is saying something bad. Yes, Virginia, there is a difference between clean and dirty. It is called effort.

The fear of doing what we need to do even when we are not sure how to do it, can be turned into an eager spirit of solution rather than a fear of failure. There simply are no excuses. Let us lean into the wind and avoid mid air collisions.

The two pilots that took the incorrect runway a few months back and killed all but one of 50 passengers by running out of takeoff runway, were chatting with each other about non-airplane business. Sure, there were other extenuating circumstances, but the captain is "the" man. He is the one (we are the one) when a crisis occurs is to save lives.

Park close, keep alert, help each other, get unstuck, be brave, be focused. There we are.

See you in the tall grass.

And of course, no sniveling!!! Sniveling breeds failure. Gratitude breeds success.