Ultimate optimism

November 17, 2013

Last week my daughter-in-law sent me a picture of my trailer. It is twelve feet long, five feet high and built like a freight train. I had just parked my trailer in front of Dave and Susan’s house after taking a load of construction debris to the dump. The picture was taken just after Cason –almost four – went out to the front of the house and drove his “car” in front of the trailer ready to hook on and haul it away. It was the best picture I have ever seen. In his almost four year-old mind he was ready, willing, and able to assist grandfather Jacobs take the trailer to its next destination.

I decided a long time ago that the only thing impossible is a task that is never attempted. We have many motivators in life. Family, personal satisfaction, financial gain, and many others lead to our conquering all to reach a goal. Many years ago I made up a term - naive optimists – that best describes how many of us have gone through life. It is not a matter of why; but why not? Why not go to University of Utah and complete a degree in one of the most difficult areas – Mechanical Engineering? Why not build a company employing almost 100 personnel generating millions annually? Why not have a large family even though it takes ten years of marriage and miracles to achieve?

I wander back in history to Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb. I believe he was quoted as having upward of 1,000 failed attempts before he finally achieved what has become the modern marvel of the millennia. Lost opportunities abound. We can talk ourselves out of just about anything. The real blessings come through taking each day by the horns and challenging our minds and our capabilities. My nephew Ford has achieved tremendous credentials, experience, and financial rewards because he determined way back when he was born at around two pounds that nothing could deter his destiny. Even as a tiny speck on the edge of eternity he was anxious to get out of that baby bed and move the world. I call that the ultimate optimism.

Will we win every war we fight? Not by a long shot, but we can keep trying, keep thinking, and as the frog half way down the throat of a pelican said, “never give up.” Ok, that was Winston Churchhill, but you get the drift.

Now perhaps Cason couldn’t move that huge trailer with his little plastic car, but on the other hand, given time and lots of thinking he just might come up with some way of making it work. There were two boys a long time ago (Glenn and Duane) that took a galvanized culvert full of mud and engineered a way of millimeter by millimeter hoisting it up in the crook of a tree. Love your family; love life, love God and all the challenges he has proffered us.

God bless each of you as you make the impossible happen and become the ultimate optimist.

Duane Jacobs, Grandfather, father, brother, cousin, uncle, and friend.