I’ve been very motivated by the actions of the “Tea Party” and all those who have broken away from the commitments of daily life to express their opinions and disagreements with what is taking place in our country today.  I’m a Conservative and I find my Liberal friends are agreeing with me on many fiscal issues including Health Care, Bailouts, Taxes and the overall out of control spending our Government is participating in.  There are principled Dems and Republicans that understand the spending must STOP!  We do have issues we can agree on together.  We are no longer as divided as the media wants you to believe.  Polls are taken on specific topics that create division.  This is why the “Tea Party” is uniting so many Americans.  Our agreements are strongly rooted in the corruption of the system.  The double talk of many elected leaders and the need to deeply understand what is being said and the legislation being passed.  Simplify the Process at all levels so WE understand and our elected officials understand, all of them!

In Presidents Obama’s remarks yesterday at a fundraiser, he stated the Middle Class of this country should be thanking him for all the tax cuts he’s provided to us and not protesting the Administration for raising taxes.  Huh?  The arrogance of this President and this Administration is frightening.  Mr. President, if we are not understanding you correctly please explain to us what we are not getting correct.  Please allow fair and honest reporters to ask you questions with follow up questions so we can make sure YOU understand the question being asked, just in case you may wonder off of the original question being asked of you.

The one thing I thank President Obama for is going so far to the LEFT and continuing to push it even further.  He has awakened the silent voice of the Majority and it’s getting louder and louder.  Let’s all promise ourselves to get more involved.  Politicians can not be referred to as crooks.  We must elect leaders that stand on principals.  We must restore our government to be an honorable and privileged place to work.  If we don’t, the offices will be empty and our children will never get involved in Public Office.  Congratulations to the few that are carrying the weight of the country on there shoulders.  They are not all bad apples but only a few ruin the pie!

Tomorrow is the last day of the tournament and the last day of the basketball season for the 6th graders. I only hope this: that they play as hard as they did today and leave nothing behind. They could win this tournament and what a great finish and accomplishment it would be but if it doesn’t work out, I’m convinced they will compete with everything they have within them and really what more could one ask?

As a child, I never thought that watching your own children participate and compete in athletics would be as fun as playing the game yourself. As so many childhood beliefs seem factual at the time they’re conceived, I must admit dispelling them can be so much fun!

If you need to make a change in your life create urgency around the change. What is the result of not making the decision? My friend and I are not getting any younger and we both decided the decision he is considering but not acting on is blocking our future success. So remove the road block before we’re too old to care! Urgency equals action and sometimes the hardest thing is just getting started.

If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck, you already know what he’s about. If you think he’s a right wing fruit cake you need to listen and you just may want to get in line for some of that fruit cake! I agree, I agree, I agree! What do you think?

Joe was 91 or 92 when I first met him!  Can you believe, 91 years old and this is when I first met him?  And in 3 years of seeing him maybe 3-4 times a year, I grew to love him as though he was my own Grandfather!  Now that is Awesome.  I can clearly remember visiting Joe in his basement apartment in Traverse City last winter and playing a game of Gin Rummy with him.  It was the only time I played cards with Joe and I’m so proud to say I beat him that day, although it was just dumb luck.  He would tell you what was more impressive was the $1.00 he took from me that night at the Elks Club as I bet against the Michigan St. Spartans in the NCAA Tournament!  Oh the memories I have and in such a short time.

I’m very grateful for my time with Joe and so are my kids!  He was always interested in the kids and what they were up too.  He was always quick to ask, “What’s new?” and he would say to me, “Joe, you have a beautiful family”.  My response of course was “thank you”.  I just spoke to Joe on the phone from Jennifer’s this Thanksgiving.  As the phone was passed around to each family member, Jen handed the phone to me.  I took it feeling somewhat uncomfortable to take away from someone else’s time with Joe that afternoon but within minutes we were talking about the Lions game that day and how we wished he was able to make it to Detroit to be with his family.  I think Jen had to pry the phone away from me as we discussed so many little things.  Joe had a way to quickly make you feel at ease.  Oh, and he always asked about my parents.  Everytime I saw Joe or spoke to Joe on the phone he would ask, “How are you parents doing”?  Joe never was able to meet my parents and I’m very disappointed in that because he always asked me about them.  He told me once, he believed them to be great people because he said he thought very highly of me.  I’m proud of that and he was right, I have great parents.  I just wish he could have met them.

Oh and by the way, after watching everyone pass the phone around on Thanksgiving to wish Joe a Happy Thanksgiving, I picked up the phone that night and made sure I called my parents and did the same and then passed it on to Jen!  Thanks for that lesson.  Thankfulness was also part of Joe’s daily routine, at least that’s what I saw.  He always thought the best of most people.  He loved the waitresses at the Elks club and those in his building that just said, “hello”.  Appreciation of others is so valuable and Joe would let those around him know they were appreciated!

It’s amazing how life and then death impacts our minds and thoughts in different ways.  I feel I can write forever about Joe for only really seeing him a handful of times in my own lifetime.  But shouldn’t we measure a life by how much of a positive impact they can have in such a short time on others?  I believe the answer is simply YES.

So I want to say Thank You Joe Watkins.  It seems you lived the life you wanted.  It seems to me you achieved greatness.  It seems to me you brought joy into many lives, I can thank you for that.  It seems to me you valued God, your family, hard work and those who worked hard and earned lifes good things.  Joe, in the few times we met and the trust you put in me, I wish I would have been able to shake your hand one more time, hugged you one more time and said good bye just one more time.  Today I say, thank you Joe!  Hero’s are hard to come by but I look at you as just that and a life to be looked upon and cherished for all that was achieved.

Thanks Joe, I miss you already and so do so many others!  God Bless Joseph Watkins!