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\n\t\t\t\t\tMany years ago, my wife and I moved into a new community.\u00a0\u00a0On the very day we were unloading our household items our new neighbors came over to introduce themselves.\u00a0\u00a0Our visitors included a wonderful family, Scott and Mary and their children, just two houses away.\u00a0Expecting our first child in a few months, we immediately appreciated and valued our new neighbors and their hospitality.The months passed, and soon our son arrived.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Of course, that created a somewhat regular schedule of late night feedings and changings for a little boy who quickly determined he was someone who enjoyed being up late.<\/p>\n
This was a bit of a challenge for me, because I have always been someone who rises with the dawn.\u00a0\u00a0But, I was determined to be helpful, so I opted for the \u2018night shift\u2019. \u00a0Over those first few weeks, I found that while my son would quickly resume his comfort, he didn\u2019t go fast asleep, and I was beginning to stay awake longer.<\/p>\n
One day, while standing on the sidewalk that bridged our two homes, I was describing my late-night \u2018dad and son\u2019 time with my newborn to my neighbor, Scott.\u00a0\u00a0Scott had just picked up the classic television miniseries,\u00a0Lonesome Dove.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Like him, I have a genuine love for westerns and the actors in the program seemed to make it a great thing to see.\u00a0\u00a0Scott had just finished watching the series and insisted I take it home and watch it\u2014since I was, as he said with a knowing smile, \u201c\u2026 going to be awake for a good part of every night, anyway\u201d.<\/p>\n That very night, I awoke to the now familiar subtle calling-cry of my son, ready for his bottle, change and our quiet time in the rocking chair.\u00a0\u00a0After making it to the kitchen and preparing his bottle, we moved on to the living room.\u00a0\u00a0Then I remembered that Scott had sent me home with his\u00a0Lonesome Dove\u00a0<\/em>videotapes!\u00a0\u00a0Armed with the opportunity of some quality entertainment, I plopped the first cassette into the player, sat back down and watched.<\/p>\n Actually, I watched TWO episodes that night.\u00a0\u00a0The next night, I watched the other two.\u00a0\u00a0By the third evening, I had already adjusted my strategy to the point that I had the all of the episodes ready and the first loaded in the VCR, so when the late night feeding came along, there would be a swift arrival to the rocking chair.\u00a0\u00a0So on that third evening, there we were:\u00a0\u00a0The \u2018Night Owl\u2019, the \u2018Early Bird\u2019, and the\u00a0Lonesome Dove<\/em>\u2014all over again.<\/p>\n More than twenty-four years and a couple of relocations later, I continue to treasure Scott for what he did\u2014and what he intended to do\u2014by sharing that story with me.\u00a0\u00a0I know well that he provided me the ability to see a well-told story of the Old West, but more importantly, I learned the much greater gift of wisdom from one father to another that Scott gave me through the lens of a simpler time.\u00a0\u00a0In many ways within that story, Scott\u2019s example of generosity, purpose, wisdom and legacy are perfectly explained.\u00a0\u00a0And in all of this, I believe Scott knew all along the very value of it all.\u00a0\u00a0I believe this because my son has grown to be a very thoughtful, principled and kind man.\u00a0\u00a0Highly intelligent, sensitive and compassionate, he too, is generous in his relationships.<\/p>\n This personal account is all about legacy; one that I hope others will pause, seek and find examples of mentors whose manner might be so subtle, but so authentic, that we do not realize how impactful they are as we share our time with them.\u00a0\u00a0And as we all know well, that time is fleeting.<\/p>\n On January 31st, Scott passed on to a place I believe is made better by his arrival.\u00a0\u00a0His family remains a testament to all that a good man aspires to and works for, and his friends are better people for Scott being a part of their lives.\u00a0\u00a0Yet his passion for learning and understanding, while remarkable, were not the standard for which he will most certainly continue to inspire others.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, my favorite statement in\u00a0Lonesome Dove<\/em>\u00a0may very well best define Scott\u2019s very special nature.\u00a0\u00a0As Augustus \u2018Gus\u2019 McCrae says, \u201cThe hardest thing on Earth, is choosing what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n For Scott, who always chose love to love others, it wasn\u2019t hard at all. Many years ago, my wife and I moved into a new community.\u00a0\u00a0On the very day we were unloading our household items our new neighbors came over to introduce themselves.\u00a0\u00a0Our visitors included a wonderful family, Scott and Mary and their children, just two houses away.