Peace and much gratitude!
Bill

Cold and frightened to death, we asked a crew member if we could get a blanket.  We were wet from standing outside and we were shivering.  The crew member actually told us we could “rent” a beach towel.  I looked at the crew member and said [...]]]> And now, the REST of the story…

Cold and frightened to death, we asked a crew member if we could get a blanket.  We were wet from standing outside and we were shivering.  The crew member actually told us we could “rent” a beach towel.  I looked at the crew member and said something like “You have got to be kidding me.”  I reluctantly paid the lady but I guess it didn’t matter, we were going to be dead soon.

It was now completely dark outside and a new format for the rocking began.  Front, back, left, hold, left some more, hold, left even more, bottles crashing, then right, hold, a little farther right, hold, some more right, more bottles crashing, other crashing sounds, and people crying.  The lefts and the rights started to last longer and longer.  Left, left some more, a little more, hold, even more, hold, even some more and just when I thought we were going to go back right, the boat would slide even more to the left.  I was now officially terrified.  All kidding aside, we were seriously going down.  To make matters worse, there were some Spanish speaking crew members screaming at each other and dropping some sort of measuring device off the sides of the boat and reeling them in.  They would yell at each other with a look of horror in their eyes.  I don’t speak Spanish but the communication was very clear.  Abandon ship!  “You have got to be kidding me!”

Have you ever wondered what your last words in this lifetime would be?  I never really gave it much thought before this time but mine would have been, “You have got to be kidding me!” along with several expletives.    Yes, my final words were going to be cuss words.  I am doomed for eternity for sure.  I would end up taking the hell express and I had my very own toll tag so I could skip the lines.  You were supposed to enter the afterlife on a good note, not cussing profusely.  For the remainder of the trip, I said absolutely nothing.  I held on to the table with one arm and seized my wife’s withered and swollen hand with the other.

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink.

Now, too frightened to even open my eyes, I sat on the floor inside and hooked my arm around the leg of a table.  I started praying however, it got so scary at times, I could not even finish them.  “Dear Lord baby Jesus, please, … (CRASH, left, left, hold, hold, left some more, things crashing, people crying)  I was too scared to even pray and I know that cannot be good.  Each time I tried, the scene kept getting worse and frightened me even more. 

I understood for the first time why I was forced to memorized prayers as a child.  I am here to tell you, take some time to memorize at least two prayers.  Memorize them well enough that you do not even have to think to say them.  I believe this is how I survived that boat trip. 

I repeated the prayers over and over and retreated inward.  As I went deeper and deeper, the screaming and crying around me faded away.  I never stopped and to this day I wonder how many Hail Mary’s and Angel of God’s I said but it must have been at least 10,000.

All of a sudden, the rocking subsided and there were city lights ahead.  WE ARE ALIVE! WE MADE IT!  We stood up and held each other and cried.  There were bigger plans for us and somehow we got a second chance.  Life would be different from this point forward, however, first we had to get off the boat.  We waited and waited and watched as ambulance after ambulance come to the boat.  We waited over an hour and a half before we were able to leave.  We were then told that if you wanted to take the excursion the next day, the boat would be leaving at 6am.  I looked at my wife and said something like YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! 

As we made our way off the boat, we had to walk through some of the lower sections.  One area I recall very vividly was the casino.  EVERY single table was over-turned, broken in half, or on top of one another.  We found out that at least one man had died on the boat and that there were at least 7 ambulances to treat people with severe dehydration.  We got a taxi and went back to the hotel that we had checked out of earlier that morning.  While waiting in line to check back in, I literally could not stand up.  What was happening to me?  I had to hold onto something or I was certain to fall over.  I then discovered what it was like to have sea legs.  It is not really a good experience and I would not recommend it.  This continued for two more days but heck, I was alive.

