Dave Weber, Motivational Speaker

The power of our words...is the main message Dave Webber delivered yesterday as he spoke to a group of Orange County School Teachers at Rivers High School. Frankly, the whole auditorium should have been completely filled. We all could have used that shot in the arm. Mr. Weber is entertaining, humorous, and deep. He not only spoke to us about our relationships with our students but also with each other with touching stories that brought some of us to tears. One particular story had to do with his grandfather back in Cleveland. From the time his grandfather was little boy, he had to deliver newspapers. One day it was snowing fiercely and the little boy ran down the street throwing his newspapers left and right, in his hurry to get out of the blizzard and get his newspapers delivered to get home to drink some hot chocolate. It was mostly a hit and miss endeavor. The following week he was told to collect the money from the different people on his route. He got to this particular spooky house where an elderly Jewish lady by the name of Emma Goldstein lived. When she came to the door he was particularly frightened because she was totally hunched over, but to his relief she was nice. First she asked if he was a good Jewish boy and he said, "no" being a Methodist. But she said that didn't matter. "Oh you must be the new paper boy!"

"Yes, Ma'am" he replied. She went on to say how grateful and surprised she was to find her newspaper on her front porch that day of the terrible blizzard. She told him how proud she was of him and he sparkled in all her kind words. Whenever, he went past that house, he made sure her newspaper was on her porch every morning. This is what he called a Frog Kisser. You have to see him deliver his message to understand why or do you? Any way, the way he told the story, just moved me to tears. He reminded us of the power of our words. To think all of us are hearing about a little old lady that lived decades ago and still hearing her loving words echo in our present to teach us a lesson. That is real power.

Lord help us live up to the best in us. Lord help us live to the best in us.