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| Throughout my life, few things have thrilled me more than a library filled with wonderful books. |
It began in the earliest days of my childhood with a fondness for children's stories, books, poems, and nursery rhymes (my favorite was Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field). It didn't take long, however, before I began to take notice of the cornucopia of great literature available in the adult section of the library.
This discovery was made in part because I had four older brothers who attended high school and college when I was still just in elementary school. I basically idolized my older brothers and sought to follow in their footsteps whenever and wherever possible. Thus, I was introduced to high school and collegiate textbooks of all kinds, which I found fascinating. Aside from finding it "FUN" to browse through their calculus, chemistry, physics, and trigonometry textbooks and then copy down equations and math problems "pretending" I was doing advanced math, I took an especial liking to their English and literature books.
Oh the excitement!
Oh the joy!
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| Click HERE to BUY this BOOK |
My attraction towards great literature at a young age was so strong that I would often read in volumes I couldn't even understand due to my nascent and fledgling grasp of vocabulary, setting, plot, theme, etc. Occasionally, I would even read an entire book—or large sections of it—despite comprehending almost nothing along the way. The most prominent example of this was when—at age nine or ten—I plodded through Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in its entirety. I was quite conscious that I was getting nothing out of the experience other than the satisfaction derived from sticking to a difficult task and seeing it through to completion.
I know... I was kind of a strange kid!
But boy has that stick-to-it-iveness paid rich dividends in my life in ensuing years!
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| Click HERE to buy this BOOK |
Year's later, I had a unique experience myself with an "Old Man and the Sea" on Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. It is this experience that I wish to write about TODAY.
For over a decade—from late 2005 to early 2016—I had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the English speaking world, including the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, as a professional contract trainer or seminar facilitator. Along the way, I had the chance to teach approximately 500 all-day courses on about 50 different topics spanning a dozen different general subjects such as leadership, management, and communication skills of all kinds. My travels took me to 44 U.S. States, 9 Counties of Great Britain, 5 Provinces of Canada, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Along the way, I had a variety of wonderful adventures and formed priceless memories I will always cherish.
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| A Crane Company (Terex Cranes) was just one of many Fortune 1000 Companies for whom I facilitated seminars. |
On Wednesday afternoon, after wrapping up my third seminar of the week, I decided I would go for a run on the beach. I LOVE the beach; I love visiting new beaches I have never been to; and I enjoy running—so I was pretty happy that day as I sauntered along the salty, sandy, and sunny, yet breezy waterways of the glorious Atlantic Ocean that pleasant fall afternoon.
The fellow I decided to stop and talk to was an old man in his early 80s. He was casting his line into the ocean in search of bluefish, a few of which he had already caught that day. As he showed me his catch and answered my questions, I became fast friends with this friendly fellow who introduced himself as George Clark.
George seemed to genuinely enjoy the conversation and clearly appreciated that I had stopped to talk to him—so much so that he invited me to come back to his house "for a drink." I told him I didn't drink, but asked him if he had any soda, to which he replied: "I have everything, come on over."
His home was close—a beach house just a few minutes walk from where I had first met him on the shore. It was a nice, comfortable home whose location suggested the fisherman was a retired man of at least modest means. As we became better acquainted, I learned that his wife, whom he loved deeply, was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and was no longer able to live at home with him. He had a large and elegant portrait of his wife inside his home and she was BEAUTIFUL! Having just tied the know with my own bride a mere 10 weeks previously, I was reminded of how fortunate she and I were to both be alive and healthy with our whole lives still before us.
During dinner, George and I had a lovely visit. Afterward, I explained that my new, sweet, young wife was probably wondering why I hadn't called yet and I should probably head back to my hotel to call her since I had left my cell phone there. Not wanting our time together to end just yet, George said I could go ahead and use his phone to call her, which I did. He then turned on the television (at my request) and we watched the end of Game 5 of the World Series together.
Click HERE to watch video clip of Brad Lidge and the Phillies clinch the 2008 World Series
Interestingly enough, Game 5 of the 2008 World Series had originally been scheduled and played two days previously—on Monday, October 27, 2008. However, a rain delay in the sixth inning had cut the game short, postponing the final few innings by 48 hours. For Phillies fans it was worth the wait; and for George and I—it was perfect timing!
