“A man who looks at life at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted the last 30 years.” Muhammad Ali

Judgement Day

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
> As I entered Heaven’s door,
> Not by the beauty of it all,
> Nor the lights or its decor.
>
> But it was the folks in Heaven
> Who made me sputter and gasp–
> The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
> The alcoholics and the trash.
>
> There stood the kid from seventh grade
> Who swiped my lunch money twice.
> Next to him was my old neighbour
> Who never said anything nice.
>
> Herb, who I always thought
> Was rotting away in hell,
> Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
> Looking incredibly well.
>
> I nudged Jesus, ‘What’s the deal?
> I would love to hear Your take.
> How’d all these sinners get up here?
> God must’ve made a mistake.
>
> ‘And why’s everyone so quiet,
> So sombre – give me a clue.’
> ‘Hush, child,’ He said, ‘they’re all in
> shock.
> No one thought they’d be seeing you.’
>
>
> JUDGE NOT.
>
> Remember…Just going to church doesn’t make you a
> Christian
> any more than standing in your garage makes you a car
> .
>
> Every saint has a PAST….
> Every sinner has a FUTURE!

My Uncle Dave

I would like to take this opportunity to do a little bragging about my uncle Dave. But my boasting is tempered by the news I just received that he has been diagnosed with incurable leukemia and been given 6 months to 1 year to live. David A Thoennes will have his moment in the limelight, however.
This next thursday November 12th he will be inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions, Coaching Legends. He will be the first high school coach to receive this recognition. He is being honored for his
33 years as varsity golf coach at University of San Diego High School. Some of his accomplishments are:
Career wins record of 434-170 for a 72% winning percentage; CIF record longest winning streak of 43 league victories; Western league Champions 14 out of 15 years; and 26 straight winning seasons from 1975 to 2001. The next time you watch Phil Mickelson tee off or sink a long putt, know that my uncle Dave coached him and many other fine athletes at University High.
Here is what my uncle Dave will say at his induction: We hear it all the time. Is that somebody? We live our whole life trying to make the rest of the world think we are somebody. No matter what we do whether it’s acting, coaching, playing sports or succeeding in business, all these say “here I am. I’m Somebody”. There are some people in particular that we want to realize our dream with us. First is our wife and kids. Then our friends and the people we work with every day. All we really want is for others to share this pride we have in ouselves and have worked to achieve. Few of us are ever able to realize this recognition in our lifetime. I am one of the few who have been given this opportunity. This induction into the Coaching Legends says “David Thoennes is Somebody!” Thank you to everyone who has made my dream come true.
NO! Thank YOU uncle Dave for making all of us feel a little more important and for teaching so many the truly important lessons in life……… AND .. how to sink that 30 foot putt. We all love you very much.

Fathers Day Tribute

Story Behind the Brick

As we all take a breather from the postureing that dominates our political season, I would like to
introduce the flathead valley to a real hero and issue a challenge.
Eugene was born in 1925 the first born son in a family of 10. Life was tough back then so he
helped his dad repair musical instruments to support the family. After graduation from high
school the United States entered World War II so Gene beat feet down to the local recruiting
office and joined the army. College would have to wait. Something far more important
was happening in the world and he was going to make sure that he did his part to help.
You see, thats the way it was back then with our “Greatest Generation”. They realized
that sacrifice and hard work was required to achieve results and sometimes even greatness.
Oh & greatness they did achieve! History has recorded some of the heroism that came out
of that horrible conflict. It has also recorded the horrors that made that war necessary,
horrors so unspeakable that I understand many of them are not taught in our schools today.
As one of the first Americans to enter Auschwitz concentration camp after its liberation by the
Russians, Gene saw first hand what humans were capable of doing to their own kind. It was
tough on a young Iowa kid just starting to see the world through his own eyes. He would
never talk much about those most impressionable years. I think I know why.
Eugene married a beautiful southern girl when he got out of the army, went back to school
and earned his degree in electrical engineering, and started his family with Margie all by 1949.
This family would eventually include 4 boys and 3 girls.
Gene put his schooling and innovation to use with his first employer by developing computers
and later guidance systems. He was on the team that developed the guidance system for
the worlds first nuclear powered submarine, the Nautilus. This opened the door of opportunity
for his career. He developed guidance systems and automatic pilots for the aviation
industry. And after another degree and more training he became the head of the failure
analysis lab at Sperry/Rand corporation. It was here that he reached the pinnacle of his
career when he developed a fail-safe system for pilots to check their instruments before
take-off. He was scheduled to introduce his invention to the world in Paris when he got
sick. Eugene never made it to Paris, France. He died on August 21, 1971 at the age of 46
leaving behind a wife and 7 children.
Eugene Otto Thoennes was a visionary, a patriot, a hard worker – and my father. And, while
all his accomplishments are impressive, they dont make him a hero. What made my dad a
hero was the time he rocked me to sleep when I hurt so bad with an ear-ache.
When he would help me with my homework when I just couldnt grasp the problem. And
when he taught me to ride my first bike, to throw and catch the baseball and later on to
drive that old plymouth. He taught me not to judge people without experiencing their pain
first. He introduced me to the value of working hard toward my dreams whatever they might
be. And most importantly to never, ever give up on what you know is right.
To be able to withstand the horrors of war and remain a gentleman; to reach the pinnacle
of a demanding career and still have the time for the important things in a childs life; to
give of oneself without the expectation of reward; these are the things that make my dad
a hero.
Earlier I mentioned a challenge. I don’t know about you, but I have grown weary of the
gloom and doom of our daily dose of news and of every faction, be they political,
corporate or religious, trying to sway me to believe the way they do. It is said real heroes
go unnoticed because they perform their heroics without fan-fare or applause. You
have just heard about one such hero. Eugene Otto Thoennes’ name is engraved on
a brick at our new veterans memorial along with many others. Seems to me thats a lot
of heroes and a lot of stories. I’d like to hear them, so that the next time I walked past
a brick with a name on it I might be able to recall the “story behind the brick”.

