Need Some Water

Growing up in grade school I was always looking forward to playing on the school teams. You had to wait until 5^th grade to go out for football. Christ the King was a touch league with other Catholic Schools in the area. It may have been touch football ….. but it could get rough.

In 7^th grade we thought we had a pretty good team so we challenged the town midget football team to a game of tackle. They thought they would walk on the field and just run us up and down the field. We had a great group of players and boy …. were they surprised? They thought they were playing a bunch of the Catholic School wusses.

We knew most of the kids on the other team for we had grown up with them playing town sports. Initially there was a lot of trash talk going both ways in a fun manner. However…I am pretty sure they had a new found respect after the game.

Standing on the sideline you always waited for your name to be called by the coach. Hutch, we need you to do a fast sweep around the outside. I was always waiting…I was ready. I specifically remember one game, standing on the sideline watching our team, it was a hot Saturday morning. The score was close, everyone was tired.

Finally …. it happened…my name was called… our coach says “ Hutch come here.” I hurried to put my helmet on and as I am running down to him I am desperately trying to buckle my chinstrap.

Yea coach…what do you need? “It’s getting near halftime, the players are tired and thirsty, why don’t you run up and get them some water for half time.”

My heart sank…I was ready but I was not deterred. I loved football and I was determined to hold my head up high. My time would come.

And it did come, in high school I played 3 sports….Football, Basketball and Track. I went out for football my junior year when I realized my career in basketball was waning. Although I loved basketball, the starting 5 when I was a freshman were all sophomores, I could see the writing on the wall, I needed to find a new sport to excel in. I looked to football and track.

I remember a basketball game against one high school in my sophomore or junior year. The other team was playing a man to man defense and I was playing the forward position. The defender kept trying to trash talk me… “Hey, you gotta jockey on,” he kept pushing me and throwing jabs at me as I was making cuts. This went on for the entire quarter. Trying not to get sucked in to his taunting….as I was going up for a rebound, he was just about hanging on my back, I jammed my elbow down his throat. I think he was caught a little off guard. As I made my way up the court he said…”Ohhhh, you shouldn’t have done that, now you really going to get it.” I just ignored him and continued to play.

A few minutes later I got the ball on the right side and I faked a jumper and went down the baseline and under the basket for a reverse layup. As I was extended and in the air the center from the other team came across the lane and punched me in the privates, and as I came down bellied over in pain, he proceeded to do an upper cut that landed on my left eye. He then pushed me and I fell into the stands and the crowd took a shot.

The ref called a foul, Hey, how about throwing them out of the game…

I could barely see and had to leave the game after the foul shot. You are probably asking; did I make the fouls shot?

I really don’t remember. I do remember that I had to wear a patch over my eye for 3 days and I had a slight limp.

O Holy Night

How many of you like to sing?

When I was in 5th grade I decided to join the choir. We would meet at the school gym at 7:30 in the morning on Tuesday and Thursdays and once again on Friday nights in the choir loft at the front of the church. Our job was to sing the 11:45 am High Mass 3 Sundays a month and sing all the Religious Holidays.

I can always remember standing in the pew while I was singing and looking up at a special set of steps that was in the front of the choir loft. Christ the King had a men and boys choir and the men would be standing on the steps in front of us. At times, Mr. Curia would pick some of the choirboys to join the men up on the steps.

Were they the better singers….. I was never picked.

I always thought I was doing a good job…I was singing my heart out.

I must admit, I loved singing in the choir. My Mom would always say, I could hear your voice today, it sounded beautiful.

But Mom, you are not supposed to hear me, I am supposed to blend. Oh George, don’t be silly, you help make the choir better.

Isn’t she sweet….. That reminds me of the song….Don’t say nothing bad about my baby…. Mom was always positive and loving. Her children were the apple of her eye and I was her little boy.

Our big sing was always Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Not only were we able to stay up late on Christmas Eve but when I got home my parents would let me open 1 present before I went to bed. When I was in 8th grade Mr. Curia selected me to do the solo in front of the whole church at Midnight Mass. I sang….

O Holy Night.

What a thrill. It has to be one of my all-time favorite songs and still gives me the chills every time I hear it around Christmas. I still remember, Mr Curia saying… It is time George…

I slowly walked out to the front of the Church and then it was me and the organ. I heard the intro, I was a bit nervous, I took a slow deep breath and began to sing. I was in a complete zone and my voice just carried and took over….. I nailed it.

