I remain...

UPDATE - I'm still here. But I am not the same, no matter what The Talking Heads say.


I am a pathfinder. I am an innovater. I refuse to speak the word "can't". Thousands of times I have been told no, you are too small, you can't possibly do that, it's a bad idea or it can't be done.

Drill Sergeant Pint used his stone jaw and 2 pack a day vocal cords to tell me he would personally "...run you outta here old man...". Mr. Bob Colette pointedly let my sternum and my ear drums know that he would make sure I never amounted to anything. And it could be argued that the circumstances I found myself in over my life would lend themselves to anything but triumph over adversity.

I remain.

Amongst the throngs of prognosticators who doubted me, there were those you have never doubted. My father, my patriarch, my matriarch, my Father. When I have stumbled, fallen and looked up through a veil of tears, they were there to encourage me, giving me a standing ovation for coming in last...no...for finishing the race.

I remain.

I can. I am a pathfinder. Don't waste your time telling me no or that it can't be done. I know that it can be dreamed, designed, tried, failed, tried again and done.

Frank was wrong...

You've probably worked with, for or near someone for whom there was/is only one way to do things. Their way. Perhaps they were the boss who never allowed an opportunity to share responsibility with them. They might be a family member who knows just enough about everything that you are almost always being corrected. Still more challenging are the individuals for whom life has been a series of perceived successes due in large part to their involvement in their life but more specifically in everyone else's lives.

I get crazy around folks like this. Perhaps because I am one of them.

I had a powerful a-ha moment the other day while trying to force my way on the completion of a project, a large project. A trusted friend and my wife were tag-teaming me on re-doing a portion of this project, and I was not listening, thinking privately that "I know what I am doing. I know how to do this." Truth is, I could have done it my way, and it would have passed as complete. Just remember a C or 70% is passing.

Passing was not nearly justifiable and the question became should I do it my way. That was what my friend finally asked me. "Jarret," he says, "I have no doubts about your abilities or know-how. But should you be doing this part of this particular project when your time is better spent elsewhere? Should someone else take this over and get it done faster since that is what they do? Should you move on to other things that require your attention?"

And finally, the clincher, after a sequence of set-backs, he asked, "How's your way working out for you?"

Progress? Growth? Success? Not yet? How is your way working out for you?

Consider the possibility that there are those who might benefit from sharing the task, the completion, the resourcefulness or the idea so that they too might arrive at a better understanding, a success of their own. Consider the possibility that you are an obstacle or at least that "your way" is the obstacle to organizational, sales, familial success.

I have learned that there are other ways to arrive at the same point of completion at the skilled hands/hearts/minds of other very talented and successful people. It is Metcalf's Law that the power of the network is exponentially higher the greater the size of the network. I have learned to step away, even when I could do a better job, and let others learn and grow.

Stop feathering the nest of pride, try on a different perspective, ask a lot of purposeful questions. See, feel, memorize how that works for you.

If your way is the only way...get over yourself. Let go. Get out of the way.

Life is brilliant!

A sign...

Those who doubt that God exists must only do two things that I have recently done - not that I do or have ever doubted that there is a God...

Spend four days in Havasupai.

Look into the eyes of a child.

Hat tip to James and Abby. Welcome Pearl, we hope to meet you real soon. www.miloissweet.blogspot.com to see our new niece.

Getting back together again...

I think it was Glenn Frey who, during the "When Hell Freezes Over" tour, said "We [The Eagles] never broke up, we just took a 15 year haiatus."

Basalt High School Class of 1987, the finest group of individuals to ever grace the graduate venue, gets back together again this week. I won't be there, but my best friends will be. I like to remember them this way, but in no particular order.

Tammy Kehrig had the best smile, next to Rebekah Hasti. Scott Barnes took the hardest hit I have ever witnessed in a football game against Aspen. Tim Comroe is the only guy I have ever known who owned a 1968 GTO and then sold it, he also beat up Andrew Guerrilos with a baseball bat. Eddie Godfrey could fix a lot of stuff, I've known him since I was 2. Todd Selby played Pac-Man better than anyone, made me laugh harder than anyone and got away with more stuff than anyone except me. Bill Crowley, man could he run, and listen to Lionel Richie. Astrid Lizotte, well I could talk to her forever. Becky Woodward was beautiful. Julie Lorton had the best laugh and the best brain which made her the hottest girl in the world. David Davidson liked me anyway and made a Maverick look sexy. Alan Leslie could do anything, and does. Daniel Ritsch's brother called himself Aurelius, Daniel drove a Cougar, an Audi and was the strongest human I have ever known. Amanda Bearden and Tonja Williams were the kindest people I knew. Tami Williams took me to one dance and dumped me, I've never been the same. Kerry McCune had answers and perspective which made her majestic to me. Mr. Laffler was baffling. Jason Cohenour made me want to be a better person. Jamie Perciful gave me a glimpse of creativity. Kathleen Mesceri was a renaissance woman. Toby Robinson is the quintessential friend. Brenda Veitch was like the person I counted on, my sun, there for me. Steven Koski punched me so hard I still feel it, and was so kind afterwards, I feel that too. Veronica Kline was steel and velvet. Denise Bailey was the girl I always wanted to know better. Did Russell Bear sign his name with an X along with Theron and Bill Eiland just to freak me out? Kelly Coberly lived around the corner from my grandparents, she looked great in a pair of 501's. Michelle Morris had Hollywood eyes. Mary Hudspeth read more books than Mr. Anderson, and I think it ate at him. Kandi Bowles made we want to make sure I didn't have any boogers hanging out of my nose or food in my teeth. Mike Weed made gloves look tough. Gayle Reinke was tough. Kenny McLendon was not a chaunch - but he taught me a lot about them. Stephanie McLaine (sp?) had the best tank tops.

