The world is full of remarkable people who don’t give up and don’t give in, who look for the silver lining in a sky of black thunderclouds, who get up each day and say “Today is going to be better,” even if yesterday was horrible.

Normal is a setting on a washing machine. Agitation, upheaval, spinning, turning, swirling — it’s all part of the “normal” cycle of life.

“The cost of something we understand, but rarely the value.”

I’ve always said my superpower rests in taking the complicated and making it understandable, finding the sliver of extraordinary and elevating it above the noisy clutter. I think every good storyteller needs that perception, that discernment to “grasp what is obscure” and “see what is not evident.”

There is a time and a place for teaching and a time and a place for rescuing.

Dan encouraged others to take a risk, to take the next step that would elevate their life journey. Whether it was work on an advanced degree or apply for a job, Dan put others on the path they hadn’t seen themselves taking, then supported them through the process. Dan saw the superfantastic part in each of us, and reminded us of it when we had forgotten it.

4-H is a safe place for youth to explore and discover.

When you charge batteries, you keep like-charged batteries together; you never just replace one — even though it’s tempting and it keeps the flashlight going at half the cost. Why? — the lower-charged battery SUCKS THE ENERGY out of the good battery.

I fretted for a bit, then slowly scooped as much of the yolk back into a pile in the middle of my egg, and went on with my day. Sure, it's a little sloppy. Life gets messy, after all. A life well lived, sunny-side up.