After Midnight Mass we all went back to my Grand Mom Hutch’s house. The kitchen table was full of coffee, tea and assortment of cakes and cookies. Besides my parents, several of my aunts and uncles also were there. My Grandmother said… “George you sounded beautiful tonight; can you sing O Holy Night again for us”….

You didn’t have to asked me twice. I smiled and started an accapella version for the family. What a thrill. I couldn’t stop smiling.

Looking back, I have a lot of great memories growing up and celebrating Christmas with the family.

May you and your family have a Merry Christmas and cherish the memories of being together. May they bring a smile to your face.

Yardstick

I went to a Catholic grade school. One of the most important things you do when you are in 2nd grade is study for your 1st communion.

Back in the day we had the Baltimore Catechism. To this day, I know many people whose faith has not grown beyond what they learned in the Baltimore Catechism….

You might remember some of the questions:

1….Who made us……God made us.

2…Who is God… God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

3…..Why did God make us…. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

To make your 1st Communion you had to not only study the Baltimore Catechism, but you were constantly quizzed on the questions and you had better know the answers.

One thing about Catholic Schools in the 1950s…. we had nuns. They were real sticklers when it came to learning your Catechism.

“I would like you to go home tonight and review all these questions and tomorrow we will have a quiz.”

I went home that night….I studied and highlighted, took notes and went over the questions and answers multiple times. I was going to be ready and know all the answers.

The next day, in class the nun decided to have an oral quiz. I was in the 1st row and she started asking the 1st question to the 1st person in my row. The 2nd question went to the person in the 2nd seat.

I sensed, there is a pattern going on here… Now let me see. I am in seat number 7, that means I am going to get question number 7. What is that question? I know I know the answer. What was that question? Let me take a sneak peek in my book.

Ahhhh. Question 7

“Mister Hutchinson. Will you please come up here.”
Why did you open the book….”

I did not open the book.

I was caught red handed. There was no lying my way out of this one…

“Come here Mister Hutchinson…
Stick your hand out.”

Wow….What is going on…. What have I got myself into…

At this point, she reaches back and on the ledge of the chalk board is a yardstick…

Uh Oh…

“I said stick out your hand…”

I’m thinking….What are you going to do with that yardstick…

Crack….

Not only did she hit my hand with the yardstick…

The yardstick breaks.

The nun is very upset now…

“Now look what you done…
you are going to have to buy me a new yardstick.”

What…

Not only am I experiencing pain…now you are going to make me pay you for your infliction…

Is this some sort of Purgatory….

“You have to bring in $2.00 tomorrow so I can buy a new yardstick.”

I am thinking…

Well the yardstick wouldn’t have broken if you didn’t hit me with it.

Lying…Is that a venial sin…

Can I still make my 1st Holy Communion…

For those of you worrying…

Yes I did receive my 1st Communion and I went on to be an altar boy in later years…

Dominus Vobiscum…..Et cum spiritu tuo…

Timetables

People always compliment my math skills. What they don’t know is the story behind my wizardry.

In 5th grade I had Mr Costigan. If you ever acted up in Mr Costigan’s class, he would give you an assignment. Do the timetables 1-10…25 times and bring them in tomorrow. That was how my year started out.

Back then I always a little bit antsy…I had trouble sitting still in my seat. I was also nosey and I liked to talk…

“Mr Hutchinson….let’s pay attention back there.”

Well as the year progressed…so did the number of timetables I had to write…

“Mr Hutchinson…do the timetables 1-10…100 times and bring them to me tomorrow before class.”

It got to a point…. if I had any spare moments…even when I was not in trouble… I was writing timetables. I knew it was only a matter of time.

In fact, I had so many timetables in storage that I sold them to other less unfortunate students who met Mr Costigan’s wrath. You need 25 or 50 of them? Here I got plenty stashed. Just give me $.25 cents a page. I’m just gonna keep on writing anyway.

Well, I made it thru 5th grade and my math skills increased dramatically. Ask me a multiplication question and I knew the answer right off the top of my head.

Guess who I had the pleasure of teaching me in 7th grade….

Good Ole Mr Costigan…

“Mr Hutchinson…I see we can pick up right where we left off. You might as well just start writing…I know you are long overdue and probably missed me…”

What a sense of humor on that guy… You gotta love Mr Costigan.

