Source: Lessons from a Sushi Samurai

I remember as a kid selling everything. Bubble Gum and Gummy Bears. Lemonade stands and football cards my entrepreneurial spirit has been running for a long time. It’s awesome to see it carrying on. AJ tuffy is selling lemonade and brownies today with her friend. But something else happened today. I learned a lesson. AGAIN. Here has been our conversation for the last few days as this sale was being planned. A little back story 

They rode their bikes up to the dollar general to buy supplies. $18.ish.  

They made signs 

Baked brownies

Made lemonade and sweet tea 

Picked out the spot 

The day 

They would have samples and sell big cups. 

So here goes the Mattdad being protective and wanting them to be successful. Gives them Advice. Something I do a little too freely. 

D-It’s gonna be hot

Aj- we have a tent 

D-you are not setting up in a spot that has much traffic

Aj-there will be walkers and bikers and cars that come by 

D-

Aj-

D-

Aj-

Back and forth until I realized this. 

She is not being stubborn or strong willed. She is being a leader. She is being a entrepreneur and I adore her for that. I am sorry I said you were stubborn……because I really like that trait in you.  It is an awesome quality. 

So today I may think that this is not going to be super successful. But I will be wrong. And life will have taught me another lesson. 

Let your kids grow. Let them chase dreams and let them fall sometimes. Just help them to fall forward.  

So y’all come on out and buy some lemonade and brownies. In between cahoon and las gaviotis. Off of country club boulevard.  

And teach this old man another lesson.  And make a difference in a little girls day. 

Thanks for reading. ​

​

The Fire it is in me. 
I like to watch things burn. Not burn in a harmful or painful way. But in a passionate way. To watch the flames lick a marshmallow on a stick in the hands of a kid that can’t stop smiling and giggling as it catches fire…..in a bad way that is still good. I like fires in a fireplace on a cold evening, or a fire in a fire pit where we talk and stare. Trying to avoid the smoke that follows us around. Smoke signals inviting others to join in like my ancestors did years ago. I like to grill, over wood, and charcoal and even gas. I like the sounds of crickets and fat dripping onto the coals. I like the smell of fires, the sounds of crackling wood, the char only extreme heat can create as it caramelizes the sugars from the sweet marinade. Fire is exciting. No one wants to watch a pot of boiling water try to boil..cuz I have heard if you watch it, it won’t boil. Some of us won’t admit it but We like to watch passion burn. And cooking over fire is passionate. Think about this. Have you ever cooked a meal, that you worked really hard to prepare. I mean, thought about it days before. Wrote down notes, and looked at recipes, a meal that was important to you and your guests, your family, your friends. When the time came you cooked that meal with excitement and anxiousness double and triple checking recipes, and tasting and as it cooked you enjoyed the smells of food and laughter of your guests. Knowing that what you were creating was joy, and that should be our ultimate goal. To bring joy. As your loved ones sit around the table en”joy”ing that which you created. That is passion. That is love. That is what cooking over an open fire means to me. So when you get a chance cook with fire on fire with desire that only passion can bring……that is the secret ingredient. Please don’t just exist don’t just cook. Don’t just settle take chances and play with fire. And yes sometimes we will get burnt but we will all feel passion and that tastes incredible. Like that graham cracker stuffed with chocolate and creamy gooeyness that we as a kid enjoyed cooking before we let life teach us just to boil water. Get back to the burn.  
Cook like a Rock Star. It starts with passion. So let that burn.  

I like the idea of the moon chasing the sun. I have been thinking about this lately. I used to think they were opposites. Dark-light, Hot-Cold, Easy to look at- hurts your eyes. She is smooth as she rises taking me to bed where I dream-he is forcing me out of bed and off to work. But then I think they aren’t opposites they are twin flames the ebb and the flow. The pumping in and out. The stroking up and down. She is a reflection of him….she is sometimes cold and waits for him to warm her up. She is darkness and only sees black and white until he fills the sky with colors. He protects her and sets the stage for her appearance. She allows me to sleep so I can be rested to make a difference.