March 29, 2024

Most popular Empty Nests of 2014

Everybody else does it this time of year, so I might as well, too. Judging from the amount of feedback I received, both positive and negative, these are the most popular Empty Nest columns for 2014.

“Happiness” was my runaway best column for 2014. I received more emails and phone calls for this column than any of the others combined — and all the comments were positive. I usually manage to hack someone off, but not on this one. In “Happiness,” I quote from my daily meditation book that you can’t search for happiness, “happiness is a byproduct of right living.” So important is this concept, that my meditation book repeats it four times throughout the year.

One very important concept I didn’t have room for in the “Happiness” column is the “one-day-at-a-time” concept. I firmly believe in this, and so do others, as it is preached far and wide by many disciplines. In a world of worry, all we have to do is take care of what is in front of us today, and the tomorrows work out. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn’t here, all we have is today. Enjoy. It’s a gift. In my early days of sobriety, when my brain was racing like the Newton Speedway on a hot day (and just as noisy, too). I condensed one day at a time down to one minute at a time. Then I worked up to one hour at a time, one event at a time, and so on. I still practice one-day-at-at-time today, maybe more so than ever.

There’s one more thing I would like to add to the column on happiness, and that is “God won’t give us more than we can handle in any given day.” If I’ve offended anyone by my mention of God, I don’t apologize.

“Low and behold.” I wrote a column championing the advantages of a Liberal Arts education, and criticizing technically educated people who have poor grammatical and communication skills. In my haste to make a point, I spelled “Low and behold” wrong. Well, you would have thought I had committed the most egregious error. People I’ve never heard from before jumped all over it, gleefully pointing out that the term is spelled “lo and behold.” Geesh. I’m sorry! You might know, as soon as I’m critical of other peoples’ errors, I make one myself. I need to point out that my editor missed the spelling error, as well as the editors of the newspapers. I just wish that all these people I hear from when I make a mistake, would let me know when I write something they like. But that would be the perfect world.

“Race Relations in America.” Following the fatal shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Missouri, and a number of similar shootings around the country, I wrote a searing indictment of race relations in America. I received both high praise and glowering ridicule for my opinionated piece, in equal proportions, somewhat representative of feelings in the United States, in general. I don’t usually write hardcore opinions, sticking to human interest, which is the genre of Empty Nest. However, once-in-a-while, following major events, I can’t contain myself. I do have an opinion and like to express it.

Being a natural born people pleaser, it used to bother me if I made someone angry with my writing. However, as I age, I’m finding my skin has grown thicker. I now find it sort of complimentary if people take the time to express that they disagree with me. It indicates that my column is being read and stimulating thought. To these people, I usually reply, “Please submit to the newspaper.”

I have yet to see it happen.

May your 2015 be niffteen.

Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526, email him at curtwarm@yahoo.com, or visit his website at www.empty-nest-words-photos-and-frames.com. Curt also reads his columns at www.lostlakeradio.com.