I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About what's really important.
As many of you know, my hometown was destroyed in Hurricane Irene in late August 2011. What many of you do not know, is that I went to New York to assist with clean up efforts. I don't suppose I'll ever really understand what caused me to be so impulsive, but all I can say is that I felt a compulsive need to help them.
The opportunity to serve the people of upstate New York was an incredible one, something I will never forget. And I will be forever grateful for the experience. I doubt I did any good or made any real difference, but somewhere deep in my gut - or maybe it's buried in my heart - I believe it mattered to someone.
And so, my recent experiences with clean up efforts of Hurricane Irene, I suppose, were the catalyst for those thoughts of what's really important.
As I shoveled knee-high mud, used 1200 gallons of water to hose out houses and storage sheds, as I sifted through debris ga…