I read the other day that brain cells last as long as you do. You are born with a hundred billion or so at birth, and that is all that you are ever going to have. It has been estimated that you lose about 500 of them an hour; so if you have any serious thinking to do there really isn’t a moment to waste. As I approach my 70th birthday this Sunday, I am beginning to wonder if my brain cells might not be fleeing at a faster rate than the experts indicate. If Apple made a “find my everything App”, I would be their first customer. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for something that I had in my hands only a few minutes ago. My glasses, iPad, Kindle, and iPhone are at the top of the list. I know that they are in the house because I had just been using them, but they send me on a snipe hunt daily.
Another observation that I wanted to share with you comes from years of experience observing the rulers and shakers of this world as guests at Riverview. Truly powerful people have great humility. They don’t try to impress or influence people. They simply have an aura about them. I have observed how they make an effort to learn every person’s name from their waitress to the man who lays their fires in the evening. They never try to persuade or show aggressiveness, but my folks kill themselves trying to please them because they treat them as somebody. They also listen attentively to you when you are talking, and look you in the eyes. If there is anything that they can do to help you, they will do it. Those are the character traits of the great leaders that it has been my rare privilege to grow up with since I was only 22 years old. They taught me more about what a leader is than any book or seminar that I could have ever attended. Those that are still living are some of my dearest friends while those that are gone made a lasting impression on a young man who had a lot to learn about running a company and managing people.
As we approach our 62nd hunting season, I am looking forward to seeing a lot of these folks again. Cader IV and his managers have done an outstanding job of hurricane recovery. I have done an excellent job of keeping my mouth shut, and staying out of the way, which isn’t always easy. What none of us can control is the weather. We have been breaking records daily for heat and lack of rain, but our weather forecasters say that is about to change this weekend, and it is just in time. The property, employees, and dogs are all chomping at the bits to get started. As to the quail, they may not be quite so anxious to see the 2019-2020 hunting season. Of course, they can always count on a number of “Alibi Al’s” who have perfect excuses for letting them survive another season.
As is my custom, let me close with a few random thoughts which may not necessarily be my own:
- Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes—including yourself !
- I you have a problem that you can’t solve, it’s not a problem—it is reality.
- The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
Let me hasten to add that I read all three of these quotes, and they are not my original ideas, but they really resonated with me as I hope they do with you. We are really excited about beginning another hunting season, and are even more excited now that our weather pattern has finally decided to shift to fall. We look forward to seeing y’all at Riverview this season!