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Author Archives:
Reminder about your invitation from Lee Reed
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Lee Reed wants to stay in touch on LinkedIn
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Word, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Lee Reed
© 2010, LinkedIn Corporation
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Those of us who live in North Central Florida are mourning the passing of a native son and environmental hero, Wes Skiles. Wes was a cave diver and photographer who championed the vast natural spring system in Florida for many years. His boyish enthusiasm for his craft was infectious and many who participate in cave diving these days would point to Wes as their inspiration. Recently, on assignment with National Geographic, Wes perished while diving off the coast of Palm Beach.
Wes Skiles prepped for another cave dive.
Lars Anderson, a local kayaking guide and naturalist eulogized Skiles in a recent broadcast email with the following:
It’s a tribute to cave divers like Wes Skiles that photos of people swimming in the Floridan Aquifer have become common-place. Everywhere, we see pictures of divers swimming through the most serene settings imaginable—suspended in dream worlds of icy-blue water and cream-colored limestone; moving through grand, underwater passages; illuminated by celestial shafts of sunlight. Like modern hieroglyphs, these photos line the great-halls and corridors of our public places with depictions of legendary places and heroes doing heroic deeds. They are morality tales with a common theme; water is precious; never take it for granted; do all you can to protect it.
Wes once showed me a photograph of a cave diver drifting in a submerged cave. As cave-diving images go, it was relatively unremarkable. In fact, the only clues that it was taken in a cave at all, were some limestone projections visible in the background. Judging by diver’s enthusiastic “thumbs-up” and by the excited eyes beaming through his face mask, it appeared to be a photo of a young man having the experience of a life-time.
Wes was quick to point out that he had not taken this photo; it was a self-portrait, taken by the diver of himself. The disclaimer was my first clue that all was not right with this happy scene. Wes said, “There are great rules for cave diving. If you follow them without exception, they’ll keep you alive. One of those rules is to never dive alone.”
Pointing to the limestone in the background, Wes said “I know this place.” He then pointed to the tanks on the diver’s back, “and those don’t hold enough air to reach that spot in the cave and make it back out. He’s already dead and doesn’t even know it.”
In an instant, with Wes’ guidance, I realized that I was not looking at a photo of a happy diver; I was looking at a man about to experience the last, and most horrifying moments of his life. On a bigger scale, Wes helped all of us see the problems with the aquifer. Knowing that most of us will never dive in caves, he called our attention to the springs—the only part of the aquifer system we’ll ever see. He compared them to canaries in a coal mine, used by miners to detect dangerously low oxygen levels. Springs are our windows into the aquifer and, as such are visible indicators of the aquifers health. Wes alerted us that our canaries are gasping.
For more information on Wes and his remarkable life please check out the following links:
A theory of fun
Would we do things differently if we more of the things we do were fun? That was the question raised by a group in Stockholm, Sweden. Specifically, the question was ‘could they get more people to take the stairs rather than the escalator if it was more ‘fun’? Check out the video for yourself, and, hey, if someone wants to do this in my neighborhood that would be fine with me.
Best sweetest free gift ever!
It's what's inside that counts!
I would love to take credit for this but I found it at the amazingly creative sight PaperTasteBuds.com. It is a gift so simple yet so sublime that few, if any, could match. I can’t wait to use this on someone I love.
One small word of caution: there is political reference here that seems out of place. It was just this artists point of view. I know that if I borrow this idea I’ll be leaving the politics out.
In praise of things not-so-new
I was on my riding mower today thinking it was about time to get a new one. My wife bought me this machine for my birthday a several years ago and it’s beginning to tired and worn. (Much like its owner, I suspect.) I have seen some new mowers at Lowes that look sleek and powerful and have features this one could not have dreamed of like hydrostatic transmissions and cruise control. Of course, they also cost several times what mine did as well.
After entertaining this idea for a while I decided our current budget simply would not allow me to make that kind of purchase right now. Instead I chose to clean the old beast up the best I could and try to make it last a bit longer. I washed it and it looked better. I waxed it and it looked better still. Then I took Armour All to it and cleaned out the harder to reach places. It shone like a new penny. Actually, to my eye, it was better than a new penny; it had a weathered warrior look that I was certain no new machine could match; as if to says, “I’ve mowed a thousand lawns and still look this good!”
Suddenly I was proud of my trusty workhorse. I rode it around the block to make sure my neighbors got a good look at it…and me. I started looking for other things around the house that I could give the same treatment. The toaster oven was first. It always looks like a wreck, but now, it’s a thing of beauty; a trusted friend who always comes through for me. The vacuum cleaner, the car, my tools; all got the same treatment and each in turn gave me that feeling of quiet dependable confidence. As a matter of fact, I began to feel better about myself. Sure I’m not as young and svelt as I once was, but I too have mowed a thousand lawns and have lived to tell about it. I have delivered a thousand assignments on time and on budget and still turn my wife’s head on occasion.
