By Steve Stricker

Columnist

Thought about writing this column about my beautiful Martin Ukulele purchased in 2020 at the encouragement of my close buddy Norm Adcox, but he very sadly died unexpectedly shortly after that and kept thinking about how much I missed him.  Or about the Ice Storm of February 11, 1994 – can still hear the branches slowly breaking in the frigid temps during the night, no heat, and crashing to the ground with a loud thump as we speak – but two weeks with no electricity was not a cherished memory. Or, with Valentine’s Day this past Friday writing on Romantic Love – but having never experienced it would be like me writing about childbirth….

 Thought about listing my plethora of flaws, but don’t have the word count for that. Amongst them is the tendency to think out loud and things can come out of my mouth unfiltered, especially after sipping my cherished bourbon which loosens my introverted tongue, can say things that if I had just thought about “perhaps” would never have been said, sorry.  I am also way too sensitive which is not a bad thing when counseling students, “Do you know me?”

 Several years ago when teaching BUS 390 to 120 seniors in the Ole Miss School of Business Administration as Director of MBA Career Services, in my syllabus I had several “Steve Sayings” such as “Shine your shoes,”  “Never let them see you sweat,” “If you don’t know, admit it, then find the answer.” But my favorite was, “Risk” because if one never takes a risk, one gains nothing:  

 “To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.  To weep is to risk being sentimental.  To reach out to another is to risk involvement.  To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.  To place your ideas and your dreams before a crowd is to risk being called naive.  To love is to risk not being loved in return.  To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.  But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.  A person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.  They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.  Chained by things that are certain, they are a slave.  They have forfeited their freedom.  Only the person who risks is truly free” (Author unknown).

Once after the semester had ended, at a Double Decker Festival, a student came up to me and said that he was in my class, had broken up with his girlfriend, missed her, and after hearing me talk about risk, called her.  She missed him too; they got back together and were now engaged. Yay! Of course she could have told him to take a hike – thus the name, “Risk.”  Remind me to tell you my “Napa Girl” story, and others where I took a walk on the “Wild Side!”

 Then there’s this. In an ideal world, my house would be perfectly organized, spotless clean with new furniture, manicured lawn no weeds; cars in concourse condition; garage in Ready-For-Tool-Time order; have an extraordinary girlfriend/fiancée/wife with no issues from previous baggage; me a few years younger with all body parts original and working, confident, outgoing personality, faith carved in granite, and income that allowed zero stress with bills.

BUT – this is my life which I refer to as, an “imperfect perfectionist.”   I am a somewhat temperamental artist, can live with my house, yard, garage, cars and a relationship being a wee bit imperfect like me, am in pretty good shape, know my baggage, pay my bills with a bit left over for a cup of coffee, six back of beer, bottle of bourbon, and accept myself for who I am, flawed, child of God and God don’t make no junk!  My faith isn’t perfect, but I try, Mass every day, and think God wants it that way because it keeps me humble and on my knees in front of him.

 PEACE OUT & GO BASEBALL REBELS!!

Steve lives in Oxford and has his Ph.D., in Educational Psychology, Counseling from Ole Miss