We made it to our room but refused to talk about the trip.  We turned on the news the next morning to discover that it was the first time in history for a tropical storm to develop that early in the season.  WE WERE IN A TROPICAL STORM!  The seas got as high as 65 feet and the winds were sustained at 70 MPH with wind gust even higher.  The news went on to say that at least one barge at sea was sunk by the storm.  If we had gone one day before or one day after, it would have been no problem.  I am neither a statistician nor a gambler, but try to calculate the odds of us being on that boat, on that day, and a tropical storm flaring up on the exact location.  There was a reason I was on that boat, and I needed to understand why.

After the “Bermuda Triangle Tragedy” our household was banned from talking about it for nearly a year.  I was unable to watch any movie that had any kind of boat in it for many years to follow. 

As I look upon that event now, I can actually do so with gratitude.  I believe that the boat allowed me to face my deepest fear: Being on the ocean, at night, in a storm, in a tropical storm with no land in sight.  If I could make it through that, I could make it through anything.  Within months after the event, I started to seriously look for another job.  When the feelings of extreme fear came to me after that time, I could go back to that event to help me get through whatever fear I was experiencing.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to YOU!
Bill

I had always heard that sailors hallucinate while they were at sea for long periods.  I never really understood it but now I am a believer.  Since it was too difficult to look at everyone else getting sick all around me, I had to look out to sea for [...]]]> Continued from previous post…

I had always heard that sailors hallucinate while they were at sea for long periods.  I never really understood it but now I am a believer.  Since it was too difficult to look at everyone else getting sick all around me, I had to look out to sea for the 2 hours that remained.  After my last #4 omen reminder, I snuggled up to the pole and held on for dear life.  While looking out into the eerie dark sea, I started seeing things.  I am not sure if it was stress or if it was my fears coming back to say “Hey, remember me?  Check this out.  How about this?”  I started seeing things like other boats in the horizon, planes, sea monsters, and a variety of other things.  At first, I would point them out to my wife to which she would look at me with worry telling me there was nothing there.  After a while, I stopped pointing them out to her.  Heck, her loss if she does not see the giant Loch Ness Monster following our boat.  Right after we hit the open seas, I started seeing these strange pockets of bubbles.  They could not be from our boat but I imagined Loch Ness was lurking close by just underneath the water waiting for the sushi dinner when the boat finally tipped over. 

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink.

The time had come for us to arrive at the port on the island.  The entire time we were outside, there was a bar attendant giving us a play by play on the weather, the seas, and a multitude of other things.  I glanced off to my left and the sweetest thing I had ever seen showed up, LAND!  “Thank you, God!  You are an AWESOME God!”  I had already told my wife about an hour before reaching land that I would never, ever get back on a boat again and I did not care if it cost $10,000, I was going to take a flight back to Fort Lauderdale when it was time to leave.  At least the death would be much quicker than the excruciating six hour tour … a six hour tour.

Play by play Charlie then started to get animated and this made me very nervous.  He said, “THERE IS THE PORT, THERE IT IS.  I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS JOB FOR FIVE YEARS AND I KNOW THAT IS THE PORT.  I SEE IT EVERYDAY AND WE JUST PASSED IT!”  A few minutes later, the worst possible announcement came from overhead, “We have been advised that the seas are too rough for us to enter the port.  For the safety of the passengers we have been advised to turn back.”  TURN BACK?  Safety of the passengers?  Good thing for the safety of the captain he was nowhere in sight because I am certain it would have involved my shoe and a surgeon.  YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Remember my fear of water?  Even so, in that moment, I stared at the island in the distance trying to calculate the odds I would be able to swim.  I actually took a step toward the edge thinking my chances were better if I jumped.  With all of the jubilation of seeing land completely gone, I looked at my wife and said nothing.  She knew what I was thinking.  I didn’t have to say a word.  But as the land disappeared, my hope for life was gone.  I was broken; stick a fork in me; I was done.  A six hour tour my, bleep!

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink.

