An Ounce - For Your Consideration

 At 3:15 PM on January 26th, 1972, fight 367, a DC-9, took off from Copenhagen. About 45 minutes later, everything changed for the 28 passengers and crew.  Vesna Vulovik ( Vez-nah Vah-low-vek) was in a place she wasn’t intended to be. But her employer got her mixed up with a different Vesna on the roster. She could have declined the assignment from JAT Airways, the Yugoslavian State airline, where...

There are a few songs that have lyrics that nobody seems to be able to decipher. And, you might be surprised to find out just how ridiculously far efforts to find their meanings went.  We’re not necessarily talking those songs that have a word or two, here or there, that you can’t quite figure out.                          Because, there are those where you can understand every word – but the mess...

There are occasions when the stars align and bring a little light to even a difficult circumstance. Sometimes it hard for us to see. We get lost in the problem at hand. We focus on righting the wrong. Or, we might just walk away trying to forget the whole thing. But, if and when, we turn and take it in – as it is – there is often a sparkle of brilliance to be found. This is just such a story. At t...

  There are times when people are faced with very difficult problems. And the way they choose to deal with their challenges provide lessons for us to learn from.  And as this story concludes, you’ll learn a laudable lesson from our history from a lesser-known moment during the War of 1812.  The people of the Town of (lou-uhs), spelled Lewes, Delaware, found themselves in quite a pickle. It was Apr...

  On occasion, you have to make a choice – and the options are all bad. Sometimes this is because you have gotten yourself into a mess – other times the mess finds you. And there are situations when it doesn’t really matter – all heck just breaks loose.  What do you-do when the only choices left are bad ones?  It was early in the afternoon of October 3rd, 1967, and a B-52 bomber had risen from a r...

Have you ever experienced one of those tender moments that hit you right in the “feels” - as they say? A time when great love, compassion, care, or concern just grabs your heart. On occasion, that feeling tickles your eyes, and tears escape. You might even notice a glow, or a sense of stepping out of time for a moment.  There is an expression that describes it well – and there is a reality of the...

Every once in a while, a critical event occurs. Something happens, and the possible outcomes are thrown into the air to decide how history will be written.  For example, It’s a snowy night. And a man was driving home. The streets were wet and slick. The air cold. Between the wet and the car's dim headlights, his ability to see in front of him was poor.  He saw a dark figure just ahead of him...

Have you ever been in one of those situations? You know… You are trying to get somewhere, or accomplish a task, or find an answer … and you just feel lost, or blind. So, you stop and look for help. You try to comprehend where you are, and how to get where you need to be. But all you learn is that you can not remain where you are. So, you just keep pressing forward (or pressing in the direction tha...

In 1955 a beautiful fire truck was manufactured in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This Mack model B-85 was a ladder truck and was of course the classic red.   Like any classy red vehicle from the 1950s – it was, of course, a convertible! And to offset its bright red color, the truck had silver chrome bumpers, shiny silver chrome sirens, an old-fashioned signal bell mounted at the left front, and red lig...

 On occasion, society celebrates the Anti-Hero. You know, the one who catches the imagination as a romantic rebel, or the scam artist that takes advantage of the ‘evil’ rich. Characters like the noble Robin Hood or the affable scoundrel who sold the Eiffel Tower (twice).  This is not one of those stories.  The story begins with a novelty item, the Golf Ball Finder, called the “Gopher”. The item ha...

5 Decades ago a man-made object was propelled through the atmosphere, to who knows where, faster than any other article – ever.  This thing was traveling so rapidly, nobody even saw it go, and nobody knows wear it is now. Might be somewhere here on earth, might be in orbit, might even be on its merry way though the cosmos like the voyager space probes. But it’s not communicating to anyone where it...

 There is a remarkable icon in the collective consciousness of America.  The all-American soldier who was brave, patriotic, strong, and relentless against all odds. It is the outstanding Character G.I. Joe.  G.I. Joe – what a man. What an action figure to fuel the imaginations of little kids.  Here is the unlikely story of hero G.I. Joe the true hero whose courage and daring on the battlefield, du...

