thomas craig blog: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - 05/20/14 01:16 AM
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
I saw this article the other day, and I thought it was worth sharing.
A young couple, head over heels in medical debt, recently had their wedding paid for by Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Monica and her fiancé, Leroy, have been struggling with extremely bad luck since 2009. They had battled through several miscarriages, a still-born birth…and just recently, stage 4 ovarian cancer; which had spread. Monica has undergone emergency surgery and 18…yes, count ‘em 18 rounds of chemotherapy. Radiation treatment is next on this couple’s … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: The Plight of the Lost and Forgotten - 05/15/14 01:32 AM
The Plight of the Lost and Forgotten
In a blog I wrote the other day entitled, Seeing the Invisible; I chronicled my experience of encountering a homeless young man. That was Monday night when it happened…and today is Thursday, and I am still troubled by it.
The imagines keep rolling around in my head. I see that lost young man sitting in that McDonald’s booth blankly starring out the window. I see him sipping that free cup of water, pretending that it would satisfy him; as others ate their dinner.
But, what sticks with me the most was the interaction…or better … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: Seeing the Invisible - 05/13/14 01:01 AM
Seeing the Invisible
Last night something happened to me that stayed with me long after the event. In fact, I woke up in the middle of the night and was unable to fall back asleep. I know no other way to try and figure out in my head why I was touched so much than to write about it. Writing is therapeutic for me; maybe at the end of this, I will come to understand God’s plan for me last night.
I was driving back and forth between two cities here in Ohio located about a half hour apart from each … (6 comments)

thomas craig blog: Learning From Our Mistakes - 04/24/14 01:06 AM
 
Learning From Our Mistakes
I have always preached to my children that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your victories. Usually, it only takes one time of burning your hand on a hot stove to learn the hard lesson that you should avoid touching hot things. Perhaps, you have told your children the very same thing.
This week, I was reading an article about billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, and star of the hit television show Shark Tank. Cuban gave the very same advice…that the biggest business lessons he ever … (10 comments)

thomas craig blog: Tax Tips From Al Sharpton - 04/11/14 02:07 AM
This post is a companion piece to my blog from yesterday entitled, You Have Got to be Kidding Me! If yesterday’s post made you mad…you might want strike up your best Zen pose as you read this to get yourself calmed down enough so you won’t suffer a stroke.
As tax time draws near, those of us involved in this business of helping people buy and sell homes; filing our taxes holds a special place in our hearts. Being self-employed as we are, most of us are going to be sitting down to write out a big fat check. You have … (2 comments)

thomas craig blog: You Have Got to be Kidding Me! - 04/10/14 06:34 AM
This would be funny if it wasn’t so outrageous. Congressman Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, thinks that Congress deserves a raise. "I think the American people should know that the members of Congress are underpaid," Representative Moran said.
"I understand that it's widely felt that they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the largest economic entity in the world.", Moran added.
Geez, Jim, do you really think we might hold the opinion that you folks underperform? What would give you that idea? Perhaps that the American people’s approval rating for Congress is in … (9 comments)

thomas craig blog: Working to be Exceptional - 04/07/14 06:06 AM
 

Working to be Exceptional
I have an almost 16-year old grandnephew who is training and competing in the hopes of one day becoming an Olympic skier. He was out in Colorado over the weekend competing against the very best skiers this country has to offer. Last year, Zach and his mother flew to Russia to compete in a youth version of the Winter Olympics.
I must confess…I know absolutely nothing about skiing. I have never been on a pair of skis. I have no desire to ever be on a pair of skis. I have never watched Zach … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: The Grace of Judy Shepard - 03/25/14 11:24 PM
The Grace of Judy Shepard
Judy Shepard suffered the most horrendous loss imaginable…the death of her son. Children are supposed to out-live their parents. That is the natural order of things, and when the unthinkable happens; we need to gather all the strength we can manage to survive such an ordeal. For Judy, the loss was even more devastating since her son, Matthew, was murdered.
Two monsters decided one day that her son deserved to die because he was gay. Back in October 1998, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, as they were leaving a bar in Laramie, Wyoming, offered Matthew a … (0 comments)

thomas craig blog: Why Do Some People Have To Be So Mean? - 03/05/14 03:23 AM
Sunday night millions of viewers tuned in to watch the Oscars, and by evening’s end; the haters were fast at work at their computers spewing filth and vile towards another human being. Who was the topic of conversation? Well, let’s see…we had John Travolta for mispronouncing the name of a singer he was supposed to introduce. We had Matthew McConaughey for daring to thank God for the many blessings he thinks God bestowed upon him.
The subject of the most hatred directed at them was actress, Kim Novak. At 81, she was presenting an award along with Matthew McConaughey. Ms. Novak … (3 comments)

thomas craig blog: Yahoo Headline: National Clown Shortage Has Trade Group Frowning - 02/18/14 06:34 AM
Yahoo Headline:  National Clown Shortage Has Trade Group Frowning
I just saw this headline on Yahoo, and I thought I would die laughing. You can’t make this stuff up. My first reaction was to say to myself, “Has anyone tried the Capital or the White House? Both places are filled to the brim with clowns.”
According to Yahoo, the clown shortage is no laughing matter. “The World Clown Association, the country’s largest trade group for clowns says its membership has dropped from about 3,500 to 2,500 clowns since 2004." The article further stated that the shortage is because young people are … (14 comments)

