“Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” I don’t know much about Les Brown, but this quote ‘rings true’ for me. My parents grew up during the Great Depression and lived through the turmoil of World War II. They married right after the war and life seemed to work against them. My mother was plagued by health issues, my dad was crippled in an automobile accident; they saw life as unfair and unforgiving and predicted life would be the same for their sons.

I remember waiting for five o'clock on Friday. It did not matter if it was when I was a factory worker waiting to ‘punch out’, or sitting at a desk waiting for the clock to strike five, I lived for the weekend. The problem was; the weekend was never long enough! Saturdays were often spent doing projects; and for our family, Sundays meant going to church in the morning, a leisurely lunch with family, and some social time with friends or neighbors on Sunday afternoon. And then