From The Storyteller
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Hello All: Sometimes great ideas come from unexpected places. Enjoy, Doug
Stakes “Sometimes it moves so slow you need to put stakes in the ground to know you’ve moved”, said an old farmer to me describing one of the first tractors he had. This reminded me of my freshman high school year when I worked out with weights and then immediately measured the size of my arm muscles. They never seemed to change, but eventually my shirts got smaller. And this of course leads me to the inside of kitchen doors, where over the years we marked the growth of our kids and some of our grand kids. Standing with their back to the door, a ruler flat on their head, we would mark the door with name and date. There were times when nothing changed, and other times when we were all surprised. Unfortunately, moving ultimately caused our height histories to be left behind. This reminds me of a conversation I had with a young, college professor. Sharing my door story and mentioning the sadness of having to leave those memories to those who followed us, she smiled and said, “sheet”. At first, I thought she was joining in my pain. Then she explained she would mark her kids’ heights on a sheet tacked to the door. Their history then became mobile. She shared her idea freely, but it only came up after I shared my door story (a little piece of my life). This brings me to encourage each of you to be a Shoemaker, by feeling free to share pieces of your life stories with the people you encounter. Doing that allows the person, you are with, to experience you as a “real” person, and that will open doors you never knew were there. Smile: For young parents and grandparents using a sheet is a really great idea. Moral: Good ideas can come from unanticipated sources. |