Marriage Success: Ignore 15%?

I started reading an article by Ira Israel and I started to laugh.  It wasn't a funny article, but it makes a lot of sense. It sounds like he is a therapist or marriage counselor and I'll give you the key points. The main point is this, "15% of whatever your partner says has nothing to do with reality."

Being a number's guy, I quickly calculated that one out of every seven things is around 15%. This is probably not a good topic to bring up at anytime your spouse is able to hear you.  If you have to say it out loud, go to the other side of the house and whisper these words and you should be fine.

SELECTIVE LISTENING: He explained that you have to master, "The fine art of selective listening." Sometimes people will verbalize something that they were thinking about, but they are not that serious about it, it's just a thought.  If they want to do something someday, it doesn't mean that it's Sunday or even one day. It's a maybe idea among many, many other ideas.

DO YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT?  In the article he quoted Harville Hendrix saying, "You have only one choice in your life; you can always be right or you can have a relationship."  If your wife tells someone that it was 80 degrees today and you know the high was only 75, it's not important to correct her because you know the right answer.  It's not important at all.(You can blog about it if you want)

Here's another example: if you're watching your first child when she's a baby while your wife is out food shopping, and she rolls off the bed, what do you do? If she's perfectly fine and there's no marks, no blood, you can tell your wife in ten or fifteen years. It happened on your watch and you can accept responsibility in the future.(This was not in the article, I made it up sort of)

AN OLD RADIO: In the article he suggests that you think of your spouse as an old radio. Again, not something to ever mention to your spouse, especially the old part.  The old radio has static and, "You'll enjoy the music more when you figure out how to tune out the static." 

In conclusion, he suggests that as we get older these comments or "mental spewing," tend to increase, possibly due to the comfort of being together.  From personal experience, I don't think it always has to increase, but from to time it might be an occasional thing that happens.

And the other 85%? You need to pay very close attention and act accordingly.

Funny, Amazing, and Inspirational (Not me)

I read this story twice when it came out and it's an incredible story that will make you laugh and shake your head in amazement.  The man in the picture below is Mike Rogers from Lubbock, Texas. He may not look it, but he's 71 years old. He ran not one, not two, not three, but seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.  Really, he did and there were 54 others who did the same thing in what they call, "The Great World Race."

I'm not sure what is more ridiculous, he did it, he did it with 54 other people, the places he ran, or some of the things he says about what he did.  Here are some of the quotes from the article I read:

"They all think I'm crazy-my friends, my family, my church, they all think I'm insane."

"I got some blisters and some black toe nails, but that's OK. I had a good time."

"Most people can do it with a little determination."

"You don't have to do it fast. I know people who walk the 26 miles. You just have to be patient."

They did raise money for charity and he met some great people, but this is where they ran:

1. Wolf's Fang runway in Antarctica in below freezing temperatures

2. Cape Town, South Africa

3. Perth, Australia

4. Istanbul, Turkey

5. Istanbul, Asia

6. Cartagena, Columbia

7. Miami, Florida

I am pretty sure that most people would have a difficult time flying to those seven places in one week.  He said that he feels great when he's running and it has helped him stay healthy.  He has a great attitude and he had a lot of fun running these races.

One more thing, the entry fee for the event is approximately $50,000.  They call it a, "Trip of a lifetime." It's also an accomplishment of a lifetime.

Can You Love Things More?

Have you ever read something that you absolutely love and you're fascinated with the subject? Recently, I read a post in a newsletter by Sasha Chapin that was entitled, "How To Like Everything More." He explained that he is very good at "intensely liking things." He had a very difficult childhood and he learned to love the pleasant things in his life and it's a skill that anyone can develop.  He listed seventeen things you can do and I'm going to pick and choose the ones that mean the most to me.

1. LOOK AT THE OTHER PART

It's very easy to go to a restaurant and there are obvious things that you notice first.  I always notice the lighting, because I don't like sitting in "the dark." Other people might notice how the place looked outside or how clean the bathrooms were, or if there were enough menu selections that they liked.  What are the secondary things you notice, what things can you find that you liked?

2. LET THE INTENSITY IN

Have you ever heard a song that you didn't like, but it told a great story or the singer sang their heart out. I love "story songs", with "American Pie" still being my favorite song.  The beginning and the end of the song are ballad-like and the rest of the song has an up tempo with a great chorus.  The song immortalized, "The Day the Music Died," when three young, promising singers were killed in a plane crash together. If you focus on the words at the end of the song, it's difficult not to feel the loss of those lives.  One of the secrets to life is finding what your passion is and doing it.  Look for passion in others.

