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Carl Ficks

Reflections

A Rhino & A Saint

The northern white rhinoceros. Extinct. Or nearly so. The Amur leopard too. And so is the art of listening. There’s an Augustinian phrase, “audi alteram partem,” It means “listen to the other side.” In the current environment, how many people are listening to the other side? I… Read More »A Rhino & A Saint

Conquering The Marlin

In 1951, Hemingway penned The Old Man and the Sea. The story’s protagonist, an old fisherman named Santiago, had gone 84 days without catching a fish. Undeterred, he set off in his skiff on a solo journey and hooked an 18-foot marlin weighing an estimated 1,500 pounds.… Read More »Conquering The Marlin

Seeing the Unseen

The face of an old woman? Or the face of a young lady? The mind can play tricks, preventing you from seeing what is, or always has been, right in front of you. George Carlin once quipped, “some people see the glass half full. Others… Read More »Seeing the Unseen

Four. Three. Two.

Do you want to be an influencer? If the answer is yes, remember this: The content of your speech matters more than the number of words that come out of your mouth. And…less is more. Merriam-Webster defines an “influencer” as “a person who inspires or… Read More »Four. Three. Two.

Pigs In A Blanket

Do you feel like you’re pushing the same damn huge rock up a hill every single day?  (Only to have it roll back to the bottom while you’re not looking… and occasionally it rolls right over you and crushes you?) Well, you’re not alone.  In… Read More »Pigs In A Blanket

Piles Of You Know What

We all have piles… Piles of bills…Piles of obligations…Piles of yard work…Piles of stress…Piles of homework…Piles of anxiety…Piles of sh**… well you get the idea… In normal times, it’s hard enough to deal with all those piles.  But right now…it’s even harder.  I had the… Read More »Piles Of You Know What

I Hear Voices

He died 5 weeks before race day. But I needed him that morning. I needed his encouragement. I needed his care. In the predawn darkness, I listened to my dad’s voice… to the voice message he’d left me just before I’d run the Boston Marathon… Read More »I Hear Voices