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WHAT A RIDE?!?!? How did you choose your career? Did you choose it? Did it choose you, or was it fate?  As we enter Season Four of Life’s Learning Curve Paul finally shares one of the MOST embarrassing stories of his life: Just HOW he chose his career field.  Paul also explains where that career took him and how adding new technology to education probably saved him. In this episode mentors, losers, winners, motivators, Inspirers, great students and a national award or two are episode content.  Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Ed not only delivered children from school to their homes daily on good ol’ bus 39, he also delivered kindness, patience and friendship.  People just like Ed came into Paul’s live on occasion. For a brief time, Ed was a living legend to Paul, but do legends truly live on forever? Do you know anyone exceptional like Ed? Everyone deserves some deserved appreciation; a smile & a kind word back to them. It may make their day. Proactive small steps of regard can turn someone’s life around. Let them know you appreciate them. After all, tomorrow is not promised.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

It wasn’t the soft breeze and tropical sunny warmth that hooked Paul on St. Martin, it was the adventure. That is, until that adventure went off the rails. Break ins, theft, corruption, and organized crime, and bunco schemes all existed in the dank underbelly of the tropical island. Hangers on from the last hurricane rebuild had stayed on the island and now hid out and pretended to be locals. NOT GOOD. ADVICE: When you go on holiday to the Caribbean, exist on the surface of the beautiful island, and DO NOT stray too far from your resort where crime and huge BUNCO schemes abound. Sometimes vacation adventures can lead you astray.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Life threw Bob a curve ball, misleading him at a young age. You can’t control the curve balls life throws at you. so you have to learn how to change or adapt, sometimes quickly so that life’s curve balls don’t take you too far down the wrong path. Bob always knew the man he would like to be, so throughout his life he found role models and mentors for himself, but NONE OF THEM had immediate impact of a colossal world event. A man never gets so old that he forgets what it was like being a young boy. This episode finds Bob maneuvering baseball’s literal curve ball, AND the curve balls life hurls at us.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Paul retells about a time a whipped cream bomb exploded in a nearby park, but the concussion was nothing next to Captain Video, a bright, yet self-centered man still wrestling with a basic childhood trait… Sharing.  This Life’s Learning Curve episode spans almost 26 years to explain two sides of the coin. Rules, duty and respect meet a self-centered arrogant man called Captain Video. Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

If you go where you’ve never been, you MAY just find yourself. The desert can be blazing hot, the desert can be freezing cold -A challenge to the human spirit. The human spirit needs to be challenged and to recreate. On this remote episode, Paul talks with a couple of brothers in the Mesilla Valley area of New Mexico. It’s good for our souls to work with our hands. Their innovative talent for maintaining and modifying minibikes takes the brothers on an adventure in the deserts of the southwest. Bring your helmet, googles and your sense of adventure. Say hello to Drake and Tristen.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

This episode presents Paul’s life adventures peddling a two-wheeler.  -Just recently, riding his bike put Paul in a satisfied state of mind. Mentally Paul felt 18 years old again.  Soon Paul began to assume he looked that way as well. Feeling healthy and upbeat, Paul I stopped to let traffic pass. As he did, he glanced up and saw himself in the reflection of a local bakery. “Who is That???!?!?!? Oh, no! That’s an old guy. That’s …ME.  What happened?”      Time happened.   “I thought growing older would take longer?!?”          Therefore Paul can say this: Life is just like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it, but just don’t expect yr mental image to match your true to life physical image!  -Paul reveals his life’s adventures some great people and unforgettable journeys from the seat of his bicycle. Do not regret growing older. It’s a privilege denied to many.    -Just like riding a bike eh?Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

We are so busy being busy that along the way we sometimes might loose ourselves in the process. What do a lineman, a weather event, and a power outage have in common? Episode 51 finds Paul deeply imbedded in a learning curve involving a weather event, a lineman, and finally connecting with neighbors all because of an unexpected microburst over his small mid-midwestern town. This episode centers around the storm and the damage, but look deeper and it’s easy to discover an episode of genuine intent. This is all about people, a community and finding ourselves reconnecting as humans to one another. Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Celebrating episode number 50, Paul reminisces about times he was overcome with devastating creative / writer’s block. This allows Paul to look back on some favorite clips from the past three seasons. He tells of the shows process of inception for each episode and shares what works for him.   -The quote, ”You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” AND Terry Pratchett’s quote: “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.”  Let’s love life again as we take a look at where Life’s Learning Curve all started. Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

It was all of ninety-five years ago, when the world was the street where Gramma Ruth lived, and a young man named Harold sailed on a ship at sea carrying a picture of my Gramma Ruth. Ruth had that carefree mind of her own, and a very particular delicate look in her eye, which made one misunderstood blink, look like a wink, and with that another generation of Wilkinsons came to be. Throughout two world wars, three children, six grandchildren Gramma Ruth was the foundation. She was thoughtful, conversational, full of stories, love and guidance for multiple generations. Life’s Learning Curve is proud to share just what was learned through example from Gramma Ruth. This episode realizes that grandparents do not begin their lives when their grandchildren are born, they just enter a new era of happiness and find more of life’s joys. (thx to Elvis Costello for the inspiration)Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

“Change is never easy for me. You fight to hold on. And you fight to let go.”  This episode is Paul’s very recent self-indulgent take on a wedding that came off with love, happiness & fun. Paul marries off his first child Heidi and faces all the joy and emotion of the day. During the wedding Paul’s subconscious kept reminding him, Change is okay. Life can be lucky AND often we get good things in return, such as this wedding, equipped with a post dinner rainbow. Here is a time Paul gets back what he had given. If you have ever had a child get married you can relate.  Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