So I began 7th grade…preoccupied with trying to get ahead of the curve. Mr Hutchinson please write the 1-10 timetables 100 times and bring them into me tomorrow. (He didn’t even start at 25, for I was a veteran. He went right to the 100 category). One time I reached into my school bag and said….”Here ya go….100 timetables”…He just laughed and said…. “better keep writing.”

Well, I did make it thru 7th grade and again my math skill increased dramatically.

Did I tell you I won the math award at 8th grade graduation?

And the math award for all around excellence in math goes to George Hutchinson.

I almost fell out of my seat.

Really…A math award….Thank you Mr Costigan…

In The Moment

I hope you had a nice holiday….

It seems like a lot of planning goes into
The Christmas celebrations and then…
In a blink of an eye
The holidays slip by…

Our family was able to get together a few times
During the holiday season

I found myself eating…
Way too much and thinking…

All the time I put toward healthy eating
Trying to maintain my weight all year
Just… went out the window

I hid my scale…

I think I will start dieting tomorrow…

Now it is back to reality…

2019 kicks off and I am excited about…
The possibilities

For the last 35+ years
I start each year
By going on a retreat

I approach each retreat with
No expectations…

However….I find Malvern has always been
A humbling experience

Our lives are so fast paced
We find ourselves running in 10 different directions
Constantly putting out fires

Our minds are racing…
We are thinking about….

What just happened and….
What are we going to do next…

What happens to the time in the middle of…
What just happened….and what to do next…

It is called…The Present

I think John Lennon said it best…

Life is what happens
While we are busy making other plans

While at Malvern
I pray to slow down…

Help me to appreciate
The moment

I force myself
To take time and
Look at the gifts
I have been blessed with

Then I ask myself…

Am I using these gifts
To the best of my ability…

That is always the toughest question to answer
We may beat ourselves up at times
But we make it easy to give ourselves a pass

However…
This is a very important question…

My life question…

What am I doing with the gifts I have been given…

Malvern gives me the time to reflect on…
What is my life’s purpose…

I pray for the grace…
To help me to be present
In every moment

And…

To use these gifts
To the best of my ability

We Have a Choice

An article caught my eye recently

A high school football coach

Suspended his entire team

After the school’s guidance counselor alerted him

Of an online bullying incident

Involving some of the players

The coach couldn’t be sure

Which players were responsible

Since the site allows users to

Remain anonymous

So…. he suspended all the players

At that point…

The coach outlined

A community outreach program

That would allow the student-athletes

To earn their jerseys back

The coach went on to say….

“Good character is more to be praised
Than outstanding talent…

Most talents are, to some extent, a gift…
Good character, by contrast, is not given to us.
We have to build it…piece-by-piece…

By thought…By choice…Courage… and Determination.”

This coach showed

Great leadership and character…

Handling this incident

I am thankful for the years I participated in sports

We had great coaches over the years

Who taught me great discipline and humility…

I have seen many individuals

Blessed with great talents

Come and go…

They were expecting…

Not accepting

Humility…is accepting these talents

As a gift…

Using them to make the people around you better

A good friend shared the below saying

After they read one of my newsletters

I think it ties in perfectly…

Thoughts become words

Words become actions

Actions become habits

Habits become character

Character is everything

Every Day is a Gift…..

Christmas is upon us…

We may have the perfect present to decorate the coffee table

Help your friends or love ones brush up on their Beach Etiquette…

Check out the link to my new book…

Beach Etiquette

Available on Amazon and selected stores in the area.

https://beachetiquettebook.com/

We find ways to save you money…

Thank you for your referrals

The Magic Bank Account

Recently, a friend reached out to me and sent the below message. Thank you, John, for thinking of me. I would like to share it with you…

George, This is you!

John

THE AUTHOR IS NOT KNOWN.   IT WAS FOUND IN THE BILLFOLD OF
COACH PAUL BEAR BRYANT, ALABAMA, AFTER HE DIED IN 1982.

The Magic Bank Account

Imagine that you had won the Following *PRIZE* in a contest:

Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 In your private account
for your use…..
However, this prize has Rules:
The set of Rules:

1. Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from
you.

2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.

3. You may only spend It.

4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another
$86,400 for that Day.

5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time, it can say,

Game Over!” It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted right?  Not only
for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for.  Even for
people you don’t know because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on
yourself, right?

You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew
it would be replenished in the morning, right?

ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL…   Shocked ???
YES!

Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*. We just can’t seem to see
it.

The PRIZE is *TIME*

1. Each morning we awaken to Receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of Life.

2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us.

