I’m so old I remember a world before cell phones. A world where, if you were away from home and needed to make a call, you used an ancient invention called the “pay phone.” I’m so old that when I was a kid I used to check the coin return on pay phones as I passed by, hoping I might find a forgotten dime.

My dad spoke in my ear Sunday while I was in church. In one sense this is not an unusual occurrence. Dad had a tremendous positive influence on me. I say “had” because Dad passed away several years ago. Still, his voice is in the ear of my mind, giving advice, asking questions, reminding me of funny or wise sayings.

Jim Priest is CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma and can be reached at jpriest@okgoodwill.org. In a few weeks baseball’s Spring Training is supposed to start.

It was a warm soft summer night in 1947 and I was walking home. I saw 5 of my peers sitting in front of the Main Café. Just sitting there. Their feet somewhat appropriately in the gutter. I detoured and joined them. I noticed one thing different though. There was a brand-new Cadillac parked right in front of the café. The conversation was, uh, well I don’t remember except we talked about the new car. New cars weren’t common in 1947 — right after the war — but there sat this one. Its door swung open and the driver came over and stood in front of our group of 12 and 13 year old boys. Most of us had taken up smoking cigarettes. And some of us were smoking. Or trying to.

I’m not very good with numbers. That’s why I went to law school. They told me there wouldn’t be any math. But accountants know about numbers and when my accountant, Mike Bell, talks numbers, I listen carefully.

Sometimes you just can’t win. I remember long ago when I was in the Navy. We had just completed a port call in Yokosuka, Japan. Its duration was two weeks but the first day we pulled out I saw this real long line of sailors on the hanger deck. I learned that the USS Lexington crew (1,100 of them) was the worse infected crew in the 7 fleet. That long line of sailors were waiting for medical attention for their recently caught VD. I went up to my workstation and learned all about it. Not any of my guys were infected. In fact, it was all on the deck divisions and some of our so called “air dales” who had gone ashore and partaken of the shore delights they should have avoided.

The time for New Year’s Resolutions is past, but it is never too late to share some thoughts about how to improve the quality of our lives, no matter which birthday we have or will celebrate. I can’t even keep up with what I am supposed to do TODAY, much less maintain order for an entire year.

My wife and I recently watched a documentary about the British royal family in the years just before World War II. The Duke of Windsor had been made King but then abdicated his throne because he wanted to marry an American divorcee named Wallis Simpson. His younger brother, Bertie, was then crowned King George and shortly thereafter Britain was plunged into war with Nazi Germany.

When Will It End? For the past two years this has been the question. Will this covid thing ever end? We can look back to the 1940s and 50s for guidance.

While out walking around enjoying the crisp fall weather one evening, we decided to go to a local coffee shop for a hot drink. Renie found an empty table while Andy ordered for both of us. He is very aware that she has a definite issue with caffeine, it can cause a lot of grief. So he dutifully asked for a hot, decaf cappuccino. He actually asked the young man if it would have any caffeine in it and was assured there was none.