a second chance

Nefarious - Part 10: Denouement

2010-03-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, June 7 & 21, July 4 & 22, August 22, September 6, and October 24, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin nefarius, from nefas = crime, from ne = not + fas = right

I worked from the company's HQ for the next week or so. One woman and one man in the Agency Settlements Department were assigned to work closely with me. Their goal was to contact every Agent with whom we held a contract. Once the initial phone contact and brief interview was completed, the agent was advised a call would be coming from the Vice President of Agency Development: me.

The net result of all these calls was for me to schedule face-to-face meetings with the agents which seemed to hold out the most promise for fast short-term gains. The next month was lived out of my car. I traveled from city to city meeting with these agents. One big 2-week loop started in Detroit, proceeded through northern OH into western PA, thence to eastern PA then down the east-coast through VA and NC and SC, then to GA and AL and TN and KY and IN. Another subsequent loop took me through southern MI and northern IN, then north-eastern IL and south-eastern WI, to MO and back through central IL.

We were gaining a lot of new business revenue from already existing agents. Everyone was happy.

- - - - -

Just before I left on my 2-week trip through the east, the Vice President of Sales for the Western Region took me out to lunch. My new position as the Vice President of Agency Development was removing me from his area of responsibility. He said he wanted to thank me for all the help I had been to him. He also wanted to let me know that he was going to be leaving the company soon - and that it was a secret he expected me to keep. He was sharing with me because he 'really liked me' and thought me to be an honest and upright person - he didn't want to see me get hurt.

At that point I had no idea of what he might be inferring.

He gave me one very specific piece of advice. He said that before I left town on this business trip, I was to go into the accounting department and tell them that my personal Credit Cards were maxed-out and that I needed 'cash' to make this trip. "DO NOT use your personal credit cards," he said. "Make them give you the money up front - do you understand what I'm telling you?"

The reality was that my naivety did not allow me to clearly read into the words the seriousness of his message. While I intended to do as he told me, I had never had any problems in almost 20 years. I was busy getting everything lined-up for the trip. I failed to follow through with his advise.

- - - - -

Upon my return I started hearing rumors of some driver payroll checks 'bouncing'. I was hearing of vendors denying us services due to unpaid bills. I noticed that my Travel Expense Reports were not being processed in a timely manner. On, payday, people were running to the bank on their lunch hour to be sure their checks would clear. Some did and some did not. It seemed that there was some money available, and when that ran out, the bank stopped accepting the checks. People who lived out of the immediate Detroit area and received their checks by mail were having the checks accepted by their home-town bank, only to get them back in a day or two marked NSF.

Things were getting ugly. The official word was that things were tight but everything was being worked out. "Don't panic", they said. Some believed that, some didn't.

My 20 year anniversary with the company was coming up in about a month. At 20 years you were entitled to 3-weeks paid vacation. For years 2-5 of employment we were given 1-week of paid vacation - there was no paid vacation during the 1st year. For years 6 through 20 we received 2 weeks of paid vacation. With number 20 on the very near horizon, I turned in a 'Vacation Request' for 2 weeks combined time off starting on the Monday one day after my 20th anniversary on a Sunday. I was relieved when I received notice that it had been approved. It left me with one additional week I could take later.

- - - - -

All of these things were taking place in a very face-paced and frantic environment. In the weeks before my first big trips to get new agent business, the company had changed banks for some of the company's accounts. They also had engaged a 'Payroll Processing' company to handle the issuance of all checks for accounts that dealt with driver payroll and Agency business. No one, including me thought much about it.

- - - - -

About a week to 10-days before my vacation was to begin, I was part of a very heated and hostile meeting with our company CEO - you know the one I'm referring to. There were a lot of department heads and other manager types in the meeting.

The main issue was getting revenue flows moving faster from our customers - get our Accounts Receivables down to a very tight time frame ... really go after anyone who was overdue on any monies due us.

Various people were given their orders and dismissed from the meeting to get the ball rolling. Various other peoples in Operations, Sales, and Accounting were told to stay put for another discussion. Because of my experience in various areas of the company over the years, I became the target of the next round of discussion.