Some of these memories are childish, and silly, but it is how I saw things then. I sat in class with these people, some for 13 years. They were my family. They taught me and shaped me in many ways to be who I am and who I am not.

I hope David Davidson threw out those pictures. I hope Mr. V got a raging case of the clap and finally moved out of his mother's house. I hope that Merc knew how much I loved her for telling me it would be alright. I hope Mr. Manown forgave me for calling him Moonie. If Clint Jackson ever tells me he dunked again, I will beat him up again, but I do hope he gives me back my stuff. I never pulled the fire alarm, I won't tell who did. I did paint 1986 all over the school with fire extinguishers, but I won't tell who helped me. I still have the card that Eddie Godfrey and Astrid Lizotte delivered to my house the day after my Dad died. You all signed it.

I hope each of them has become all that they wanted to be, and that they realize that they have so much more to give and to go. If I forgot someone, it happens that they probably forgot me as well and I am fine with that. If I missed a spelling here and there, it's because I no longer teach. If I had it to do again, I would only change the amount of times I told each of you how much I love you, some more, some less. HA!

I want all of you who do remember me, to remember the good and forgive the bad. I miss you all.

We've never broke up, we're just taking another 10 year haiatus.

What I learned from Kelly...

You gave me life in circumstances that I can only imagine were confusing to you. You gave me a chance at consistency when I think you doubted your own reality.

I have referred to myself as a 60's love child, and I mean it. I think you were in love with being in love your entire life. You loved and lived very passionately - so much so that I think you were left alone in the very darkest hours of your existence.

I am trying really hard to write something about you that is deep and meaningful - and it just isn't working out. So let me tell what I learned from you. You taught me to bead and hunt mushrooms. You taught me how to hide drugs in film canisters and to drive a stick shift.

You introduced me to a man who thought he was Jesus, and then he gave me a .22 rifle. I learned a lot about Potawatomee Indians from you, also how to pan gold and skinny dip.

I rode in my first red convertible with you, right down main street in Glenwood Springs on our way to see Star Wars. I never heard anyone sing like you until I listened to Bonnie Raite. You are the only one in the world besides my buddy Todd who could pull off calling me "J". I liked it when you called me that.

I encountered my first ghost when we broke into that mansion in Lake City, and you protected me from the cops, your high school buddy Dick White. You gave me the courage to talk to bikers while you sat in the bar and talked with your friends.

I learned about predators like Jimmie Bebopp, how to make beds, how to make a Shirley Temple, who Journey, ELO and Eric Clapton were. Did you really have dinner with him?

I knew you loved me and that you had so many regrets and from that I learned to be careful and to ask a lot of questions. You gave me Aunt Roberta, Uncle Bill's Corvette on prom night and my first taste of wild goose.

There's more, I am sure. For now, I remember your laugh and your tears. Mostly our goodbye's and the one I missed. Mom, I love you. Rest.

This just in...

I stopped off at Pappas today - see "Homeless Kids" to the right under PAY ATTENTION. I mentor a kiddo there, we'll call him The Orator. As he says "Talkin' is my thing." And it is.

I find out that there is still an effort to shut that school down, using the segregation argument. Are you $*%&# kidding me!

I was in education for 10 years. I learned a ton. Then I left, and for the past 2.5 years, I have learned 10 tons. Do the math.

The capitalist system segregates quite successfully. I picked up a magazine at the witch doctor's office today, calling itself East West. There are no white people in this thing, no hispanics, no african-americans or whatever. Just Asians and Indians. I felt totally left out. I mean even the editors and publishers weren't white or whatever. How dare they?

I will tell you how dare they, it's how the real world works. Vertical markets, segmentation, socio-economics. I'll give you another example - they don't build Tiffany's jewelry stores in my neighborhood. Do you know why? My people don't shop there. It's not about not having or having the money - we voted with our money and Target's getting it.

We don't need an elected body to take up torches and pitch forks for us, making Tiffany's build a store or bussing us to the Tiffany's. We aren't intersted in anything they have. It's not for us.

Wake up MCRSD school board. These kids need a place they can shop, metaphorically speaking. A safe place to learn. If you shut this place down - you are ignoring the problem of homelessness and violently shoving these good people, their kids, into the street. They won't shop in typical schools, there's nothing for them to buy.

Pentagon pulls a John Kerry...

They actually were for milblogs before they banned them and then allowed them again (see Hugh's take at Hughhewitt.com).

As an excuse to stem the tide of opsec violations the pentagon released a statement that milblogs and emails needed to be previewed and approved before sending/posting. Then all hockey sticks broke loose - blackfive.com - and things being as they are, the pentagram/gon released another statement today - is John Kerry the Secretary of Defense?

What happened to Donald Rumsfeld? Is he assisting in pay raises over at the World Bank...anyone...Wolfowitz...anyone?

Glad your back milblogs.

You are to the Army's PR machine what the radio is to a ROCK HARD FISTr - a force multiplier.

Rain words in the ether.