Quality Men

Qual-i-ty: [kwol-i-tee] noun, plural -ties, adjective

1. an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute
2. character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence

Thanks, Mr. Webster. You have defined a word that characterizes some people who I admire: for their quality. They say that if you surround yourself with people of quality, then you can't help but be improved in many ways.

I am exceptionally fortunate to have many quality men in my life, including:

• My partner -- a fine, upstanding, thoughtful and honest man who carries himself as an ongoing demonstration of what a quality man should be.


• My brothers -- all are of superb quality in their respective lives, relationships with their families, and with me.


• My "eighth brother" who also goes by "AZ" -- you know from just watching him that he is quality personified.


• My boot twin, Clay -- who has many qualities of caring, thoughtfulness, and upstanding character that one can't help but admire.
  


• Friends I grew up with -- I maintained friendships for more than 45 years with some of these guys. Why? They add quality to my life, because they are quality guys.


• Friends who I have more recently met -- these quality guys have reached out to me via email. They have an astute sense of what composes quality, I guess, as they sent me a message and we began having conversations. I have much to learn from them, as their intelligence is one indicator of their quality.


• Mentors and civic leaders -- many have helped me over the years to learn and be better at what I do, both at work and in my civic life. A sign of quality is for someone to spend time with someone else who wants to learn. I have benefited greatly from those who share so much.


• While my father is no longer among the living, I can't make a statement about quality men without listing him as well. His qualities were numerous, and many people, including me, benefited tremendously from sharing time with him.

There are men of all shapes, sizes, colors, and so on. It is fairly easy to know if you're communicating with a quality man. I am so richly blessed to build relationships with quality men who influence me to be the man I am. Thanks, guys!

Life is short: surround yourself with quality, and you can't help but be a better man.