A Symphony of Your Life Blog With Captain Mark Hardcastle

Part One: December 2013.

Captain’s Log: I’m so thankful to be living in the 21st Century! What I’m about to write would not have been possible a decade ago, let alone in any other century.

I’m sitting in a hotel in Houston on a layover, listening to my kids in the Colorado Children’s Chorale sing “Velvet Shoes” by Randall Thompson as recorded at our concert last weekend. The concert was in Boettcher Hall, the municipal concert venue for downtown Denver. It’s being broadcast tonight by Colorado Public Radio. None of this is particularly remarkable.

The 21st-century part is that the concert recording is streaming in real time as part of the radio broadcast from Colorado Public Radio over the internet. In a minute they’ll sing “There Will Be Rest”, a poem by Sarah Teasdale, set to music by Daniel Kallman. Then a few moments later I’ll get to listen to Cameron sing “Balulalow” again. Merry Christmas, World, from the perspective of 2013.

Part Two: July 2020

Captain’s Log: Today a short hop from San Antonio to Houston, then deadhead home to Denver as a passenger.

This morning the Captain is out for a wander around the working-class neighborhood near his layover hotel, as he often does. He’s appreciating the working-class architecture displaying pride-of-ownership to varying degrees as with any neighborhood; lawns filled with the St. Augustine grass so common in the south. It’s hot in San Antonio. Forecast high will be 105 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn’t stop the cicada chatter that surrounds him. https://drive.google.com/…/1uPY7znXkZdRYXAXtfe2…/view…

A flash of red catches his eye and his heart is lifted by the sight of a female cardinal, the first he’s seen in many years, her head and breast bright red, her wings and tail dusky as is the way of the female bird. All of these things take him back to his childhood and remind him of the tall trees and green grass, the dogwoods and azaleas he so loved growing up in Georgia. And he misses them.

His way then takes him by a neighborhood grocery store, the outdoor display by the entrance piled high with bags of ant killer specifically formulated to target fire ants. And he remembers again. Those fire ants. The mosquitoes. Chiggers, for heaven’s sake. Those things he does not miss. And just that fast he is content again to live in Denver.

Perspective. It’s a thing.

Captain Mark

Link to Mark’s book, The Symphony of Your Life

The Symphony of Your Life    

The Symphony of Your Life on YouTube

Mark graduated from the USAF Academy in 1982. After nine years as a pilot on active duty, he left the military to join a commercial airline. In addition to flying B-737s around the country, Hardcastle spends time in the Rocky Mountains and serves on the artistic staff of the Colorado Children’s Chorale. He lives in Centennial, Colorado, with his wife and four children. Need some help figuring out why you’re on this planet? Want to talk about discovering your mission and purpose? Contact Mark today at 720.840.8361 to schedule a free personal consultation. He can also deliver an inspirational keynote or workshop for your organization! email: mark@symphonyofyourlife.com for information.

Posted in Inspiration, Motivation, UncategorizedTagged BeingUnited, CaptainsLog, determination, how, inspiration, NewWorld, perseverance, PostCovid, purpose, StayInTheProcess, StepOverTheBar, symphonyofyourlife, TheSymphonyofYourLife, United, WeAreUnited