Paying it Forward: Appreciate you #120
Do you listen with an intent to understand? President Roosevelt noted, “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”
Jack Browne, Wichita Falls Times Record News, Sunday June 15, 2025
Sincere or sarcastic, the meaning is in the delivery and your actions.
After 45 years in Texas, tech work drew me to Silicon Valley where I commuted 200 days per year by plane selling tech to semiconductor designers in more than 20 countries.
Customers added their “secret sauce” to ours as they created smarter and more connected solutions for an incredible range of products.
Saying “thank you” is important and one of the key phrases I learned visiting new countries. Others appreciate your correct usage of local language.
Ready for the next phase of life, we moved to the plains of Wichita Falls where barb wire breaks the wind and sunny days inspire dreams.
“Appreciate you,” is a part of everyday discussions here. Researching the phrase shows it can be uplifting as a thank you, or disparaging and hurtful. One can be left wondering if sincerity or sarcasm was intended.
The gift of time is underappreciated. Some choose to do as much as possible, surfing life at warp speed. Like a tornado their actions leave a trail.
Teddy Roosevelt 26th president from 1901 to 1909, said, “I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the State, the community, the citizens acting together, can do a number of things better than if they were left to individual action.”
Like life, meaning is in the context with our actions speaking louder than words.
Major Joe Burton of the Salvation Army noted the “awesome responsibilities to serve others,” shared by our Mayor and City Council members in his invocation at the June 3rd City Council meeting.
As our elected officials do their best to serve all, many disparage their efforts or request items of personal benefit.
After the June 3rd meeting of the 4B Sales Tax Corporation, complaints on Facebook asked, “Why invest in tennis courts that bring tournaments?”
Only 4 people attended the meeting beyond appointed board members, city staff and elected officials.
Others challenge improvements that benefit community when losing access and views via undeveloped property that they do not own as the owner seeks to develop property.
It is not about what happens around us or to us. It's about what happens within us.
Saturday is the 248th Flag Day, celebrating our Flag’s adoption June 14, 1777. Father’s Day follows on Sunday.
Do you listen with an intent to understand or interrupt like a Jeopardy contestant guessing the question?
If we don’t hear one another, can we communicate? Can we collaborate?
Can we advance as a people? President Roosevelt also noted, “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”
Jack Browne is a community activist and former technology engineer, sales and marketing executive at Motorola and other top tech companies.