Irony All Around Me
Christopher R. Jones
Published by:
Smashwords
Copyright © 2012 Christopher Jones
Printed in the United States of America
Smashwords
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“Everyone is tempted to give up—on relationships, love, dreams and life. Next time you’re tempted to give up on anything, I hope you pick up Irony All Around Me. A few moments in this book will make you want to take that next step, that next chance, and it will fill you with hope.”
--Dean Nelson, Author of God Hides in Plain Sight, Director of Journalism Program at Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego.
“This book will inspire you, as it has me, because it is from the heart of a champion. Chris Jones has conquered and overcome incredible odds to achieve great accomplishments, not only in running but also in life. From running the Boston Marathon to successfully representing thousands of disabled people, Chris has experienced the fulfillment of accomplishments. Not only is this an enjoyable read, it’s helpful and inspiring principles could change your life.”
--Carl Godwin, Senior Pastor and Founder, Calvary Community Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
“His weekly “Life Lessons” that are portrayed in his book left me anxious to read each new update week-by-week back in 2009; and quite honestly something I miss reading every week.”
--Terence L. Milford; Vice President, Robert E. Miller Insurance Group, Certified Trainer of Franklin Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and “First Things First” Time Management
“Most of the time it seems like our lives are going at warp speed with a limited ability to stop, think and truly explore the beauty of life that is around us every day. Often, the mundane is quite extraordinary when looking at it with the proper perspective. Chris’ book helps you do just that. You will enjoy the journey he takes you on and most likely find some deep insights along the way.”
--Steve Gardner, CEO, FIVE STAR Speakers
“Read
Irony
All Around Me
and be encouraged. You'll see that Chris’ boundless
enthusiasm and positivity show that he’s a True Believer--in our
ability to overcome life’s obstacles, in the possibility of finding
hope in despair, and in our desperate need for Grace."
--Seth Sears, Missionary serving the poor of San Jose, Costa Rica
“Many of us go through our lives in a fog, wishing our days away for the hope of future happiness. There are a few people who can find Grace in the world around them and encourage others to have hope. Chris Jones is one of those people. In Irony All Around Me Chris inspires us to live every moment and every experience for what it is-- a gift."
--Richard J. Pires Jr., Attorney and Fellow Marathoner
“Each of these essays is like a little gift that nourishes its readers with encouragement and inspiration. Irony All Around Me is Chris Jones’ memorial to a friend who died of cancer and one of the most life-enriching books I’ve read. In Irony All Around Me you will find the extraordinary in the ordinary and you will find a heroic tribute to a friend who died too young”
--Frank R. Hayde, U.S. Park Ranger and author of three books including Zion: The Story Behind the Scenery and The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob
“I just finished reading Irony All Around Me. I found it very encouraging and challenging. I love the way Chris takes simple, everyday experiences and applies them in a life challenging way. It is well worth reading. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:26 ‘So I run with patience in every step…’ so has your book encouraged me to finish well on my journey.”
--Don Mardock, Heartland Community Church
Acknowledgments
Kim, without your support I would not have found my passion in running. Thank you for your encouragement and patience. Thanks for putting up with my late night laptop writings and my early morning runs.
Grace, Carson, Lucy, and Ava: you are blessings and inspiration, reminding me daily that life is meant to be an adventure.
Mom, your battle-tested spirit and generosity encourage me to give more than I think I can. Your love and determination lives in me.
Papa, you have been more than a running partner over these years. Thanks for your demonstration of selfless love to mom and for the way you have pursued your passion for running.
Toni, a great sister; your strength, faith, and dedication to family inspire me.
Carl, you led me to the marathon. Thanks for your encouragement and prayers.
Susan, you were Paul’s constant source of strength, his best advocate, and you lifted us all in the process.
Lauren and Jerry for over thirty years you have treated me as a son and given me encouragement. Lauren for making go to college and Jerry for the nudge on this writing journey.
Big Mark and Jenness thanks for your hospitality and support all these years.
Dad and Marita, thanks for reaching out.
The folks at Intermedia Publishing, especially Doug Barnes—thanks for your verve for this project and your friendship. Judith, thanks for questioning the title. Johanna, thanks for your editing and encouragement. Floyd, your creativity is remarkable.
A special thank you to the many people who responded to my e-mails with encouraging words—particularly Mary, Dan, David, Dave, Wynne, Kevin, Kelly L., Kelly V., Tom, Marcia, Tim, Jeff, Sean, Rodney, Lee, Jude, Jamie, Kent, Kerry, Suzanne, Corrine, Mindy, Johnny, Craig, Stacey, Carolynne, Nancy, Steve Gardner of Fivestarspeakers.com, Shana, Christine, Lori, Margie, Laura, Michelle, Natalie, Rob, Shannon, Gordon, Jim, Cynthia, Reg, Kristen, Katie, Trey, Susan E., Rich—for pursuing your dream and logging all those miles in the car with me, Minnis, Moore—for your input to several emails before they went out and for not giving up the fight, Craft, Hunt, Todd, Fish, Vern, Miller, Tammy, Mike, Gregor, Mary, Lou, Taya, Nate, Carey, Carla, Gayle, Ken, Marilyn, Chris, Ginny, Kathy, Laurie, Terry, Sean, Vanessa, and to those who passed messages on to others.
