Life 2.0

Road Trip

After surviving another barrage and bombardment of political ads and elections ( BTW do you know why we have "red" and "blue" states?)  it was was time for a short trip to the Fox Valley of Wisconsin for a mini-family reunion, and coming across a $1.99 copy of "Farewell to Football" by old friend Jerry Kramer and subsequent conversation with Jerry, helped put things into perspective, decades after it was published. 

Epilogue

As I get ready to put the epilogue on the audio version of my 2nd book "Every Moment Matters" I am remembering and recalling the past thirteen years since I first sat down to write it. Much has changed, some things have stayed the same, but one thing is for sure, moments still matter, perhaps now more than ever.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween at our house was a BIG DEAL! Once a year, my dad transformed from mild manner banker, to Dracula right before my eyes, and along with a cadre of cousins, created "The Haunted House" that for 20 + years, scared the crap out of young and old alike. Remembering my dad on his favorite day of the year.

Listen Within

Intuition is defined as: "the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning." Well, I don't know about the "immediately" part when it comes to my own life, because I usually need a few spiritual 2X4's upside my ego, but learning to "go within, so you don't have to go without" is a critical part of the human performance system-that so often goes unused. Add to that, the importance of having an "external hard-drive" or platform you can store all the stuff you don't need, so it doesn't drag you off into the landfill of life, and it's another episodic adventure in common sense for uncommon times.

Celebrating LaVilla!

In 1967, Salvatore Canale ventured out from the small town of Altavilla Milicia in Sicily and embarked on a journey to Chicago with his wife, son, and daughter. Salvatore dreamed of bringing a piece of his background to Chicago and sharing it with others. In 1972, he opened a small carry-out establishment in Chicago and called it La Villa.

Salvatore took pride in his pizza and enjoyed entertaining the neighborhood kids by flipping pizza dough in the window. After outgrowing the original location, in 1976, Salvatore relocated the business to its current location.​

50 years since its original opening, La Villa has expanded from a small carry-out window, to an iconic nationally known restaurant! Salvatore passed away in 2018,  but his recipes and success live on through his daughter Christina and family, who have continued offering customers authentic Italian food and are celebrating one-half century in business!

On Being Human

Two months of production work on "John Denver Remembered: The Man & His Music" has me looking at my own life, in the 25 years since John passed away. What are the gains and losses? Then, a trip to the antique auto auction becomes a reminder of who decides what the value of something is, and to wrap up, I give JD the last word (literally) with rare audio from "On Being Human" a talk he gave in 1980. 

John Denver Remembered: The Man & His Music

25 years after his death, on October 12th, 1997- John Denver still remains a formidable presence in the world, as his music and humanitarian efforts live on in the lives of millions of people. This tribute is filled with music and memories, songs and stories from Annie Denver and Ron Deutschendorf, Hall of Fame musicians John Oates and Richie Furay, country star John Berry and conductor Richard Kaufman. Add in some great moments from Bill Kurtis, Jim Horn, David Stoddard, Ron Lemire and Renee Armand, as well as thoughts from fans and friends around the world and you have a wonderful remembrance of one of the world's most beloved entertainers. This is a special 3 hour "Director's Cut" version of the radio program that aired on October 9th, 2022. 

Conversations with Bob

In 2017, my longtime friend and colleague, the world renowned speaker and author, Steve Rizzo, sent  me a rough draft of a book idea he had (or more aptly put had him) called "Conversations with Bob." The book was formed out of some of the lowest points in Steve's life, and its riveting, impactful and profound. It's the story of Bernie, who is a down in the dumps, life did me wrong guy, who finds himself asking questions of Bob, who just happens to be God. A must listen, and read from Steve Rizzo. 

Fletcher Street Memories

It's a pretty rare thing, to have a friendship that goes back to my early years on Fletcher Street. Rarer still, that even though there's been a half-century (or more) that has gone by, since my first, best buddy Garry and I spent time playing GJ Joe, baseball in the lumberyard or being at the the helm of "Seaview" (his back porch) that we found each other again, and the memories flooded back like a wave. Time is an illusion, when it comes to the fact that a couple of guys in their 60s, are magically transported back to being boys-and instantly become younger-just by having breakfast.

Wisdom of Wayne Dyer

When I received a request for copies of my books this past week, it had me thinking about the many teachers I have had in my life. In particular, my friend the late, great Dr. Wayne Dyer, who passed along some great reminders about seeing the world, and your life, from higher ground.