GOOD NEWS Bob Ochterbeck: Good news…for a change!
Greetings to you and welcome! I’m “Good News” Bob, and I want you to experience positive, encouraging, and uplifting stories and comments from a guy who’s been around awhile and has seen and heard a lot of bad news in recent years. In this day and age where all around us are discouraging words, violence, rebellion, hatred, and condemnation, and our news sources continue to fan the flames of it all, it’s refreshing to be able to wash our minds in “clean” reading material.
Well, I’m here to offer you a respite from the melee. (In other words, a break from the mess.) Join me as I share the warm stories, anecdotes, yarns, and lighthearted tales so you can enjoy your life, encourage your friends, and just be an all-around good person to hang with. And I want to hear from you! Your heartwarming stories and how they’ve affected you and maybe even changed your life for the better. Not looking for your political views, sports teams you love to hate, pet peeves, or everything you can’t stand about your neighbor. I want to hear your good news!
For example, literally, one of my favorite stories is about Brian Peterson, a 28-year-old artist and designer living in Santa Ana, California, who started a journey painting portraits of homeless people, selling the paintings then using the proceeds to help the same homeless people! Wow! What an inspiration! Hear Brian’s story on these two links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcy1ds-M6c
https://www.facebook.com/thecrossingcm/videos/872968899419181/
You know, I have found that when I focus on what I want for me, then it seems that everything is against me to prevent me from getting what I want. But when I look to the needs of others, and my desire is for them to be blessed, strangely enough my desires are diminished and I begin to experience joy instead of anxiety, peace rather than bitterness, love and a sense of fulfilled purpose replacing selfish unmet ambitions. I guess that’s what the Apostle Paul meant when he said “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” We are most blessed when we are a blessing to others.
I want you to close your eyes and picture the most beautiful sight you can imagine. Got it? What do you see? Okay, okay, so you’re not reading this because your eyes are closed. Close your eyes again, then tell me what you see. The most beautiful sight you can imagine is…? I would love to hear your response! Is it a place? Or a person? Or something abstract? It’s whatever you think is beautiful. I’d really like to know.
Hey, did you hear the one about the woman who brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon? As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest.
After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, “I’m sorry, but your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”
The distressed woman wailed, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead,” replied the vet.
“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.
The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$350!” she cried, “$350 just to tell me my duck is dead!”
The vet shrugged, “I’m sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $50, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now $350.”
Poor duck! I guess you never know what to expect these days. But don’t worry, it’s easy to get the knowledge, experience, and serious service only GOOD NEWS Bob Ochterbeck offers for thoroughly marketing and selling your precious home. I’ve been a licensed REALTOR® for over 15 years and a real estate broker since February 2017. And in October of last year I joined Abby Realty, the fastest growing agency in the Houston area, as a broker associate. So you can be confident I’ll help you every step of the way for all of your real estate needs. And be sure to ask me about the special offers or services I provide for those young 55-and-over home sellers and buyers! The GOOD NEWS just keeps coming! Till next time!
