THE FOUR LOLLIPOP STICKSBy Dr. Greg Shepard Published: Winter 1997 Last June we brought all of our BFS Clinicians into Salt Lake City, Utah for our annual meeting. The purpose is to discuss and exchange ideas on how we can make our great BFS Clinics even better. We had one of our best meetings and accomplished our purpose several times over. We always leave time to get to know one another better and I decided to use some of this time to show three of our clinicians some of the nearby sites. As a result, I would like to share a great story with you . . . The Four Lollipop Sticks. Dennis Dunn, Doug Ekmark and Len Walencikowski were the three BFS Clinicians. Dennis is from Shreveport, Louisiana. Len is from Miami, Florida and Doug is from around the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. Doug is kind of obsessed with football stadiums. He loves to observe them in detail. He had to see BYU’s 65,000 seat Cougar Stadium. Next, I took them to see the mountains of Utah. For people not used to a multitude of 10,000 foot peaks soaring up in the bluest of skies, it is a magnificent site. It is even continuously inspiring to me. One of our stops was at Robert Redford’s Sundance Ski Resort. The ski lift was in operation for tourists wanting to take in the wondrous mountainous architect of nature. Before getting on the ski lift, Doug bought us all lollipops. The lift was spectacular as it climbed over 5,000 feet straight up the mountain side. The view at the top was breathtaking. Each man was contentedly and slowly eating his lollipop. The view on the way down was even better. About halfway down, we saw a couple in the lift coming up. They looked like nice 35-year olds. The husband was eating a candy bar. Suddenly, he threw away his wrapper and it spiraled down on the lush, verdant mountainous slope. That wrapper was the only evidence of man besides the lift. As we passed, I asked, “Isn’t this absolutely beautiful?” He waved and smiled in agreement. There was silence in our group for awhile. I looked over and saw each man holding their finished lollipop stick. It took us another 15-minutes to get down. As we got off the lift chair, each one of us went over and put his lollipop stick in the garbage. Not one of us had ever or would ever throw a candy wrapper anyplace but in a proper receptacle. It was not in our character to do something like that. I was so proud of these BFS Clinicians. It is a great pleasure to be associated and surrounded by such men. I can and you can always count on them to do the right thing at the right time. They are Upper Limit. They are an eleven. All throughout our tour through the mountains with their vibrant trees and sparkling streams, these great men kept saying how much they would like to share the experience with their wives. Again, I found it quite remarkable to have such a value system. We hear that balance is important in lives. Many preach that God and family are more important than football, sports or lifting weights. However, many times we give lip service to that all important creed. But, here, in the mountains of Utah, I was holding my lollipop stick with three other men holding their lollipop sticks while talking earnestly about how much they wanted their sweethearts to be with them. I love each of our clinicians and treasure our relationship. |
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Dennis Dunn, Len Walencikowski and Doug Ekmark at BYU's 65,000 seat Cougars Stadium nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. |
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For people not used to a multitude of 10,000 foot peaks soarignup in the bluest of skies, it is a magnificent site. |