Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”

~ Lao Tzu

My visit to Kittyhawk NC, was such an amazing experience. To stand there in the exact place where the Wright Brothers launched the first airplane, was the experience of a lifetime. My great grandfather, Ralph Seney owned the first airplane in Wyoming back in the 1920’s. (I will try to post a picture). Then his identical twin sons, Frank and Fred were also pilots back in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s.

Frank and Fred were true pioneers. They owned a fishing and hunting resort in Wyoming on Lake De Smet. I grew up hearing the stories from my dad of when he grew up at the lake, and then found myself doing the same things. My older bother and I spent our summers at the lake with our grand parents. What a life. I remember how hyper vigilant we were about rattle snakes. I still, to this day, walk with my head down, watching ahead, and looking for rattle snakes!

We always worked, as 5 and 9 year old boys should. Picking up trash, cleaning fish, hauling trash to the dump (yes my brother drove at 9. I was co-pilot) The tourists that visited our resort were from everywhere! We had many celebrities, like Gabby Hayes, and Robert Taylor. We had our own runway (airport) and many wealthy folks flew in to our resort to enjoy the Wild West in Wyoming.

It was paradise for a young boy.

I grew up thinking that was normal. I guess I assumed that all grandparents had fishing resorts, so they could keep their grand kids for the summer and teach them to fish! All that adventure, was just a part of growing up in Wyoming. Now as an adult, I look back with such appreciation. What a childhood!

My grandfather Frank took me flying all the time. Even at 7 or 8 years old, as soon as we were airborne, he would pass the controls to me. We would just fly. What freedom. (again, I thought that was a normal childhood). I loved to fly the plane. It was a 1965 Cessna 210.

When I was young, I always had dreams of flying. And, I still do. What is crazy, is what I can do with an airplane in a dream. I land on mountain tops, on roads, in back yards. Take offs are always unusual. I am always taking off from city streets, and have to fly under power lines or over them. Always a challenge.

My first wife’s father was a pilot. We would fly to Mexico, and he would pass the controls to me. I remember him one time saying, “you have a good flying instinct!” I guess he did not realize that I had been flying for over 10 years already!

When I finally started getting my license, my instructor said the same thing. “You have a great instinct,” he said!

So, I could ramble on and on about flying, but this is not about that.

When I stood there, at the very point where Orville and Wilbur Wright launched the first airplane, I was transported back to my childhood. Flying with Frank and Fred. What a blessing.

What a gift life is. To experience much. To share much. To feel it all.

I found myself thinking of the last time I saw my Granddad Frank. I remember that trip so well.

My wife, Dana was pregnant with our first child Alicia. My mother kept telling me to come home and see Frank, as he was not doing well. I was busy, and my wife was pregnant, so the trip just kept getting put off.

When we finally landed in Wyoming to visit Granddad Frank, we drove for 2 hours, and when we finally got to town, my mother said, “let’s stop by and see Frank.” We were tired, as by then it was late in the afternoon and we had been traveling all day. My mom insisted, and we decided to swing by the hospital for a short visit.

When we arrived, I had not seen Frank in a long time He was not doing well. I said, “hey Frank, good to see you!” and he said, “it took you long enough!”

He was tired. It was hard to see him so weak. But, once we got the conversation going he was suddenly looking better and he sat up a little straighter. We got talking about old stories, and before you knew it, he was laughing, and was animated just like the old days. Frank was quite the character, and for a moment, he was “Frank” again.

We shared old stories, and laughed for a couple hours and finally decided to go home and visit him again in the morning.

We went home to my parent’s house and got settled, and went to bed. That night in the middle of the night, the phone rang and rang. No one picked it up, so finally I did. It was the Dr. at the hospital. My Granddad Frank had died…

We gathered up everyone in the middle of the night, and went to the hospital. When we got there, they walked us back to his room. The nurse said, “do you want to see him?”

Suddenly, I was a 5 year old boy, afraid, and I could not go into his room. When I finally gathered myself, I walked in to see him.

What I saw was an empty, lifeless body. Frank had already left. He was gone. His body no longer even looked like Frank.

The animated soul, who was momentarily so much younger, just hours ago, so familiar, and so real, was now gone.

This is one of the most important moments in my life.

