I am guessing that Hank, pictured at the beautiful and pristine Payette Lake, will one day want to be paid for the inspiration he provides. Today, his reward is a great marshmallow roasting fire each evening he is in McCall.
The picture was taken by my daughter Katie as Hank stood still–very unusual–and enjoyed the view. What a future young people have when they have a nurturing and supportive family or community network. Hank is fortunate to have the sky as his limit.
In a week filled with so much tragedy it feels like the future and the hope we all must have to go forward is worth considering. We must all work for a world without rapid fire weapons in the hands of unstable or misguided individuals, where a 5 year old child cannot fall 5 stories out of the window of his Boise home without his parent missing him, or where Amber Alert is not a common part of our lives. The country generally rallies together when we are faced with these issues and I am hoping that one day we will find a leader or group of leaders who will put politics aside and find solutions.
I invest a bit of my new found time in work at St. Luke’s and specifically on community and population health in the markets we serve. This is a mandate that we share with St. Alphonsus. This week, I am reminded of this because one of the highest unmet needs in Idaho, and likely in the country, is mental health. We have many people who are struggling with a combination of physical health and financial resources that often creates a tipping point for emotional stability. We must continue to focus on a holistic wellness approach while transitioning to a system that provides education, timely access and affordability. I plan to work actively in the future to expand Medicaid in Idaho–that solution or something like it is critical for timely access.
I could go on about early childhood education today – stay tuned. I will only mention that an under-educated child has a profound impact that will extend for the their entire life to the detriment of the individual, their family, and our community.
Peter Drucker said, “follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” I close with the idea that to drive change you must get involved and likely take personal risk. “Be brave, even if you are not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.”
I am reflecting on my parent’s this week as Father’s day is upon us. I was fortunate to have Ed for a father, he worked long and hard along with Laura to make sure the 5 boys made it through college. Ed would carefully listen to my “rendition of the facts” and his response when he detected less than the full truth—“you can fool everyone but yourself“. Ed also spent a lot of hours teaching me to play golf and accurately keep score – integrity counts.
Hope you have a reflective week end. Mike