Author: Darrell Richardson

I titled my 1st blog “In The Beginning…”.  So sticking with the biblical theme, I’m calling this one “Revelations”.  Now before I get judged too harshly, I do know that the title of the last book of the New Testament is “Revelation” not “Revelations” (no “s”).  I just took a little creative license.  This is primarily about my experiences during my Sabbatical.

A really smart guy I know named Kris says, “It takes 30 days to form a habit”.  Truer words have never been spoken.  Man, a guy could get used to this. 🙂 Overall, I’ve had a very positive experience.  I suspected going into this that my favorite part would be delivering Meals on Wheels.  I was right.  Jennifer and I always enjoy doing volunteer work, and Meals on Wheels is an organization that is near and dear to our hearts.  I also really enjoyed reading “The Fred Factor”.  It’s my favorite of the reading I’ve done for the office.

I also really enjoyed going to San Antonio for my mom’s 85th birthday and hanging out with the family.  My mom was supposed to come home tomorrow after 6 months at my sister’s and having numerous doctors’ appointments.  Unfortunately, she took a really nasty fall Friday morning and spent the day at the hospital.  Fortunately, nothing’s broken, but she’s really banged up.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

As a kid growing up in the ’70s, I was a fan of rock music.  Now I’m a fan of classic rock music.  It’s the same music just 40 years older.  One of my favorite bands is Styx, and my favorite song of theirs is “Too Much Time On My Hands”.  I”m starting to get the concept.  I started my Sabbatical with a pretty healthy list of things I wanted to get accomplished.  It was awesome having the time off to take care of everything.  But after a couple of weeks, the list was pretty much done, and I found myself not feeling useful.

I started the 1st grade in 1969.  That’s right.  You heard me.  I started my 1st job June 1, 1979 less than a month after my 16th birthday.  I’ve been working or in school ever since.  That’s been the hardest part for me.  Work is what I know how to do, and I HATE feeling like someone else is having to cover for me.  I don’t even like it when it’s crunch time and you have to lean on your co-workers to get over the hump.  I’m looking forward to staring at a spreadsheet tomorrow.  Deal with it Mark Owen.

When you ask an FDLIC employee about the company atmosphere, more often than not one of the 1st words that will come up is “family”.  I miss my family, and it’s time for a big ole FDLIC family reunion.  If you’ve read any of my previous blogs you may have noticed that I ended some of them with “ciao for now” a habit I got into when I wrote friends after I moved to Abilene from San Antonio in 1979.  But since this is my last blog, I’ll just say:

See you tomorrow.

Fall is in the air, and I guess you could say this is the autumn of my Sabbatical.  This is my favorite time of year.  I love the crispness in the air.  One of my old football coaches used to call it “hittin’ weather”.  I can’t say that I do much “hittin'” any more, but I’m sure going to enjoy the next few months.

I started my Sabbatical with a pretty good list of things I wanted to get done while I was off work.  I am happy to report that each item has now been checked off my to do list as well as a few items that weren’t on the list.

I got a little ahead of myself with my reading.  I have finished my daily devotional book (God’s Promises) as well as my other book (The Fred Factor).  God’s promises transitioned from how to handle things you may be going through to how to live your life as a Christian and into “God’s Plan For Salvation”.  As I stated in my previous blog, I think this would be a good reference book if you were looking for scripture to fit a particular subject.

I love “The Fred Factor”.  It is my favorite of the motivational books I’ve read, and there isn’t a close second.  I love the fact that I don’t feel like the author is trying to sell me another one of his books or a program at the end of every chapter and that it is based on a real life person and situation.  When I wrote my last blog, I had read through chapter 4 which is the first chapter of the 2nd section.  The first section defines what a Fred is.  The second section explains how to become a Fred by discussing such things as the importance of building relationships.  The third section uses Fred as an acronym to explain how to develop other Freds – Find, Reward, Educate, Demonstrate.  The final section discusses what’s going on with Fred the postal carrier (the original Fred) and “The Fred Spirit”.  The book is well written and easy to read but also is timely and substantive.  Mr. Sanborn incorporates some great quotes to make some of his points.  I highly recommend this book.

