Let’s talk about goals…..those targets you aim for in the future. I like goals. They give me something to strive for. They help keep me focused on making progress in my life. They keep my life interesting….and often rewarding…..because they bring about constant change in my life….in my behavior, in my routine, in my knowledge, in my future. They help to keep me “young”. They help keep me pushing ahead, instead of standing still. They add spice to my life. They make my life “taste” better…..and the recipe is constantly changing.

Actually, I didn’t start setting goals for myself until I was well past middle age. And, even now, I am not sure why I started. Maybe it was because I thought I was standing beside the road…..and the rest of the world was passing me by. Maybe it was because I saw retirement looming in the distance, and I wanted to be better prepared for it. Or maybe it was because I simply wanted to become a better person…..to lead a more interesting, satisfying and fulfilling life.

Or maybe it was one of the endless “feel good”, “inspirational”, “motivational” pep talks that I so often had to sit through as an educator. (And, there were plenty of them.) At any rate, as I recall, I decided to set some goals in my life quite suddenly. I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish…..and I started working to achieve them.

I don’t remember assigning a rating to them…..or ranking them in any particular order of importance. I just made a list of things that I wanted to do….and then I started doing them. I would never claim that I ever became an expert in any of them…..or even overly proficient. But…..I did set out to accomplish them.

Let me make clear now: These are “external” goals…..more or less physical activities or behaviors…..take it or leave it type activities…..things that add to my life….not things that are, or should be, already part of my life. I am not talking about moral goals, or ethical goals, or religious goals. For the most part, I feel that I have already obtained these goals, attitudes, and behaviors. They were instilled in me almost from the time of my birth: love, honesty, trustworthiness, dependability, empathy……

No…..these goals are activities and achievements that present challenges to be met, obstacles to be conquered, targets to aim for.

So…what are these goals? And….have I met them?

OK. I am going to tell you. They are not listed in any particular order, because there is no particular order. Some of them were essentially one-time goals, while others were….and are….continuing goals. But all of them have made my life fuller, richer and more satisfying and complete.

One of my goals…..a one time goal…no, let’s make that a two time goad….was to spend a summer working in a national park. I am not sure there was a logical reason for this goal. It was mostly just curiosity. After traveling many times through places like Yellowstone National Park and wandering through their gift shops, their restaurants…and seeing all the people who worked there…..apparently ordinary people, just like me…..I often thought, “Wow….this would be fun. Getting to live in an exciting, spectacular setting like this.”

So…..I obtained an application form from the company that ran the concessions in Yellowstone National Park. I filled it out and mailed to the personnel office. I was accepted. And, I was soon on my way to northwest Wyoming to spend an exotic summer, working in the midst of geysers, mountains, and grizzly bears. I was assigned to the Photo Shop Store in Canyon Village as a clerk in the photo developing section.

The job was interesting…..but after a while….let’s admit it….it was just a job. A busy and sometimes stressful job, dealing with hundreds of tourists from all over the world. It wasn’t as glamorous as I had thought it would be. It was low paying—minimum wage. But I did have a wonderful opportunity to explore in detail parts of the Park that other people….especially tourists….never see, either because they do not have enough time or because they are not interested.

Like I said…..it turned out to be just a job. On my days off, I explored the Park; I made some lasting friends……..and I liked it well enough that many years later, I accepted a job to manage the general store in Big Bend National Park in Texas. I achieved a goal; I satisfied my curiosity.

I had another short-term goal: and that was to run for a public office sometime in my life. Somehow I had this idea…..probably somewhat delusional….that maybe I could do some good….that I could use my expertise, my experience and my knowledge to bring about some change….to make improvements…..in our society.

The opportunity presented itself during my final year as an educator working in the public schools. Public school employees are prohibited by law from serving on a school board. Somebody decided it was a “conflict of interest”. Although the election took place before I officially retired, I would not take office until I was a retired, unemployed former educator…..drawing my social security and KPERS. At the urging of many of my fellow educators, I drove over to Oskaloosa, paid the filing fee…..and became a candidate for the school board.

