Bill Hewgley
Upon my first viewing of the movie Forest Gump, it struck me how my life has mirrored many of the varieties of random experiences thrust upon him, either by sheer luck, misfortune or Forest’s total lack of fear to try something. He went through life never thinking much about his disabilities, or dwelling on failure.
Forest just lived…really lived and loved life.
During the past year, I have shared just a small portion of the extraordinary variety and color of my life in an attempt to help young people discover the joy of the struggle to make a place in this world for themselves and their families.
It has saddened me to see how cynical and selfish our role models have become, from politicians to celebrities to business leaders. We are acting like a nation of 350 million independent contractors instead of a family of citizens sharing a common destiny as a nation and a people.
Forest did not have a devious bone in his body and accepted everything and everybody as they were. He did not complicate life by overthinking and scheming to take advantage of circumstances or someone else’s weaknesses.
Can we all rediscover how to once more be “our brother’s keeper”? Could we all see why that idea is so important to civilizations throughout history? If we could see it, would we make the effort to change? I am weary of watching and listening to those who seek to divide our people into separate tribes based upon how you look, who you worship, where you live, where you’re from, how much money you have, who you love and finally, as always, the color of your skin. At all levels of society, we have become victims of segmented self -interests and group think, walled up inside echo chambers of likeminded folks, all locked in the past, fighting ancient wars. I was told long ago that people will become an expert at finding what they are obsessed with looking for, be it money, sin, evil in the world, goodness in people…or just four leaf clovers. Is your glass half empty or half full?
Nothing of lasting value ever got accomplished simply by being “against” things.
When mobs of self righteous, mad people are just railing “against” a perceived enemy or threat to their worldview, everybody is too busy yelling and throwing rocks across the wall to stop and consider the simple truth that Forest grasped instinctively, that our parents and grandparents taught us:
We all have our feet in the same tub.
It has been an honor for me to share my thoughts with you and I have appreciated all the positive comments that kept me going forward with my stories. I will continue to write these things for my ultimate audience – my grandchildren, whom I wish to see become good citizens and neighbors in the difficult world they will face. We must all try to pass on the principles that have worked since the beginning of time to build strong families, tribes, villages and nations. These basic principles of human interaction will never change; only the technology changes. Right will be right and wrong will be wrong, regardless of which direction the social winds are blowing, until the last day of man. You must decide where you will stand.
“You’ll either stand for something, or fall for anything…”
Johnnie Bell Legg Hewgley and William Miller Hewgley, Sr., born in 1919, endured the Great Depression, fought during WWII, raised three children to work hard and love their fellow man. They did the best they could with what they had, which was the very best gift of all to show us three a life well lived, warts and all. It’s been fun and I look forward to the next chapter off my life!
Like Forest’s neighbors, you can drive by and wave as I work in the yard…stop and have a glass of Jan’s famous iced tea…the world will wait.
“And that’s all I’ve got to say about that”.
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Bill Hewgley is president, Metalworking Solutions, LLC, a company he founded after retiring as president of American Manufacturing Company. One of his chief priorities is to mentor this upcoming millennial generation, while honoring those who helped him find his own way in life, by passing it on.
You can contact Bill at mailto:Bill@metalworkingsolution.com and visit Metalworking Solutions at www.metalworkingsolution.com.