Live Now! Imagine the Possibilities…

By L.D. “Stoney” Stone and Mark Edward Cody

Copyright 2011 by L.D. Stone and Mark Edward Cody

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I

PART ONE: THE CRUCIBLE OF LIFE 1 FAMILY NEVER LEAVES YOU BEHIND 9

FINDING STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS 29 LABORS OF LOVE AND LABORS OF NECESSITY 39 IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE ~ PLAY ON! 45

LOVE’S LABOR LOST 61 THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR 71

LOVE IN IDLENESS 113 MASTERS OF FATE 119

PART TWO: ONE LIFE… ONE MOMENT 137 ELITE WARRIOR SEMINARS 167 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 173

Dedication

Mom - Your unconditional love, strength and compassion has stayed with me throughout my life. This book is for you, because you didn't get to write your own book. Donna - Your love and support was a big reason that I was able to become the martial artist I became. You were always by my side, "No questions asked”. You are a huge part of who I am today. That will never change. I love ya! My Family - A family that cares is all it really takes to make a difference. Thank you for never leaving me behind. I will never let you down… My Friends - How do I thank all of you for believing in me? My friends are too many to mention. I am truly blessed. Ray Dionaldo - From student, to teacher, to one of the world's greatest martial artists; you are the man; without your trust, this new journey would be just another dream. My Martial Arts Family - Your many gifts have defined who I am; for that I will be forever grateful. I am so proud of all of you. On Track Seminars - Education is everything. Your many gifts will be used to the best of my ability. Thank you all so much. Casey Combden of InterBiz – Thank you so much for believing in me and for investing in my life, so that I might have the opportunity to invest in the world. Catherine - Your guidance, patience and understanding has made this book a reality. You are one of the many gifts God has given me. Thank you for being you. Wendy – It is difficult to understand the true meaning of the word “family” until you have children of your own. I could not Love Chase, Hunter, and Walker more if they were my own flesh and blood. I am proud to call them my sons. I thank you all for being my family. Words cannot describe how proud I am of you. I Love you Wendy…

…I love all of you! ~L.D. “Stoney” Stone

For Stoney… I am honored to be a part of the LIVE

NOW project… Your life, your friendship, and your strength are an inspiration. The world is a better place because you are in it.

~ Mark Edward Cody

A special thanks to Timothy Fugate for your assistance in

underwriting the Live Now! Project. We would also like to thank Janel Norton for the cover photography.

~L.D. “Stoney” Stone and Mark Edward Cody

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Introduction By Mark Edward Cody

A journey began on 6 December 1949. And like many

stories that are worth telling, this is the story of a journey of adversity and triumph, of insurmountable odds and of soul-lifting triumph. The unlikely hero of this tale is reminiscent of the improbable heroes of myth and legend. We are reminded of the young King Arthur, who in defiance to the scorn of others drew Excalibur from the stone. Daring to do that which “could not be done”, Arthur embraced the Hero’s Journey and lead a band of warriors into the heart of popular imagination. Like the story of King Arthur and his Knights of The Round Table, this story begins with a Stone.

In order to fully understand the message of L.D. “Stoney”

Stone, I think it is important to understand the life experiences that formed his philosophy of life. It will also be beneficial for the reader to understand who I am and how my path has intersected with that of Stoney.

I was probably about fifteen-years-old when I first met

Stoney. I had just begun training in the martial arts. It was to become a path that I would follow throughout my life. The first time I saw the television series KUNG FU in the early nineteen-seventies, I knew I was going to study the martial arts.

I was eleven-years-old in 1977 when the movie STAR

WARS hit the silver screen. I immediately realized that “I must become a Jedi Knight, like my father before me” (if I may borrow the line from the film). My father had taught me to live by A Code of Honor. My parents had taught me that

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you should live your life with Purpose. This film intensified that belief.

My father had worked for the National Security Agency

under Air Force Intelligence. As a child, this whet my interest in spycraft.

