A Tribute To A Baker

"HUUP...ONE, HUUP...TWO, HUUP...THREE..."

 

Those melodious orders sounded like the commands of a tough marine drill sergeant. However, in reality the man's name was Tom Williams and he was an executive with the Houston Oilers (of the National Football League) and a world class trainer of famous athletes -- Earl Campbell, Darrell Green, Mike Singletary, Hakeem Olajuwon -- to name but a few. 

During the off season he operated a Kolache shop, baking cookies and meat filled delights.

 

Approximately 200 yards from this Kolache shop was his famous "Hill", a very steep embankment, which led to the bayou. Tom would have his athletes train on that hill, running up and down to build stamina or to help rebuild muscles or ligaments damaged after an injury or surgery.
 

As for me, I had always wanted to be a pro athlete, but early on I realized that I was not quick enough nor tall enough to become one, so I focused my dreams on becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon, helping my athletic idols to recover from devastating injuries. 

That dream, however, was smashed during my sophomore year in college when I was seriously injured as an innocent victim of a convenience store robbery. I was shot in the back of the head, and very few thought I would even survive. However, many months later, after several surgeries and lengthy hospital rehabilitation programs, I met Tom, the eternal optimist. 

The first day my family and I encountered Tom he was barking out orders for his athletes on the "Hill". He told my parents he could definitely help me, but I would have to discipline myself to work four straight hours every single day, including weekends. 

At first, my parents would watch Tom work with me in the back of his Kolache shop. Tom would cover the tables he would normally use to knead his dough, and now would "knead" my muscles, massage my limp right arm, and struggle with me as I learned to walk again.

 

Then, one day, Tom barked, "Mike, let's go to the 'Hill'."
I was scared as I limped toward the bayou, and my parents were equally petrified. The "Hill" was so steep that I thought even a Billy goat would have difficulty trying to climb it.

 

Initially, Tom ordered two husky athletes to lift me under my arms and "drag" me down the hill. When we got to the bottom, one of the athletes screamed up to Tom, "What do you want us to do now?" Tom calmly replied, "Drag him back up." 

At that point, my father, who by profession is a rabbi, told my mother that he thought Tom was going to kill me and they should get me away from him as soon as possible.

 

My father, wanting to be polite, thanked Tom and stated that we had to go home. But Tom replied, "It's only 2 o'clock, and Mike is to be here until 5, and by the way, bring him a little earlier tomorrow."
 

 

Even though my father was adamant about leaving, my mother truly felt that if Tom could help "million dollar athletes" recover, he could surely help her son.

My father went home, never returning to the Kolache store because he told my mother, "Tom is going to kill Mike," and my mother never volunteered any information to my father about my progress with Tom as the days wore on.

One day, a number of weeks later, Tom called my father at home and said, "Father, this is Tom Williams and you need to get here fast!" With that, Tom slammed the phone down. 

My father thought I was dead or badly injured, the victim of a severe injury while tumbling down that "Hill." He quickly sped toward Tom's shop, jumped out of his car, and noticed many people huddled near the corner of the "Hill." With great trepidation my father peered over the "Hill" and saw me slowly climbing the "Hill" -- alive. 

 

When I reached the top of the "Hill" I quickly turned around as Tom instructed me and went back down to the bottom, to the bayou. Tears welled up in my father's eyes as Tom approached him and said, "Rabbi, you might give great sermons, but you don't practice what you preach. You tell everyone to have faith, but you did not have faith -- faith in me, faith in your son, and faith in God. You simply said, 'I give up,' and you went home."

 

 

My father pondered seriously as to what Tom had just said and watched as I slowly reached the edge of the "Hill" on my return trip. At that moment, with tears of great joy, my father and I fell into each other's arms and embraced one another. 

That was just one of the many lessons I learned from Tom over the next few years. Even though I still have many physical disabilities as a result of the gunshot wound, the "Hill" taught me that even the impossible could become the possible.

Everyone in life has his own "Hill" to climb, some small, some large. On that day Tom taught me the most important lesson of my life: "Never give in; never give up." 

 

 

Even though Tom was a world class trainer of athletes, he learned that his true love was helping "ordinary" people, and soon after my success on the "Hill" Tom opened a Rehabilitation Center where he worked with spinal cord and head injured and stroke patients. In the "old days," Tom would use only a simple table in the back of his Kolache shop on which he prepared his pastries to help his clients.

