Happy Throwback Thursday to Barry and Jo Ann Smith

Happy Throwback Thursday to my parents in 1967

Good evening friends.

Happy Throwback Thursday to my parents on their wedding night in 1967 in Great Neck, New York at a place called; “Leonard’s”

Jo Ann was 23 years old here, and Barry was about 29 or 30 years old in this picture. A snapshot of moment in time.  Its interesting to see a picture like this from 1967 when you weren’t even born yet, and then looking back on it 4 decades later in your 40’s.

I didn’t agree with Barry on a lot of the things and didn’t have much in common with him. But as time marches on, a lot of what he said has played out as he said it would.  My father had no feelings about animals. He was not cruel to them, don’t get me wrong.  But he had no connection with them at all in his life. I never understood that nor identified with it.

He was the type of man that would go to the beach and sprint into the ocean. I never like to get sand or seaweed on my body and preferred to sit by the pool.  He liked to travel and see things, I never enjoyed any of that, none of it. I always preferred to be home.

I think if I ran into him today, I would say; “Do you want to catch a movie?”  He would say; “Not really, do you want to go to a ballgame?”  — I would say; “Not at all”  — And we would shake hands and that would be all.

Barry also went on to have 6 kids, I think that was crazy. We really had very little in common. But as I said, I do respect a lot of his opinions that over time have proved to be correct.

Rest in Peace Barry Smith.

With that. Happy Throwback Thursday to a snapshot of a moment in time.

Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

ELS was built one step at a time

Rocky one step at a time

Good evening friends.

Thank you for stopping by. Its always a privilege to connect with so many animal lovers all over the world.

In the spirit of Poppy and Rocky Tuesday, I would like to share a story that I hope inspires some people. Recently some friends asked me where i come up with all these stories and audios and what not that I share.

I had explained to them that I write what I’m feeling and thinking at that moment. When you think of it in those terms, you never run out of things to say. Just like none of us run out of things to think.  A message transcends through sincerity.  If you’re real, you never have to remember anything, you just be.

Years ago when we started over I was already exhausted. I said to myself, “Remember, 90 percent of success is just showing up”.  So I just put one foot in front of the other, day in and day out. And now I can look back and see all the tracks we laid to down to get here.  It really was one day at a time. Each day was just another track, and yet miles and miles of tracks have been laid down now.

If someone told me years ago that ELS was going to be a ginormous happy family, I would have said how ? And the experienced person would have said, “One step at a time”

So that is what I want to share with everyone tonight. With one step at a time, over time, you can move mountains and make miracles happen.

ELS is a mountain that was built with one rock at a time. There was nothing fancy about it. As I was taught by from very smart people, we suit up and show up.

See you tomorrow friends.  Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Pakistan Easter Sunday Park bombing

Pakistan Easter Park bombing

Good evening friends.

By now I’m sure we’ve all heard of the “Easter” park bombing in Lahore, Pakistan.  Over 70 people have been killed and 300 injured. The casualty numbers are likely to go up as some of the injured are in critical condition.

A faction of the Taliban militant faction  credit for the attack. The intention of the attack was to kill Christians inside of Holy week and on Easter itself.

The park in Lahore Pakistan is know to be a scenic and placid park. After yesterday, its hard to believe this park will ever known for that again.

Christians have been been pounding the drum to the government to do more to protect them. They feel the government is quick to dish our thoughts and prayers, but not real steps in preventive measures.

Friends this was a total massacre. No two ways about it. I am leaving it out the graphics of what i read today, an absolute nightmare.

This is a global problem.  It lives everywhere now. Pakistan, Brussels, Paris, Iraq, Syria, California, New York, and everywhere.

Sammy & Family prays for all the victims and their families from this cowardly Easter massacre. And that goes for all victims and their families in countries that mainstream media is not even reporting.

No lives will go in Vain. No Pain will go unnoticed. Amen. Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Easter Evening and Animal Welfare

Easter evening and Animal Welfare

Good evening friends.

Thank you for stopping by. We hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend. Sammy boy came to say to goodnight.

Sammy hangs his head with humility this evening. He knows that too many animals don’t have a warm and safe place to sleep. Many years ago I told him about the plight of the animals and that it was Not all Rose Gardens for them.

As a result of those conversations we used to have, Sammy is very conscientious and in tuned with Animal Welfare issues.

A lot of life can be just random luck. Take Rocky for example, I decided to take Sammy, Henry and Patrick for a walk, and next think I know this stray dog just decided to walk with us. When we stopped, he stopped, when we walked, he walked.

How many animals get that lucky ? The answer is not enough of them.  Nobody can change everything, but everyone can change something.

In the lyrics of the late great Micheal Jackson in 1988; ♫♫♫ Make that change ♫♫♫

No lives will go in vain. No pain will go unnoticed. Amen. Dr. Harp Seal.

The Glass is Half Full versus The Glass is half empty

The Glass is half full versus the glass is half empty

Good morning friends. Dr. Harp Seal here.

We have a fun one for you this morning. We all the know principals behind the slogan; “The Glass is half full or “The Glass is half Empty”  — Lets take a closer look at each one.

You see, technically speaking, The Glass is half full and half empty. So lets look at each one so we can see the divergence that is created by choosing one over the other.

OK, lets consider an upbeat person who has a half glass of water.  He will say to himself, “I am really going to enjoy whats left of this glass.”  — So he drinks the glass of water and is thoroughly satisfied.

Now lets consider more of a downer kind of person.  He also has a half glass of water. but this gentleman says to himself; “I wish I had a full glass of water. I wonder where i can get some more water”  — In conclusion, when Mr. Downer drinks his half glass of water, he does Not enjoy any of it and is left completely unsatisfied still looking for more water.