3. What we haven’t used up that day is forever lost.

4. Yesterday is forever gone.

5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your
account at any time WITHOUT WARNING…

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.
Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because
time races by so much quicker than you think.

So take care of yourself, be Happy, love deeply and enjoy life!

Here’s wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day…
Start spending….

“DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT GROWING OLD!”

SOME PEOPLE DON’T GET THE PRIVILEGE!

 

Every Day is a Gift

Heading to the Beach…

Hey…have you read my new book …Beach Etiquette?

If not, you should pick up a copy.

It’s great summer reading.

Designed to be the next bestselling coffee table book.

Below are some snippets of the reviews coming in:

• Wait to you read it and allow yourself to chuckle. This book has a
special place on my coffee table
• Such a fun, easy read filled with beautiful illustrations reminding each
one of us on how exciting it is to spend time at the beach,
• It is an amazing collection of what really goes on. It will make you
laugh, it will help you remember those days when you went through many
of the experiences in the book yourself. George did a great job.
• A must-have for any friend of the environment, beach bum, or sun-soaked
surfer
• Most enjoyable book for Beach Lovers
• I loved the illustrations! And the observations…
• Good book Great memories

This is a grassroots campaign and we need your help to spread the word…

If you have a friend who loves the beach…share this email…

We sold over 100 copies in the 1st 30 days. We are hoping we can count on you to hit our next goal of breaking 200 copies.

It makes a great birthday gift for friends / relatives or…

Just a kind gesture…..

I was thinking of you and knew you would enjoy this book…

Visit our website to see a sample of our illustrations and layout…

https://beachetiquettebook.com/

The book is now available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Thank you all and hope you enjoy our new book and have a great summer…

Every Day is a Gift

Thank you for your referrals

My First Read

This week I was asked by my grandson G V
To read Beach Etiquette to his first-grade class

Being my first reading…
I wasn’t shore how I would approach it
But I felt safe since I was around children

Their expectations would not be too high

I started out by asking
How many schools days were left…

They all shouted…
8 more days….

I then asked what is everyone’s’ plans for the summer…
Is anyone going to the shore…
Their hands started going up
I went thru every student
Where are you going
What will you be doing

For those heading to the shore
I asked them what they liked about the shore

I love going crabbing
I like running into the water
I like jumping the waves
Boogieboarding

They went on and on for a few minutes
Then the teacher finally says…
Ok…
Why don’t we let Mr Hutchinson read his book…

They were all excited…
I read 3 chapters…

Chapter 5…The Passing Lane
About running on the beach

Chapter 6…Having a catch
Reliving the days of playing ball on the beach

Chapter 8…Shake…Shake…Shake
About the hazards of being down wind
Of someone shaking their blanket

The kids loved it…
I received a standing ovation
G V came running up and hugged me
A little girl came running up and said
I want to hug you too…

It was so cute and…
An experience I will treasure

This book is written for anyone
Who likes or enjoys a day on the beach

To feel the sun
Listen to the waves
A feeling of serenity comes over you

I have many memories of
Growing up at the beach

I often stand there
I look around
I take a deep breath and
I am transported to a different time

I can still see people I was growing up with
We were hanging on the beach
Laughing… joking… doing silly stuff
Grabbing our surf boards and darting into the ocean
Playing run the bases or tackle football on the beach

Where did the time go…
I don’t know…
But the memories live on within me

No matter what beach you go to
With a little Beach Etiquette
We will preserve its beauty and pay it forward

Check out our new website…
We have been getting a lot of great reviews
On our new coffee table book

If you are looking for a fun read
Or a great gift for a friend

Click on the links below to order your copy or read our reviews
We would like to add your name to our growing list of reviews

https://beachetiquettebook.com/

Thank you for the kind words

Every Day is a Gift

A Little Spring in Your Step

Have you noticed the difference…
There’s a little more spring in your step

People are smiling again

They have shed their heavy coats
No more scarves and sweaters

The sun is shining
Temperatures have shot up to the 70s and 8os

Even hit 90 last week

The trees are blooming
Flowers are popping up out of the ground
Spring is finally here

After a long cold winter
Of running from house to car
People are out walking around

You are finally getting a chance
To meet the new neighbor
Who moved in down the street
During the winter

Wow…They seem like nice people

Enjoy these next few weeks of…

Open windows…

Sunshine and…

Fresh Air

Only 14 days till Memorial Day Weekend

But who’s counting