Seth, thank you for running your ultra-marathon of faith (richinfaith.blogspot.com).
Kathleen—thanks for the amazing sterling silver thumbprint of Paul’s (klambertidesign.com).
Sean Kelly—thanks for the email after Paul passed (thesamples.com).
Idaho friends: Sandpoint is beautiful, but it is you that made it home for Paul. Rick and Pam, Leif, Chris of mistymountainfurniture.com, Liz, Gordon at The Idaho Club and many more. The wonderful folks at the Kootenai Medical Center, especially the group of nurses that traveled from Coeur D’Alene to Sandpoint for the funeral.
Heartland Community Church, for building a church for the unchurched and being a place we can be ourselves and not have to pretend. Let’s Go and take this Beautiful Fight!
Holly Nelson—for helping me love good stories and for being a great teacher.
Briarwood’s teaching legends. Don’t stop anytime soon (Karen and Cris).
Dr. Larry Finger of Point Loma for encouraging me to write. Mark Raduziner at JCCC for allowing me the opportunity to work for the award-winning Campus Ledger. University of Kansas and the William Allen White School of Journalism, for letting me find my way to creative communication through advertising. Massachusetts School of Law for taking me in and giving me a chance to make a difference in the lives of the disabled and their families. Dean Velvel and Joe Devlin—thanks are not enough.
Friends at DMB (Asoian, Tully, and Gilman)—for reading my “underground newspaper” and encouraging me to write more.
Mike, Ken, Brett for giving me an opportunity to grow as an attorney and then the opportunity to seek these new adventures.
Jeff and Dennis of Foo’s, along with Eddie Delahunt of Café &, for providing great atmosphere, friendship, and a lot of coffee while I wrote many of these words.
My Tuesday morning group: Don, Heath, Mike—thanks for allowing me to hang out with you and grow in faith and friendship together.
Jean Owen, Lea Ward, Carrie Swank, Alex Smith, Chris Garrett., Greg Johnson, Eileen & Kathy at Smartspotkc.com for helping make the Law Offices of Christopher R Jones a success (www.chrisjoneslaw.com).
BK Boreyko and the great folks at Vemma: thanks for the insanely healthy products that allow us to have a successful business (www.vhealthy.us).
Thanks to The Author of my story, for giving me this gift of life and for blessings each day, for your redemptive work in me through Christ Jesus and your grace that gives me hope.
This book was inspired in part by the music often playing during my runs including: Justin McRoberts, Freddy Jones Band, The Samples, Red Guitar, Eddie Delahunt, John Shirley, Suite 151, Josh Wilson, The Fray, Switchfoot, Toby Mac, Jack Johnson, and Kevin Rogers.
Preface
I guess if I was trying to be ironic I would have placed the preface at the end, or even in the middle of this book.
Why Irony All Around Me?
Some people closely involved with the publishing of this book have politely encouraged me to find another title. Others have just responded with quizzical looks or simply said, “What?” or, “Excuse me, what was that?”
Here is my ironic journey:
One day after a freshman composition class, my professor caught up with me on campus and told me that he really enjoyed my last submission and that I should consider creative writing as a focus. It not only frightened me, but ironically, sent me in the other direction. While his encouragement was nice, writing always felt private and revealing in a way that I had to trust the reader before I would open up.
For a while I wrote for the newspaper in college. This allowed me to express some of my creativity, but without having to divulge any secrets.
In fact, this book was not intended as a book. The irony speaks for itself.
Tragedy can be a blessing. Being blessed can cause tragedy.
Merriam Webster’s dictionary has multiple definitions for irony. It can be as simple as using a word or phrase in a way that actually says the opposite of what is generally understood. However, this is not what I mean to convey with this book. I am not trying to spin riddles or suggest that life is a riddle, although sometimes it may feel that way.
If someone says, “it has been a super day,” after describing a series of unfortunate occurrences, i.e., a flat tire, lost wallet, fender bender, etc., this could be an ironic statement, according to the first, most basic of Webster’s definitions. However, to me this is merely a form of sarcasm and not nearly what I think of as ironic.
I am reminded of the episode of Seinfeld where George discovers that if he does the exact opposite of what he would normally do, then he gets unexpectedly great results. The girl who would normally turn him down says she will go out with him. His boss (it may have been The Boss) gives him a promotion. The whole key is that he must do the exact opposite of what he would normally do. Irony personified.
Sometimes images capture irony best. A dead-end sign next to a cemetery. A misspelling on a school’s marquee. These examples and a deep discussion of irony can be found in The Big Book of Irony by John Winokur. Winokur even gives an analysis of Alanis Morisette’s 1996 hit song “Ironic” and explains that most of what the song describes is merely bad timing or coincidence, not ironies. In fact, he suggests that the only thing ironic about the song is the fact that it is not about irony.
When I lost my good friend and job within a period of seventy-two hours in September of 2008, I hardly saw it as a blessing. However, losing my good friend, Paul, allowed me to realize that losing my job might not have been the worst circumstance. Then, slowly I became aware of another blessing from this tragedy. I became more aware of what was important.