3. CRANK IT UP BY 10%

You don't have to be all in on something, but can you enjoy it 10% more? Putting a focus on what you do like about something will increase how you feel about it completely.  I tell people that I drive Uber, "I have more fun than a driver should be allowed to have." I don't expect other drivers to have as much fun as I have, but, by showing my enjoyment to others, it can increase their enjoyment, even if it's only by 10% more.

4. BE A TIME TRAVELER

I like this was one a lot.  He explains when you're looking at something or experiencing it, what would someone in the past think about it? About 3 1/2 years ago I picked up a secret agent who lives in my area and he gave me the first bill that I put up in my car which was from the South Sudan, pictured below. What would his reaction be now that I have 61 countries represented in my car? Some of my riders from several years ago who were amazed that I had 10-20 bills, what would they say today?

A friend of Sasha's, when he is on an airplane imagines that Sir Isaac Newton is sitting next to him and the amazement he would have on the flight.  Appreciation can be increased by being a time traveler. 

5. GIVE IT A SECOND

His example was perfect, because it just happened to me.  The opening couple scenes in a movie we were watching on Netflix were some of the worst I've ever seen.  The movie turned out to be pretty good, but what if we had turned it off?  Sometimes, something very good takes a little time to grow on you, like having a dog.

6. GET LOST IN ANY DETAIL

What is the very best part of it? Movies are an easy example, because you usually have a favorite scene.  You may have liked the movie, but you loved this one scene.  It's that one scene that you love so much, it takes over the whole movie.  When you think of the movie, you can get lost in that scene.

"ROCKY 2"- Adrian to Rocky: There's one thing I want you to do-WIN!

"AIR FORCE ONE": Harrison Ford, says to the terrorist as he kicks him off- "Get Off My Plane."

"BIG": Tom Hanks and his boss Robert Loggia playing "Chopsticks" on a big piano.

You can love things more than you do now if you want to.  I love that this may give you something to think about.

 

Odin's First Dollar

 

The saying is that you can't teach old dogs new tricks, but I think that is really referring to human beings.  I'm pretty sure you can teach old dogs new tricks, but I never expected this. 

I've heard that dogs watch you very closely and pick-up some of your habits and actions, but I never expected this.

Our dog, Odin, has picked up a lot of my habits: he loves to eat all the time, he loves eating chicken and cheese, he poops a lot, and he gets very excited when my wife, (his "mom") comes home. I can understand that, I just never expected this.

The two of us went out for a walk and as we got to our neighbor's house, Odin stopped and there was something in the street-HE FOUND A DOLLAR! (When I left New Jersey seven years ago, I had found over $90 on the ground in my last fourteen months.)

I don't think he knew what it was, but he didn't try to eat it.  I picked it up and then I felt a blog coming and threw it on the ground and took the picture while he was looking away.  He knew it wasn't food; maybe he was disappointed it wasn't foreign currency. (since he has seen the bills in my car)

What are the odds of finding a dollar bill on your own street at the next house? Well, the odds are better if you lost a dollar recently. About six days ago, I went out to get pizza and got a dollar bill and change and I put it in my sweat pants. (Never a good idea-I once lost a $100 bill while delivering circulars to houses and a couple months later it was found when the snow melted in New Jersey)

I didn't know where the bill went and I looked in my car and I didn't find it.  I'm at least 75% sure that it's my bill, but I didn't tell Odin. I did tell him that my mannequin Lily got a $20 tip once and he needs to find 19 more bills just to tie her.

I'm wondering what other tricks I can teach Odin, maybe I can teach him to read? No doubt that the look on his face is saying, "Read me more of your book."

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

On November 10, 1969, only a few weeks after the Amazing Mets won their first World Series, the first amazing show of Sesame Street was broadcast on PBS. (The public broadcasting network) They have just begun their 55th season helping young children learn.  Here are a few things you may not know about this legendary show:

The show was conceived in 1966 with discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and The Carnegie Foundation.

After two years of research the foundation that was formed received an $8 million grant from The Carnegie Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and the federal government.

Jim Henson's famous muppets like Elmo, Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog and Ernie and Bert, became the central figures in the show along with real people and special guests.  Henson was reluctant to use the Muppets in the show, but never regretted his decision.

The original name of "Sesame Street" was "The Preschool Educational Television Show." They couldn't decide on a title and "Sesame Street" was picked because they disliked it least out of all the choices.

The word "Sesame" came from the phrase, "Open Sesame, " which suggests a street where neat things happen.

The educational content was put together by a Harvard professor, Gerald S. Lesser and a National Board of Directors.

There have been close to 5,000 episodes of the show that have aired.  It is currently airing on MAX and PBS.