It seems that the Holding Company that owned our company also owned a number of other trucking companies around the country. We were advised that there were several of those companies that were being targeted by the 'owners' to be closed and bankrupted in the foreseeable future. They wanted us to come up with ways to immediately divert freight and revenues away from those companies and into ours.

What they were proposing was going to be a challenge. When I explained what we'd have to do to accomplish this, I was met with a very threatening response that that approach was not good enough. We needed to do it some way that would allow the money to flow in much sooner that what I was describing.

Without getting into all the details, just let me say that what they were wanting done, I kept telling them couldn't be done that way - at least not legally. Our CEO, after much heated discussion with all of us, left the room in a serious 'huff'.

That was the last time I ever saw him.

- - - - -

The next day I left for my home base in Indiana. My 2-week vacation was scheduled to start in another week. I made face-to-face appointments to see Agents in and around my home area. I wanted to be able to get things in order for taking my first ever 2-week vacation.

My travel expense reimbursement checks were now 4 weeks behind. I was now wondering what it was my former Vice President of Sales for the Western Region was trying to warn me. I was counting on that money, along with current pay, to fund our vacation. We had planned to go to the San Antonio TX area. We had reservations to visit a large Texas Longhorn cattle ranch; attend an old-fashioned Barn Dance; visit the Alamo; hang-out on the River-walk; and just enjoy the weather. January there was going to be a lot different than in Indiana and Michigan.

- - - - -

It was Thursday. My vacation was going to start on Saturday - bags were mostly packed and tickets were in hand. I was at one of our company's freight terminal offices when I received the phone call.

"Lock the doors, send the people home. The company is closed!"

- - - - -

NOTICE OF SEIZURE:
All properties and material items in or on the attached premises are
here-by declared to be the property of the United States of America.

All claims to remove any such property are to be made at the local IRS office.

- - - - - - - - - -

It seems that since 8 months ago when the new owners took over, no money for any Federal taxes owed were ever sent in. All those with-holdings from all of our payroll checks never found their way into U S Government coffers. The IRS was mad.

- - - - - - - - - -

[to be continued as time allows]

Nefarious - Part 9

2009-10-24T21:29:00.015-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, June 7 & 21, July 4 & 22, August 22, September 6, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:

\ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas = crime, from ne = not + fas = right

There were a lot of things that were not right in the unfolding of these vignettes. Like many things, though, you sometimes don't spot them except with hindsight. Then it is usually too late to change things.

- - - - - - - - - -

Mr. Bxxxxxxxx was waiting for us as we entered his office. He seemed to be in one of his regular 'agitated' states...like he was on a caffeine high [only it probably wasn't caffeine].

Mr. 'X' sat in one of the chairs across from Mr. Bxxxxxxxx. I guess he wanted his presence to be known to us.

As he points at me, Mr. Bxxxxxxx asks my VP, "So, what's this great idea of yours? ...and what's he got to do with it?"

My VP shoots right back with, "Jimmy here is the guy who's gonna help us pull this off."

It now seems I play a role in it, even though I haven't heard the plan yet. Now if it fails, its my fault. These guys are pros at covering their backsides in case things go wrong.

He continued speaking to Mr. Bxxxxxxxx, "Remember when I called you last week and asked if your people could get me some names in the Chicago area?"

Pointing to the guy who normally sets in the corner of the room, he says "Txxx called me back with the names I needed: Jimmy gumshoe and Manny the rat.

Yesterday, we made house-calls on four contract Agents in the Chicago / Gary area. I dropped the names and struck gold at two of them. These guys don't want any trouble like the kind Jimmy gumshoe and Manny the rat can cause them. I told them I needed to know why they don't throw more business our way. Seems we're slow payers and our commission rates aren't the best.

We gotta get someone in our company to work with these guys ... you know, face-to-face. We gotta schmooze them a little. We need to pay faster and we need to pay better. If we want revenue from them we gotta treat them better. What we're doing now isn't throwing much revenue onto our books."

