Stories - FD Thornton

You know I try to treat everyone like I want to be treated. With my family I try to give as much as I can, hoping that my example will be pasted on. With my friends I have tried to be there for them. Even with this blog, I want to give others examples of myself that can hopefully help them.  Still, every so often I wonder if karma is simply biting me in the ass. Then every so often I start to think, maybe no good deed doesn't go unpunished after all. But all in all, I remind myself no matter how bad or unfair I feel life deals with me. There's always someone else who's got it worst. Does that make me feel better about my situation, no not really. But it does give me hope that things will be better at some point.    So here I am. I struggle, I fight, and work for a better day. Still every so often that voice creeps into my head that says, all this is coming to nothing. And, all the work you are putting in will never mean a damn thing. You know, in those moments are the...

In 2007 or so I decided some changes had to be made; these changes involved my financial, career, and personal situations. If you have read my posts in the past, I'm sure you've read about each of these ventures and the victories and struggles I've had with each one. And, that is very true, without some defeats you never know what victory taste like.  As I sit here and begin with this blank screen I wondered what additional thoughts I can add to this tale. What other nugget of myself could I tell about that would help open the eyes of others who walk this same road.  I guess one of the things I can add is the fact that no one begins this journey on their own. By that I mean, each of us was taught or observed someone was on this tract before us. It may have been a teacher, a parent, or maybe someone we read or heard about. However, the seed was planted in most of us the seed sprang forth and became what it is.  So I guess the simple moral of this brief post is, what ...

For as many years as I can remember, I've been told I was a good listener. And for many years I've been a kinda sounding board for any number of friends and acquaintances I've had over the years. So while I have a "gifted ear" for listening, some of the qualities of a good listener are a genuine concern for the one speaking, a non-judgmental attitude toward what's being said, and the patience to let them speak their mind.  The reason I mentioned these qualities is because my grandmother on my mom's side possessed all these qualities and more. So when I'm told I am a good listener, it is her that I hold as a standard. It seemed to me that no matter what you had to say or to "get off your chest" with her she listened, and you always knew you were loved.  My point for mentioning this is while I hear discussions on television or over the Internet or in person, you may hear one side of the discussion. But hardly ever do you hear the flip si...

Well, the holidays are over and the reality that is each of daily lives comes back to roost. It is about this time of the year when each of us settles into our winter routines. We sorta' become numb to the excitement we had felt during the holidays. And, thinking about spring now seems to be a distant idea. Still you know, despite all this I'm still an optimistic about what's ahead. I don't know what it is that makes me this way. I mean, I have friends and family that can attest to the fact that me and my family have gone through some pretty rough patches these past few years. But deep inside there is still a ground swell of positive energy that drives me to believe better things are coming.  One of the things that puzzles me about believing this way is the background I come from. In the environment I was raised it is believed the world will only get worse and that our only escape is to abandon it. That no matter our efforts things will never change, so way bothe...

These last half dozen years have been some of the most challenging for most people when it comes to finances. We've all either seen our personal wealth go down or disappear all together. As for myself the latter is most certainly true. We want from doing okay to worrying what week the job would end.  Fortunately for me, I had a plan in place to retrain myself and exploit a skill set I had learned on my own, but didn't use a lot in the workplace. So for last three years of my last job working for someone else, I went back to school. I started school about the time the economy began to unravel, but I was fortunate to continue working for my employer until the end of 2010. Since that time I have done my best to establish myself as a all around IT business consultant. Working mostly with other small mom & pop businesses, advising them on how to take advantage of the computing tools at their disposal to help their businesses bottom line.  The journey hasn't been e...

Over the past few weeks while on Christmas break, instead of enjoying this time out of class; I've been looking out the window building a hard case of cabin fever. As I have mentioned on earlier post, it has rained and rained and rained the past few weeks. And, as much as I want to see some sunshine, sometimes it's just gonna rain.  When I look at my everyday life sometimes the rain falls. No matter how much I want to wish that rain away, it's there pouring down the eaves of my home. While I can sit here and let the rain and gloom take me over, I discovered something. That while I may not be able to stop the rain, I can learn to live through it. Knowing that at some point the rain will stop and sunshine will once again pour through.  By embracing this concept I am learning to let go of the things I cannot control. So that part of me where the storm rages, can itself learn. That bad doesn't always remain and that light can shine again if I keep the faith.  So today...