Yes, Ramona, there is a Shotgun..

Every time has it's season.. Is the harvest ready to be picked?

Motivation:

"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." -Basil King

Diary:

"DEAR CHAZZ: Some of my friends say there is no Shotgun Johnson. Papa says, 'How could there be a band called 'Shotgun Johnson and the Mississippi Seven' without a Shotgun Johnson?' Please tell me the truth; is there a Shotgun?" RAMONA

RAMONA, your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.....

I have myself heard the rumblings and received messages from those who have never seen the lead member of the band, and have never witnessed the generosity and joy that he has given to the other members. In this time of pessimism, fear, doubt and chaos, I can put your fears aside and clear up this one issue with clarity.

(Let me remind our audience that the "Shotgun" I refer to is not the scattergun weapon, but the fact that "Shotgun" refers to the front passenger seat of an automobile. You will see that he (Shotgun Johnson) got this name from the fact that he loves to go EVERYWHERE with his friends, and likes to sit in front to see the world while riding. He simply refuses to sit in the back.)

Yes, RAMONA, there is a Shotgun. I have witnessed him, but I didn't realize it until after the fact. He was a educator, musician and engineer named "Evan" who gave of his talent, time, and energy to brighten the day and filled the band with encouragement, hope and laughter. Only after the day was over did I understand that he was being Shotgun.

Then I saw him again the next weekend, in the same place I saw him before, but he changed from a 30-something man, to "Anika" - a small child in my arms. She showed me hope, but also reminded me of curiousity and discovery. During her visit with me, I didn't know if I was protecting her, or if she was protecting me. Watching her sleep reminded me that small things are wonderfully amazing and we shouldn't skip over things that could bring us immense joy.

At one of our shows, the band members insisted that Shotgun was not going to make the show, but I saw him in the crowd - I swear it - it was a grandpa named "Fergus" who beamed commitment and pride through his smile. He made everyone feel at ease by finding "that one thing" to say to make you feel important, even if you felt mediocre. I know I saw Shotgun in the gleam of his eye, and I knew the band was playing as whole entity, once again. Later that night, Shotgun re-appeared in a phone call from my mother. While I was speaking to her of the night and the nice things Fergus had done and said, I heard Shotgun speaking back to me through mother's voice, commending both Fergus and the band, and echoing the positive qualities that I heard earlier that evening. It was deja-vu all over again.

Once I started looking for Shotgun, I found him regularly. Encouraging words from Pet, a smile and "how are you today" from Jo, a wall post from Pam, a card from Em, a hug from my old friend Cara, a call from Diamond, a text from Jman, the number of people who play Shotgun are endless. Some "Shotguns" are people I have known my whole life and haven't heard from in some time, and others are people I just met.

RAMONA, Shotgun appears when we look for him. Shotgun loves music, is devoted to giving to others, enjoys the company of friends, and finds joy in complimenting our successes and encouraging us in our failures. I would ask you to open your eyes and ears to find ways to share Shotgun's qualities with those around you, and when you are down, when you feel like you have a burden too great, look for Shotgun to remind you that you are a wonderful, beautiful, and powerful person.

Oh, powerful? Did this word cause a moment for you to pause? Did you know you have power? What is this power I write of? Love? Patience? Joy? Commitment to others? Yes. these are powerful actions. These powers do not go un-noticed. These are powers I see every day.

Who have you touched, changed, or affected? It's not that I am asking you to be a superhero, or change the way you are thinking or living. I am just wondering if there is someone you are influencing by just being the wonderful person you are and reaching the goals that are on your list. I think that you are. I know that you are. The thing is, your power might go well beyond what you currently believe. You are probably reaching people you never knew.

Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Shotgun Johnson. It would be as dreary as if there were no RAMONAS. No Shotgun? Might as well not have music at all.

CHAZZ

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SIMPLE IS NOT EASY

Ok, so I may dance around plagarism. I used some of the text from Francis Pharcellus Church's epic response to a letter to the editor, and I feel ok about it, because I just gave him credit! Aha. It's not that this is lost on me, but it seemed to fit, and since I haven't written for a while, I used this prop as a starting point. The rest of the story is true, so don't let this throw you off.

I will take this time to give you the "rest of the story" about this post. September was sort of a rough month - a big project at work, not a lot of time spent on fitness and excersice goals, and maybe too much partying during the Virgo month. The work project is done (for now) and the partying has gotten old, so I am now ready to refocus on the "simple life". I noticed that the St. Olaf Run is this weekend, and it made me reallize a couple things:

1) I am not ready to run. I might walk it, or I might not. I haven't prepared, and don't feel like pressing my body to do something it isn't ready for.
2) Last year was awesome. This time last year, I was in the best shape of my life, was running daily, wearing clothes that I never imagined I would fit in, and felt like I was on top of the world.

At 6:04pm on Monday, I got a text from Jman - "Omaha marathon yesterday was killer...hills..." The friend I was sitting with looked at the message and said to me "What is that about?" I explained the story of Jman and I running in the 5K last year, and then he was going to run the St. Olaf run, but hurt his ankle. Now, Jman is running marathons...

My friend asked "Did Jman run before you started your challenge? Did he run before you decided to run a 5K?"
"No, I don't think so"
"And now he is running marathons?"
"Yes"
After a short pause, he asked "Who else is running 5Ks now that didn't before?" After another pause, he stated "It sounds like you started something bigger than you thought. Who else is changing the way they live because they looked at you and thought - if he can do that, why can't I?" Long pause. "It seems like you have a really powerful affect on people." Really long pause. "Why aren't you running in a 5K right now?"

Can one small step change the world? Can something we do at the beginning of a season affect the end of the next season? All of these questions winding around my brain made me think of all the people who had a powerful affect on me. It also made me think that I wasn't trying to affect anyone else, just lose some weight and run a darn race. Somehow this desire turned into a power that went well beyond my original scope.

Now I look down at my "ponch" and realize that my destiny is still unfulfilled. I was on the right road - that is for sure.

October is a good month for renewal. I would encourage all my readers to recommit. Find your power and use your power. You might find that your powers have a greater impact than you can imagine.

Yesterday, I didn't exercise, (actually went home sick) but I did a very important thing - I made a matrix on my whiteboard - "Progress" is all it says, with random numbers and letters that most people will ignore or find cryptic. It is the starting point - and ends on April 1 2009.

The new chapter begins.

The harvest is bountiful.


more later,

Chazz

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