6/08/2008

Some wisdom about getting old – sent by a friend

Old Age, I decided, is a gift. 
 
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my   body!  I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.  And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don’t agonize over those things for long. 

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind to myself, and less   critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend.   

I don’t chide myself   for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying   that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.  I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be  extravagant.   


I    have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they   understood the great freedom that comes with aging. 
 
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until   noon?     

I will dance with   myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70′s, and if I, at the   same time, wish to weep over a lost love … I will. 

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will   dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set . 
They, too, will get old. 

I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as   well forgotten. And I  eventually remember the important things.  

Sure, over the years my heart has been   broken.   How can your heart not break when you lose a loved   one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets   hit by a car?  But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and   sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. 

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to   have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my   face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before   their hair could turn silver.    

As you get    older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other   people think.  I don’t    question myself anymore.  I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.   

 So, to answer your question, I  like being old. It has set me free.   I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever,  but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could  have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it) 

 
MAY OUR   FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S STRAIGHT FROM THE   HEART!
MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN    YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!
 
FRIENDS FOREVER! 

For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son!    The Meaning of the Season.   Merry Christmas everyone!

  Look what Santa left next to my tree!  Nancy (mostly) & I set up the tree today just in time to welcome the first REAL snowfall of the year. I had to take a break to watch my Seahawks win another division title.  Now the inside of the house is decorated.  The hard part comes this week when I get to decorate the OUTSIDE!  Oh, bye the way, the temperature got up to a nice balmy 20 degrees today.  HEAR THAT COUSIN TOMMY IN NEW ORLEANS!

  Yes, its that time of the year again when sleigh bells ring, reindeer play and the rain turns white.  Not much snow so far but it is cold – 14 degrees as I’m writing this.  This pic is of my work truck with the plow and sander mounted and ready to rock & roll. 

Last week it was cold – down into the teens – but then Sunday night it warmed into the low 30′s and started raining.  You don’t have to have a vivid imagination to guess how the roads changed.  They were all like a wet ice cube in your favorite drink.  Even chained up all around I was in and out of the ditchs.  Luckily I didnt have to summon our wrecker but it got pretty scary.  My stock car driving experience comes in handy during these times. There’s nothing more exciting than piloting a 24 ton truck down a slippery hill at 35 mph and spinning around 360 degrees four or five times before you hit the level part of the road.  Add in the 30 foot gulley on one side and I cant really think of anything that turns my crank any more than that.  WHO SAID GOVERNMENT WORKERS ARE BORING!

There sure has been a lot more ice these last few years.  The temps up here seem to be fluctuating a lot more than they used to and its not getting as cold for as long as it used to.  Not much snow either in the last 10 years.  Global Warming?  I dont rightly know, but I DO know its not like it used to be!  Maybe we all should stop fightin’ about our differences and devote 10% of that energy to trying to make this world a better place to live in!  What do ya think?

My famous wife

  My wife will probably kill me when she sees that I put this pic out for the whole world to see, but I couldnt resist.  It was taken …..a few years ago…. at a celebrity golf tournament in Sacramento, CA.  She just wanted an autograph but this guy thought she was pretty cute so he had a pic taken. That Eastwood character has good taste!  She’s still pretty….& cute!

I got an e-mail from our next door neighbor that was very flattering about the write up I did for veterans day on this site about our dads.  It made me pause for a moment to reflect on the blessings we have been given. This Thanksgiving I would like to thank God for a wonderful family, good health, the miraculous ability to relive long gone moments in my memories…..and good friends like Ed & Wendy next door.  These things I hold most precious the older I get because I seem to see fewer and fewer people enjoying the simpler, most important blessings now.  Lord I pray that you will never let me forget who and what is most important in my life!

———————–
Remember: You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.