Mr. Bxxxxxxxx is listening and figeting in his chair.

"So, that's what you're saying we gotta do? Pay them faster and pay them more commission?", Mr. Bxxxxxxxx asks.

My VP comes right back with, "...and we gotta get the right person getting the word out that we're gonna do just that. We have over a hundred of these contract agents . I'm saying we gotta have somebody with the title and the power to make things happen."

The quiet guy in the chair next to us butts in: "Are you saying Jimmy here is the guy?"

"Absolutely!" says my companion.

"How much is it gonna cost us?" asks Mr. Bxxxxxxxx. "...and what're you gonna call him?"

"It'll cost a 'big one' ... and he needs new business cards - fast. We can call him: Vice President of Agency Development."

"Well, can you do it?", Mr. Bxxxxxxxx asks as he glowers at me?

"If I've got front-office support and the expressed authority to do what needs to be done, then, 'Yes!', I can do it." That's about the best I can come up with on the spur of the moment.

Mr. Bxxxxxxxx stares at my VP then looks over at the guy setting next to us. Mr. 'X' nods one time affirmatively. Mr. Bxxxxxxxx returns his gaze to our Vice President of Sales for the Western Region.

"Let's do it!" he declares.

Mr. Bxxxxxxxx then looks to me. In one of the few almost normal comments I've ever had from him, he asks, "What do you need from me?"

I have several folders in my lap. Each contain records for one of the four contract agents we visited the day before. I'm keenly aware of the weaknesses in our Agency program.

"I need the Manager in the Settlements Department answering to me. I need to be able to implement changes in the way we process Agency business. I need to adjust payment levels as needed to get business from our agents. Commission rates don't have to be the same to all agents. We only have to be higher than what they get from other carriers. And I need you to speak personally to our VP of Operations and to the Settlements Department Manager - let them know of the changes." There! I had said it. Unplanned and unrehearsed.

Mr. Bxxxxxxxx raised himself from behind his desk. "Let's go see them right now." He looked to my VP and told him to go to payroll and get the pay thing squared away ... and get my business cards ordered 'rush'. I had no idea about this. We hadn't discussed anything.
- - - - -
An hour later, the conversations had been concluded. I was given a small office outside the Operations Department. I would be making a lot of phone contact with our agents. After that I'd be on the road a lot, seeing them face-to-face.

I went to dinner with my Vice President of Sales for the Western Region. I heard it again: "You do for me - I owe you. I do for you - you owe me." I wondered who owed at this point. I asked about the pay thing. "Remember when he asked what it would cost? I told him 'a big one'. Well that was your raise ... a big one ... a grand a month."

I was now a Vice President, and I had a thousand dollar a month raise. This was a few years back - a grand was very nice. I told him I needed to go home for a couple of days. He suggested I stay there in HQ for a day. Get things set up in the Settlements Department. Make some phone calls. Then go home. After that, get on the road. Make something happen quick. We both knew they didn't like negative reports at sales meetings.
- - - - -
I called home and gave my wife the news. She was thrilled about the money, but I think she had a sense of what it was going to cost us. I was only beginning to imagine what was happening in the company. As long as what I was to do wasn't illegal or immoral, I'd give it my my best shot.
- - - - -
Out of the chute, the agents were thrilled to hear the news. I didn't know how long-lived the euphoria would be. Increased commission checks are great ... if the checks don't bounce.
- - - - - - - - - -
[to be continued as time allows]

Nefarious - Part 8

2009-09-06T21:53:00.020-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, June 7 & 21, July 4 & 22, August 22, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:

\ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas = crime, from ne = not + fas = right

There were a lot of things that were not right in the unfolding of these vignettes. Like many things, though, you sometimes don't spot them except with hindsight. Then it is usually too late to change things.
- - - - - - - - - -

Today was on my mind. We had made the rounds of 4 different Agent offices in the Chicago area. My Vice President of Sales for the Western Region asked questions after questions.

What was nagging me was some of the conversations I heard while with him. It reminded me of a Sales Rep that worked for us a number of years before. He had come to us after having been the Vice President of Sales for a small regional LTL trucking company that had recently folded.