In the election, I won easily. And, I spent the next four years on the board of education. I found out that nobody was interested in my expertise, my experience or my knowledge. But…..I did my best. I voted in what I thought to be he best interests of our students, teachers and taxpayers. One term was enough for me. But, I had achieved a goal.

Another goal….and it turned out to be a long-term goal….was to create stained glass art. Back in the 1970’s and 80’s, before I had foreign exchange students…and even while I had them…..my summer vacation destination was always the Oregon Coast. Each year as I meandered through the streets of the quaint ocean towns, exploring the little gift and souvenir shops, I would admire the stained glass art on display. Oh….if only I could learn to do that. And….one day I will learn to do that.

I found my golden opportunity in a class taught by Judy Swisher. Judy was…..and is….a versatile and multi-talented artist and teacher. She showed me the basics of cutting glass, grinding it, fitting it together, taping it, and finally soldering it together. After she showed me…..she said, “OK. Go ahead and make something.”

“What should I make?”

“Anything you want to make.”

For her, the sky was the limit. For her, it was none of this start out small and work up to something grander and bigger. She used the Nike slogan: “Just do it!” So…..I did. She was always around to help me, if I needed it. And, in the beginning, believe me….I needed it. But, as I became more and more experienced, she would basically simply leave me alone and let me do my own thing. Many time, she would simply leave the outside door to the art room unlocked, and I would come, work, and leave.

Over a period of probably a dozen years, I turned out well over 50 pieces of stained glass. About half of these are on display in my house. And I gave about half of them away. I stopped when Judy retired; I no longer had a place to work. But….I was ready to phase out the stained glass era of my life. I literally had no more space in my house to hang the stained glass art that I made.

At one point in my younger life, I was in pretty good shape…..probably up through and including the years I spent in the Army. Back in those days, I was skinny! I was so thin that I was often afraid my jeans would simply fall off. But…..somewhere around the age of 35 or so, things began to change. When I “things” began to change…..I mean, specifically, my waist began to expand! I no longer worried about my jeans falling off. I began to buy bigger and bigger clothing. I remember the first time I had to buy size XL. I was shocked. I was also embarrassed. I was getting fat!

It was somewhere in this era that I made it a goal to become more physically fit….and to control my weight……and to get into shape again. Over the years that followed, I found that I could combine this goal with my desire to learn some lifetime sports and recreation.

Therefore, the question became: Which lifetime sports or activities should I choose? I ruled out basketball. I was too old….and too untalented. I ruled out horse racing…..I didn’t have a race horse. Also stock car racing…..for he same reason: No stock car. Anyway, neither of those sports offered very much aerobic movement or exercise.

When I was younger I always liked to run….and I was fairly good at it. This was a viable possibility. It had excellent aerobic value; it would burn a lot of calories; it required no special equipment….except for a pair of running shoes; I could do it almost anywhere and at any time. So….choice number 1 was settled upon.

Weight lifting? Why not. I had access to weights both in our school weight room and at the YMCA. Again, it was an inexpensive sport; it would build my muscles; it would burn calories. Not only could I do this alone….although using free weighs alone is somewhat questionable……but I could also to it with other people, if I wanted. Ah, ha…..choice number 2 decided.

OK. What else? I wanted a game of sorts…..not a team sport, but still something where I could play with and against other people. A sport that I had easy access to…..and one that was not overly expensive. And, exactly how hard could it be?

Every time I went to the YMCA, I would see people playing racket ball. It looked like fun. And it looked like it would be good exercise. And, all I needed was a racket and some racket balls. An achievable investment.

The final sports choice came fairly easily. For years, I had been driving past a golf course near by house. And for years I had wished I knew how to play….to hit that little ball down a neatly manicured fairway…..to raise my golf club into the air as a sign of triumph when I made a hole-in-one. OK…that never happened, but I did decide to learn to play golf.