thomas craig blog: An Angel on Board - 01/14/14 03:37 AM
An Angel on Board
Over the past 5-6 months I have tried to shine a spotlight on those among us who act unselfishly towards another. If I see something that brings a tear to my eye, or warms my heart, I want to pass along the event.
Many times when someone is caught doing something bad; their response is that, “Everyone does it.” Reading the newspapers, it is easy enough to believe that, in fact, EVERYONE is doing it. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here is another story, like the one I shared yesterday. It’s nothing big. It’s nothing … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: Getting Your Meds With Your Pizza - 01/12/14 11:13 PM
The Fundamental Goodness of Americans
I saw the following article on the Internet, and I just had to share it with you.
If we aren’t careful, we can become hardened by all the stuff we see on television and the news. The constant barrage of reporting on the horrible actions of a few, if we are not careful, will completely overshadow the goodness of the vast majority of us…the unsung heroes who get up every day to fight the good fight to provide for the people we love.
Sometimes that fundamental goodness stretches beyond the confines of a person’s home…sometimes it … (8 comments)

thomas craig blog: Do You Sometimes Feel Powerless? - 12/22/13 10:51 PM
Do You Sometimes Feel Powerless?
It’s easy to feel like you are powerless in the world. The world is so big, and there are so many people, and there is a constant barrage of bad news on the 24-hour cable news shows. The Internet is filled with horrible stories of man’s inhumanity towards his fellow man.
You hear and see all this, and you just want to shrivel up in a corner with a blanket over your head. You say to yourself, “What am I supposed to do? I am just one person…how can I make a difference?”
And yet you … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: Life Is All About Perspective - 12/13/13 05:03 AM
My wife and I are faithful viewers of the Dr. Phil Show. We are empty nesters, so we watch it in our kitchen weeknights while we are eating dinner. I find the program really fascinating to watch. My wife and I live in our own little cocoon, as our 4 kids are raised and out of the house. Other than interacting with our friends, who are just as old as us, our children, or the people we meet through work… we do not have our finger on the pulse of modern society anymore. Dr. Phil offers us an opportunity to see … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: The Pope is Time Magazine’s Man of the Year - 12/11/13 10:15 PM
Perhaps there is hope for us yet as a society.
I realize that we are all on our own faith journey, or perhaps we are just trying to be a good person all on our own. While I am Catholic, I am smart enough to know that my path may not be your path…and that is fine, it doesn’t have to be. I find it all-consuming just trying to be a decent human being myself, without trying to sit in judgment of others.
What is interesting with the new Pope is that you don’t have to be a Catholic, or even … (2 comments)

thomas craig blog: It's About Time - 12/03/13 12:55 AM
For the past several weeks, I have been devoting my postings to the subject of time…more importantly, how we spend our time. This story is about Bob Feller, one of my baseball heroes. He played for the Cleveland Indians his entire career, and eventually was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bob Feller grew up on a small farm in Van Meter, Iowa. Back in the 20's and 30's, Bob's father, Bill, set up a makeshift backstop between the house and the barn, and taught his son the game of baseball. It was here that Bob learned his famous … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: I Once Was Blind - 12/01/13 11:59 PM
I Once Was Blind…
The rest of the headline, as many of you know, goes like this; I once was blind, but now I see. It is from John 9:25 in the New Testament. It deals with a blind man, who had been healed by Jesus, and the man is trying to explain to onlookers what happened. Despite one’s faith, there is a message here for everyone. There are all types of blindness in the world.
I’d like to take a few moments to touch on one form of blindness. It is called Perceptual Blindness. Our eyes send a tremendous amount … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - 11/26/13 02:18 AM
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Ah, in just two days it will be Thanksgiving. The glorious aroma of turkey roasting in the oven, a host of  other wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen, wine being poured into our best stemware, and the laughter of family drowning out the Macy’s Day parade on television…yes, these are the things that remind many of us of the joys of Thanksgiving.
My brother-in-law, Kenny, and I have a tradition of our own. As soon as we have eaten, and the dining room has been cleared of way too much food and dirty dishes…we sit down to … (2 comments)

thomas craig blog: What the World Needs Now... - 11/21/13 11:58 PM
What the World Needs Now…
Go ahead and finish it…come on, you know the words…
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of..".
 
This beautifully written song was composed back in 1965 by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David. While the song is almost 50 years old, the lyrics resonate in our hearts because at the end of the day, life really is all about love. Mother Teresa explained our over-whelming need for love this way, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. … (4 comments)

thomas craig blog: How Foolishly We Waste Our Time and Money - 11/19/13 11:31 PM
How Foolishly We Waste Our Time and Money
The other day on the news, the television crews were filming the exploits of a few hearty souls who have already pitched their tents in a Best Buy parking lot; in anticipation of the huge savings they expect to reap on Black Friday. This is no small undertaking here in Ohio, since the days and nights are slipping into below freezing temperatures. If you are planning to spend a week in a parking lot, you need generators, and heaters. You also need someone to spell you a bit while you go to work, … (68 comments)

 
Thomas Craig (KW at the Parks)

Thomas Craig

Orlando, FL

More about me…

KW at the Parks

Address: KW at the Parks, 11 South Bumby Ave., Orlando, FL, 32814

Office: 407-629-4420

Mobile: 407-625-7687



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