When that former sales rep and I were making a joint sales call on potential new customers, someone he didn't know before, he would have some sort of banter that determined if they were a member of the Masons. It seemed to be some sort of coded talk. If they determined they were both brother Masons, it seemed almost automatic that we were going to be getting new business from them.

Well, my Vice President of Sales for the Western Region was doing something similar ... but it had to do with 'name dropping'. Some of these agents knew some of the same people that he knew. At some point he would ask if they knew "Jimmy gumshoe" or "Manny the rat". If their response said 'no', the conversation seemed to continue in more of a business tone. If their response said 'yes' [yeh], or if they asked a question about how he knew them, the conversation went a different direction. The net result of those who said 'yes' seemed more positive - we could work out our problems and start doing more business together. We got a 'yes' from two of the four.

I had no idea who 'Jimmy gumshoe' or 'Manny the rat' were ... and I never asked.

How this was going to play out in our meeting with Mr. Bxxxxxxxx I had no idea - but I was certain I would find out.
- - - - -
It was late when I arrived in Detroit. I stayed at that same famous hotel I've mentioned before - the one where I had been awakened at 3am in the morning and told to be in the Conference Room in 1-hour for a sales meeting. This trip I slept in, had a late breakfast, and checked in at Company Headquarters about 10:30am. Our Meeting with Mr. Bxxxxxxxx was scheduled for 2:30pm.

I went directly to the Department that handled the 'settlements' for the Agency offices. The number one complaint we heard was about delays encountered in being paid for freight handled in our behalf. Most other complaints were about paperwork requirements.

I had the names of the agents we had visited and I asked to see their files. At that time I was a Regional Manager. The woman I was talking to wasn't sure whether she could show those to me - she'd have to get someone's OK. I said that was fine, but I was asking for them for Mr. Bxxxxxxxx [that was not entirely untrue].

She was back with the files in minutes.

I asked for a desk to use. She pointed me to one in the corner out of the way. I went through the paperwork and documentation. I made notes and went back to the same lady with my questions. Then I called each agent to tell them that I was now in Detroit and working on the pay problems they told us about the day before. Boy did that impress them.

The lunch hour for the people in that department came and they all left. I stayed and continued making my notes and a few more phone calls. On their return I had more questions. This time we were joined by the department head, whom I had known for years. I had worked in Headquarters before as the head of Intermodal Operations. I had explained to him that I was meeting with Mr. Bxxxxxxxx at 2:30pm.

The reality was that there were approximately a hundred agents who held contracts with us nationwide. We had visited with four in the Chicago area. If these four had complaints, I was certain that the others did too.
- - - - -
After 2pm I informed the Department Manager that I'd like to take the files to my meeting with Mr. Bxxxxxxxx. On the condition that I return with the paperwork when I was done in the Executive wing, I left with files in-hand.

I went to the Reception Area for the Executive

Offices and asked if our Vice President of Sales for the Western Region had arrived. She informed me he was in the building and that she would locate him for me. At 2:25pm he showed up in the Reception Area. I told him what I had been doing - he seemed sort of surprised and impressed.

He asked the receptionist to let Mr. Bxxxxxxxx know we were here for our 2:30pm meeting.
- - - - -
[to be continued as time becomes available]

Nefarious - Part 7

2009-08-22T13:30:00.014-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, June 7 & 21, July 4 & 22, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas = crime, from ne = not + fas = right

- - - - - - - - - -

The NW Indiana terminal had not been on my itinerary much in the past month or so. Much of my time had been on the road and at the company headquarters in Detroit.

The people there were good hard working people. I had been their Regional Manager for the past year. During one part earlier in my career I had been the local Terminal Manager there. The people there were old friends. I left there with a promotion to company headquarters. I had been asked to run a new Division within the company which was called "Intermodal Operations".

But that was then and this was now. My task at hand was to meet our Vice President of Sales for the Western region. He had an idea that he hoped would interject a good strong flow of new business into the company. If it was successful, he'd get a feather in his hat. As goes the saying, "You help me, I owe you - I help you, you owe me." It was always a two way exchange - I'm not sure what happened to those who did not help him.

