The theory is that the older you get the happier and more at peace you get. I think that’s true to a degree but when you become a grandfather and reach your 60’s your hope should be to share some wisdom with your family. You made it 60 years and have experienced much, you learn even more when you try to teach.

Each decade of my life I was seeking something, a party, a vocation, a love, a family, and understanding of my place and purpose in the world. 2007-2018 was my Harley Davidson phase.

In my mid 30’s a friend of mine had a religious experience, left his wife, and became a pastor through attending a Pentecostal church that trained pastors. I attended a few services and events. Interestingly as he was learning more and attending classes he shared with me information on the evils of the Roman Catholic Church. As I’ve learned there are many “cottage industries” espousing the virtues of their Christian and world view. If I was going to call my self Christian I had to understand what that means to me. So I ventured into the desert (metaphorically) and decided to hang out with Catholics. If I was going to leave one family I better get to know them first.

When I attended a service at my friends Pentecostal church the preacher that day was Pastor Judy. She was very charismatic and was preaching on the book of Nehemiah. She was looking directly at me, I swear, and she relayed, (my simplified version) that when Nehemiah asked the King for more responsibility and received it, his supposed friends, supporters, and associates ended up undermining him because, “who did he think he was, the King”! She concluded by saying sometimes when you’re going through a transformation you need to “shut up”. I’ve learned that everyone has a gift that others may see but the individual doesn’t. It pays to listen and spend time in contemplation of your purpose.

I found my place in the Roman Catholic Church. I started reading, attending retreats, and even studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The short version is that I found the church is an institution of men just as there are in the world. It is stained by the same thing all our world is stained by “ideological excess driven to madness” and “building the labyrinth of lies”. ( I recently heard those lines in an interview.)

One of my retreat masters became one of my most beloved mentors. His story was something all of us could relate too and I will share it at some point. He had some of the best teachings that I’ve encountered, especially in person! One that I think relates to creating a “Substack” or writing, was part of a process to “give yourself a break.”

He had six steps in finding your purpose and one of them was “Do we language our destination”. In other words, have we written it out so we can look at it and say, yes, that’s me and yes, that’s where I’m going. The beauty of language is that’s our story.” I’ll reveal the other 5 in a future post. Your thoughts and ideas look different when “languaged”.

Family is what grounds me and that is the order I am seeking seeking. As a father, husband, and grandfather I have found it’s what keeps me grounded and on the edge of chaos. The church isn’t about the hierarchy but developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. There’s community, good pastors, and teachers. I’ve been fortunate to find many in the Roman Catholic Church.

Finally a book I read 2 years ago really solidified my seeking. "Wanting” by Luke Burgis explores the concept of mimetic desire, where our wants are influenced by observing and imitating others. Burgis delves into how these desires shape our lives, careers, and relationships, drawing from the theories of René Girard. The book offers insights on recognizing and managing these imitative desires to lead a more authentic and fulfilling life. It also provides practical advice on how to discern genuine desires from mimetic ones; promoting self-awareness and personal growth. It’s a hard work, this introspection.

I’ve learned much through following this musician preacher too! I can relate to his words in the following song, “There’s Nothing I can Do About it Now”.

I previously wrote about one of my favorite movies, “YES Man”. You can change your life by answering YES but learning from those indiscriminate YES’s create a path for unintended consequences.

There’s the classic story of a young up and coming singer. The voice coupled with his guitar playing and Elvis type looks made him the perfect front man. The Golden Tones even cut a 45 record to sell along with their local bar tour. It was kind of a big deal back in the 50’s and 60’s to have a 45 record made. The golden voice of the Golden Tones was just out of high school and JFK would soon be elected president. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, you know that guy. History and Yes’s matter but time is the ultimate curator of the story. It appears that 2025-26 will be the year JFK’s story will be revealed.

Our talented Golden Tones front man had a pretty young girl friend who also was just about out of high school. She loved following her “music man” to all his local venues. Not old enough to get into these venues, somehow being with the band averted attention to enforcement of the local ordinances.

It was probably around Valentine’s Day, right after Kennedy’s inauguration that the sweet young girl said Yes to her music man. That Yes was later followed by an “I DO” in May of that year. It seems that the Yes led to, at the time, an unintended consequence of pregnancy, a Lutheran Church wedding, and the creation of a family. Not to mention the pause in the “music man’s”, just enough to pay the bar bill, touring gig.

The up and coming “King of the Road” hit the road to start his family, find a home, and seek gainful employment to support that family. Eventually he found his way to the local U.S. Army recruiting office. No one knew it at the time but a conflict, later referenced as the Cuban Missile Crisis, was on the horizon.

King of the Road’s sweetie gave birth to a healthy baby boy and after baptizing him in that Lutheran Church, followed her “music man”, with the help of family, to Louisiana to start training for the next stage of the musical called, Life. Her music man’s golden voice and guitar helped them make life long friends in that small Louisiana military base, and everywhere their little family went.

Many of those friends and family still called him, “King of the Road”, I just called him dad.

A few years ago a famous musician explained to the world that even after taking all the necessary precautions to prevent pregnancy, an IUD and a great gynecologist, she still got pregnant. She felt her decision to obtain an abortion in 1979 was paramount to her group’s continuance. Life really is about the “YES’s and NO’s”.

I couldn’t convince my dad to say No to hospice care in 2025, and try to fight the growth on his kidney. I think the four years of suffering and loneliness had taken its toll. His sweetie had passed 4 years previous. Now I get to explore my life as an orphan, husband, father, and grandfather. To contemplate the love behind the YES’s and I Do’s is to honor my father and mother. As they say miracles happen every day.

