Aaron Sorkin and Jimmy Buffett taught me how to tell a story, and if Buffett had recorded this song 🎵 after generating millions, if not billions, under his Margaritaville umbrella, it would be hypocrisy. He recorded it when he was broke and playing in bars.
Next time you have two or three minutes to spare, it’s a catchy tune and explains the entire thought process of my efforts of Ministry.
Write ✍️ about what matters to you, not what you think others want to read….
The funny thing about Ferrum College is that it falls in the ” you cannot get there from here ” category. Winding roads, poor cell service, and the fear 😨 of hitting a deer 🦌 are the top 3 reasons not to go over there.
Any time that I’m given a four or five minute window 🪟, I will do my best to sneak in a sermon of some type. The easiest one is to ask the question, what are the two meanest words when you put them together ?????
The answer : ” It’s Just “. Give it some thought….and I will use going over to Ferrum College tonight as my example.
” It’s just volleyball “
” It’s just Ferrum College “
” It’s just Division 2 sports “
And the worst one of all would be, ” it’s just Callie Harris “
If you don’t have time to do something, it’s absolutely okay not to do it. People are mad busy, but don’t use it’s just in your conversation.
My brain 🧠 and heart ❤️ are wired differently from others, and that is both good and bad. That combination allowed me to have a remarkable career , but now it keeps me from sleeping through the night.
Case in point, last night as we were leaving the Gym it was at the same time that Paige Ogle and her father were heading home.
Paige is a freshman in high school now, and if that’s not scary enough, she plays volleyball for a loving but somewhat intimidating coach ( I can say that because I love Cindy Edwards). Let’s add in that both her parents are well respected in the community, and her Big Brother, who she loves, has gone off to college.
Her mother has a contagious smile full of love and warmth. Business kept her from being in the Gym last night and I know that Paige missed her. The two reasons I know this – I once had two teenage daughters ➕️ I missed her being there too.
Mr. Ogle and I are not two people who hang out together, but I have nothing but respect for him. I wanted to make Paige smile, and my attempt actually created a moment for both of them. Mission Accomplished.
Joi, we all missed you last night!
What you just read right there is my brain 🧠 and heart ❤️, after announcing for almost five hours. I was just trying to get to my car 🚗 and drive home.
When it’s all over, my headstone 🪦 should simply read, ” He Cared “
This story was written for Marion Harris and Joi Ogle, not because I am chasing Facebook likes but because I respect both families. When I post it, it will only go out to those two people, and beyond that, it is there’s.
The form above is just one of MANY things that the driven women who shares Omega Office 🏬 with my Main Man 👨 Ron Cochran.
Her and her husband, Johnny ( hoping that I spelled his name correctly ), are doing so many positive things on The Hill that it is hard to keep up with. But know that every one of them is created and implemented for the better of others, with the main focus being on our youth.
Ron Cochran has been in my corner from the day I met him, and the main connection is that we are aging in life with a similar situation. Neither of us lives in a Castle 🏰 but we have done okay for ourselves. When that is the case, you look for ways to give back as often as possible.
The third member of our trio has one HUGE advantage over us. She is not at the end of the long and winding road of life like Ron and I are. She is locked and loaded with positive plans and the energy to execute them !!!!
A few years back, Ron and I switched from having the winner of our Foul Ball contest swing by his shop to handing out the 👕👕👕 at Cavalier Park. In reality, that was an error ( softball term ) because when you ask for sponsorships, it should be beneficial to both sides.
Ron carries a great deal of items that someone might not know about, and the Kiddo in the photo has even more.
Yes, I was pretty sure that Ron would not try to charge me for the vouchers he made on short notice for Vickey Ritchie but I still went over to look him in the eyes and say Thank You, Sir. Blame that on my upbringing, being Old School and all.
Please, Yes Ma’am, No Sir and Thank You were once a huge part of our society. But not so much anymore, and that saddens me a bit.
Circle back – Jerry and Ron are old, and while we share the same birthday 🎂, both took place a long, long, long time ago. His work wife / daughter is just getting started, and if you stop ✋️ by, you might feel the passion in her voice !!!
Addie Greene and Chloe Smith together for the National Anthem !
There were so many steps that went into the pairings between our Special Olympics Basketball program and both the current players and the alumni. Most of them were decided by the physical limitations that each member of our group has, but this one was different, to the point that it was the only one that I hand-picked.
Addie Greene is the granddaughter of Tammy Quesenberry. She is also the daughter of Allison Dalton, not trying to discount that at all, but the two of us don’t run in the same circles. Granny, on the other hand ✋️, played a MAJOR role in my hopes and dreams across the past six years here.
The funniest thing about my relationship with Tammy is that for the first two full years, I only knew her as Addie’s grandmother 👵. It wasn’t until year three that someone pointed out WHO granny actually was / is.
Addie Greene has burdens to carry. First, there’s being the granddaughter of a person who has influence, and second, she is the best player on a team that has a number of holes 🕳 to fill. In her spare time( insert laughter here ), she needs to squeeze in being a teenage girl and enjoy her senior year of high school 🏫.
Other than that…..
I’m sure that there were some folks there on Sunday afternoon, that were wondering about what it was that Rick Nester was trying hard to discover ? When you flip over 50% of your lineup card and only have four upper-class players returning, a great coach has to try his best to mix and match to see what is going to give Greene, Laynie-Jo Leonard and Natalie Burress the best opportunity to have a successful final season.
I try my best to make as many people smile as possible on any given day, and on Sunday, I had my moment where I brought a smile to Miss Greene’s face and now let’s flip the script to the pairing up with little Chloe Smith.
The amount of weight that goes with caring about others in the manner that folks like Vickey Ritchie, Tammy Quesenberry, and I do is ginormous. That is not to say that we are the only three people who care, just the three in this story.
You can not fake caring and to the degree that Vickey cares about everyone inside her circle, well, it tugs at the heart strings. It is amazing 👏 to watch how many people walk through the door 🚪 at Hillsville Elementary School 🏫 on Sunday afternoons, and Vickey knows each and every one ➕️ the back story to the situation. She is willing to share that information with me but only when there is something I need to know.
Chloe Smith is a fun young girl 👧 who brings joy and laughter to those around her. She has become somewhat famous in our circle 🔵 because she made fun of the way Vickey said the word again. It sounded like aaaaaaaagin, and we are still laughing about it months later.
Now, her father 👨 is the absolute definition of a OneofUs.Care person. Everyone should truly CARE about their own child but it takes a special person to show the same love ❤️ for others. Trust me, Patrick Smith has that in SPADES ♠️.
It’s Kevin Burress like, the way that he watches out for everyone, not just Khloe. When the doors 🚪 open up on Sunday, neither Vickey nor I have any idea 💡 exactly who will walk through the door, we just know that we will do our very best to treat them all equally.
But in the transparent world in which I live in, I will state that I’m a better version of myself when Patrick is there to share his energy and love for others.
We need Tammy to be Tammy for as long as she can, for Addie Greene to be Addie Greene and enjoying do so. We need the positivity of Patrick Smith and the silliness of Chloe.
I mentioned that when I was going to thank everyone, it would include a number of people who others don’t like. I include myself in that category but I’ve never asked anyone to ” Like Me “, just to respect 🙏 my efforts for others.