Now, he had a state of the art, modern Rehabilitation Center along with his own man-made "Hill" so Tom could encourage many more to defy the experts.

Tom received referrals from all over the country for he had a special ability to make patients want to excel. His patients improved and his Center was a huge success.

For the next few years I would regularly go to the Center, not only to exercise but more importantly to work out for the "Master," Tom.
 

 

I had developed a strong emotional connection with Tom. He had extended to me a lifeline to enjoy life once again which many physicians and therapists stated no longer existed.

However, later Tom became extremely ill with cancer and passed away. The funeral was huge. Many of his athletes were there to say their last "good byes" and "thank yous." I was an honorary pallbearer because his family thought that our relationship was a special and unique one.

After everyone left the cemetery I went up to Tom's grave to utter my final prayer and statement of thankfulness that such a wonderful man had been a part of my life. As I glanced at the inscription on the tombstone I read:

Forever Loved In The Hearts Of Those He Touched
Tom Williams
April 11, 1927 -- June 11, 1995

At that very moment I realized why we were so deeply connected: April 11 is also my birthday!
(c)2001 by Michael Jordan Segal, MSW
Michael Jordan Segal, who defied all odds after being shot in the head, is a husband, father, social worker, freelance author (including a CD/Download of 12 stories, read with light backgroud music, entitled POSSIBLE), and inspirational speaker, sharing his recipe for happiness, recovery and success before conferences and businesses. To contact Mike or to order his CD,

Stanislavsky Lech - 25 Miles to Freedom , Power of Question

Anthony Robbins tells a story of a Krakow Death Camp escapee. His name was Stanislavsky Lech, and when his home was stormed and the Nazis herded him with his family into Krakow, he watched as they were all murdered. He was put to work. Eventually, he was weak and starving, in addition to his grief, and a thought crossed his mind that he would not survive one more day in Krakow.

He changed his question from "How can there be such a terrible place" to "How can we escape from such a place?" At first the answer was the same, "There is no escape." He kept asking in slightly different ways, "How can I do it?"

Soon, he smelled rotting flesh a few feet from where he was working, and noticed that the bodies of those who had been recently gassed were piled into the back of a truck. Again, he changed the "How can God allow this to happen?" to "How can I use this to help me escape?"
When he returned from work the next evening, the truck was there. He pulled off his clothes when no one was looking and, pretending to be dead, climbed into the pile of dead bodies. He waited while the cold of the corpses pressed against him, and the smell invaded his body. The ride to the open grave wasn't long, and he was dumped along with the others. He waited until it had been quiet for some time before he dared to look around.

They were gone. He got up and ran, naked, 25 miles to freedom that night.

He was able to free himself, in part, because he asked a different question. Our intuition, or higher self, will always answer our questions. Just as it is helpful to know what we really want, it is also helpful to know where we could use some help.

Does God Exist

Does God Exist?

A man went to do his hair cut.  As always, he and the barber chatted about many things.  While talking they come to subject of God and the barber said that there is  no God.  God doesn't exits!  If God exists, why there is suffering and crime.  If god existed, there wouldn't be much suffering.

The man fell into thought for a while and then said:

You know something? Barbers don’t exist.

Barber: - What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber.

Man: - They don’t exist! – insisted the man. – Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such long beards and such tangled hair.

Barber: - I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But these people never come in here.

Man : - Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world and they would be more giving.

Yes! God is there.  God exits. But men are not seeking God. 

Power of Help, Appreciate the Help of Others

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."
~Maya Angelou


This is a powerful message in our modern society. We seemed to have lost our bearing & our sense of direction.

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, for he made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as a clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.--

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,

Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not be the successful me today.

Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only now I realize how difficult and tough it is to get her work done.

Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wants, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For these kind of people, who may be good academically, they may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel a sense of achievement. They will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

How Would You Like to Be Remembered When You Are Gone

Taken from Nitro Noble's House Journal (Alfred Noble's Company) Sweden May 1977

 

How Would You Like to Be Remembered When You Are Gone ?

Are you startled by this question?
Have you ever given this a little thought ?
 

If you haven't, I would be serious when I suggest that you should give this a hard good look and cast this statement in your mind. "When I am gone I would like people to remember me as….."

About a 100+ years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his dismay and horror, he read his name in the front page. "Dynamite Kind Dies." 

 

This was cast in a square grey tinted box with a thick black line on the borders."

