Last night was the culmination of the Days of Celebration for MJ. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Mary’s Restaurant in Herrin, Illinois. As I was reflecting on our many visits, through the years, I calculated that we have been enjoying special occasions at Marys for 25 years.

When I look at the photos above I see a family that has learned to make Lemonade out of Lemons’. We are a happy lot and grateful for all that God has given us and his profound mercy and protection. We are members of the Giant Club of Little People. We are the people that work and laugh and cry and those that attempt to make life better for those that we meet. We did not draw the short straw…no one told us where the straws were… Rather we took whatever was given us and made use of it for a better life. We are no better than anyone…and we are not our fellow humans’ lesser…

Success in life is primarily attitudes. If you believe that others have control over your destiny…they will. If you feel that the education of a colleague places them in an elite status that you will never attain you will forever be at the bottom of the Caste System of Your Mind. Many times others have attempted to marginalize me and put me in my prescribed place…until I went around them and ignored them and succeeded in spite of their nefarious intentions.

Jody Murphy said of me when we were colleagues at the University that she could not tell who my enemies and my friends were as it appeared that I treated my enemies like my friends…and according to her…perhaps a bit better…

When someone places a hurdle in your path…deconstruct it and build a ladder…