We stayed on the deck for another two hours and kept staring at one another in disbelief.  We did not say a word.  During that time, the tugboat captain said a few things like “That is not good”, “Oh!”, “Hmmm” and then finally stopped talking altogether.  Play by play Charlie stopped talking too so I knew we were in trouble.  The seas went from 25 feet to 35 feet to 45 feet to 55 feet.  With each wave getting higher and higher tossing us like an ant floating on a leaf in a storm drain after a downpour.  Things were actually looking worse.  Front, back, left, right.  Front, back, left, right.   Front, back, left, right.   Front, back, left, right.   This had been going on for about 8 hours now but the last ones started doing something like this:  Front, back, left, hold, left some more, bottles crashing, then right, hold, a little farther right, some more right, bottles crashing, other crashing sounds.

After over eight hours of holding it, I finally had to use the restroom.  I could not hold it any longer.  I was force to go inside.  I opened the door then quickly noticed that everyone was sitting on the floor.    The smell was awful but I had a mission, make it to the restroom.  As I walked, one of those “left, hold, left some more” came without warning.  I was thrust off my feet onto a poor older lady.  I said, “Mam, I am so sorry.”  I got up, adjusted my dignity and took a few more steps.  Then another “left, hold, left some more” had me propelled into some poor unsuspecting man.  I got up and said, “I am so sorry sir.”  I did this about 4 to 5 times before finally making it to the restroom.

The restroom wasn’t any larger than the ones you find on an airplane.  The ship was swaying back and forth so badly I couldn’t even stand up.  My head hit all four walls but I was determined to be a man and stand up.  However, after five minutes of struggling, I gave in.  I have never in my life sat down before.  It was a very humbling experience.  It was much harder than I thought it would be because I felt I had let myself down.  Sitting down, what is my world coming to?  Nearly in tears I let go let go and went.  My dignity gone, my head hanging, I noticed a few other men’s defeated expressions and knew we shared an unspoken bond that night.  

I made it to the deck and my wife glared at me as if to say “Don’t tell me you peed sitting down?”  I said nothing, but she must know what happened though.  The wind and the rain was getting stronger but I vowed to stay out there as long as I could.  Finally, a crew member said it was no longer safe to stay outside any longer.  We were forced to go inside.  Finding no comfortable place to sit, we found a spot on the floor next to a mounted pole that held up a table.  We found out very quickly we had to hold onto the pole because within minutes during a pretty tough wave we slid across the floor as if we were hockey pucks.  I looked out the windows trying to see daylight but several times all I could see was water on both sides.  Yes, water on both sides and we were on the top deck.  That can’t be good!

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink.

There is one more post left and it will be posted soon!  Comeback and see how the story ends. 
Bill

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink. 

After completing the horrific flight [...]]]> Blogger’s Note: If you have not read my other blog post, FLIGHT or FLIGHT?, take a few minutes to read it before this post.  This story picks up  the VERY NEXT day after that flight.

Water, water everywhere, and the last thing that I wanted was a drink. 

After completing the horrific flight toFort Lauderdale, I was ready to tackle my next fear head on.  Well, I wasn’t really ready; I was swindled into taking this trip.

For as many years as I have known my wife, I have been very clear about one thing, I would NEVER go on a cruise in the ocean.  NEVER!  Somehow she listened to my repeated confirmations of this for the first 9 years of our marriage however she must have forgotten it on the 10^th year.  For our anniversary, she bought a package deal that would have us sail to our death as a reminder of her eternal love for me.  I still can remember cringing as she said what her anniversary gift to me was.  I had bought her a beautiful diamond ring that took me a year to pay for it as her gift.  In return, she gives me a gift of death.  Was she was trying to kill me?  Maybe she was thinking that I would never survive the flight or if that failed, the backup plan would be to drown me at sea. 

Her rationale was solid.  She had researched all over the globe to find the shortest cruise that was possible.  Her mangled belief was that if the cruise was short enough, I would be able to overcome my fear of the ocean.  Baby steps first.  She finally found the perfect death sentence, a Fort Lauderdaleto the Bahamas cruise.  “You can do it, honey! It’s only six hours!”  Her eyes were filled with hope and excitement, but all I heard was an eerie tune from my childhood.  Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…… a six hour tour, a six hour tour.

