What you got in the tank?

Ketchup, the condiment, called by radio personality Garrison (born Gary) Keillor, a mellowing agent. I like metaphors and ketchup is my new metaphor for reconnecting.

A few years back I went on the road with Practical Resources, the real estate training specialists. Our objective is to educate Realtors so they can attain Real Estate Owned (REO) properties as listing agents. We provide information and skills in the seminar and sell our back of room (BOR) material.

I am the emcee and learned a valuable lesson in delivering a humorous story, the wisdom of the Meaningful Pause. A pause that lasts long enough to allow everyone to laugh, catch the lingering laughers, and even an extra wave of laughter. It was a new type of attention to me.

We finished Thursday night. Friday I raced from Fresno to Dublin, California where I met my wife, switched cars, suitcases and identities continuing the race to the airport and flew to Portland, Oregon. There I was to vault the ceiling of my son’s new ranch style home. With my carpenter tools, and old clothes I changed into Grandpa Gary, carpenter-engineer.

We cut away trusses, doubled up all the rafters and transformed a flat 8’ ceiling into a 14’ high vault. I worked with my son Zane and oldest friend Jack. We completed a 36’ x 36’ living, dining, and kitchen.

I left 10 pounds of Grandpa Gary there and don’t want them to send them back.

Upon returning home, I happened upon a story of Isaac Perlman, the great violinist, who had polio. It was a struggle for him to come on to stage, remove his leg braces, much less play.

As he began to play, one of the four violin strings broke. The conductor stopped the piece; Perlman examined the string, placed the violin back under his chin, nodded to the conductor and began to play. And play he did, more magnificent than usual.

Upon finishing the concert when the applause died down, he said to the audience -“Sometimes you must find out how much you can make with what you have left.” In the vaulting the ceiling I saw and felt how much I have left as Grandpa Gary, carpenter. It was a lot.

What do you have left?

Take a meaningful pause and ask yourself what you have done, or could do, that would make a difference in your life and those around you?

I hope you find you have got a lot left, and some right too.