Prior to my exposure to Star Wars, the James Bond films

had been one of my “myths to live by” (as philosopher Joseph Campbell labeled such metaphorical stories). I would attempt to pursue a career with The Central Intelligence Agency until after my college days. I wanted to be a synthesis of Obi Wan Kenobi and James Bond. Upon reflection, I have lived the better part of my life pursuing that goal.

Obi Wan was the personification of the warrior sage. Bond

was a Renaissance Man with a gun. He seemed to know a lot about everything. From knowing how to diffuse a bomb to knowing that Dom Perignon '53 is a better vintage than the ’55, Bond was the man. (Incidentally, Dom Perignon '53 was Marilyn Monroe’s favorite champagne also.)

Part of my youthful quest to be a “Jedi Master with 007-

skills” was a fascination with weapons. One of the vocations that I would eventually pursue was that of tactical firearms instructor and Arms Dealer (of the legal, government sanctioned variety). This brings me to how I met Larry Stone.

My father had trained me in the use of various weapons

since before the time I could ride a bicycle. On the day I met Stoney, my father had taken me to a combat pistol competition.

In those days, Stoney could walk without crutches, but he

had a bad limp. It was obvious that he had a serious physical handicap. I remember seeing him run through the course as

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best he could, engaging targets with his .45 cal pistol blazing.

I remember the first thing I ever said about Larry Stone. I

remember tugging on my dad’s sleeve and whispering in his ear, “That guy doesn’t know he is handicapped does he?” That was three decades ago, and I still have not come up with a better summary of this man’s life.

I remember that on the day I met Stoney, he was

disqualified from the round he was shooting for “killing” a hostage target. In this type of pistol competition, shooters had to run through various scenarios in which you had to fire on the “bad guys” while avoiding hitting the “hostages”.

I remember Stoney playfully arguing with the judges that

the “hostage” that he shot was a “damned collaborator”. Stoney has been “taking shots at collaborators” ever since… In the years that have passed since that day so long ago, I have come to know Stoney a man who is never afraid to take a metaphorical shot at anyone who collaborates with the forces that hold people hostage. Those forces may be self-doubt, or self-pity. We may be held hostage by apathy, by indifference or by ignorance. Stoney always has a fully loaded magazine on hand to empty into those who are in league with such forces. His philosophy is like that of Thomas Jefferson,

I have sworn upon the alter of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man...

After our first meeting, I would cross paths with Stoney

on numerous occasions throughout the years. I remember being told that he taught martial arts. I later discovered that he had a Shotokan Karate school not far from the dojo in which I studied Wado Ryu Karate/Jujutsu and Kali.

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Ray Dionaldo (who is now recognized as one of the best martial artists in the world) was my childhood friend. He and I studied together as kids. Ray started training with Stoney about three years after he and I began studying together.

I attended some seminars at Stoney’s school and he in

turn came to some events that I hosted after I became the owner of my school. Ray’s interest in martial arts competitions was one of the things that led him to train with Stoney. Stoney had a reputation for training competitive fighters. Ray was winning every competition he entered. I personally had no interest in “sport karate”. I was interested only in the realistic, combative application of martial technique. I had the misconception that competitive fighting was all that Stoney taught.

Shotokan is very similar to the Wado system that I was

studying. It is generally not a good idea to train in systems that are very similar due to the confusion caused by the minor differences. The kata or “forms” are very similar, but not exactly the same. Few people can learn both variations and keep both straight in their heads. For these reasons, I never trained with Stoney.

As Ray Dionaldo’s Filipino Combat Systems Kali started

to become an internationally acclaimed art, Stoney and I began to interact more frequently at FCS events. In time, we began to work together in educational and motivational speaking events.

