Reflections on 50 years of life

STEVE SMITH

No civic issues here today. This is a pause to offer a message to

teachers, parents, business people and others who may take for

granted their influence in the lives of others.

Tomorrow, I am 50 years old.

I have wanted to write a column for a newspaper since I was nine

years old -- it is one of the goals I have had for my life. Writing

for the Daily Pilot is an honor and a responsibility I take

seriously. If you read this column regularly, it is in large part

because some exceptional editors at the Daily Pilot make it better

once it is filed.

So to Tom Johnson, Tony Dodero, S.J. Cahn, Carol Chambers, and all

of the past editors and staff who have guided me, including former

editor Bill Lobdell, thank you very much for this opportunity, your

confidence and your trust.

My other career in marketing is also a source of great joy. I am

blessed to be working with a very talented group of dedicated people

every day, and I thank Curtis Pickelle, Susan Manson, Rik McDonald,

Karol Nesdale, Tina Harris, Janina Barela, Nancy Schutte, John

Decker, Paul Trudel, Jeri Hoag, Joel Ellis and Jeff Mancino for their

hard work and spirit.

Whatever I am is the result of decisions I have made -- some good,

some bad. I take full responsibility for the bad decisions, and I

credit the good ones to the influence of a great number of people,

some of whom would be shocked to learn that I still remember them

after decades of separation. Teachers, please pay close attention

here.

Mervin McLeod was my sixth-grade teacher at Laurel Elementary

School in Los Angeles. I was a 12-year-old from a chaotic home, and

he was the first adult male with whom I had regular contact who

conducted himself the way a man should.

The other teacher was Yvonne (Lefkowitz) Schwartz who taught at

Farifax High School in Los Angeles. Schwartz was the first and only

teacher to recognize my writing ability, such as it is. Her advice to

me on the last day of school is as clear as the day it was spoken.

She said, “You should be a writer.”

So, teachers, always remember, please, that you have the ability

to influence and inspire far beyond your classroom and in ways you

may never know.

Despite the chaos and turbulence that were frequent visitors to

our home as I was growing up, my parents, Homer and Roslyn Smith,

helped me understand that most of what people find important and most

of what they get upset about is not worth spending an ounce of energy

on.

The calm that I found in a home came at age 16 when I met Dr. and

Mrs. Jerome Harold Kay and their daughter, Karen. I have written

about them several times over the years, a testament to their

influence and the support they gave me. To the Kays, particularly my

dear friend Karen, words cannot convey the gratitude I feel.

I worked for Len Pritikin for five years in my first real job

after college. Len was the smartest businessman I have ever met and

may ever meet. When it came time for me to start my own business in

1993, I ran it the way I thought Len would run it.

That business ran successfully for five years until I changed

careers at age 43. That change was inspired and facilitated by Laura

Schlessinger, whose radio talk show and books have guided countless

parents to spend more time with their kids. This parent is among

them.

Mine has been a very full 50 years. But it would have little or no

meaning without my wife and two children. I realize now that meeting

and marrying Cay and starting our family was the real beginning of my

life. To Cay, Kaitlyn and Roy, I owe my happiness, my inspiration and

more gratitude than I could ever express. Being with them is the

fulfillment of another goal in my life.

There are others. Mike Thomas, Pete Thomas, Scott Thomas, Greg

Witmer, Cheryl and Nils-Eric Svensson, Hilary and Steve Barth, Nancy

and Lewis Hines, Dana Hines, Kellie Pendergest, Charlotte and Bud

West, Linda and John West, Catherine West, Kathy and Dave Miller, Nan

and Michael Smith, Brad Harris, Nate Adlen, Fred Szkolnik, Larry

Gold, Mark Berman, Terry Ickowicz, Lynda McGill, Rick McGill, Jackie

and Bob McGill, Linda and Jeff Schulein have all meant so much to me

over the years. I only hope that I have given as good as I’ve gotten.

And somewhere out there is Roy Redlich, my first best friend.

I’m not sorry to see 49 go. I had two serious injuries that

prevented me from fully participating in sports for seven of the past

12 months.

Fifty brings with it some new goals. I’ve got a couple of kids to

finish raising and another book to write. And most of all, I am

determined to discover the graveyard of all of the missing socks from

the world’s clothes dryers.

Fifty more years oughta do it.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to onthetown2005@aol.com.