There were so many omens that morning it was mind-boggling.  When we woke up it was raining, omen #1.  We checked in and were told to “walk the plank” (at least that’s what I heard), omen #2.  Easels at every doorway proclaimed, “Warning, rough seas.  Take necessary precautions.”, omen #3.  Murderously, my wife pushed me past each one toward the biggest breakfast buffet on the planet, where I ate like I was not going to eat for the next two days, omen #4.

After swelling up my stomach, we went to find a place to sit.  I wanted to be near the top because I felt claustrophobic when I was inside.  I then realized that I tend to get very bad motion sickness, and never took any Dramamine, omen #5.  As we walked around to find our place, the staff lined seasick bags along the rails, omen #6.  We then noticed that for some reason, it was windy outside, omen #7. 

I thought to myself, “This boat is doomed and God has been telling me since I woke up not to get on it.”  With fear of the ocean sitting squarely on my shoulders and claustrophobia on my back, our boat headed off to my fateful yet calculated death.

Once we were undocked, we moved slowly out of the port.  I thought to myself, this is not so bad.  It was much smoother than I thought so maybe we would be ok.  Moments later, we hit the open water.  Hmmm, what was that?!  Is the boat already going down?  Wait, this was a short cruise, right?  A six hour tour……a six hour tour

The first hour of death row was not too bad.  Even though the seas were a little rough, my delusional mind thought that it would be over quickly since it was only a six hour tour……a six hour tour.  When we were in about the third hour of the tragic trip, we encountered higher and higher seas.  Ten foot seas became fifteen foot seas which quickly became twenty foot seas until a man next to me said, “I am a tugboat captain and I am on these waters every day.  That right there is twenty-five foot seas!”  He went on to explain how you could tell this by looking into the distance and watching what looked to be white caps in the distance rise and fall. 

Remember omen #7?  The rain had subsided however the wind picked up.  As the sea became rougher and rougher, it tossed our little 190 foot ocean liner like a tiny boat that you play with in your bathtub as a child.  Yes, THAT boat!  The one that you would always sink!  As we were tossed back and forth, I decided I would go inside the cabin.  As I walked in I nearly passed out, remember omen #4?  Well, it seemed that everyone in that room remembered all about omen #4 because it was everywhere.  The smell was excruciating so I quickly went back outside even though it was chilly.  Upon my return outside, the tugboat captain was consoling his son who had flown down fromLong Islandto go to a casino on the island.  His son’s head looked as if it was made of rubber because no matter how hard he tried, he could not hold it up.  His father pleaded with him, “Son, keep your head up!  Do not look down!  Look out into the distance but whatever you do, do not look down!”  It was too late, yet another omen #4 remembrance. 

Remember my omen #5, motion sickness?  I sure did!  My wife quickly found a waitress and asked for some Dramamine.  The waitress said, and I quote, “If you haven’t taken it by now, it won’t do you no good.”  Not caring about that I grabbed the pills and swallowed them because I was worried about remembering omen #4 myself.  I sat back on the heavy wood deck chair next to my wife.  I held her hand in an effort to comfort her because I knew she had to be scared.  Right?  I wish.  She was destined to sacrifice her hand for the remaining 3 hours of the trip.  Did I just say 3 hours?  …a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

As I sat back in the chair holding my wife’s hand, I started thinking in segments much like I did on the plane.  If we could just stay afloat for four more thirty minute segments we might survive.  While having a brief moment of satisfaction of the brilliant plan I had made, something happened.  Evidently we hit some sort of rough seas and my seat was suddenly and without any warning, catapulted toward the water.  I lost contact with my wife’s hand and I was hurdling to my death as my chair went screaming across the deck.  There was nothing I could do but watch my life go before my very own eyes.  SLAM!  BAM! My chair hit the railing and stopped.  I looked at my wife and said something like “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”  I was nearly thrown off the boat!  I kid you not!  Nearly thrown off the boat!  Her eyes looked with sympathy knowing I probably soiled my pants on my short drag race to the rail.  “Honey, it’s going to be alright.  We only have two hours to go.”

