Vince Lombardi

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.” - Vince Lombardi

Well, it had to happen sooner or later.  I finally snapped.

To put it bluntly, I was just SICK OF THIS SHIT.  I was sick of dripping in sweat; I was sick of being exhausted; I was sick of not watching TV; I was sick of no White Sox games; I was sick of missing my friends; and I was sick of the disturbing lack of chicken McNuggets and Ricobene's delivery in this place.  It was after a long day, and I felt myself on the verge of freaking out.

So, I called my dad.

Now, my dad has been awesome since we've moved down here.  He is my consigliere, my confidant, and my psychologist.  He knows me better than anyone, and has put up with my shit for 46 years.  I call him from time to time for counsel and to let off steam.  Each time I call him, he listens to me bitch, offers words of wisdom, and concludes each conversation with some form of: "Get back to work."

The other thing to know about my dad is when I was growing up (and probably to this day), my dad had exactly two sources of guidance on how to live, be a good man, and be successful: (1) The King James Bible and (2) Vincent Thomas Lombardi.  So, when I was growing up, I knew that my dad's advice either came from God almighty or Vince Lombardi.  My dad was so skillful in giving his advice that often I didn't know whether it was God or Vince doing the talking.  Either way, I knew that both of these beings were meant to be respected, feared, and ultimately followed.

Most of the time, the advice given was consistent:  "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?" (God).  "If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?” (Vince Lombardi).  “There are three things that are important to every man in this locker room. His God, his family, and the Green Bay Packers. In that order.” (Vince Lombardi).  "Thou shalt hate the Chicago Bears with all thine heart, and with all thine soul, and with all thine mind." (Unsure, but I think God).  Thankfully, God and Vince never gave conflicting advice, but if they did, I'm pretty sure which one my dad would side with. ("Everybody answers to somebody" - Wayne Schwartz).  Also, it's important to remember that Jesus was a long-haired hippie, and Vince Lombardi invented football, was the most winningest coach of all time, and coached the Green Bay Packers to six world championships.

So, when I called my dad, I was looking for some advice from either him, God, or Vince Lombardi.  I call him up, and for about 10 minutes, just bitched.  I bitched about how hard the work is down here; I bitched about how slow things happen on the island; I bitched about the lack of pizza choices.  He listens calmly, and lets me wind down.  Then, after a thoughtful pause, lays it on me: "Well, it's too late to turn back now."  I burst out laughing hysterically.  This, in a nutshell, was my circumstance.  This was exactly the no-nonsense, no bullshit, German advice that I called for.  There was really nothing to bitch about.  The only way was forward, and I needed to suck it up and keep moving.  (I also pictured my dad giving this advice to a swimmer swimming the English Channel when the swimmer was half way across.)  "Plus," my dad says, "it's almost football season.  Just put on the pre-season games and relax a little."  "Dad," I say, "I don't have any T.V."  It was his turn to laugh hysterically.

He also reminded me to look back on what we had done so far, and take pride in the accomplishments we made in the last year.  I took his advice to heart, and started the next day with Vince Lombardi on my mind-  “Unless a man believes in himself and makes a total commitment to his career and puts everything he has into it – his mind, his body, his heart – what’s life worth to him?"

The first thing I did was scuba dive with some fucking sharks.

Amy and I went diving with Mickey and Jayne from Flamingo Divers and went over to Northwest Point, one of the dive spots on the island.  I jumped in and was face-to-face with two six-foot reef sharks.  They obviously sensed the spirit of Lombardi in my blood, and swam cautiously by.  I gotta say, it was exhilarating and reminded me of another Lombardi quote: “Mental toughness is essential to success.”  It also reminded me that hey, I live in an island paradise.

Next, I took my dad's advice and looked back at obstacles overcome.  Obviously, this meant admiring OUR NEW DRIVEWAY!

Now, I know I had a little difficulty with this project.  But in my defense, I was exactly one 10-ton grader and five-ton compactor short of the tools I needed.  With a little more time, I and my trusty shovel would have persevered.  Nevertheless, the project was completed and we now have a smooth, two-lane driveway with which to access the property.

I also got a chance to do my first bit of big-boy plumbing.  On our roof we have (had) two solar panels which are (were) connected to the water supply, with water flowing up through the solar panels and back into our water heaters.  To remove the solar panels, I had to de-solder the copper pipes that connected the panels to the system.  Blow torch in hand, I removed the solar panels from the roof to allow the leaky roof to be fixed.  

We now have a leak-resistant roof which should last 1,000 years.  In addition, I have to re-install the solar panels, which will test my newfound plumbing skills.

All in all, I recovered from my crisis nicely.  As usual, my dad talked me off the cliff, and I was able to get back to the business at hand.  So, future Banyan Inn guests, remember that we will never give up making this place the best we can.  We will live by Vince Lombardi's words of wisdom:

“….I firmly believe that any man’s finest hours – his greatest fulfillment of

all that he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his

heart out in good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

Also, remember that when you are here, you are at the only Green Bay bar in this ENTIRE COUNTRY!!  Boom.  Go Packers.