Get involved. We hear those two words quite often, but we don’t often do them. There’s a reason why we don’t get involved: It requires extra work.

I made a decision early on in my career that being involved in the communities we serve was going to be an integral part of our operations plan. It is now part of our company culture.

As a media company, we are in the communications business. With that in mind, all of us in the industry should be leaders in communicating with our customers — not only our advertisers but our readers, viewers and listeners, too. Communicating through our own media channels isn’t enough today. Unfortunately, most residents today can’t name the publisher or editor of their local newspaper, or the manager of the local TV or radio stations. I didn’t want to be that person, so I made a concentrated effort to get involved in dozens of community groups. I believe this was an integral part of our company’s early success. I also quickly learned that I can’t do it all myself, so I made community involvement part of our employee job descriptions. I tell everyone who interviews with us that if they don’t want to be involved in the communities we serve, then this is not the job for them. 

Many years ago, when I was the publisher of a newspaper in Boone, my friend Chris Moffitt suggested I join the Kiwanis Club. So, I did, and it was one of the better decisions I made there. Chris sold me on the importance of being involved locally and explained how it was a vital part of his business operations. He also pointed out that his competitor down the street didn’t get involved in any community organizations, and that he seemed to be doing just fine. That was a great and humble point. None of us have all the answers, but we all should do what we think is right, what fits our own plans, and what we can realistically commit to. 

Meanwhile, it is important to note that there is a difference between being involved and being committed, whether that be in work or personal relationships. Former tennis star Martina Navratilova may have defined it best when she said, “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.”

Which one are you?

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

With our three daughters out of the house now, Jolene and I are adjusting to the world of empty nesting. As many of you told us, life is different. Certainly, there are the big changes like a quieter house and a lower water bill, but I have noticed a few smaller ones, too. 

This morning, I took a bag of garbage out to the trash container. When the kids were home, this seemed to be a daily occurrence. The other option was to come home and find that the dog decided to play hide and seek with the trash around the house. So I learned. But when I took the bag of garbage out this morning, I noticed only one other bag in the container. Two small bags of garbage. For an entire week. Amazing. 

I often wondered how some people could only produce such a small amount of trash. Now I get it. Not only is the nest empty; the garbage can is, too. 

With the available technology today, I wonder how far off we are from paying for garbage by the pound. The trucks could weigh each home’s containers and subtract the tare weight, then charge a by-the-pound fee.

Of course, I like this pay-by-the-pound idea at this stage of my life. I likely would not have agreed with it a few years ago when I had to stand on the lid to force all our garbage to fit in it. 

Either way, the one thing we can most all likely agree on is that less trash is a good thing. 

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

Early in 1971, at a time when our country had endured much pain, John Lennon wrote the words to the best-selling single of his solo career, “Imagine.” The lyrics he penned encouraged listeners to imagine a world without many things, including religion. I can’t imagine.

I know I need to do a lot better in many aspects of my life, and my faith helps me to realize this and pray for improvement — and I need to improve. Praying helps me recognize this. I realize this may not be the solution for everyone, and that’s why freedom of religion is an integral part of the First Amendment to our Constitution. None of us can be certain what each of the founding fathers had in mind when creating this language, but I am glad they did. 

Some scoff at the amount of time and money that people spend worshipping any god or partaking in any religion. They are correct in that it is a lot of time and money. But if that time and money make me a better person by trying to do things to improve relations with my friends, in my family and for my community, then isn’t it worth it? And if it turns out that there is no God, then what am I really out? But if I am right — and God and heaven and hell do all exist — then I truly sympathize for those who opt to not believe. In the end, it’s a choice we all have to make. And, as with all decisions, there will be consequences.

Meanwhile, I have known people who claimed to not believe in God or join in any religion change their tune when death knocked at their door. Better late than never. 

Lennon was correct that religion is a problem when it is the basis for unnecessary war, death, famine or suffering. But if you believe in judgement day, as I do, then you have faith that our maker’s ultimate decisions will be swift and just for those responsible. 

Imagine that.

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

What do you dream about? Not your goals or visions or plans. I mean, what do you literally dream about while sleeping? Well, if you are in the 95% of us who forget our dreams, you simply don’t recall. Seeing how most of us have four to six dreams that last up to 20 minutes each, that’s a lot of dreaming to forget. 

Do you sleepwalk? My brother Steve did when we were kids. I thought it was funny. He didn’t laugh. About 15% of people do sleepwalk, and it can be a dangerous habit, especially when it involves grooming oneself, cooking food, or driving a car.