This is a great illustration about how positive thinking really does make our lives better. Its not just an old wives tale. Positive thinking is a real tool that is applicable to all of us. We all get to use it and benefit from it.

With that friends. Have a wonderful Monday. We’ll see you tonight.

Easter Parade in NYC 2016

Easter Parade in NYC, 2016

Good morning friends.

Today we take back to NYC for their Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet festival. The festivities take place on Fifth Avenue from 49th to 57th Street. It stars at 10am and run until around 4pm.

The Easter Parade is a lot less organized than other parades in New York City. People just wander the streets observing all the Easter Bonnets and outfits. News Yorkers take their bonnets pretty seriously.

The Parade has been a tradition in NYC for over 100 years, dated all the way back to the 1880’s. Its a NYC staple.

If you would like to attend Mass, here is the schedule for St. Patricks Cathedral on Fifth Avenue and 49th street; 10:15 a.m; 12 Noon, 1:00, 4:00, and 5:30 p.m.  So of the masses do require tickets, so just a little heads up there.

Easter is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

See you tonight friends.  Enjoy this Easter Sunday.

Poppy Rocky Tuesday on March 22nd, 2016

 

Poppy Rocky Tuesday on March 22nd, 2016

Good morning friends.

Happy Poppy Rocky Tuesday. A day filled with Hope and Possibilities. Remember, if the Pops and Rocky can make it, anyone can.

Hope and faith can go a long way in this life. When your head is hung low, think of their story to give you a boost. The odds of Poppy and Rocky both having a great life, were next to zero. But those odds pulled through.

Anything can happen on any given day. Let’s stay hopeful, faithful and focused. Miracles are taking place everyday. Everyone is eligible to be graced with a a miracle.

Day 435 here in Puerto Rico. Day 125 since we rescued Rocky. See you tonight friends, Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Palm Sunday evening in 2016.

Palm Sunday evening, 2016

Good evening friends.

Thank you for stopping by.  We hope everyone enjoyed Palm Sunday today.  Palm Sunday is the final day of lent and falls on the Sunday before Easter. I believe this kicks off the Holy Week.

Let me take a moment to bring things back from the perspective of Animals. I have seen some videos of late where baby chickens are thrown in buckets, and then colored dye is poured all over them. That is animal abuse, plain and simple.

Nobody should partake in this activity.  Colored candy is one thing, but for Christ Sake (pun intended), this is a total disregard for innocent life.

OK, thank you for hearing me out on that. Day 433 here in Puerto Rico. It was 99 degrees today. If you parked your car and had to walk only 15 feet to a store, you got very tan. I never thought I would want an umbrella for the sun, but I sure envied those people today. Oh, and speaking of umbrellas in the sun, let me apologize to all those people I used to make under my breath comments about using umbrellas in the sun.  Look who is the horses batoot now, lol.

We will see you tomorrow morning friends. Dr. Harp Seal for Sammy & Family.

Tonight we pay tribute to Lola

Tonight we pay tribute to Lola

Good evening friends.

Tonight we pay tribute to fallen angel named Lola. She had been suffering with cancer for a while now and it was time to relieve Lola of her pain. She crossed the rainbow bridge earlier today.

Lola was 12 year old Yorkie. She was a member of Eileen Seija and family. Lola joined her little mate Sassy who crossed the bridge a few months ago in January.

We originally heard about Lola from our very great friend Cindy Volz. Lola used to play with Cindy’s two Pomeranian’s; Spunky and Honey Bunny.

Sammy & Family wants to thank Eileen for showing Lola a great life for 12 years. There is no greater honor than to ease a pet’s suffering after giving them a life of love. Many a times, saying goodbye is the last loving move left to make. What choice do we have ?  When you love a pet like the way us animal lovers do, how can we not show them mercy when they need it most ?

The world is a better place because Lola was in it. Heaven just gained a new angel free of pain and free to run with other loved ones.

Thank you Eileen for making the world a better place, one animal at a time. Millions of animals around the world never get the love and care that Lola got. Everyone one of us that sees an animal from the beginning of their lives, until the end, has participated in a miracle.

Lola is gone but never will be forgotten. Rest in peace Lola. You suffer no more.

No lives will go in vain. No pain will go unnoticed. Amen. Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Returning to the Basics

Returning to Basics

Good evening friends.

Day 430 here in Puerto Rico.  We hope everyone had a very nice St. Patrick’s Day. Today was a really good day. My family and I have a lot of ELS and personal projects going on right now.

It was one of those mornings were I woke up and said to myself, “How am I going to get all this done?” — That is when I hit the reset button and returned to basics. If I don’t do that, I bite off more than I can chew and usually fumble everything. Took me 30 years to learn that lesson too.

Now because I reset my self right from the jump today, I had a productive day.  If you’re wondering how to reset to basics, it goes something like this; First we take deep breaths. We prioritize the most important things we need to get done versus the things that are less imminent. Then we focus on getting that first thing done until we march onto the second task at hand. We will all be surprised at how much can be accomplished in one month when we return to the basics. One foot in front of the other.

I’m not interested in the race in my head. I’m interested in the results of my footsteps, one step at a time. When we hear the word “basic,” we kind of think of it like the word; “beginner” or something. On the contrary, the basics is where it always begins from. Without that, we can’t lay the foundation for the more complex circumstances that life throws at us.

Take Sylvester Stallone for example. About a year ago he turned is life over to Jesus Christ. When asked what his reason and timing of his announcement.  He said; “I have to return to the basics. Anytime I lose sight of the basics, It becomes easy to lose sight of what’s important.

Food for thought.  Sincerely, Dr. Harp Seal for Sammy & Family.