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Changing the Path of a Life

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: This is the story of a friend of mine who had a change of life because of something I said to him a half century ago, and I never realized it till last year.

Changing the Path of a Life

In my youth, I was an avid guitar player and folk singer. After several years of practice, I actually got good enough that people were requesting me to play at events. During my senior year of High School, I teamed up with two females (Sally and Carol) and a guy named Al Runte. We did lots of shows around our local area and really had a ball singing and playing folk songs together. The next year I went off to college, and the group broke up. In fact, I do not recall seeing any of them after high school until this year. Al was a large lad with a ruddy complexion who was not the most well know kid on the block. He was awkward and kind of shy until he got to know people. He lived with his Mother and Brother as his Dad had died and left nothing but debt. Their financial condition was evident from the way they lived. Despite low resources, Al was jovial and fun loving, but not particularly serious about doing anything with his life. He just enjoyed singing and whooping it up with the rest of us. He had decent grades but would not be considered a highest achievement student. But when he got involved in something, he became passionate about it. We never did too much thinking about the future as we were all heavily into hedonism at the time.

Last Fall, I was sitting in bed watching TV and the phone rang. It was Sally. I immediately recognized her voice and we took up conversation as if the last time we chatted was the prior week instead of nearly a half-century before. The reason for her call was that she had just seen Al Runte on PBS doing a special on railroads and the National Parks. It turns out that Al is now something of a celebrity having earned his PhD, written 4 excellent books, become a college professor, served as a park ranger at several National Parks, become a recognized historian on the American Railroad, saved several railroads from extinction, run for mayor of Seattle, become a noted national environmentalist and a powerful lobbyist for preserving our heritage, and several other honors as well.

Sally and I arranged a phone call with Al and Carol to get the 4 of us chatting about our past. What a hoot it was to catch up on all our adventures over more than four decades. It was a long call, and dinner had to wait. During the call, I mentioned one thing I took away from our year of singing was that it was the first time I had ever been part of a truly "High Performance Team." Of course, when we were singing, the term had not even been invented, nor did I realize at the time how precious and rare our relationship was. I took everything for granted and just enjoyed the flow of life as it came.

We set a date to meet in Las Vegas for a reunion and drive to the Grand Canyon for the opportunity to sing together for the first time in 47 years in an incredible environment. We made the trip in early summer of 2010. Al and I brought our wives; Sally and Carol were not married.

While on the balcony of the famous El Tovar Hotel overlooking the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and singing songs, Al said something weird. He mentioned that what I said caused him to change his life course. I asked him what the heck he was talking about. In a totally astonished voice he said, "You mean you don't remember what you told me"? I said, "I'm sure I told you a whole lot of things, but I certainly don't remember anything specific." Al then told the following story.

"We had gone out for pizza at our favorite spot in Johnson City. You were driving because you were a year older, and the only one who could drive. I never had access to a car for several years after that. Your parents let you drive us to our rehearsals and around town in their car, and our parents knew you were trustworthy. We got to the pizza place and sent in our usual order. While waiting for our cherry cokes, you told the rest of us that you had been accepted at Union College and would be leaving town at the end of the summer. I was already kind of down in the dumps that day, and your announcement sent me even lower. I was sure I could not get into college at all with my grades, much less afford to go. College was totally out of the question. I was speculating that I might make a good janitor at the high school as my career. You immediately pointed a finger directly at the tip of my nose and said 'Let's not have any more of this doomsday language. Al, you are not only going to college, you are going to be famous and write a book!' "

After he told the story, I must admit there was a faint recollection of that event, but not the specific conversation. The interesting thing is that it meant very little to me as a life event, but it meant everything to him, even though I had no idea of that at the time. By the time the pizza arrived, I had nearly forgotten the conversation, but it stuck with him through decades of trials and tribulations as he worked his way through to a PhD and began his journey to fame. He said he often remembered my finger pointing at the tip of his nose. I do not deserve any credit for his success. In fact, I was a pretty poor friend because I did not keep up correspondence all those years nor send him any kind of support. I was busy building my own life.

But, Al saw the world differently from that day forward, and he reached heights unimaginable to us high school kids. It was like a switch had been thrown inside his head that greatness was really possible for him if he just unleashed that incredible passion. That summer his Mom took Al and his brother Gus on a once-in-a-lifetime car trip to the National Parks including the Grand Canyon, and they rode on a few of the old time railroads out West. Presto! The passion was ignited, and the rest is history that Al has documented in minute detail for the world to cherish.

Vision plus passion is an unbeatable combination!

The point of all this is clear. You never know how powerful your words can be to another person. It all depends on the situation and the person. I have probably uttered much more profound words in my life that fell on barren soil, but that night, in that pizza parlor, I reacted with honesty and love with a simple statement that changed Al's life. His dream for life became a vision, and his passion made it reality. I am reminded of George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." You simply cannot know how you will impact the lives of other people.

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Article Tags: changing life, High Performance Team, passion, Vision



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