I realized in that moment, that who we are, is in our spirit. Our spirit fills, and animates our body. Without that, we are nothing. Frank had waited for us to arrive. It took all his strength and that night he let go.

Frank’s spirit still lives on within me; bigger, and more real than ever. Frank stood next to me at Kittyhawk, just as the Wright Brothers did, and I truly believe that their spirits were there with me. I could feel their energy, as the breeze blew in my face.

I just realized that I still have the key to my Granddad’s airplane. A 1965 Cessna 210. I am holding it in my hand now. That is cool… (check out the pic)

Knowing this, is The key to life…

I love you Granddad Frank!

I cannot wait to fly with you again… ks

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”

~ Bruce Lee

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

My Great Grandfather, Ralph Seney had the first airplane in Wyoming in the 1920’s

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

“The test of an adventure
is that when you’re in the middle of it, you say to yourself,
‘Oh, now I’ve got myself into an awful mess;
I wish I were sitting quietly at home.’
And the sign that something’s wrong with you,
is when you sit quietly at home and wish for adventure”

~ Thornton Wilder

I cannot remember, specifically what triggered the idea, but one day last January 2010, I was sitting in my RV, parked in my brother’s back yard of all places, and realized the obvious, “this thing has wheels.” My first thought was, “well, if I am going to live in a box, and it has wheels, I might as well point it down the road and go somewhere!” I was going stir crazy, and decided that a “road trip” might be the perfect cure, at least for the time being.

I tend to think big, no matter what I am considering, and just a simple road trip, to who knows where, was not “big” enough. The more I thought about the idea, the more it became clear that what I needed to do was go on a BIG Road Trip! Where? Well, who cares! I am sitting on my ass in San Diego, going crazy. It is winter. Why not head East to Florida!

That same day, I saw a news item, that the Space Shuttle was launching in March, and there were only a few more missions to go before the shuttle was retired. That was it! Now I had a destination. But, where from there? Why worry, just go!

So, I realized that if I was going to just head out into the unknown, and was thinking 3 to 6 months, and then thought even more, that I had better do some preparation, and get my RV in “expedition ready” condition.

I also got the crazy idea to start a blog, and tell my story as I drove, randomly around the country. “Why not,” I said? A friend had proposed a similar idea months before, but I never thought much of it, but I decide on “Midlife Drive” as the name for my blog. The random adventures of the “Midlife Dude!”

I was a bit slow at disconnecting myself from my comfort zone. Too much preparation, and multiple excuses. But, after a few weeks of procrastinating, one day I just drove away. February 23, 2010. Not much better prepared than I was the day in January, that I decided to go, but at least I left.

I drove all the way around the USA, from San Diego to Florida to Maine to Nashville, Dallas, Wyoming and on to Seattle, WA and back to San Diego. It took me 5 months, 5 days and 5 hours to complete the 15,003 mile trip! I lost my engine, I blew a tire, I camped in some pretty crazy places. I met hundreds of strangers, and many are now my friends. Overall, it was an amazing journey. Now, I am ready to tell my story.

Thanks for riding along with me…

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

Over the next 9 months, I will travel over 20,000 miles, around the USA in my RV, while writing my new book, “Midlife Drive!” When I departed on February 23, 2010, I only knew that I was headed East to Florida, to watch the Space Shuttle Launch on April 5. The people I meet, and the places I go, are unfolding WITHOUT a plan. My journey will be documented daily on my blog page http://midlifedrive.com, and also posted to this Facebook Fan Page. Please join in, and “ride along with me!” I hope we can meet along the way! KS

Click on the like below…

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Seney-Author-of-Midlife-Drive/279573357401?v=wall&ref=mf

And, if you have a moment, please share this link with your friends, on your own wall. We are having fun here! The more the merrier! Thank you!! KS

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

www.midlifedrive.com

“The test of an adventure is that when you’re in the middle of it, you say to yourself, ‘Oh, now I’ve got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home.’ And the sign that something’s wrong with you, is when you sit quietly at home and wish for adventure” ~ Thornton Wilder

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”

On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again,
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin’ our way
And our way…

Is on the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

~ WILLIE NELSON

Facebook | Kevin Seney for Wyoming Governor

Another year, another pair of dueling predictions from a pair of weather-forecasting groundhogs. The famous Punxatawny Phil, the fighting pride of Pennsylvania, and Staten Island Chuck, the mayor-biting whistle-pig from New York, don’t agree for the second year in a row. Will there be six more weeks of winter? Phil says there will be. Meanwhile, Staten Island Chuck is more optimistic, predicting an early spring. So, which rodent do you believe?