Shiny and new is great, but it doesn’t hold a candle to tried and true. That’s my motto… and I’m sticking to it!
Disney in Mississippi? Never!
The Magic Kingdom through plantation oaks
When Stephen Foster was writing the song “Old Folks at Home” he needed the name of a river for the first line of the song. He asked his brother, a riverboat guide, to make some suggestions. First suggested was the Yazoo River in Mississippi but Foster didn’t like the sound of it. Next his brother suggested the Peedee River in South Carolina. Foster didn’t like the sound of that at all.
After consulting an atlas, Foster’s brother suggested the Suwannee in North Florida. “That’s it,” Foster gushed and promptly wrote down “Swannee” as it fit the meter of the song better. The song was a huge hit at the time and even today everyone knows the first line “Way down upon the Swanee River.” The song also inspired many to make the journey to Florida to see what everyone was singing about. Thus began Florida’s burgeoning tourism business; a business that grew and grew until it began to attract the attention of some very powerful people.
In 1959 Walt Disney started looking for another themepark location when he learned that fewer than 2% of Disneyland’s visitor’s were from east of the Mississippi even though that was home to 75% of the country’s population. He looked at several locations but chose Orlando for its proximity to I-4 and the Florida Turnpike as well as the strategic location of McCoy Air Force Base, now Orlando International Airport. And, of course, its high percentage of tourists. Disney died before seeing the completion of his dream but it now attracts millions of tourists, locals and foriegners to its hallowed gates and now Disney World and Orlando are nearly synonymous.
So the questions arises; if Stephen Foster had taken his brother’s first choice of rivers, the Yazoo, would tourism have exploded in Mississippi instead of Florida? Would Disney have searched for a location near I-20 and I-55 at Jackson rather than Orlando? Would Mickey have developed a southern accent? Would Minnie have learned to bake fried chicken and pecan pie? We can only speculate; but we can be sure of one thing; we need to choose our words carefully!
Best Senior Video Ever!
The Zimmers are an English band made up entirely of ederly people. The are said to have the oldest band members in the world with lead singer, Alf, leading the way at age 90. In an ironic twist they take a popular song of youthful defiance and turn it on it’s head. Enjoy!
So your kids volunteered to be your caregivers? Are you sure that’s what you want?
Every day I talk to people about their long term care plans. A common theme I hear is the idea that “I’ll just let my kids take care of me!” On the surface, that sounds reasonable. It’s true that after raising our kids we are perfectly right in hoping they will return the favor when we need them, but those who have experienced this scenario tell a different story.Let’s face it; caring for an invalid parent is relentless and thankless work. Surveys show that children of adult parents dread having to take on the challenges of care giving but will accept it should the responsibility fall on them. This dread is well founded. Most caregivers end up needing care themselves by the time their duties are finished. Why? Because the infirm do not go to a nursing home when they need to but when their caregivers can no longer assist.
Sibling Rivalries
For most of us, the challenges of sibling rivalry fades as our kids reach adulthood. However, as parents grow older and those same kids begin to step into the role of caregiver, those rivalries can flare up again. The reason is that care giving can rarely be fairly distributed between your children. One will inevitably be required to take the lead. Or two will share responsibilities while a third does very little. This is not a matter of who loves you more; it’s all about who is available and when. Even the most responsible of us is subject to feelings of jealousy when a brother or sister does not share the load, even when we know full well that they have no choice.
Financial Burdens
Many seniors do not have the financial resources to live into their eighties, nineties and beyond. They remember when their parents were seniors and few of them lived beyond their late sixties and early seventies. New medical procedures and healthier lifestyles have added decades to many of our lives. However, these added years often come at a cost a parent does not have adequately resources to cover. Add to that the cost of home health care and you have a recipe for financial meltdown.
At the same time adult children have demonstrated that they are willing to quit their jobs, pass up a promotion and even dip into their own retirement funds to make up in the difference their parents need. Is this really what we want? After so many years of telling our children to take responsibility for themselves, are we suddenly going to impose ourselves on their good graces for our own care? Most of the seniors I talk to tell me that want to avoid this at all costs.
Personal Matters
Let’s be frank here: our sons are not likely to be providing the care. (This is a trend that is changing, but slowly.) That means it will be our daughters and daughters-in-law doing the bathing and toileting. That’s mighty personal. I love my wife dearly, but I honestly don’t ever want my diapers changed by her, my children or my neighbors. I would much rather see that done by a professional who is getting paid for their efforts.
Truth is I want to keep my kids out of the equation as much as possible. If they are going to play any role at all, it will be to manage my care, not to provide it. I don’t mind letting my kids fuss at the nurse for not doing something just-so. I don’t mind if they volunteer to drive me to my doctor’s appointment; but there is no way I am going to allow them to do the work themselves; at least not as long as I can help it.
