Tom's Blog on Life

Big excitement today in our house!
Julie and I have been blessed with a new arrival in the family!
At 1:03 pm today (11 days overdue) Madden Els weighed in at 3.96 kilos.
The judges have overruled protests at the late inclusion in the competition.
He takes up boxing training next week in the heavyweight division!
Teal and Madden are both doing fine. Shianne was so excited at the news her scream was enough to peel paint and Jaylen is very excited about having a baby brother. So of course we high tailed it straight to the hospital for cuddles all round. He’s a joy!

The power of persistence. Harry Bernstein wrote 40 books but destroyed the manuscripts after they were all rejected by publishers. Bernstein was 93 when his wife of 67 years died and started writing to help deal with his grief. He spent 3 years writing his memoir “The Invisible Wall.” He sent the manuscript to many New York publishers, all of whom turned it down. Then he sent it to an editor at Random House in the UK, where it sat in a pile of unsolicited manuscripts for a year before it was read by a stunned publishing director who immediately recognized it as inspired writing. It was published in 2007 when Mr. Bernstein was 98. He would write three more acclaimed books, all of which were published, up until his death at 101. Bernstein called his 90s, “the most productive years of my life.” (Tom: One of the more inspirational stories I have come across that shows you really are never too old to kick goals. So make sure you set some good ones for yourself this year! If you are not actively working on your basic purpose/major goal in life for at least two hours a week (if not two hours a day) please take a time-out and reorganise your life. From your caring blogger friend.)