Cussing profusely at the boat, the chair, the weather, the water, and anybody who got near me, I walked back to where I had been sitting.  As I did, I drug the 150 lb deck chair back to its original spot wondering how in the world did that heavy chair go 0-60 MPH in less than 2 seconds?  Ok, no more positive thoughts for me.  It’s doom and gloom from now on since the first positive thought nearly killed me.  I had a new plan, stand with my arm and legs wrapped around a pole that was mounted to the floor and do not move for the next two hours.  I couldn’t hold my wife’s hand so she would just have to rough it out on her own.

Nausea began to rise to serious levels.  In the movies, you see people get sick in public all the time, but when it happens for real it’s a whole different story.  I would not recommend it.  I held it as long as I could, then the #4 omen reminder emerged.  Embarrassed, humiliated, with tears in my eyes, I glared at the spectators like Maximus in Gladiator.  ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

To be continued…..  TRUST ME, the best part is coming!!!

Day 2: Repeat Day 1 exercise using a new card.

Day 3: Get one index card and a pen or pencil and start looking around.  Put your cool shades on [...]]]> Today is day 2 and 3 of the Cool Shades for STINK Eyes exercise.  There will be another post on Thursday so please come back!

Day 2: Repeat Day 1 exercise using a new card.

Day 3: Get one index card and a pen or pencil and start looking around.  Put your cool shades on as you do this.  This time, notice all the things that you like, that make you feel good, or that put a smile on your face.  Do this for 15 minutes.  For example, if you see a nice, clean cut backyard, write “yard.”  If you see a friend, write your friend’s first name.  If you see your new game system, write the system’s name.  Continue to write things you see that provoke positive thoughts during the short 15 minute exercise.

That’s it for today folks.  Please leave comments if you like as you work through the exercises.
With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Cool shades for STINK eyes will help you see more clearly throughout your day.  They will build your [...]]]> Today is a continuation of yesterday’s blog post that was taken from my new book, STINKIN’ THINKIN’ STINKS!  There will be another post tomorrow so be sure to come back!

STINKIN’ Exercise:  Cool Shades For STINK Eyes

Cool shades for STINK eyes will help you see more clearly throughout your day.  They will build your awareness of how you look at things while developing skills to help you manage a bad case of the STINK eye.

To start your cool shades exercise, you will need the following products:

• seven 3 x 5 index cards (or pieces of paper cut to 3 x 5 size)
• a pencil or pen
• a pair of sunglasses
• seven straight days to do the short exercise (15 minutes each day)

Now, let’s get started.  The exercises below are short but will take seven days.  You can do that, right?

Day 1: Get one index card and a pen or pencil and start looking around.  Your job is to notice all the things that you do not like for 15 minutes.  Don’t apply any judgment to what you notice, just become aware of the things you don’t like or that cause you to feel badly.  Each time you see something that you don’t like or that makes you feel bad or sad, write it down using just one word.  For example, if you see a dirty room, write “room.” If you see someone you don’t like, write his or her first name.  If you see a mean dog, write “dog.”  Use the front and back of the card if you need the space.

 Ideas for how and when to do your exercise

• walk around your house
• go for a walk
• ride in a car
• go to a sporting event
• on your way to school
• between recesses
• on your way home

More to be posted tomorrow and the rest of the week.  Comeback soon and hey, why not share this on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn?  Thank you!

“As a man is, so he sees.  As the eye is formed, such are its powers.” William [...]]]> Below is an exerpt from my new book, STINKIN’ THINKIN’ STINKS!  It is the first portion of Chapter 5 and tomorrow, I will post the next section that includes the exercise, Cool Shades for STINK Eyes.  Enjoy!

“As a man is, so he sees.  As the eye is formed, such are its powers.” William Blake (Mystic, Poet, Painter, and Engraver, 1757–1827)

STINKIN’ THINKIN’ Translation: If you look for the STINK in things, you’ll see a bunch of STINKIN’ things. And if you look for the SA-WEET in things, you’ll see a bunch of SWEET things.