One summer I enrolled in a golf class at Washburn University. I ended up getting an F in the course….not because I didn’t learn to play golf…..but because I had to leave to go on vacation….to the Oregon Coast, of course…..and couldn’t be there for the final test. Mostly, I learned to play by joining a class taught by a former golf pro. He was excellent. He knew what he was talking about…..and he was able to communicate his skills through both demonstration and explanation.

Racket ball? A friend of mine taught me how to play it. And, after a lot of trial and error, and after getting beat a lot…..I finally began to improve.

But, my goals were not all fun and games. I vowed that I was not going to simply let my mind wither away once I had retired. I set a goal of keeping my mind active, and that I would continue to learn and expand my educational and cultural horizons. To accomplish this goal, I enrolled in adult education classes sponsored by the University of Kansas…..classes they offer in three sessions throughout the year.

These classes are taught by professors from K. U. and Washburn…..along with other experts in various fields. There is no preparation, no homework, no textbooks, no tests. You just pay your money, show up, listen….and learn. These are my kind of classes. Through these classes, I keep on learning.

I also set goals to continue traveling as much as I could afford. I set a goal to continue inviting foreign travelers and visitors into my home…..although my days of hosting foreign exchange students had come to an end. I am no longer willing to get up at 5:30 a.m., wake up a sleepy teenager, drive them into school…..and then make sure I was waiting for them at the stoke of 3:30. Instead, I opted for adult travelers, who could take care of themselves, and didn’t make as many demands on my time. But, I still had a great opportunity to meet fascinating and fun people…..to continue learning about different cultures and lifestyles……and also, hopefully, to share with them some of my unique lifestyle…..and our American….our Midwestern…..was of living.

Another of my goals was to volunteer my time and talents to help others. I dabbled in this briefly….found it to be interesting and worthwhile. But, mostly because of health reasons, I found that it was simply not something I felt that I could commit myself to.

Wow…..looking back, it seems that I aimed toward a lot of goals.  Did I set too many goals?  Was I able to achieve them and master them to my own high standards and satisfaction? The answer is No….I didn’t set too many goals…..and Yes….I am happy to know in my own mind that I have accomplished all of them. And, I am pleased and contented that today none of them are my goals any longer. They are an important part of my everyday life, They are things that today I take for granted. No….I don’t do all these things each and every day. But… I know if I wanted to….I can.

I have asked myself why I have been so successful in achieving my goals and accomplishing the things I set my mind to do…..and why I didn’t give up. First of all….I set the goals voluntarily and consciously. Nobody forced me to do any of them. Second: I chose goals which let me to do things that I really wanted to do. They not only had physical or health or social or cultural value: They were fun. They were not a burden….but a blessing.

I also tried to keep the goals realistic. Over the years, I have pretty well learned what I am capable of doing…..and what I have absolutely no talent or aptitude for. I mean….I wasn’t going to become a bull rider, because I doubt if I have either the physical or intellectual talent or aptitude to pull it off…..only the aptitude to be throw off the bull!

Fourth: I set goals that were readily achievable because the resources to accomplish them were readily available. The stained glass teacher was only a short drive away; the YMCA is in Topeka; the golf course is only a few miles away; Washburn and K. U. are within easy driving distance. And…..I could run….and now walk…. almost anywhere.

I like to meet other people….especially people from foreign countries; as a former educator, I like to help people. In other words, they were all within the realm of the (very) possible.

They were all accomplished rather inexpensively. None of them required any unrealistic capital outlay. They all presented definite challenges in their own unique way…..a large enough challenge to make each activity interesting and satisfying….but not so difficult that I had no chance of achieving the goal.

So……what’s next? Are there any more goals that I want to achieve? Any more challenges that I want to tackle? You bet! Next I want to learn to play drums…..not just one drum…..but an entire set of them. I want to learn to jam out with the best of them. And, I am also eagerly looking forward to taking up metal art….yard art….junk art….or whatever you want to call it. First of all, however, I have to learn to weld. Impossible? I think not. Drive past my house some day in the future…..and I am almost sure that it will be covered with weird metal art……..and from inside my house, you will hear me jamming out on my drums!