There’s always that one
character in any story that's just so good. Too good to be
true. That’s the one that I gravitate toward. My family,
especially my daughters, tease me on a regular basis. While it’s
true that I am a sucker for the good guy, I've yet to see it as a negative
thing.
Good guys bring with them
feelings of happiness, optimism, and a readiness to take on the world. Of
course, real life is not a story book, and one must be grounded in reality at
some point. If not, we could find ourselves living in la-la land. So,
while Virginia may have asked if there is really a Santa Claus, one might ask
if there truly are real-life Good Guys? Or are they only a perception,
something that if believed in could lead to disappointment, along with a
feeling that life just isn’t all that it should be.
Good guys are a real
thing. They may be few and far between, but are easily singled out if one
but opens their eyes to the world around them. They're the ones who leave
a glimmer of kindliness wherever they are. A feeling that all is
well with the world. And most importantly, the feeling isn’t
fleeting, but lingers. You are a better person for having interacted with
that person.
I was lucky enough to work
during the summers with such a person back when I was in high
school. I used to think that I saw him in that light simply because
he was older and wiser, after all he was a college man. Looking back with
the ability to see a broader perspective, I can see that he truly was one
of the aforementioned, true good guys. His influence has woven in
and out of my life over the years, like a steady thread in a tapestry, always
there, but behind the scenes so to speak. Like the hero in a good
story, it's his influence that holds everyone together, seeing everything in
life as part of a happy journey.
Being a college sports
nut, when my team loses a big game, it would be well advised to keep your
distance, as I tend to wear my sports-loving emotions on my
sleeve. And for those who know me, that might be an
understatement. My good-guy friend, who's even a bigger college sports
fan than I am, is never unapproachable. He has such optimism, even after
a devastating loss. How is this accomplished? I've thought on this
long and hard. It’s who he is, it’s as simple as that.
It is not in my nature to
let go of emotions, or to harness them very well. Knowing him, and trying
to emulate his manner of seeing the world has been a true
blessing. While still having to make a conscious effort, the
sharpness of the wearing of my emotions has been softened. At first it
was difficult, more like pretending or putting on an act, trying to
be someone else. But over time it's become more than
pretending. I am happier. His influence actually changed the
way that I see things in the world, and that influence goes further than
sports. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses my seem silly
to some. After all, what about reality? However, if reality is
nothing more than how the world is seen through each one of us, why not choose
to see life on a positive note?
Over a lifetime, we
interact with countless people, each leaving little impressions on
us. If we take a purposeful look at those impressions, we can decide
which of those attributes will make us better people, and which to simply weed
out. I am lucky indeed to have such a friend. I am a better
person for having his influence in my life. We should all be so
lucky, cherishing the threads of positive influences in our
lives. Yes, my friend Dale Goodwin is true to his name, one of the
“Good-ones” in every sense of the word.
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