BRICKS

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation
with the bricks others have thrown at him."

Robert Mills, former student and current director of the Oklahoma City Ballet, posted this on his Facebook profile. When I first read it, I thought, "How profound."

No one has it easy. Every single person has "road blocks" or "brick walls" to conquer. Randy Pausch, in "The Last Lecture," says that the brick walls are there not to keep us out, but to let us know how badly we want something.

Everyone has had moments where it seems the world is throwing the bricks at us! Having taught "forever," I can safely say that No one is exempt from some type of label, sterotype, harrassment, bullying - whatever name you wish to give it, the bricks are thrown. [Most of the time, thrown quite hard!] Just as Randy Pausch reminds us the brick walls remind us how badly we want something, Rob reminds us that catching those "loose bricks" and building a strong foundation can only mean success!

A LITTLE BIT OF HOME

Most of you know that I'm not born and bred Hobartite; however, I've lived here longer than ANYWHERE and have been bleeding purple and gold for a long, long time!

I have delighted in watching growth in what I consider MY hometown. Yesterday, I witnessed the "birth" of the type of place every hometown should have. BRICKWORKS BREWERY,

the dream of a former student, Tom Coster, opened to previews! Cannot describe what joy this city has had with this opening! Just in case you aren't familiar with some "beer" quotes:

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'"

-- Jack Handey

AND ON (9-5-09 ) TOM SPOKE AND HE SAID 'LET THERE BE BEER' AND THE TOWNS FOLK WHERE PLEASED!
--Dan Barrasas

"This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption. Let us give praise to our Maker and glory to His bounty by learning about... BEER."
– Friar Tuck, "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, 1991

“Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.”
--Proverbs, Chapter 31 verses 6 & 7

“Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and to celebrate the good days.”
--Ancient Egyptian advice

"Beer he drank - seven goblets. His spirit was loosened. He became hilarious. His heart was glad and his face shown."
--The Epic of Gilgamesh, 3000 B.C.

“It's deeper than that. Think about the farmers that grow the barley & hops. The seed & fertilizer companies that thrive with the farmer. The manufacturing that builds the equipment the farmer uses. The steel companies that supply the steel. The miners that mine the ore for steel & glass. And lets not forget about the packaging manufacturers, the label printers, and the distribution channel of drivers, warehouses, and the final retail outlets. It really is a beer driven economy when you think about it.”
--Brian Kellogg

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-- Benjamin Franklin

"He was a wise man who invented beer."
-- Plato

"A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure."
-- Czech Proverb

"You can do very little with faith, but you can do nothing without it."
-- Samuel Butler

“BRICK WALLS ARE THERE FOR A REASON; THEY LET US KNOW HOW BADLY WE WANT SOMETHING.”
– Randy Pausch in The Last Lecture