Promptness was measured on his time piece, not mine. So, while I got to visit with old friends, he got to take his time getting to his 9am appointment with me. Time was often only an illusion any way - the nature of getting things done sometimes ignores time pieces.

Around 10:10am he made his appearance. He "had some business to take care of" was always his response to the unasked question. Today he was all business. Undoubtedly, at least in my mind, he was really getting some heavy pressure from above.

Questions started filling the conversation - questions about the company's network of Agents. How many did we have? How much revenue did they produce? How did we acquire them? How do we pay them? Did they really control a lot of business? Did we have any in the area with whom he could meet and talk? Who in the company controlled them or to whom did they report? And on and on and on...

By the time we covered these questions to some degree, it was time to go to lunch and continue the discussion. Unlike most working lunches with him, this was not going to be at some nice place on the south side of Chicago. He wanted to go someplace where we would be close to some local Agents. When we were finished talking over lunch, he wanted to visit Agents.

The vast majority of these freight brokerage agencies are located in proximity to major truck-stops. This is where you find the Independent Owner-Operator trucks drivers that are the bread & butter of these agents. In the greater Chicago area, there are many, many truck-stops ... and many, many, many freight brokers and agents. Many of them specialize in the types of freight they handle.

NW Indiana, especially back then, was the home of a dozen or more major steel mills. Those steel mills needed hundreds of trucks a day to transport their freshly made products. I took him to a truck-stop that catered to the steel hauling, flat-bed operating owner-operators the steel mills needed.

We ate in the drivers dining area of the truck-stop. It was a new experience for him. For me, I'd done it hundreds of times. My family used to get tired of eating at truck-stops when we were on vacation, or traveling - I knew them all and knew where the best, and least expensive, meals could be found.

The next stop was with some agents that had agreements with our company. He wanted to know the "what, why, when, where and how" of their business ... and what did we have to do to get more of it?

Later that afternoon we returned to the company terminal. He was sure we could achieve the goals for which we were shooting. ALL it would take is to get someone in our company, somebody higher-up, to focus on this segment of our business, someone of title [he felt agents liked to be catered to by higher -ups ... kind of an ego thing - it made them feel more important], someone who would have the authority to correct the weaknesses and short-comings in our agent program, which several agents made clear to us were significant.

Shortly after talking this through with me, he was on the phone to Mr. Bxxxxxxxx in Detroit. He made an appointment to see him the next day to make his pitch. He felt he now knew enough about how the agency network worked.

Of course, he needed me to go with him ... absolutely the person highest on my list of people I wanted to meet with - our CEO, Mr. Bxxxxxxxx. This whole concept of "you help me - I owe you; I help you - you owe me" - was beginning to take me into stranger territories.

Experience taught me that when I leave home, even for a one-day out-and-back trip, pack for at least 3 days. I was now headed for Detroit. Get a hotel room, sleep a little, meet my Vice President of Sales for the Western Region at headquarters at 2:30pm the next day.

For his part, he was going home for the night. He would drive to Detroit in the morning.
- - - - -

Nefarious - Part 6

2009-07-22T08:38:00.015-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, June 7 & 21, and July 4, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas = crime, from ne = not + fas = right

It was somewhere in the 3rd - 4th month after the take-over of the company - or should I have said the purchase of the company. The original announcement stated the company had been sold, so we'll stick with the original terminology. Eventually I came to view it otherwise.

I met with our Vice-President of Sales for the Western Region at our company terminal office in northwest IN as requested. Our discussions quickly turned to efforts to increase revenues. He told me he was impressed with the efforts to reclaim business from various government entities. Many of our company's terminals were starting to get calls from various government agents asking us to transport freight for them.

That was the good news.

The other news was that he was getting pressure to produce more in his efforts to help to make additional acquisitions. I was not privy to what was going on in the acquisition area.

I was soon going to know a little more than I was comfortable with knowing. He had an idea he wanted to explore with me ... over a nice lunch someplace.

