Will You Make a Difference?

Another Never Give Up Post!

(I can't believe how embarrassing this is because it reflects on the fact that I'm, well...not a spring chicken...or as young people might say, 'old'. Adding insult to my own injuries, it is also apparent that I'm not much of a graphic artist, because I wanted to make notations on this old newspaper page but can't figure out how to size it for my blog. The notations point out the date, my picture and a picture of the restaurant owner. The writing circled in red is similar to what I have written under the photo.)

Imagine my surprise when I walked into a restaurant recently and tasted something distinct and familiar. The intoxicating scent of garlic and Italian food transported me back to my days as a newspaper restaurant columnist for a local paper near the beach. Even more surprising was the name on the back of the menu--could it be the same owner I met in 1987? Yes, you read that right. 1987.That's a long time for the wheels of fortune to return a favor. Here's a portion of my column and the picture of the young man who opened his restaurant with his cousin. When I spoke with him last week he told me he remembered my newspaper and even remembered the article I wrote about his restaurant! How cool is that? Though his secret is obviously delicious food and great service, in some small way my feeling is I had helped with his long-term success. Heck, here he is 30 years later in a brand new restaurant, over 100 miles from the first one, serving his grandmother's recipes as if time stood still. Perhaps I was the lucky one for seeing his success. Back in 1987, writing my column paid for a small studio apartment,(and to tell you the truth, that's probably all I cared about at the time) but meeting this gentleman while enjoying pesto drenched pasta was, and is, even more rewarding.

Where will you be thirty years from now? Will someone remember your work?
 Put your heart into it and the magic will happen!