Getting Personal with August Reflections

I’m skipping my usual format for this week’s update and going to share some personal stuff instead.  Next week’s update is already ready but a few things have occurred recently that I decided to share right now.

When this article and podcast goes live, I will be getting ready to have a meeting with other radio managers as we sit on a boat in the middle of a lake in northern Indiana.

There are over 1500 articles on this website that I’ve written and published over the past couple of decades and this is also podcast #278. The Scott Howard Genuine ScLoHo Media & Marketing podcasts have been updated nearly every week since March 2017 and when I started the podcast, these articles became more business focused and less personal reflections.

However the following year, I wrote about a couple of tragic event that occurred 4 years ago this month.  In August 2018, my friend Charly Butcher who was the host of Fort Wayne’s Morning News on WOWO radio was on vacation and we got news that Charly has died.  It was totally out of the blue, as he was one of the more fit people we knew.  About the same time, one of my wife’s brother’s was taken to the hospital and within a couple of days, we knew that Mike was in his last days.  I was contacting funeral homes to make arraignments for my brother-in-law, my wife was at his hospital bed, the radio station was in shock and dealing with the sudden death of Charly and it’s both a bit of a blur along with some very sharp distinct memories of that week.

Fast forward to August 2022 and I’m getting reminders from Facebook Memories about events from years past in August.  First off, 2013 that same brother in law, Mike was in the hospital getting his jaw wired shut after being beat up and left for dead.  He survived that and stayed with us for a few weeks to recover.  Then the 2018 events I just mentioned showed up.  Charly passed away on August 15th, which happens to be my Mom’s birthday.  If she was still around, this week should would be 79.  Mike passed away the following week.

In the past couple of weeks I was also informed of deaths of three friends.  Mary, Dan and Jill, all unrelated have had their time on this planet come to an end.

Before you get all depressed or think that I’m feeling down, I’m not.  Sad, that I can’t talk to any of those people anymore, but more reflective.  9 years ago I wrote the following words:

Days that Count versus Counting The Days. Because we cannot accurately count the days or years we have left, my goal is to live Days that Count. Live each day with open eyes, ears, and an open heart.  Do not let opportunities to help, give, listen, serve to be pushed aside or ignored. Instead, weigh the opportunities and see how God wants us to respond.

Until next week, I’m Scott Howard, aka ScLoHo.