\u00a0Expecting our first child in a few months, we immediately appreciated and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":6437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Many years ago, my wife and I moved into a new community.\u00a0\u00a0On the very day we were unloading our household items our new neighbors came over to introduce themselves.\u00a0\u00a0Our visitors included a wonderful family, Scott and Mary and their children, just two houses away.\u00a0Expecting our first child in a few months, we immediately appreciated and valued our new neighbors and their hospitality.The months passed, and soon our son arrived.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Of course, that created a somewhat regular schedule of late night feedings and changings for a little boy who quickly determined he was someone who enjoyed being up late.\r\n\r\nThis was a bit of a challenge for me, because I have always been someone who rises with the dawn.\u00a0\u00a0But, I was determined to be helpful, so I opted for the \u2018night shift\u2019. \u00a0Over those first few weeks, I found that while my son would quickly resume his comfort, he didn\u2019t go fast asleep, and I was beginning to stay awake longer.\r\n\r\nOne day, while standing on the sidewalk that bridged our two homes, I was describing my late-night \u2018dad and son\u2019 time with my newborn to my neighbor, Scott.\u00a0\u00a0Scott had just picked up the classic television miniseries,\u00a0Lonesome Dove.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Like him, I have a genuine love for westerns and the actors in the program seemed to make it a great thing to see.\u00a0\u00a0Scott had just finished watching the series and insisted I take it home and watch it\u2014since I was, as he said with a knowing smile, \u201c\u2026 going to be awake for a good part of every night, anyway\u201d.\r\n\r\nThat very night, I awoke to the now familiar subtle calling-cry of my son, ready for his bottle, change and our quiet time in the rocking chair.\u00a0\u00a0After making it to the kitchen and preparing his bottle, we moved on to the living room.\u00a0\u00a0Then I remembered that Scott had sent me home with his\u00a0Lonesome Dove\u00a0<\/em>videotapes!\u00a0\u00a0Armed with the opportunity of some quality entertainment, I plopped the first cassette into the player, sat back down and watched.\r\n\r\nActually, I watched TWO episodes that night.\u00a0\u00a0The next night, I watched the other two.\u00a0\u00a0By the third evening, I had already adjusted my strategy to the point that I had the all of the episodes ready and the first loaded in the VCR, so when the late night feeding came along, there would be a swift arrival to the rocking chair.\u00a0\u00a0So on that third evening, there we were:\u00a0\u00a0The \u2018Night Owl\u2019, the \u2018Early Bird\u2019, and the\u00a0Lonesome Dove<\/em>\u2014all over again.\r\n\r\nMore than twenty-four years and a couple of relocations later, I continue to treasure Scott for what he did\u2014and what he intended to do\u2014by sharing that story with me.\u00a0\u00a0I know well that he provided me the ability to see a well-told story of the Old West, but more importantly, I learned the much greater gift of wisdom from one father to another that Scott gave me through the lens of a simpler time.\u00a0\u00a0In many ways within that story, Scott\u2019s example of generosity, purpose, wisdom and legacy are perfectly explained.\u00a0\u00a0And in all of this, I believe Scott knew all along the very value of it all.\u00a0\u00a0I believe this because my son has grown to be a very thoughtful, principled and kind man.\u00a0\u00a0Highly intelligent, sensitive and compassionate, he too, is generous in his relationships.\r\n\r\nThis personal account is all about legacy; one that I hope others will pause, seek and find examples of mentors whose manner might be so subtle, but so authentic, that we do not realize how impactful they are as we share our time with them.\u00a0\u00a0And as we all know well, that time is fleeting.\r\n\r\nOn January 31st, Scott passed on to a place I believe is made better by his arrival.\u00a0\u00a0His family remains a testament to all that a good man aspires to and works for, and his friends are better people for Scott being a part of their lives.\u00a0\u00a0Yet his passion for learning and understanding, while remarkable, were not the standard for which he will most certainly continue to inspire others.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, my favorite statement in\u00a0Lonesome Dove<\/em>\u00a0may very well best define Scott\u2019s very special nature.\u00a0\u00a0As Augustus \u2018Gus\u2019 McCrae says, \u201cThe hardest thing on Earth, is choosing what matters.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor Scott, who always chose love to love others, it wasn\u2019t hard at all.","_et_gb_content_width":"","_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,4],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-6435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-the-job","category-public-sector-trends","tag-mentoring"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\n\t[\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"