TWO CHOICES

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant.  He is always in a good mood.

When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply:  “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant.

Why?

Because Jerry was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it!  No one can be a positive person all of the time.  How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today.  I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood.  I always choose to be in a good mood.  Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be victim or I can choose to learn from it.  Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.  I always choose the positive side of life.”

“But it’s not always that easy,” I protested.

“Yes, it is,” Jerry said.  “Life is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.  You choose how you react to situations.  You choose how people will affect your mood.  You choose to be in a good mood, or a bad mood.  It’s your choice how you live your life.”

Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in any business.

He left the back door of his restaurant open and he was robbed by three armed men.  While Jerry was trying to open the safe box for the robbers his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.

The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.  After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins.  Want to see my scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied.  “Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices:  I could choose to live or I could choose to die.  I chose to live.”

“Weren’t you scared?”  I asked.

Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great.  They kept telling me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.  In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’  I knew I had to take action.”

“What did you do?”  I asked.

“Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry.  “She asked if I was allergic to anything.”

“Yes, bullets,”  I replied.

“Over their laughter,”  I told them,  “I am choosing to live.  Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.

I learned from that – every day you have the choice to either enjoy life, or to hate it.

The only thing that is truly yours – that no one can control or take from you – is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.

~ author unattributed
courtesy and with permission poeticexpressions.co.uk
Thanks Mike and the Team!

HIPPIE CHICK SALAD RECIPE

We served this at Hippie Cowboy and by far it was the most popular item on our menu – whether it be in a salad or as a sandwich or by the quart people ordered and took home.  I cannot even begin to guess how many gallons and gallons and gallons we made of this salad every week.  All I know is it was *a lot* and it seemed like every time I turned around we were almost out and on ninja-task-mode making more so we didn’t run out.  I don’t recall where I came across this recipe — but I sure am glad I did and you will be, too.

HERE’S HOW WE MAKE IT:

• DRESSING
  1 cup good quality mayonnaise
  1 TBSP + 1/4 tsp cider vinegar
  2 TBSP honey
  2 tsp poppy seeds
  salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare dressing in a medium size bowl by whisking together all ingredients.  Cover and place in the refrigerator until it’s time to mix it in with the “salad”.

• SALAD
  2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted
  2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
  2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Prepare salad by preheating the oven to 375*.

Place the chicken breasts in one layer on a baking sheet with 3/4 cup water.  Cover with foil and bake the chicken breasts for about 30 minutes, until cooked completely through.

Remove chicken breasts from oven and remove foil — let cool to room temperature.  When cooled to room temp, take breasts, one by one to a cutting board and dice into bite-size pieces and transfer to a large bowl.

Combine diced chicken pieces with toasted pecans, halved red grapes, celery and dressing.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving on a bed of field greens + fresh baguette slices or sandwich style between 2 slices of thinly sliced, fresh bread accompanied by chips and/or fresh fruit.

~ Hippie Cowboy recipe box