Do you dream about falling? More than half of Americans do, making this the most common recurring dream. It’s followed by being chased, being back in school, or being naked in public — or in my case, all three at once. These kinds of dreams are likely brought on by stress. 

Does everyone dream? The vast majority of us do, and even blind people can have visual dreams. If you are a pet owner, you likely know that animals dream, too. 

Do we dream in color? Most people do (in pastel colors, to be specific), but about 12% dream in black and white. Either way, the visual aspect is the primary sense. People rarely use their smell or taste senses in dreams.

Did you know that we can only dream about people we’ve seen before? Whether we know them well or just met them briefly, the people in our dreams are all people we have seen prior.

Do you have nightmares? Up to 85% of adults do, at least occasionally. Nightmares are common for children ages 3-6, but the serious ones usually diminish with age. As a child, I would dream that Santa Claus was chasing me down to kill me. I hid under my lower bunk bed in each dream and would wake up in a sweat when he would reach for me. Merry Christmas.

And finally, how about recurring dreams like being late, failing an exam, being attacked, or losing control of a car? I often dream that I am driving a car too fast with hopes I can ramp over open water and land on ground. When it becomes apparent that I can’t, I usually wake up. Recurring dreams occur when people have to deal with unresolved conflicts in their lives. Hmmm.

Want to learn more about dreams? Check out the research behind these statistics and much more at disturbmenot.co/dreams-facts.

Thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

I am not a good hugger, but I am working on it.

I didn’t realize I was a lousy hugger until my friend Terri told me, “You are a lousy hugger.” I was slightly insulted. Wouldn’t you be? So I asked her, “What makes a good hug?” She replied, “Well, you could start by skipping that little pat on the back. And use both hands when you give a hug.”

Some of you are likely thinking the same thing I was when my friend told me this. A few generations of us have been taught to respect the space of others and to avoid anything that could be construed as an unwanted sexual advance — and for good reason. 

Quite frankly, I didn’t grow up in a family that hugged or kissed or said, “I love you,” so I didn’t know that those things were right or wrong. They just didn’t happen. When my parents divorced, that changed my father — and his view on hugs. 

Dad told me that after the divorce, he had to decide if he was going to be angry the rest of his life or do everything he could to love his family. He opted for the latter, and part of that approach was a lot of heart-warming hugs for me every time I saw him. 

I remember being on a visit home from college when my friend Mike and I had dinner with my father. When we were ready to leave, Dad walked over and gave me the customary hug. And then he quickly marched over to my friend Mike and gave him a big hug, too. I was embarrassed, but I ignored it and proceeded out the door to my vehicle. When Mike got in the car, I noticed he had a big smile on his face. He then looked at me and exclaimed, “Your dad is a peach!” He explained to me how his father never hugged him. I then realized how lucky I was, and how impactful a well-meaning and caring hug can be. 

With all this in mind, I try to hug my family members every time I see them. I am sure I embarrass my kids sometimes, but that’s OK. Someday, they may truly appreciate this. In the meantime, I am also being a bit selfish. Because as novelist Diana Rowland said, “The good thing about hugs is that when you give one, you get one. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115

Communication. It’s a simple word with a simple meaning. So how did it get so complicated?

For the most part, our society existed for a long time with two very basic forms of communication: verbal and written. 

If people wanted other people to know something, they told them. Or if they weren’t able to communicate something verbally, they wrote it down where others could see it or mail it. Done. 

The invention of the telephone seemingly improved this, allowing for faster communication.  The fax machine then provided an electronic transfer of the written word. Even more time was saved. Email simplified the process more, especially with business communication. 

Then along came cell phones. And although those who used them excessively were annoying at first, we got used to being accessible all the time. But did communication improve? Hmmm.

We started texting. It was a bit clunky at first, but we could avoid those potentially lengthy phone calls and communicate quickly with a group of people. Surely, this helped us communicate better, right? 

Not well enough, apparently. We evidently needed a way to broadcast our breakfast selections and cat photos to the masses, so social media came along. 

But these forms of verbal and written communication were not enough. We needed video to better communicate. Skype, FaceTime and Zoom calls surely made our communication streams better, right?

Through all these “improvements,” we seem to have more trouble communicating effectively today than we ever have. Some say it’s because we have too much going on in our lives now and can’t juggle it all. Others say our attention spans have diminished. And many of us claim that we just can’t cut through the “noise.”

Well, the solution may be right in front of us. Maybe it’s time to get back to some good, old-fashioned, face-to-face communication. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. 

Thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115