Have you ever heard the phrase “STINK eye?”  The dictionary definition of “STINK eye” is as follows: a facial expression of distrust, disdain, or disapproval; also called “hairy eyeball.”  Do you see things from a STINK eye’s point of view?

 Here’s a slightly different meaning to consider.  In this chapter, when you see “STINK eyes,” it will refer to how you see something and, without thinking, turn it into something negative.  This means that you can see something perfectly harmless but with your STINK eye, you give it a negative meaning.  For example, you walk outside and you see two of your best friends walking past your house.  Your STINK eye makes you squint just a little and puts your emotions on alert, creating a very negative attitude as they walk past.  You immediately think they are trying to leave you out.  You instantly feel angry, sad, and lonely.  The crazy thing about this is that you do this in less than a few seconds, without even being aware of it.  You find out later that they are planning a surprise birthday party for you and trying to keep it a secret.  All that STINKIN’ THINKIN’ was just a waste of time and energy.  Wow!  That’s a whole lot of useless STINK in a very short time!

 If you want to have a positive outlook on life, 

you have to get the STINK eye out.

 One way to get it out is to use some “STINKIN’ eye drops.”  You can’t buy them in a store, and they don’t come in a liquid form.  These drops help you become aware that you’re developing a STINK eye, and then they wash the STINK eye away so you can see clearly.

 Too many people tend to look for the bad in everything before the good.  Some even do this consciously, on purpose.  They want to see things from the worst possible point of view so that they can be prepared just in case it comes true.  Well, if you use that strategy, more than likely you will experience the worst case scenario much more often than someone who gets their STINK eye out!

 Dr. Wayne Dyer uses a very effective saying that will help you with a STINK eye.  He says, 

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

That might sound like a play on words, but what it really does is provide a quick solution to STINK eye.  When you start becoming aware of your STINK eye, you’ll stop looking for bad and start looking for the beauty and good in all things.  And you’ll find that having a more positive outlook on life gives you a lot more energy.

 Look at a mirror on the side of a car. Do you see the words “objects are closer than they appear”?  While that may seem like a dirty trick at first, those words make you aware that what you see in the mirror isn’t necessarily accurate; you need to turn your head and look around the car for yourself. You could say the same about STINK eyes because, if you aren’t aware of how they can distort things, you may not stop to consider what’s really around you.  What your STINK eye tells you is bad may actually be harmless or even good.  When you get your STINK eye out, you’ll start to see the good in almost everything you experience.  There’s an old saying about making lemonade from lemons.  Think of the negative things that happen as lemons, as something that can sour your life.  It’s up to you to decide whether you want to focus on the sour or take advantage of the lemons and make lemonade.  It’s the same with negative events.  For example, when you see an accident, do you notice just the horror of the accident, or do you notice how many people are helping the victims and the compassion they are showing?  The point of view you assume in every situation you face is up to you.

 STINK eyes are very, very contagious.

 They spread like wildfire if they aren’t contained.  For your safety and for everyone around you, there’s a STINKIN’ COOL exercise to keep you avoid catching the STINK eye from someone else.  Consider it a vaccination for your sight.  The solution is called the “Cool Shades For STINK Eyes.”  This exercise can help you see the positive in all situations.  Here’s to your STINK-Free sight.

More to come in tomorrow’s blog post!  Please leave a comment if you like what you “see” here!

I had been claustrophobic for as far back as I could remember, and then I developed [...]]]> Fear was controlling my life. I had always had a standard response to fears: avoidance. Choices I had made kept me from having to face them, but they had also kept me from realizing my dreams.

I had been claustrophobic for as far back as I could remember, and then I developed a fear of flying. When I was eight I almost drowned. Fear of the water led to fear of bridges, which led to fear of heights.

My loving wife decided she would help me take baby steps toward conquering my many phobias and managed to find a short cruise. Let’s see, that covers fear of flying, claustrophobia, water issues…yup, she had just about gotten them all in one trip! I cringed as she explained her gift to commemorate ten years of marriage was to kill me on a doomed flight or drown me at sea if that failed.