This is the last week of my Sabbatical.  Reality is going to pay me a visit Monday morning.  I plan on dedicating the bulk of my remaining Sabbatical to down time.  It’s time to recharge the batteries and gear up.  I mentioned my mom in an earlier blog.  She has been in San Antonio staying with my sister for the last 6 or 7 months and has had numerous doctors’ appointments.  She is supposed to come home some time this week.  I’m looking forward to returning to some sense of normalcy.

Until next time, ciao for now.

First, I just wanted to say how saddened I am about the devastating news from Las Vegas.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and their loved ones.  I will restrain myself from getting on my soap box too much (difficult as it may be), BUT I will say that I am thoroughly disgusted by those who choose to politicize such tragic events instead of just trying to be a comfort to those who are suffering.  As I like to say, “politics” – “poly” from the Latin root word meaning many and “ticks” which are blood sucking parasites.  OK, I’ll step down now.

One thing I’m really enjoying during my time off is having the time to take care of all the things you never have time to do when both spouses work or for single parents…  So far, we have had a gun safe delivered, met the cable company at the house to upgrade some equipment, gone to the AT&T store and reworked our account, met an electrician at our lake house, and soon to meet the DISH people at the lake house to upgrade some equipment.  This to do list has been growing for awhile.  It’s been awesome to finally have the time to take care of this stuff.

I have refrained from writing about my devotional book until I was far enough into it to have an opinion to express.  The book is entitled “God’s Promises”.  It is basically a compilation of biblical scripture.  There is no text other than category headings and Bible verses.  The 1st section defines Jesus and the role he is to play in our lives.  It says, “Jesus is your…”  Every few pages has a different word following this opening phrase.  “Jesus is your Savior” which is then followed by scripture to substantiate it.  The rest of the section works the same way.  After Savior, the rest of the words are “Love, Lord, Peace, Forgiveness, Deliverer, Fellowship, Example, Companion, Brother, Guardian, Security, Sufficiency, Fulfillment, and Everything”.  After each word are a couple of pages of scripture to prove the point.  The 2nd section works the same way.  It says “The Bible is your Infallible Authority, Deed of Inheritance, Guide for Life, Stability, and Strength”.  It seems that the 1st 2 sections use scripture to establish the authority for the role that Jesus and The Bible are to play in our lives.  I have read the 1st 5 1/2 sections so far.  The remainder of the book seems to use scripture to explain how to handle specific situations you may encounter in your life.  The 3rd sections is “What to do when you feel Discouraged, Worried, Lonely, Depressed, Dissatisfied, Condemned, Confused, Tempted, Angry, and Rebellious”.  The 4th section is “What to do when you are Experiencing Fear, Mentally Disturbed, In Need of Courage, In Need of Patience, In Need of Peace, Lukewarm Spiritually, In Grief, and In Doubt About God”.  The rest of the book, or at least the sections I’ve read so far work the same way – giving categories of things you may be going through and providing quite a few Bible verses to help you get through them.  I think “God’s Promises” would be a great reference as a guide to daily living.

I have accomplished most of the things that I set out to accomplish when this journey began.  I have about a week and a half to do the rest.

So until next time, Ciao for now.

Last week was productive & fulfilling.  Jennifer and I delivered Meals on Wheels.  During the 5 days we delivered, we ran 3 different routes, making a total of 43 stops, and delivered 64 meals.  “…It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35.  We really enjoy delivering Meals on Wheels mostly because of the personal interaction.  The amount of effort it takes to give and be a blessing to someone wanes in comparison to the amount of joy you receive by doing it.