"Sesame Street" has won 216 Emmy awards, 11 Grammy awards and 2 Peabody awards and it has been televised in 150 different countries.

Finally, the show has entertained and educated millions and millions of children which is the most incredible fact.

How Long Is Your Street?

A few years ago I went to pick someone up and I turned on a street and started driving.  It was a straight road and there were no other roads on either side.  I finally got to my passenger and he told me that sometimes he drives by his own house because it's only one, long road.

How long could a street be and how many people could live on the same street?  The below town in Suloszowa, Poland has more than 5,672 residents.  They all live on the same street. It is amazingly beautiful with miles of farm land on both sides of the street.

I was doing some research on the place and saw some very funny comments about this story, such as:

"I'm easy to find, I'm the 128th house on the left."

"I will venture a guess that it's a two-way street?"

"I know people who would still get lost on the way to store and back."

"Amazon will still screw up the delivery."

The article I read did not indicate the name of the street and after doing some research on it I could not find the name. I'll call it Main St. and you can call it anything you want. Abbott & Costello would have had fun with this:

Costello: "What's the name of the street you live on?"

Abbott: "I don't know."

Costello: "What do you mean you don't know?"

My One Chicken Blog for 2025

I could not pass on this post.  I just read an article about a Donna who lives in Washington state and she eats rotisserie chicken DAILY!  For some, that would be a nightmare, for others like myself, it would be a dream come true.  But that's not all the good news from Donna, are you ready?

Donna buys 12 to 14 chickens a week! I can't imagine how good her car smells and her house. However, the reason, the 61 year-old buys those chickens is that she feeds 14 rescue dogs she is caring for.  She says that it's cheaper than dog food and since she buying them at Costco, it definitely is. She feeds the dogs about two chickens a day and she gets to nibble on them too, but I don't think she's eating it while the dogs are eating on the same chicken. (Now I'm have nightmares)

The article was full of interesting things, such as a woman who eats her chicken on the way home while driving. I've eaten ribs while driving and I don't think chicken is any easier. Costco sold 137 million chicken last year and regrettably, I only had a few of them. 

In 2022, Alexander Tominsky, who lives in Philadelphia, decided to eat a whole rotisserie chicken each day and only that just for fun. He only ate one at 2 pm. for forty consecutive days and on his last day there was a crowd of 500 people cheering him on.  He lost 15 pounds, but he also said, "I was drained of energy.  I had acid reflux and heartburn." Boston Market gave away 250 meals to celebrate his achievement.  He said he wasn't going to eat any chicken for awhile. (Now that is a nightmare)

A dietician is quoted in the article as recommending rotisserie chickens to her clients because it's easy to eat and it does add protein.  She does say that there is too much sodium in them and the skin should be taken off. 

I think it would be pretty cool to have 500 people celebrating me eating a chicken.  Maybe I'll put that on my bucket list.  How about a large bucket of chicken a day?

Looking Back and Saying Goodbye To Something

I read a book recently called, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-up, " by Marie Kondo.  It was about the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing.  It was easy to read and amusing at times and there were some interesting things I got out of the book.

She said, "I believe that tidying is a celebration, a special send-off for those things that will be departing your house." My way of celebrating things these days is to blog about them, so here it is.  I searched over the last seven years of blogging and I could not find a blog about this item I am about to get rid of.

About 1980, I was in college and my roommate Steve and I were shopping together and we bought a little grill that we could use to grill hot dogs or something in our room. Below is a picture of the box.

The little grill was really called Lil Grill and take a look at all the things you can make! We did use it from time to time, but the reason it has been such a "treasure" has to do with my dad.  I told him that Steve and I had bought this together and we split the cost and he wanted to know what was going to happen to it after we graduated. It cost $5 at the time and I said that we would trade it back and forth the rest of our lives so could enjoy it equally. The price tag is still on it!

We did trade the box a couple times, but I have used the value of it up more than Steve. It has sat in my garage or in my closet for decades.  This is my final farewell and I thought it would be appropriate to get more out of it by examining what is in it.

I can't believe the chord was missing-Steve must have taken it decades ago! There was a limited warranty only? The instructions say very clearly, "Save the instructions," and I have. The grill looked like it hadn't been cleaned in forty years.  There was also a list in the top left corner of this picture of the authorized Farberware service stations-maybe I can still get a chord?

In New Jersey, there is an Abraham & Strauss location, well maybe not anymore.  There are hundreds of locations that I could get a chord, but I'm going to pass on it.  I'm putting everything back in the box and going out to the curb and saying goodbye to our Lil Grill. Should I save just the instructions to remember it by? It looks good with the royal blue recycling can around it, doesn't it?

"See you in another life," Lil Grill.