I’d planned for months to write an engaging blog showcasing a lifetime of acquired wisdom. How long a lifetime? Well, the most popular Chevrolet model ever, the ’57 Chevy Bel Air, and I have a lot in common.

I agonized over where to start this neat package of words reflecting on my past and looking to the uncharted waters of my alleged golden years:

-grew up in a blue-collar environment on the South Side of Chicago…blah…blah

-bungalow belt…fabulous fifties…socially turbulent sixties and seventies…blah…blah

-early eighties into the new millennium revolving around my career as a U.S. Secret Service Special Agent…some good stories..but nah

-family, faith, friends, my strict Catholic upbringing…still nah

About a week before the milestone birthday, the pressure was getting to me. Tough assignment I gave myself. I was very perturbed I couldn’t even get my creative energy out of the starting blocks.

“Have faith,” I told myself. Easy to say.

That’s it, Rich. Have faith!

-Don’t get down, get inspired.

-Surround yourself with positive people and things.

-It will get better.

-It’s writer’s block…just sit down in front of the keyboard and express your thoughts.

-You’ll be inspired. Have faith.

Sounds good, but in reality, not so easy.

I personally have a deep religious faith…going way back to my strict Catholic upbringing…but that wasn’t the intended topic. Prayers to Saint Anthony wouldn’t help because I didn’t lose words…although technically I couldn’t find them. Couldn’t call on Saint Joseph because I’m not currently a homeowner, so no need to bury his statue upside down in the front lawn of the house I’m trying to sell. And if I knew the patron saint of inflated California real estate prices I’d like to have a word with them about the lack of divine intervention advising me back in 1999 to keep my place in Glendale and rent it out.

So I turned to the dictionary and thesaurus for inspiration. Not at all helpful. Quite the contrary. Couldn’t get the ideas in my heart to words in my head onto paper. So I gave up.

Let it be known that didn’t help my aging mood at all. Here I was failing at writing again.

About fifteen years ago, I began my journey as a writer and have experienced a full gamut of emotions: inspiration, motivation, creativity, self-doubt, writers block, and defeat. Navigating the shark-infested waters of writing, revising, editing, composing query letters, and pitching endless literary agents has been a true test of faith.

Despite much frustration and a lot of rejections, I continue to rely on the tenets of my own personal faith and life experiences to guide me through this roller coaster journey of publishing. Now on the shady side of sixty, I still have hope for the future.

Recently, my journey as a writer took a right turn on life’s highway. I finally have a publishing co-pilot. Stay tuned.…

Back to this blog I intended to post in late April, blew past Mother’s Day and Memorial Day in May, and here we are mid-June ready to honor our fathers. With the gift of time, I found my “neat package of words” and they are surprisingly simple.

Have faith!

Throughout the struggles of life – the twists and turns, ups and downs, taking two steps forward then three steps back – have faith. In yourself, your family, your friends, your doctors, humanity, your God if you believe in one.

I’m not saying you sit back and let life happen or pass you by. But have faith that you can persevere, that you will eventually succeed. Have faith and you will have hope. Hope for a better future for all.

Looking to the future, I’d like to say Happy Father’s Day to all fathers and those who have taken on the responsibility of being a positive male role model for kids who needed one.

Thank you for carrying on through good times and bad. It’s not always easy. Especially now.

But the next generation depends on it. For them and for you, keep the faith!

Sometimes, that’s all we have.