After the game, it was time to head back to my hotel, so George and I said goodbye and we parted—but not before he offered Lina and I a chance to go out with him on his boat if we ever returned to the Wilmington area.
It has now been almost 15 years since my wonderful adventure with The Old Man and the Sea. As I was preparing this article I thought about George and wondered if he was still alive. I began to search for him online by googling "George Clark, Wilmington, and Obituary." But the only obituaries I found for George Clark in the Wilmington area were both for men much younger than the George Clark I was searching for.
Click HERE to watch news video clip of George Clark from 2022.
Realizing that George was most likely still alive, I searched for his address online, accessed it, and immediately wrote George a letter to reconnect. I hope he gets my letter and writes back. And I hope maybe Lina and I might still be able to go out with George on his boat—even if we have to wait until we all pass on to that great Ocean in the Sky.
I cherish memories like this, as well as other adventures I had traveling at home and abroad as a professional contract trainer. I have compiled a list below of other memorable adventures I enjoyed while traveling around the U.S. Canada, and Great Britain during the years 2005-2016.
Dr. JJ's Prominent Contract Training Adventures
1. A gorgeous jog along and then a very brief and brisk swim in Lake Erie in late October!
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| Niagara Falls |
3. Wonderful trips to Chinatown and my Church's Temple in Toronto and Brampton, Ontario, Canada, during my many visits to the area to teach seminars in 2011-2012.
4. Hotel bookings on the beach in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
5. As a runner, I enjoyed many adventurous runs out-and-about in the areas where I traveled, including getting lost once in the greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, which extended my run by several miles as I tried to figure out how to get back to my hotel room!
7. Wonderful visits to the beach in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, New Jersey (Atlantic City), Texas, and North Carolina.
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| Westminster Abbey London, England, UK |
9. Touring (in 2011) areas of Edmonton and Calgary where I had served as a young missionary a decade earlier. Got to visit the West Edmonton Mall (including water park) for the first time despite having lived only a few minutes away as a young missionary. The Mall was one of the two largest malls in the world at the time.
10. Visiting the Hawaiian Islands twice in one year (2014). Got to visit Honolulu and the Big Island with my wife and son and then Honolulu and Laie (North Shore) again with my Mom (who was raised in Honolulu) that same year. I badly cut my nose on some rocks in the water at Waikiki Beach; in fact I still have the scar! Visited a green-sand beach, the Southernmost point in the United States, lava flows/fields, and many other wonders of that enchanted place.
12. Visited Cooperstown and the wonders of Upper State New York in the gorgeous month of October at the height of fall.
13. Going out of my way on multiple occasions to eat at an Indian restaurant called Havelli's in suburban Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Also had a lovely run in downtown Ottawa where I got to see the unique architecture of the iconic Canadian Parliament buildings.
15. Teaching seminars in high-rise hotels in Memphis, Raleigh, Austin, and probably several others I'm forgetting.
16. Teaching two seminars at an incredibly affluent and exclusive living space in Vero Beach, Florida, where I was hooked up with a golf cart to cruise the private golf course, a private beach, and 5-star accommodations.
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| California State Capitol Sacramento, California |
18. Ordering a modest breakfast via room service at the Sheraton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and gulping when I saw the $26 bill!
19. Eating lunch in the California State Capitol in Sacramento while teaching a seminar for a State Government agency. Took long runs after my seminars through beautiful parks and other areas along the Sacramento and/or American Rivers. I had a chance to see the sad proliferation of homelessness that became so endemic in California in the 2010s and beyond. In addition to the State Capitol in California, I was able to drive by or visit several other state capitols in my travels, including: Madison, Wisconsin, Tallahassee, Florida, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Jackson, Mississippi.
20. The privilege of training for five branches of the United States Military, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. I'll never forget a one-on-one meeting with a Major General (2-star) in the Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi; what an honor that was for a guy who has always been fascinated by—and grateful for—the Armed Services.
21. The opportunity to visit an array of famous college and/or professional sporting venues, including:
- Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Aka: The Swamp ~ Gainesville, Florida- Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (aka The Swamp) in Gainesville, Florida
- Mike Myers Track and Field Stadium Complex in Austin, Texas
- SECU Football Stadium in College Park, Maryland
- Tiger Stadium and Track Complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas
- One of the last New York Mets games played in Shea Stadium during the fall of 2008.
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 317th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 143rd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 316 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
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