Ours’ is a yin/yang relationship. Stoney is everything I am

not. He is a man of small stature. I am almost six-and-a half-feet-tall. I am serious, quiet and reserved. Stoney is light-hearted, loud and (I often joke with him) extraverted just below the threshold of being obnoxious. I grasp things intellectually, whereas he perceives things intuitively. I analyze. Stoney feels. Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the two of us is the fact that I have been

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blessed with good health and physical strength. Stoney has lived a life filled with health issues and physical challenges. I see myself as a Realist. The universe being what it is, some would call me a Pessimist. Larry Stone is the consummate Optimist.

Because of our complementary differences, Stoney and I

found that we worked well together. We began lecturing together, extolling the virtues of warrior philosophy and teaching the various aspects of winning strategy. We found that audiences responded well to the contrast as we presented the same philosophy from two different perspectives.

Returning to the Star Wars symbolism, he was the “Yoda”

to my “Obi Wan Kenobi”. Because of my size and demeanor, I tend to meet people’s preconceived notion of what a “warrior” should look like. (Some would suggest that I look more like Darth Vader than Obi Wan.) Stoney has the archetypical appearance of the “wise old man”.

In time, Stoney started referring to us as “The Warrior

and The Wise Man”. But he would explain that he was the warrior and I was the wise man. I would suggest that his categorization is half right. Given the constant battle that his life has been, few that know Stoney would doubt that he is indeed a warrior. Stoney fashions me “the wise man” because I have an affinity for remembering facts and figures. I would argue that if I possess any wisdom it is only in that I recognize that I lack wisdom and thus feverishly peruse attaining it.

In 2007, Stoney published the first edition of LIVE NOW!

In October of 2011 some of Stoney’s friends encouraged him to produce an expanded, edited, second edition of the text. Stoney approached me to assist him with the project. I had previously published four books of my own and was in the process of writing two novels and a book on Bible prophecy

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and Christian Apologetics. “Apologetics” means to present a rational basis for a belief system. As you might imagine, a great deal of research and very difficult subject matter is involved in such an undertaking. I was hesitant to take on yet another project, given my current workload.

I had read Storey’s first edition of the book and I did not

think that the form or content of the book adequately presented Stoney’s message. Because I believed so deeply in the message of LIVE NOW! I agreed to coauthor the second edition. Stoney and I had been working together producing the internet TV show, A Warrior’s Wisdom in addition to many other projects. Stoney had a lot of new material that was not in his book.

In the pages that follow, I shall attempt to share the story

of this remarkable man. His story and his message are worth hearing. I am honored to take part in the telling of this story.

Before you read Stoney’s story in his own words, I would

like to present a brief overview of his struggle and of his triumph.

THE LIFE and TRIALS of “STONEY” STONE Lawrence Donald Stone was the son of Marjorie Perry

Stone and Robert Stone. Marjorie was a homemaker. Her husband Robert was a car dealer and a salesman. They lived in Ilion, New York. This was the home of Remington Arms, which employed Robert's father and many of the extended Stone and Perry family members.

Marjorie and Robert were married in 1942, but waited

two years before having their first child, Sharon. Three years later Tom was born. Marjorie’s third pregnancy resulted in twin brothers. Lawrence Donald came first, followed fifteen minutes later by Terrance Ronald. It was a double blessing for the Stone family.

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Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.

~ Samuel Johnson

Twins Terry and Larry at 6-months-old

The family moved to Mohawk, New York, which is a small

town in the beautiful Mohawk Valley. It is nestled between the Adirondacks and the Catskills mountains.

As the twin brothers grew, Marjorie and Robert struggled

in their marriage. They finally separated when the twins were five-years-old. Marjorie and her children moved to Herkimer where she worked in a small diner called Little Joe's Dairy. There wasn’t much money, but there was a lot of

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love in the Stone household. Marjorie struggled to care for the children in the old home in which they lived. The children, in turn, helped to care for one another.

The twins started kindergarten at Mohawk Central. In

time, Marjorie fell in love again and married Wallis Richardson. The family moved to North Ilion, and then to Frankfort where the children attended Frankfort Elementary School, then Frankfort High School. Wallis brought his daughter, Thelma, and his son, David, into the family, and then another child was born. Debbie brought the family to a boisterous, full household of nine souls.