We got through security rather quickly which allowed plenty of time to sit and visualize multiple ways of dying. I anticipated crashing on takeoff, hitting another plane in mid air, having birds blow out an engine, and being caught in a major storm. Every imaginable crash was calculated and weighed to determine which was the most likely to occur.

I sat praying that our plane would not be one of those Buddy Holly crop duster planes, and it must have worked because it was even bigger than I imagined. How in the world would this beast get off the ground? I knew what our fate was, crashing on takeoff.

Feeling wave after wave of the fear of flying and claustrophobia, I actually could not buckle my seatbelt! Jeez! You have got to be kidding me! For a few moments, I thought I was going to black out. Sweating profusely and scared to death, I scanned my options. Should I take the flight or run for my life before they seal us in the tube of death?

As we started taxing to the runway, I paid attention to every single word of the safety features as if there was going to be a pop quiz during the flight. I actually wanted to ask a question but chose not to for fear of embarrassment. Since I knew there was a very good possibility of the plane crashing, I wanted to be prepared. As the attendant talked to the people in the exit rows about their responsibility in case of a crash, I was ready to scream. No one was paying attention. We are DOOMED and when we crash, these idiots won’t know how to even open the door. I decided to pay very close attention and read the entire safety manual just in case.

The time had come. We were about to hit the thrusters and head down the runway of death. All I could do at that time was close my eyes and pray that the plane would not crash before it got off the ground. Within minutes, we were off the ground and leveled off.

We were in the air for about an hour and a half and were scheduled to fly to Atlanta to switch planes. Wait, switch planes? Somehow I missed that memo! Take off, land, take off, and land again? This was going to be a very long day.

When we got close to Atlanta, we hit turbulence. The turbulence made me feel like I was sitting in one of those jump houses. I looked at my wife and said, “What the heck was that?” I had never experienced turbulence before, but I knew it was not good to be “bouncing” around in the sky. She told me what it was and gave me a physics lesson on turbulence trying to convince me it was a natural thing. “It’s going to be alright, honey,” she said softly. I thought, “No way, we are about to die!” It turns out the turbulence was caused by a powerful thunderstorm that was passing through Atlanta. Over the intercom, the pilot stated that we were going to have to circle until we were given clearance to land.
Trying to distract myself, I put headphones on to listen to some in-flight music. Maybe this would get my mind off the intense turbulence and lighting show going on below us. Bad, bad, bad idea! I will tell you this but you will probably not believe me. As I plugged in, the song that was playing was “…drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry,…this will be the day that I die.” Yes, “Bye, Bye Miss American Pie.” Realizing immediately it was about Buddy Holly’s plane crash, I quickly changed channels. On the next channel the song blared “…Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue….” A song by none other than BUDDY HOLLY! Yes, Buddy freaking Holly! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Ok, it is fate; we are crashing. I quickly unplugged the headphones and awaited my impending death.

Finally, the pilot came over the intercom and said, “We have just received clearance to land. It is going to be a bumpy ride so please stay seated with your seatbelt on. When the oxygen masks drop, be sure to put it on yourself before you try to put it on anyone else. In the event of a water landing, the bottom of your seat may be used as a floatation device.” Say WHAT? DID HE JUST SAY THAT? Well, actually, no. He did say something about clearance to land but somehow my mind switched to recalling the safety guidelines. Which way do I pull the door handle? Left? Right? Turn and push or turn and pull? Jeez, we’re doomed!

We finally landed and everything was all right. Well, that was until we were trapped in a tropical storm the next day for our cruise. You think there was a message in there for me somewhere?

It is easy to look back now and see how fears exaggerated my reality. Over the next several years I faced many situations just like this. When I started looking within for the answers to my fears, I discovered that by simply changing my thoughts, I changed my life and eliminated the fears almost instantly. The more I was aware of what I was thinking and changing the negatives to positives, my life shot off like a rocket! If you have any fears, face them, change what you are thinking about, then visualize a positive outcome. It is that easy. I tried it and wiped out everyone one of my many fears.