I love history. There are so many amazing people and events just hanging out back there waiting to be discovered and learned from. Lately I am starting to realize more and more that even more exciting than past history is our very own future where history is yet unwritten and eagerly waiting to showcase our best. One of my favorite quotes comes from a man who was a huge asset and contributor in America’s wonderful history. Yes I love my country. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt said these words and they are probably the best description of the tune to which my heart beats. He lived these words. If you read about all that “Teddy” did while spending his allotted days on earth you might wonder how he fit it all in. One of the most lasting legacies he left behind was a large increase in our National Forests and National Parks. To imagine the number of people he has effected by his efforts in this area alone is staggering! Most everyone of us has enjoyed a park or forest that his life touched in some way. We can make a difference people. If we set out to make the best of our lives we will experience failure. I am not trying to be a downer but that is just realistic and truth. Also true is the fact that without those failures we will never have any success. For me the idea that I may never leave any lasting benefits on the world around me is motivating enough to step out of my comfort zone into that great big scary world and make my mistakes. At least that way when I finally accomplish something I can be proud and know I dared mighty things instead of stagnating in the gray comfy twilight. There is much wisdom to be gained by those in history so that we can continue to make history. Therefore I will heed the advice of Mark Twain when he said, “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.”