His first response was awesomely shocking. "Am I there or here? When he regained his composure after a while, his next thought was to actually find out what people said of him, what people thought of him

The obituary news read as follows:

"He was the merchant of death. This man was the inventor of the dynamite. One most cruel invention that could kill people while it was being made, and even many more when it was used. A substance of mass killing, and a deadly weapon in the hands of those who wishes to create terror and rule the scene…. The story continued with several curses added to it.

He asked himself, "Is this how people view me?
 

Is this the way they will think of me?
 

Is this the way they will remember me?

He decided then and there that he would change the situation made a firm resolve to clear the stigma that was being associated with his name. 

 

From that day on he started working towards peace, and sure enough he left an indelible mark on this planet. He is remembered even this day as Alfred Noble. 

 

He gave his entire earnings to establish a foundation that would work for peace in the world, and today too it awards prizes for achievers all over the world for their unique contributions to the welfare of mankind. He lives on even today through this mission and the Noble prizes are awarded in his honor.

Just as Alfred Noble redefined his values, I believe all of us should step back and do the same taking a leaf out of this man's true story.

What will be your legacy?
How would you like to be remembered?
Will you be spoken off well?
Will you be remembered with love and respect?
Will you be missed?

Never Give Up

This story is about a farmer and his mule. The effectiveness of the story lies in the way it focuses upon adversity and how attitude determines the course of seemingly lost cause. There was this farmer in a tiny village.

He owned an old mule that used to carry grains and other farming related stuff for the farmer. During one of those days, the mule fell into a well. The well ran deep and despite trying hard many a times, mule couldn’t get himself out the well. He started to lose hope. His consistent shrieks drew attention of the farmer who came rushing to the well.

Farmer looked around and tried to come up with a rescue plan but eventually, he also lost the hope. He decided that the old mule was not worth the trouble of saving. So, he called his neighbours and asked for their help in hauling dirt to bury the old mule.

The mule got hysterical. Soon enough, the farmer and the neighbours started to shovel and fill the well with the dirt. When the first bout of dirt hit mule’s back, suddenly his fast losing spirit came up with an idea. He thought every time a shovel load of dirt will land on his back, he will just shake it off and step up a bit higher. The idea filled him with a new lease of life and hope.

Old mule kept doing the same blow after blow. He would just shake the dirt off and step up a notch higher. He kept reminding himself of possibility of a brand new life. He controlled his nerves and kept stepping up. After some time, the exhausted mule managed to step over the wall of that well. He was completely tired and fatigued yet his spirit triumphed. The dirt that was meant to bury him actually helped him in remaining alive.

The story is a clear example of how our attitude towards seemingly impossible adversities determines the final outcome. Life is like this only. If we respond positively to the stream of problems faced by us and refuse to surrender, we are likely to emerge victorious.

How to Deal With Unwanted Situations

By: Sudha Menon

When I was staying in Calcutta, taking classes on the Isha Vasya Upanishad, a man came to see me.

He said, “I have a problem. I don’t sleep well at night because I live in an area where there are plenty of street dogs. Every night they start barking, and keep barking till sunrise. I am already a very light sleeper, and I simply can’t get any rest because of this noise.”

He was told, “Go home and try this tonight. When you hear the barking, just drop the anger, the negative feelings that rise up in you. Just listen to the barking sound without resisting. Tell yourself that the dogs are barking; that’s all. Don’t allow yourself to react. The problem is not the barking, but your resistance to it.”

The man went back tried what was said. After a few days he came back and reported, “I tried dropping my resistance as you said. Instead of thinking, ‘How dare those stupid dogs spoil my sleep?’ I tried changing my thoughts gradually:

‘The dogs are barking. It is spoiling my sleep.…’

‘The dogs are barking…’

‘Some animals are creating some sounds…’
 

By the time I came to that sentence, I think I fell asleep. Anyway,
 

I’ve been having excellent sleep all these days. “

This can happen with you also. Any situation can be dealt with, if you know how to drop your negativity, if you know how to drop your negative reaction to it. This is the key to open the Manipuraka chakra.

But the mind is so eager to harbor, to settle down in familiar patterns of inner chatter. This is the basis of the working of worry. The mind always looks to typecast things. It needs comparison all the time between past, present and future and this comparison, this reference, this judgment, gives birth to worry.

Worries are nothing but familiar dwelling patterns for our mind. These familiar patterns are called engrams in the field of human psychology. Engrams are the engraved memories of the past, which serve as an undesirable resource inside us for all our present and future actions. Because of these stored engrams, we react illogically in the present.