I have started reading “The Fred Factor”.  The basic premise of the book is that the author, Mark Sanborn, moved into a new neighborhood.  He heard a knock on his door.  He opened it to discover his new postal carrier, Fred Shea.  Fred is an over-achiever to say the least.  He goes way above and beyond the call.  Fred offers to hold the mail while Mr. Sanborn is away on speaking engagements and even retrieves a package that was delivered by U.P.S. to the wrong address.  Mr. Sanborn “…concluded that Fred-and the way he did his job-provides a perfect metaphor for high individual achievement and excellence in the twenty-first century”.  He has identified 4 principles that he learned from his postal carrier that make up the Fred Factor.  1) “Everyone makes a difference”.  2) “Success is built on relationships”.  3) “You must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny”.  4) “You can reinvent yourself regularly”.  In the chapters I’ve read so far, he goes on to discuss other “Freds” he has come across and how he makes a point to let their employers know when someone has really gone above and beyond the call.  I found this particularly interesting, because it is something I do as well.  I believe in rewarding extraordinary service.  He then discusses how management can incorporate those principles into their organizations.  More on the book later.

As I said in my 1st blog, My mom was in San Antonio and Jennifer & I were going to help her celebrate her 85th birthday.  We had a great dinner and party at Mi Tierra.  I grew up in San Antonio, and Mi Tierra has always been my favorite Mexican food restaurant.  It’s touristy, a little over-priced, kind of tacky, and WONDERFUL!!!  We had a great turnout and a great time.  My mom took the 5 candle off of her cake and put it in front of the 8 so it read 58 instead of 85.  Gee, I wonder where I get my goofy sense of humor.  The weekend also afforded me an opportunity to bury a hatchet or at least take neutral corners with someone.  We’ll just call it a work in progress and leave it at that.  But the weekend was about my mom.  Happy birthday to one of the 2 most important women in my life.

In my 1st blog I talked about my friend Chris.  This is the only picture I have of the 2 of us.  His mother was kind enough to send it to me after he passed away.  This was taken in 1989 during the after party of his wedding (#2).  That’s him on the left.  I suspect most of you know that handsome guy on the right.  R.I.P brother.

There is a poem entitled “To A Mouse” by Scottish author Robert Burns.  The premise of the poem is that a mouse has built a nest in a farmer’s field.  The nest is necessary for the mouse to survive the winter.  The farmer inadvertently plows over the nest.  Knowing this ultimately will lead to the death of the mouse, the farmer starts apologizing to it.  While you may not be familiar with the poem, there is a good chance you have heard a more modern English translation of one of the lines from it.  “The best laid plans of mice and men go awry” or “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry”.

That line describes part of the beginning of my Sabbatical.  In June of last year, Jen and I were driving back from The Woodlands where we had attended a concert.  My phone rang.  It was Chris.  He was the first friend I made after moving to Abilene in 1979.  I met him on the first day of school my junior year of high school.  When I say friend, I don’t mean one of the 800 people who “Like” some goofy video you post on Facebook.  I mean the kind of friend who always has your back – the kind of friend you can trust with your biggest secrets.  Chris was my best man when Jen and I got married.  I was his best man twice.  Neither time took.  Apparently I was better at being a groom than a best man.

Chris was calling with bad news.  He was sick – very sick.  He had end stage liver disease.  The doctors told him that best case scenario he might live 5 years but that even a cold could kill him.  One of my big Sabbatical plans was to go to Florida to see my friend one last time.  That plan came to an end on May 22 when his sister called me to tell me my friend, my brother, had died.

While I mourn the loss of my friend, I do have a new Sabbatical plan.  And it is a plan that I’m looking forward to.  On September 25, my mom will celebrate her 85^th birthday.  We have a big party planned at my favorite Mexican food restaurant in San Antonio, Mi Tierra.  I will do a follow up after we return.

We have started our service project which is delivering Meals on Wheels.  We have delivered twice so far.  We got off to a bit of a rough start on Monday as 2 of the recipients didn’t answer the door.  I called MOW per their instructions.  It always bothers me when they don’t answer the door, and we have to leave.  Obviously, the hope is that there’s nothing wrong.  Day 2 went much more smoothly.  We had a different route with twice as many stops (13 to be exact), but we didn’t have any issues.

I didn’t take a Sabbatical in 2010, so this is my first experience.  I expected going into it that the service project would be my favorite part.  It’s always a blessing to do a little good for the hood.  It doesn’t necessarily take a huge effort to brighten someone’s day.  A little effort and kindness can go a long way.

It is 11:03 pm.  If I’m going to get the required rest, I should wrap this up.

Ciao for now.