SPEAKING OF VALUES By Joseph Walker

New you day We call it New Year’s Day. And that makes sense because ... well, it IS New Year’s Day - the first day of a new year. But my friend Henry has another name for it: New Henry Day. Because for Henry, New Year’s Day will always be the day he became a new - and better - man. The first New Henry Day occurred on Jan. 1, 2005. But in order to fully appreciate what happened that day, you have to know a little about what was going on with Henry during the days, months and years leading up to New Henry Day. Henry was a skilled and competent professional, respected by his colleagues and much-honored by his peers. Those who worked with him spoke highly of him, and even those who hadn’t actually worked with him had heard of his talent, his good nature and his consummate professionalism. He was at the top of the world, career-wise. But his personal life was spinning out of control. The most obvious thing was his weight. An athlete of some repute during his college days, he now weighed well more than 300 pounds. His doctor warned him that if he didn’t start losing weight he’d soon be facing serious health issues. So he quit going to the doctor. When he felt poorly he prescribed his own medication - he was especially partial to Crown and Coke - which he took with increasing frequency, no matter how he felt. As you might expect, his wife was not pleased with what she saw happening to her husband. She urged him to find another doctor. She urged him to exercise. She urged him to eat healthier and drink less. He, on the other hand, urged her to leave him alone. So she did, taking their two children with her. That was Oct. 2004 - right around Halloween. The last two months of the year were long and painful for Henry. He was alone. He didn’t feel well. He didn’t sleep well. About the only thing he did well was drink, and that left him foggy and dazed much of the time. His colleagues wondered what was wrong - Henry was different, and not in a good way. When he showed up for work one December morning with alcohol on his breath, his boss took him aside and told him that things needed to change or he would undo all of the good work he had done. As the new year approached, Henry was at the lowest point in his life. In poor health, unhappy and painfully alone, he knew his boss was right: Things needed to change. HENRY needed to change - and change now - or everything of any value in his life would be lost forever. In his loneliness he thrashed about looking for a lifeline, something he could cling to, something he could use to pull himself up out of the deep waters into which he had sunk. At last he found his lifeline in New Year’s Day - not the day itself, but the concept. While New Year’s Eve may be heavily laden with the weighty baggage of a year full of decisions and choices, both good and bad, New Year’s Day always dawns fresh and new. It is a clean page. A blank canvas. An empty spread sheet. Unsullied. Unmarred. Undefiled. It is a day of new beginnings. A day to start over. A day of change. In other words, New Henry Day. Henry grabbed hold of the concept with both hands. His first act of 2005 was pouring the remnants of his last bottle of Scotch down the drain. His second act was a 20-minute walk around his apartment complex, which left him as drained as the Scotch. His third act was a call to his wife and children, to beg their forgiveness and one more chance. A chance to change. I won’t say it was all easy for Henry after that. It wasn’t. There were ups and downs for him as he rebuilt his life, just as there are for all of us in the process of personal growth. But he did it. He changed. And now, five years later, he has his family. He has his health. His career is on the rise again. And if you ask him, he owes it all to New Henry Day. Or, as I’m going to call it this year, New Joe Day. And I’m hoping you have a Happy New You Day, too.