Craig Ruvere

19Apr 2016 by CJ

Food is an extension of one’s heart

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.” - Cesar Chavez My grandmother loved to cooked. Come to think of it, what she really loved was to feed people. Not unlike other Italian-Americans, she took great pleasure in preparing a feast and then sharing it with someone special. In fact it didn’t matter what time of day it was, if you uttered the words “I’m a little hungry”, she’d be rummaging through the refrigerator or pantry to whip you up something you’d enjoy. I especially appreciated how she always took the time to plan and prepare food items she knew you’d enjoy. Some of my fondest memories of my grandmother were…

14Apr 2016 by CJ

Disappointments are opportunities in disguise

Life & Living

“It was one of those times you feel a sense of loss, even though you didn't have something in the first place. I guess that's what disappointment is - a sense of loss for something you never had.” - Deb Caletti, The Nature of Jade Optimism and hope sometimes fail us. While the scenarios in our head often seem logical and completely plausible to come to fruition, we frequently forget there are still so many other variables beyond our control – so many factors we just didn’t consider. I currently find myself with such a dilemma. An opportunity I felt confident would lead me down a new path on a new journey, may have been a premature conclusion on my part. Optimism and hope it seems has certainly gotten the better of…

12Apr 2016 by CJ

What you don’t say is decision enough

Life & Living

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." ― Theodore Roosevelt There’s nothing more frustrating (and annoying) than sitting around waiting for people to make a decision. Yes, there are certainly varying degrees of the decision making process - what to have for dinner is far less difficult than where you should invest your money. But as Roosevelt said, doing nothing has it’s own ramifications. For starters, progress can never be made without some kind of decision (good or bad) to move you forward. Decisions are actions and actions lead to change. But change will never occur if you rarely make choices or take chances. The other thing that happens when people fail to make…

31Mar 2016 by CJ

There’s no room for know-it-alls in life

Life & Living, Youth

“Unless your name is Google, stop acting like you know everything.” – PictureQuotes.com First, let me start off by saying the quote above is priceless! Definitely t-shirt worthy. With that in mind, for all those know-it-alls out there (and you know who you are) enough already! It’s getting harder and harder for the humbler beings of this world to sit back and smile while you carrying on with undeserving authority. You might think you’re very well adjusted, but let’s be real – you’ve got issues which cause your know-it-all syndrome. But your issues do not need to become my issues. So what are the schools of thought on know-it-alls? It’s simple really. Diane Barth (LCSW) offers a clear explanation on PsychologyToday.com. There’s an underlying insecurity. When speaking of one of…

30Mar 2016 by CJ

A trip to the NJ shore – without getting drunk

Youth

Today I was asked a rather interesting and perplexing question. To put it into context, I grew up in New Jersey – not far from the Jersey shore. The MTV show with the same name did little to boost the reputation of the Garden State, which might explain where this question came from now that I live in Colorado. The question was, “Didn’t you go and get drunk on the boardwalk all the time?” Ah, no. Yes, I did frequent the Jersey shore on numerous occasions. But typically they were to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean, a box of salt water taffy and to allow the smells of the sausage and pepper stand and the sea air to take me on nostalgic trip down memory lane. People…