A Story, for sure. But, one with a moral. And, one that will, I hope, make you stop and think. All I want from you is a little of your time.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," his mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," Jack said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral."
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said
"What box?" his mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box.. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:
"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most was...my time"
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant, asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.
"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if he or she doesn't like you.
4. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before he or she goes to sleep.
5. You mean the world to someone.
6. If not for you, someone may not be living.
7. You are special and unique.
8. . When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.
9. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.
10. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
12. Always tell someone how you feel about him or her; you will feel much better when he or she knows and you'll both be happy .
13. If you have a great friend, take the time to let him or her know that he or she is great.

Some Great Ideas. And, I stole them, just for you.

Comes a time when I say, "darn, I wish I had thought of that". Well, this is one of those times. You really need to check out the cool ideas at this web site.
http://www.thedailybuzz.com.au/2011/11/25-clever-ideas_household-tips_storage-ideas/

There are so many ideas here that I will be putting to use. And, no doubt, you'll find a few that you can use, as well. Best thing is that the ideas cost either nothing or they're pretty inexpensive. I mean, how much can a straw cost? Free, if you just keep one on your next trip to a fast food place. They make a perfect tool to hull a strawberry.

Got stuffed bears and dogs and cats all over the floor? Want a cheap and neat way to both store and display them?

How about all those rolls of wrapping paper cluttering the closet? Yep, there's a cheap solution for that, too.

Take a looksee...I think you'll say "why didn't I think of that".

What I'm Up To, complete with Flotilla Pictures

I'm gonna post a few Christmas Flotilla Pictures at the end of this blog. Check ém out, if you want.

And, yep. I said it. Again. Christmas. It is Christmas, and it's a holiday. But, I will not let that word holiday replace Christmas.

Been having a blast, of late. Got a gig doing a talk radio show on Thunder Country 96.3. It's a station with a powerful signal covering much of eastern North Carolina. 100-THOUSAND watts of power, it is. The station plays country during much of the day. Hence Thunder Country. But, for the past month, I've been running my mouth a lot from 7-9 am weekdays. I talk about conservative values, conservative attitudes, and conservative messages. Guess that means I'm a conservative.

Maybe. At the same time, I don't want anyone infringing on my rights. I want the right to speak my mind, and I believe my personl being is mine to do with pretty much as I see fit. And, so is yours.

Up to a point.

Ya see, your rights...and mine...don't mean that I, or you, have a right to dictate what others think or do.

Up to a point.

Ok, to boil it down to the basics of the way it should be in this country (according to me): I have a right to do anything I want as long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of anyone else. Sorta simple, I think.

Of course, I know and apprecite that we live in a land where there are laws. Laws that are written and enforced to safeguard the rights of most everybody. If we didn't have those laws, we would have something known as chaos. Some aruge that's what we have now. Hopefully, with a change of administration at both the state and national levels next year, we'll end up with controlled chaos instead of the mess we currently have.

Back to he radio gig. It's fun, and I enjoy the calls we get from listeners; and, I really appreciate the guests we have live in the studio. From Congressman Walter Jones to the sheriff of Onslow County, to the Jacksonville (NC) police chief to the editor of the Jacksonville Daily News....we reach out to a lot of folks.

I say we. The talk show is called Live and Local with Raeford and Friends. I have a couple regular friends...Bill Hitchcock, a former televison producer, and Jan Bean Slagle, another former news broadcaster and former Jacksonville mayor. Together, we have a good time, and we cover a lot of issues. Topics are varied, ranging from politics (what a great year to start this show!!!!) to unemployment to fishing to...well, pick a topic, and we'll discuss it. And, if you want to be part of that discusssion, give us a call. Weekdays, 7-9 am, 866-963-1037.

Ok, to the Flotilla. Sponsored by the Jacksonville Breakfast Rotary Club. Got some pretty cool pictures of a few of the brightly decorated boats. Didn't get any of mine because we were IN the parade of boats. Thought you might enjoy.

The above picture is of our boat, Pirate Attack. Naturally, I didn't take the shot. I was a little busy at the time. Besides, some law of physics states that I can't be in two places at the same time. The photo is courtesy of Ralph Leeds, another boating enthusiast, and an obviously good photographer. He admitted it was a tough shot. Ya see, the lights are actually blinking. Rapidly, and in time with the music blaring from my speakers on top of the boat. It must have been hard to get a shot when about 60% of the light were on at the same time. My thanks to you, Ralph, for the picture.