When I’m faced with a toss-up, I go to my go-to animal, Clucky the Predictin’ Chicken, who I just made up right now. He says there’s going to be six more weeks of winter, and he also says to go with the under in Super Bowl 2010.

Facebook | The Executive Praetorian Club

Philippe Baltz Nielsen Praetorian recently named Kevin Seney a “Platinum Praetorian Officer” to the International Executive Group “THE EXECUTIVE PRAETORIAN CLUB.” This group is an honorary social group of International Business Executives, Entrepreneurs, and Celebrities.

The history of the word “Praetorian” goes back to early Rome. The Praetorian Guard was formed by the emperor Augustus to help prevent assassins from reaching the emperor and murdering him as Brutus and his companions had murdered Julius Caesar. It was called by that name in imitation of the “Praetoria Cohors,” or select troop, which attended the person of the praetor or general of the Roman army.

Emperor Augustus made the praetorians a standing force after the battle of Actium in 31 BC. He divided them into nine cohorts (groups) of 500 soldiers each, just as with the regular legions. Augustus, in accordance with his general policy of avoiding the appearance of despotism, stationed only three of these cohorts in the capital, and dispersed the remainder in the adjacent towns of Italy.

The primary role of the Praetorians was to act as a bodyguard to the emperor and serve as a police force in the city. However, they did take to the battlefield when the need arose. Members of the guard received much higher pay than other soldiers. The scorpian appears as a symbol on much of the Praetorian equipment, possibly due to the fact that the birthsign of emperor Tiberius was scorpio.

Tiberius, under pretence of introducing a stricter discipline among them, assembled them all at the great Praetorian Camp [the Castra Praetoria] in Rome. In AD 23 this huge and strongly fortified camp was established in the eastern suburbs of the city by their notorious commander, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius gradually gave much of his power to Sejanus, the commander of the Praetorian Guard.

Appearing in the Logo for THE EXECUTIVE PRAETORIAN CLUB is International Model and Praetorian Officer, Carol Fassler.

Facebook | Carol Fassler

Facebook | The Executive Praetorian Club

TJ Casey, President

The Giving Back Foundation (GBF) is a Montana-based non-profit entity pledged to help ranchers and farmers nationwide whose lives and finances have been adversely impacted by natural disasters. “Ranchers and farmers have been the backbone of America by providing our food, clothing, and other necessities, and it’s time to give something back,” says T.J. Casey of Billings, Montana, co-founder and President of the GBF. “They’ve faced drought, fire, flash floods, tornadoes, blizzards and hail; and there is nothing more devastating to a rancher or farmer than to suffer loss of fields, pasture, livestock, grain, fence or winter feed.”

GBF has been active since December 2006 to alleviate some of those losses – from the Colorado blizzards to the Sweetgrass Creek wildfires, as well as through scholarships for farm and ranch freshmen going into agricultural education. Realizing that ranchers and farmers who have endured several years of drought, grass fires, flooding in some areas, and other natural disasters find their savings depleted and no money available when their kids graduate from high school and want to go to college, the Giving Back Foundation has extended those scholarships to the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and Montana State University.

The Giving Back Foundation hopes these funds will help ranchers keep operating under these difficult conditions. For more information about GBF or how you can help, please visit www.ranchersandfarmers.org, or call the Montana Stockgrowers Association at (406) 442-3420.

Facebook | Kevin Seney for Wyoming Governor 2014

Just today, The Wampler Foundation was informed that they will receive a video endorsement by Comedian and TV Talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres! Her video will appear on the Wampler Foundation web site by the end of the week, or early next! Steve Wampler has been so fortunate to already have the backing of Paul Reiser, Will Forte, Will Ferrell, and now Ellen DeGeneres! Please try to get all your Facebook friends to become fans of the Wampler Foundation! Their goal is to have over 250,000 fans within a month or two. Congratulations to Steve and Elizabeth Wampler!

Please become a Friend: Facebook | The Wampler Foundation

Or, better yet, Please Donate Here: www.thewamplerfoundation.org