You’ve heard the idiom, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. There is wisdom in this idea, of never giving up. But, on occasion, the value of such dedication is in what you learn from the effort in trying to succeed – though success may not be achievable.  Here is an Example.  In the late 1950s, Cuba, an island nation just a few miles south of Florida, in the United States, was in the...

James Harrison had been doing it for over 60 years. In that time, he has done it over eleven hundred times . And on the 11th of May 2018, at age 81, he did it for the last time.  What did he do? It was no big deal, he just quietly saved over 2.4 million lives. And then he stopped. Hang on to the end to find out why he stopped executing his live saving sideline.  This is the story of how it started...

Ever had one of those mornings when you just didn’t want to get out of bed?  Ever felt like you’d like to just lie down and sleep for a few days?  Ever had to face a tough situation and wished you could just go take a nice nap and not wake up until the issue has passed?  I would have to say yes to all three – Sleep is one of the best ways I know to end a busy day. And it can be such a wonderful es...

To help direct his boys' attention during church services, his dad gave him some paper, and a few crayons, and encouraged him to create a picture.  The boy did his best. But still, he wiggled and squirmed and just kept talking – as quietly as he could - to the characters he was placing on the paper - and his dad, who watched patently over him. Apparently whispering was not something the boy w...

  You’ve heard of the ‘Butterfly Effect'. That suggestion that proposes that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Colorado in just the right way, at just the right moment, it sets off a potential set of subtle events – a chain reaction if you will, that causes a hurricane to blow ashore in Georgia a month later.  Annie Oakley experienced one of those butterfly effect incidents. It happened in a...

 Seems nostalgic for some, outright joyful for others, but for a few – it is a time of overwhelming stress and foreboding. Not for everyone, mind you, but for some, the fear is real – but not for the reason you might think.  The fear – it comes from having to engage in… Dare I say it? … Calculus.  That’s right, I said it, Calculus.  So some of you will be dealing with the logic of ill-logical-ness...

 It was October 1962 and the world was on edge. The US military was on high alert, everyone thought nuclear annihilation could happen at any moment. Schools were teaching children to ‘Duck and Cover’ under their desks in the event of an atomic blast. People were digging holes, and pouring concrete in their backyards. Not to build pools, but instead to build a personal fallout shelters - and then q...

We live in an amazing time of electric cars, space travel for tourists, telephones in everyone pocket with which we instantaneously speak to some on the other side of the world, satellite navigation that can brings us within inches of any point on the globe, instant access to a volume of information even the Great Library of Alexandria would be envious of.  Notice I said information – didn’t ident...

The Career of Staff Sergeant Reckless with the United States Marines Corps began in 1952. This soldiers' heritage went back to an unlikely origin – Mongolia.  A bit smaller than most but smart, tough, and fast. Sgt Reckless was proven in battle during the Korean War.  Reckless was assigned to a Recoilless Rifle Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, in the fifth Marine Regiment, and took on responsibili...

I had the privilege of listening to a few of the experiences and insights of an extraordinary man. A man whom most are probably not very familiar with. His Name is Raja Dhaliwal.  10 years or so ago, Raj was a taxi driver. He was working long hours in a one of the larger cities in Canada, hauling folk to and from the airport. Raj is generally quiet, very respectful, and kind.  Raj was not born in...

Ever heard of the element Iruim?  Sounds kind of dangerous, right? Like uranium, plutonium, and other radioactive stuff.  Well, I’m here to tell you that Irium is most definitely a thing, or at least it was when it was introduced about 100 years ago – but - not a real thing.  Back in the early part of the ‘Atomic Age’ folks were impressed by the thought of a gently glowing substance filled with an...

This episode includes three very short stories.  One about a fish, a second about a screwdriver, and a third about coins and penny candy. These subjects may seem random, and unrelated. However, each of these tiny tales have a few notions we could learn from. And together, they can teach a single highly valuable principle.   https://youtu.be/m8KB25mpC7s **BIG NEWS: **An Ounce is now on YouTube! Beg...

An Interview with Anne Jensen, the mother of 3, who has some great insights on teaching children with a short attention span important lessons about life.