T.K.O.

Most everyone knows the acronym T.K.O. as a technical knock out. With that, you probably see in your mind, boxers or MMA fighters going at it. There have been many epic fights over the years that still bring chills. Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, and even more current fights like the latest win by Ronda Rousey have all become hot topics throughout time.

If you are the average Joe on the street, chances are that you won't be in such fights as these. The kind of fights you WILL face are ones that are very common to thousands of people each and every day.
Finances is a big one. Even when you are prepared with a  game plan, an outlined schedule to save and makes ends meet, there are always things you do not plan for that require extra money. It is awesome when you are able to simply go to your account and pull out what you need to cover that unexpected expense. For most people though, that luxury isn't always there.

Even the best laid plans to save more and spend less often fall short. In those instances, yep, the fight is real and up close and personal. Having to cut some things, really buckle down and choose what has priority is not easy. We all like our extra things we enjoy doing, but the question is, at what cost?



Another area that we often find ourselves stuck battling can come be something simple like you forgot to wash your favorite shirt or dress. Easy fix! Kids that choose to misbehave is another one that can give even the most seasoned parent fits. Moving on.

Have you ever walked out to your car ready to just jump in and go somewhere like work, church, to grocery shop and your car has decided that THIS is the day to give you a hard time?? I think if you don't admit you've had one or more of those days, you just might be telling a little white lie! I have been very fortunate over the years to have only had car trouble that was pretty minor. Thanks to my Dad, I was taught enough to be able to repair a lot of things that can go wrong with a vehicle. There have been times though when a problem was out of my wheel house and I knew right away, "This I can't fix."  This week has been such a week. Our car has been having minor issues for a while now and on Sunday it did not want to cooperate. I've spend several days tinkering with it and have yet to find the answer.

Talk about a let down! At first I wasn't too concerned but the more I mess with it the more I want to get, well, fighting mad. In all honesty, that really doesn't help at all. Yea, it may make you feel better for a short while, but the problem will still be there waiting on you after you have had your tantrum.

I'm still not sure what it will take to get our car back on the road, but ya gotta just keep looking at options and keep after it. I think the word I want to convey to you all is this. We will face fights in our life. Some we will win and some we will lose. For me, it boils down to  attitude. You can either choose to have an attitude that tells you to just quit and give up, or you can choose to adopt the attitude that you WILL find a way to get through it, even if that means you suffer a Temporary Knock Out.  Whatever you face this week, hang in there, keep your chin up. There is always someone is much more dire straits than you are in. Keep your wits about you, keep to your Faith, say some prayers and everything will play out just as it should. You know, sometimes the best things come out of difficulty!!

So maybe you didn't know

Let me preface this blog by saying this. For those of you who have known me for years, you probably are familiar with some of my issues. For the rest of you, put on your seatbelts.

Since I was about age 9 I've had tics and twitches. It started out with my fingers spreading and flicking. Throughout high school these "tics" were barely noticeable. By the time I graduated overseas things had changed, a lot. I was officially diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. No, it is not contagious and No, it is not something that most people are even educated about. In a nutshell, it is where the brain is missing the chemical that stops the signals that make muscles and nerves move and function. As an young adult I faced 2 1/2 years being paralyzed in my neck. Treatment that was successful finally was found and that problem went away. Next I lost my voice for 6 years. Talk about something really throwing you for a loop! I remember having to hold up a sign at the drive thru to relay my order at the window and getting so much grief and taunting that it was ridiculous!! Like the neck issue, I was told there was no curing it. Well, hard work, a lot of prayer and determination got me through that as well. I've dealt with a facial stroke, nerve damage, fibromyalgia, you name it.

Over the past 20 years I have literally been to hell and back. Careers had to be changed and abandoned, friends came and went and relationships often ended in failure even though I was a very good, hard working, loving guy. Anyway, over the years as I have aged and matured I have come to the point where I really do not care what people think of me. As a result of being on Haldol for way too many years, prescribed by a neurologist who only cared about his golf game, I developed Tardive Dyskinesia. Okay, how to explain that one. It is similar to Tourette's in that involuntary movements happen. The worst part of it for me is that it makes me cough  often and makes my tongue want to jump out of my mouth. This tongue thing looks very strange. My face contorts a bit, the tongue darts out the left side of my mouth and I get stuck for seconds or even  minutes. It is such a burden. With the onset of this and my fibromyalgia I had to quit working and go on disability a few years back. I had worked full time since age 15 and had done just about every kind of work there is out there. I had been an office coordinator, a maintenance director, construction foreman and even a juvenile correction counselor. 

Like the image above says, Why fit in when you were made to stand out? Well, like I said, as i aged this truly became my mantra. I grew up as a singer, won competitions, was in a bunch of choirs, quartets and other groups and even in a few bands. I played guitar, bongos, cajon and bass guitar. When I couldn't sing due to the Tardive Dyskinesia and allergies, I would play. Yea I would stand out, but I never let that bother me. I developed such a thick skin and such a bold personality that eventually people were able to see past the outside and discover the guy I was on the inside. That guy was/is highly creative, overly intelligent, comical, sharp witted and above all very loyal.  Looking back to my high school days, they were amazing. I accomplished so much and wouldn't change a thing about them. Well, I would change one thing but we're not discussing who i SHOULD have tried to date, in this post!  All the things I have been through changed me in a big way. Before all of this got really bad, I often avoided people with disabilities. I would be polite and courteous but I really wouldn't go much beyond that. Having had to face all that I have, really made me re-evaluate my outlook and opinions.  I am ashamed to say that I should have given those persons I encountered a much fairer chance than I did. In the past 15 years especially, I learned to embrace all types of people and not just ones who deal with a disability but people from difference economic brackets, different geographic areas and people with ideas and beliefs contrary to my own. I have grown up. 

I think this saying above sums it up well. A bad attitude is not only contagious but it is harmful. It is harmful to not only others but to yourself. Life has taught me a lot and for that I am so grateful. I have had the opportunity to share my experiences with teenagers. work with them a great deal and have also committed myself to giving back to those who need a smile, a laugh, or just and ear to listen. In doing so, I have met some of the most amazing, genuine people. It is astounding how many people are out there in the world that have so much to share, to give and to contribute. Being blind-eyed and a bit prejudiced, I missed meeting and getting to know a ton of those people. If I could go back in time, I would definitely live that part of my life over with the renewed attitude that I have now. That is water under the bridge. Day to day I still face great challenges physically. Emotionally I am strong and balanced. 

Just this week, through seeking out forums in which to share with others and to learn from others as well, I came across a post that really got my attention. It dealt with one of my biggest physical issues. Yes, someone else had dealt with what I do daily! As I read the post and the following comments, my eyes were opened to the possibility that there might be options that could help me in ways that my doctors have yet been unable to do. I decided to give the idea that was mentioned a shot. After going through a simple procedure, I felt immediate positive results. I am sore as I write this blog post but I am also blown away at how simple the improvement actually came. I'll cover more about that in the near future. To wrap this up, if you are going through life excluding people different than you, you have blinders on. You need to look at your life, your choices, your vices and really and truly ask yourself, "Am I an excluder?" It took me years to realize that that was me. Man, once I did though, a whole new world opened up before my eyes. Bottom line, don't judge others by what you see. Give people, all people, a chance to be discovered by you. If they do something to give you reason to run or walk away that's fine. On the flip side, they just might give you a reason to love them to pieces and be thankful that they crossed your path. Whatever you do, always be real, be polite and be honest not just with others, but yourself as well.