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.

~ George Santayana

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Terry and Larry at the age of six

By the age of five, Larry, the eldest of the twins, was still not walking. Medical investigation revealed a congenital hip condition that would affect him for his entire life. The identification of this condition was just the beginning of a life of physical and emotional struggle. Larry suffered through painful operations and extensive hospital stays, never knowing when the ordeal would come to an end.

In high school, Larry found his true calling as a singer. He

performed as the vocalist in several Rock bands. His love for music has been a constant throughout the diverse stages of his life.

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After graduating from high school, Larry moved to New York City to attend The Bulova School of Watch Making, where he would acquire the skills that he hoped would provide him with a secure and productive career. In time, Larry’s free spirit began to feel imprisoned within the three-piece-suit that was the garb of his chosen profession. Music was his passion, but it was a series of odd jobs that provided the stable income he required to meet his daily needs.

Larry worked and sang in a number of rock bands over the

years. Being a man of diverse interests, he simultaneously pursued a hobby in the martial arts, first attending a Karate dojo, and later starting his own school. This studio is still in business today. As Larry’s martial arts hobby became his passion, the years turned into decades. He was initially told that a person with his physical limitations could never learn the martial arts. In defiance of his handicap, he was eventually recognized as a Martial Arts Master. He was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in the year 2000. He has, to date, mentored sixteen black belts. Among these are four Florida State Karate Champions.

In the course of his musical career, Larry married and

divorced several times. Larry enjoyed life on the road as a performer, but it was always a strain on his romantic relationships. His last marriage lasted for twenty-one years. Although that union was dissolved in 2004, Larry and his former wife remain the best of friends.

Larry is now known to all his friends as “Stoney”. Like

everyone else in the world, his life has had its good times and its bad times. But unlike most of us, he has had to endure constant physical maladies throughout his life. He has faced obstacles that most would use as an excuse to give up on life. But that is not in Stoney’s nature… Instead of cursing his own lot in life, he has dedicated himself to helping people recognize and explore their own inner strength. He strives to help others to identify the things that make each

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of us truly unique. He seeks to help others to understand the true impact that each of us can have in the lives of our friends, our families and our communities.

Early in life, Stoney’s maladies caused him to understand

the importance of a strong foundation of character. He came to believe that faith and an open heart are the gateways to success. Stoney has always considered it his most sacred duty to impart such a foundation upon the many children he has mentored.

At the time of this writing, Stoney is in his early sixties. Each passing year brings greater physical challenges. He has been diagnosed with CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy). This is a degenerative nerve disease. Doctors say it will eventually leave him unable to walk. In addition to this condition, the discovery of a pre-cancerous condition in his throat threatens his future as a singer. Yet, if you ask Stoney, he will tell you that his life has never looked brighter. He believes that his future has never looked more promising.

Stoney’s life-journey can be an inspiration to each one of

us as we face our own trials and tribulations. Stoney’s philosophy echoes Hamlet’s words, “For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Larry Stone has discovered the secret to happiness in the face of adversity. He has discovered that true happiness is never dependent upon one’s outward condition. True peace, true joy, has to live within one’s own heart.

Stoney is fond of the Cherokee story of the old man

counseling his grandson that two wolves live in the hearts of all men. One is black, the other white. They are locked in eternal combat. The boy asked his grandfather which wolf was stronger. “Which one will win in the end, the Good wolf or the Evil wolf?” The wise old man replied, “The one you feed”.

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It is our prayer that this book will serve to “Feed the

white wolf” within your heart. As you read the story of this remarkable man’s life, in his

own words, resolve in your own heart to focus on the good things in your life so that you can endure the bad. In the words of Mythologist Joseph Campbell, “Participate joyfully in the sorrow of Life!”

Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his own; he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.

~ John Dryden

Some people hear their own inner voices with

great clearness and they live by what they hear.

Such people become crazy…

… Or they become legends.

~ From the movie Legends of the Fall

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