One Ordinary Perspective

By Mark A. Tenney Well, here we are, at the beginning of another New Year. 2017 is in the rear view mirror and we’re all anticipating what this new set of 12 months will bring. In the time-honored tradition, we begin the year feeling some desire to take another look at what we’ll do with all this time and potential out in front of us. We set goals, with the best of intentions of achieving them. We’ll work hard and persevere, we tell ourselves, and it’ll be awesome when we achieve what we set out to do. The problem is that when February rolls around, we’ve either not started, or lost our enthusiasm, or we just didn’t have the time, or whatever. Our goals remain unfulfilled for yet another year. Will this be the result again this year and every one from now on? Or, will this year be different? Everyone knows that each person comes into this world with unlimited potential. Yet, somewhere along the path of growing up, we lose the belief that we can be anyt

It's been a bit since my last post, and to be honest, I regret neglecting writing. I don't really have an excuse; although I could provide plenty: The holidays The New Year I lost my job I've been busy Wallowing in self-pity You know, good stuff. Yes, you heard right, after nearly 13 years of regular, consistent employment, I've found myself on the outside looking in, along with a whole bunch of other people. All the employment experts tell you that 80% of people find a job through their network and that things are "turning around." My experience thus far (yes, I know, it's only been two weeks since my last day) has been that there are tons of jobs out there, and some of them are pretty good ones that I'm qualified for and could do well with. The problem is that there are tons of people out there who are working hard for those same jobs as I am. Therein lies the problem for me. No longer am I able to throw my resume and customized cover letter into the

When I was in college, I was introduced to a word that I felt pretty much sums up my feelings about this whole Tiger Woods debacle. The word is: underwhelmed. Now, let me tell you where I stand. I've never been particularly interested in what Tiger does on or off the golf course. There's no denying that he's pretty good at what he does. He's been able to train his body and mind to consistently perform well on the golf course time after time and in the face of pressure. However, that's only a small percentage of his life. What about when he's not golfing? How consistently does he perform in the areas that really matter? Like at home, at the store, when he's on vacation? From what I've read of his character defining traits like his language, how he treats others, his social interactivity and his relationship with his wife, frankly I'm underwhelmed. It appears that he's just like any other guy who takes himself too seriously. Lest I come across as b

My wife and I have three daughters. All three are 'wells of hyperbole,' you know those over-the-top ways parents describe their children: wonderful, beautiful, delightful, amazing, AWESOME! The difference in my case however (and I'm being completely objective here), is that these adjectives area 100% accurate. My girls are all those things and more. Our eldest is 16 and firmly in the midst of her teenage years. She excels at nearly everything she engages in and is a model student. He mom and I couldn't be prouder. When she was 13, we decided, somehow, that it would be an excellent idea to get her a cell phone of her own. It was a momentous occasion and one that will long be remembered. In those early days, the phone was new and the possibilities were yet unexplored. She enjoyed using it to arrange a time for one of us to pick her up from her dance class, or from a friend's house after school. It served the very purpose for which it had been acquired. My wife and I n

The story that took the internet (and the world, for that matter), by storm today was the little six year old boy who supposedly took off in his dad's experimental "aircraft" for about three hours and who caused a huge stir when he couldn't be found after the helium-filled balloon came down in a remote field some 60 miles from where it took off. His brother (figures), reported that he saw the boy get into the basket, untie the thing, and float up into the sky where it was tracked by police and FAA radar for part of the afternoon. Turns out he was hiding in a box in the attic of the garage at his house. He never took off. I guess the balloon wasn't large enough to carry his weight or he figured he was going to get in trouble for letting the family project float away. I can imagine the conversation his dad had with him after he was located. "You caused quite a stir today, son. There were dozens of police and rescue people looking for you, a helicopter was sent

I arose early this morning for my regular Wednesday workout and found a thick blanket of fog had covered the neighborhood and streets of the town where I live. The drive was cautious and mysterious as streetlights and stoplights emerged from the gloom, then disappeared as we moved through the morning mist. The funny thing about fog is that while it conceals, it also at times reveals depending on where you stand - much like people. My family and I went to see the smash Broadway musical, "Wicked" last weekend and I discovered an important verification of what I've always been taught about people; don't judge based on only what you observe. Put another way, the same principle is taught: "judge not that ye be not judged." For those who haven't yet seen this production, the story is told from the point of view of the 'Wicked Witch of the West' and is based on the story from the L. Frank Baum novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." The audience i