Things I've Learned

Wisdom. Common Sense. Walking Around Sense. Horsesense. Brains.
Good advice. Guidance. Mentoring. Leadership.

All qualities important to living a fruitful and productive life.

But it all seems in short supply these days. Finding true wisdom is like catching smoke with a spoon. Shaping and defining truly important leadership concepts in life is a challenge too important not to screw up for future generations.

With that in mind, I present the January issue of Esquire. Yes, wisdom in Esquire.

Stop...it's actually a decent magazine.

The January issue has their annual "Wisdom and Damn Good Advice" section.

The cover has a picture of Bryan Anderson. He lost both legs and one arm in a roadside
bomb in Iraq. His wisdom?

"For every decision you make, you learn something, whether it was the right or the wrong
decision. I believe everything happens for a reason."

Bryan Anderson believes, three limbs fewer than most of us, that his life has a purpose and while the explosions that blew most of him apart may be a defining moment, it won't be a
defeating one.

After reading Bryan Anderson's story, I think I will quit complaining about work, my car, bills,
friends good and bad, and any other life event that doesn't blow off my legs and an arm.

Some others...

CBS News anchor Katie Couric says "You have to be unwavering in your conviction that you're doing something good, because there are a lot of circling vultures that will eat you alive."

Scientist James Watson says "Do things as soon as you can. If a decision needs to be made, make it. It gives you more time to change your mind."

Legendary record producer Clive Davis says "I take nothing for granted. Failure's right around the corner.

Three people. Three sharp minds who tackle a day rather than ease into it.

So, I have some observations. Here is what I know.

You can tell a lot about someone by how they treat a waiter.
Roses may not help, but they buy you time.
People who make others feel bad because they can get it in the end.
The quality of my life isn't changed whether Auburn or Alabama ever wins a football game.
Giving others plenty of room is more important on I-65 than at the poker table.
Never go cheap on brakes and shoes.
People are stunned when they realize you are actually listening to them.
Writing is a noble and moral pursuit even if it never sees the light of day at a bookstore.
Everyone hates lawyers and reporters till they need one.
When you ask the same question three times and get a different answer that still
doesn't answer the question, it's best to move on.

Ok...it's not The Ten Commandments. My list is a work in progress. The Commandment list
is complete and pretty much non-negotiable.

What observations do you have? What crystal clear nugget of truth can you share?
Send them to me a greg.screws@whnt.com
You can look for them on NewChannel 19 This Morning as the end of the year draws near.

The Bike

A bicycle is freedom to a kid. With teachers, parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and just plain big people telling you what to do every day, a bicycle is a kid's ticket to ride free.
Is there anything better than pulling out of the driveway, putting the hammer down, pedaling as fast as you can, feeling the speed build, and roaring down the block to hook up
with your buddies?

It might be better on a day when you have a baseball card in the spokes of the wheel.

Or a day when you had to turn handlebars back skyward cause you knocked them down ramping off mounds of dirt at construction sites you weren't supposed to be visiting.

Or possibly the day you get to make fun of the only kid on the street who has a basket on his bike cause his mother makes him go to the store three times a day.

To a kid, a bike is freedom. A bike is life. A bike is your ticket to be a kid forever.

Geontae Glass had the greatest smile a little kid could have. It lit up a room. He beamed.

He had a bike. A bike to ride down the street. A bike to race to his friends house.

A bike to see how fast his five-year-old feet would carry him.

Geontae's bike is at the last place he left it. Leaning on the front porch where he used to live.
He won't ride it anymore because someone beat Geontae to death.

The pictures of Geontae Glass make my heart hurt in a way that only a senseless mindless tragedy can.

The picture I cannot shake is not the snapshot someone took of a young
boy whose life ended far to soon. I have dreamed about the bike leaning against the apartment door. A bike that no one is riding today.

Or tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Kevin Andre Towles is charged with beating Geontae to death. His mother, Shalinda Glass,
is charged with a felony count of hindering prosecution.
It is important to remember that Glass and Towles are innocent until proven guilty.
Fundamentally that is more than a talking point. It is the foundation of how justice is
dispensed in our culture.

For the record, I don't know if they did it or not. They are in the legal system and the wheels of justice are exceedingly deliberate but turn exceedingly fine.

But when they put whoever killed Geontae in jail, I hope they put a picture of his bike on the wall of the jail cell. Maybe it will keep that person up at night.

Maybe it won't.