Thanks to cell phones I was able to record my dad at an open mic night. He’s singing my mom’s favorite song “Welcome to My World”. My son, dad’s grandson, is on drums, my son’s buddy is on bass and a family friend is on steel guitar. My mom had a “word art” sign in their apartment that read, “Music is what feelings sound like”. A lived metanoia life has so many divine appointments that gratitude seems like an insufficient word.

This is a picture that I took while in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It has become the backdrop for the quote, “The Place God calls you is The Place your Deep Gladness and the World’s Deep Hunger Meet” as well as “Fonts and Pints”.

I wish that I had kept a journal from our trips to Cabo. This one image helps me connect many of the dots of my life and a vision for it. The sad part is the concept of “digital dementia”! Capturing images can isolate you from capturing “being present” and capturing the experience.

Creation and creativity are the visible and invisible forces that move us and the world.

My first video production gigs also included wedding videography. In meeting with a bride and usually her mom, I would show them finished “video albums” set to music. These really brought out the emotion and usually the booking for the future nuptials. I appreciated the opportunity to showcase my creativity and skill but a skill does not a business make! I now see weddings in a different light and I’ll save those thoughts for another time. The short version is that weddings have become more about the contract than a covenant. The idea of family is clearly undermined by the chaos of our current time. I’m living it. The Place connects me back to the path and a point in time where I felt order to my vocation.

The Place for me has evolved. It started with trying to understand vocation, and asking the right questions. The book “Wild at Heart” started me down the road of introspection. The author argues that modern society has domesticated men, suppressing their innate wildness and adventurous spirit. He suggests that men are inherently designed by God to live a life of adventure, battle, and romance. It has been easy to build quite a library of content on any particular subject but making it all come together takes a lifetime. Separating the weeds from the wheat needs the supernatural power of silence.

Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behavior.
- Marshall McLuhan

It’s easy to sometimes get verbose when trying bring it all together and generate a little understanding. I love the often used TLDR (To long didn’t read) on some posts.

So here’s a bumper sticker version:

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER and BE ONE!

Here’s a couple of songs from my playlist to yours. In music, as a reminder, to “one of those days” and to help you get back to The Place

I was about to accept a job offer that required me to move my family to another state. My spouse was on-board with the decision but when she told her boss about it his response was, "Isn't Brad thinking about starting his own business?" A simple question and a simple YES!. The result was some friendly capital and my video production business was underway. That was 30 years ago and I'm still chasing the dream of creating or being a part of an entrepreneurial venture. That initial YES has led to many more YES's and some "School of Hard Knocks" lessons.

The year was 1993 and video production equipment was becoming more "consumerized" which made it within reach for desktop computer type video production. One of my first real business clients was a sign shop run by a couple that actually have become great friends and neighbors. They are not only great artists and signage craftsmen but Dave created his own fonts! I had no idea that was a thing. Not only did I begin to learn about iconography but their work for other business' helped generate leads for my video production business. The relationship with Dave and Ann (his spouse, partner, and co-creative) led to another important relationship with Rusty and his business "Know How Brew".

"Know How Brew" sold kits for home brewing, wine making, and other domestic home production resources. So of course one example of a unit of commerce is the PINT and choosing the right FONT to inspire and grab attention creates the foundation to develop your brand. "Fonts and Pints; Inspiration from Letters and Libations" has led to many YES's and relationships!

The alternate meanings for fonts and libations helped me stay connected to my Christian world view and my source of inspiration when the path has not been obvious. Its taken me all of my 64 years to try and connect the dots. They seem clearer now from a distance but I'm still navigating to right the ship and be affirmed that "The Place God calls you is The Place where your Deep Gladness and the World's Deep Hunger Meet." I guess I could lower my expectations. :-)

My dad Roger passed way in October 2024, and my mom, Sandy, passed four years previous. I never really asked them the questions I probably should have but they were always supportive and family was their main priority, that I knew for sure. My dad really suffered when mom died. He felt he should have passed first. I reminded him that she probably would not have done as well either. He missed her greatly but she had really done a good job setting him up for the next 4 years without her. It reminds me, "Why do husbands usually die first? Because they don't need permission!" The end comes for all of us and being with him through his suffering has been a blessing as well as a heart ache.

I learned much from just spending time watching football (American football) and golf with him. Sports and his favorite TV shows were most of our one on one time together. His health kept him from being comfortable away from his apartment. I wanted to ask him about some of his YES's in life but I didn't want to cause him any anxiety or concern if the conversation got to awkward. It wasn't that I was digging for any family secrets but just want to get a little more below the surface of things. Now that I'm in my "Orphan" stage I want to put the story together for my spouse, adult children and grandchildren. Grandchildren really get you thinking about your legacy and the world you're leaving behind. I don't know if it's wisdom but I want "Fonts and Pints" to be more than reflections about my career life but how all of my YES's helped shape me and what might learned and distilled from my journey.

YES reminds me of the popular, and one of my favorite movies "Yes Man". It is a comedy about a man stuck in a rut who attends a self-help seminar and commits to saying "Yes" to every opportunity that comes his way. This new life philosophy leads him into a series of wild and humorous adventures, including learning Korean, skydiving, and reconnecting with an old friend. Through his "Yes" journey, he not only finds love but also rediscovers joy and spontaneity in life. However, he learns that saying "Yes" indiscriminately can have its drawbacks, and he must find a balance between openness and making responsible choices.

I might not be able to share my indiscriminate YES's but those are probably where I've learned the most, right? If you don't make a few wrong decisions you might not discover the power of humility. I've experience God's sense of humor it just depends how far out of bounds your YES's get and whether you can course correct, forgive, or be forgiven.

A little story about another YES that keeps me contemplative.