After this encounter, Paul never skied again. There was a time when at the age of 19, Paul and his ski buddies rode a bus and headed out to Montana to Big Sky country. Their purpose: Skiing the fresh white powder, or COLD SMOKE packed ski trails. This episode finally reveals the embarrassing way Paul finally learned coordinate himself to ski. Bar talent competitions, great friends and even a worthless gang of ski bullies combine to make this episode 'in your face' real.  Find out just why Paul’s downhill skiing ended so abruptly. This is episode 47 in season 3.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

This episode unfolds like a classic Bogart cinematic movie. Have you ever been with someone so inspiring that their enthusiasm rubbed off on you? In today’s episode this happens to Paul during a very delicate part of his life. Escaping a failing documentary and personal threats left Paul in shreds. He needs an escape. It was the summer of 2013 and Paul attends a film festival in the Florida Keys: The Humphrey Bogart Film Festival. Desperate for a Bogart style adventure, Paul cynically squinted his eyes and set his sights on Key Largo and an event that renewed his state of mind for years & years to come.   • Being inspired by others who care. Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

What took place on Waterman Road made Paul's life change. “Horses WILL step on your feet. You will work harder than you’ve ever worked before. You will rise at 4AM. You will be given real responsibilities that effect this business.” At age 10, Paul is relocated to a farm for a week. Even with all the rules and regs, he embraces the farm run by his Uncle Art, Aunt Virginia and his cousin Tommy. Paul embraces this new and diverse environment, until the horse show…Oh… The dreaded horse show. Stay tuned…Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Ever been overwhelmed when trying to fall asleep? When this happened to Paul, he felt the old neighborhood was calling out to him. It wanted to be remembered. This type of personification seems odd, but truly happened. From some wonderful positive neighbors, to one possibly from Area 51, this episode centers around those neighbors with whom Paul and his family were blessed AAAAAAND cursed. The gruff ex-marine who was tattooed head to toe and worked on cars, the retired one who called the police on Paul six times. The one that told Paul’s mom he was ‘too oafish’ to walk in her yard. Add Tilley, the Bangs, the Johnsons and Walt and you have Paul’s environment growing up. Don’t miss the go cart story .  Paul gets INVITED BACK HOME to have a talk with his awkward, eccentric and quirky past.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

“What you’ve done is so bad I can’t even talk about it! I have 30 negative letters in my drawer about you! I am so angry at you!”   Imagine your supervisor exclaiming this to you, pushing at you, poking at you, or threatening you!   This happened to several of the best and most effective teachers at a small local school. Why? Paul shares an episode about a new administrator who bullied, lied and eventually seemed to lessen the confidence and effectiveness of his best teachers. Enter lawyers, unions and superintendents to help make sense of this administrators’ true intents. When you are physically and verbally falsely accused of something negative over and over, it can leave you speechless. This episode is not Paul’s story, but one retold to him a few years back. Retelling it as if it happened to him, Paul shares our conclusion of the two part episode’ “Left Me Speechless’ (conclusion).Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

 Ever been so passively aggressed that you become JUST PLAIN SPEECHLESS?  There no words for some of life’s situations. In part one of this episode, Paul retells stories of being led down a path of stupidity where he learns exactly how NOT to treat other people. From a dull school leader conducting a disconnected interview -which was decided by what Chicago ball team Paul favored, to community leaders that made an effort to con and grift Paul, and an interview for a professional position where the interviewer was narcoleptic and fell asleep, It’s all in this episode. Stories which helped Paul decide who he should and shouldn’t become. Power from leadership doesn’t always corrupt, it just exposes who the leaders are.Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Ever played an instrument? Where did that instrument take you?   On this episode, Paul retells stories of where playing drums has taken him. Not every band worked out well. Managing talent, overbearing personalities and inflated egos were new to him. Add to that an angry orchestra teacher, a somewhat fuzzy-headed seller of drum set number 2, and a crying lead singer, and you've got episode 41. Dedicated to a life spent loving music.  -Sketchy Drum Stories: Some of them tragic, some of them magic!Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, there’s always forgiveness.  Guest Mary MacDowell, shares her fictional book based on real life memories of a young woman, Mary Wagner, who was forced to confront the sins of her past, the reckless behavior that almost killed her. And then there was Betsey, the young disabled child who refused to let her go – even after death. Energetic author Mary McDowell shares her process of writing and recalls her whirlwind life from 1967 – 1980.  She acknowledges life’s amazing mentors and connects her chapters to some great music to comfort the soul.  You don’t want to miss this episode of Life’s Learning Curve. Takeaway… Texas = flat as a tuna can. find Ms. MacDowell's book: https://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Betsey-Mary-MacDowell/dp/1796682306/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=heaven+to+betsey+mary+macdowell&qid=1612565476&sr=8-1Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)

Sometimes it’s NOT the journey that makes an adventure, it’s the people you meet along the way that might re-ignite your life’s passions. Paul retells experiential stories of the gruff and angry unsheltered homeless, stories of the dry wit and comedy of FBI Feds, to stories of an arrogant and self-absorbed west coaster. In 2000, Paul migrates from analog editing to digital editing by taking classes from coast to coast. These classes DID help him migrate to a digital world, but as time has passed, he recalls the diverse, funny, scary and creative people he met along the way that shaped that summer of the year 2000.  -Hey, have you ever been locked out of your hotel room all night in the dank, heavy, humid summer heat and been a meal for mosquitoes and no-see-ums??? Paul has!      Life’s Learning Curve begins SEASON THREE!Support the show (https://lifeslearningcurve.org)