We drove to a nice restaurant in a south Chicago suburb.

Conversation continued on many different topics. Part of it helped clear up, for me at least, what some of the miscellaneous meetings he often had with non-trucking related businesses were about. He explained that the parent holding company that had acquired our company was involved in a lot of different types of holdings, including other trucking companies. Part of his responsibility was to help in the acquisition of companies that were in financial difficulty.

Our parent company had teams of lawyers and accountants who spent their time and energies identifying medium sized companies who were in trouble with various lenders. Once those companies were identified, they sent in people to talk to those businesses about helping them get out of the financial trouble in which they found themselves. My impression is that the tactics used were definitely strong-arm tactics.

That helped make sense of some of the experiences I had with him - like the guy who came out of his office screaming and cussing and calling me a 'goon'.

That was part of my VP's job - to convince these distressed business owners to sell now, while they still could. Of course the offers were for very low prices. He wasn't scoring too often lately and he needed to make some kind of headway soon.

In the short time with our company, he was learning a bit about our industry. He thought he noticed an area that was ripe for growing, and he thought I could help make it happen. The old adage, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" came to mind. In his words, "You help me, I owe you - I help you, you owe me."

There is a segment of the trucking business that is not controlled by the trucking companies. It is controlled by Independent Agents ... similar to the Independent Agents in the insurance business. An Independent Agent represents a number of different trucking companies. It is his job to find the best company with which to place the business for his customer, the shipper. Agents have access to additional trucks that are not in the employ of the one specific trucking company. They also have access to many shippers of freight that don't rely solely on specific trucking companies.

Our Vice President of Sales for the Western Region wanted to explore the possibility of growing the segment of our business that is controlled by these agents. Like many trucking companies, we had a network of agents that carried us as one of the choices they had available to them. We needed to find a way to get them to tender more freight to us.

How were we going to do that?

=============
[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Nefarious - Part 5

2009-07-04T21:03:00.012-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, and June 7 & 21, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

There were a lot of things that were not right in the unfolding of these vignettes. Like many things, though, you sometimes don't spot them except with hindsight. Then it is usually too late to change things.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next two weeks were spent living in our Detroit Headquarters. I was constantly on the phone trying to resurrect expired Government contracts. It was no easy matter. Most were either expired by a seeming 'lack of interest' on our part, or canceled 'for cause'. 'For Cause' meant we screwed-up somehow. I was now trying to convince rigid government underlings that we would do a very good job the next time - if there was a next time. Part of my spiel was that we had new owners who were very interested in, and committed to, serving our government.

My job also involved convincing our operations people that this was priority freight. If any of our branch locations was tendered freight by any government entity, it must be handled, and must be handled efficiently and expeditiously. They already had their hands full trying to meet other expectations of various sales managers from around the company. All of them were under the gun from headquarters to generate more revenue by soliciting and moving more freight.

Everyone was getting a lot of pressure and 'intimidation' by the new guys. It was beginning to take its toll on a lot of people. Long hours, and long days on the road away from home were becoming the norm for most of us.

Two weeks after the meeting at which I was given the charge to reestablish the 'lost' government business of our company, we had another meeting. This one was attended by all the players from that previous gathering. We each had to report on our successes. The higher ups seemed to have little tolerance for non-success reports. Individuals presenting reports with little to show for the past two weeks were summarily castigated in front of everyone present. The message spread quickly through-out the ranks: succeed, or lie real good.

For my part, while we were not actually handling any government freight, yet, I reported on the successful reestablishment of a number of government contracts. I also reported on my efforts with operations people in various of our branches. I reported how they were gearing-up to handle this renewed and soon to be tendered business.

I concluded, waiting for the shoe to fall and the screaming to start - yes, I said screaming. Our CEO had developed a reputation for 'screaming fits'. Instead, I felt the grip of this strong hand on my left shoulder. I looked up and saw the face of the man from the corner. He bent low and spoke in my ear. In those few seconds between feeling the grip of his hand on my left shoulder and looking up and seeing his face, I swear I broke into a sweat. He said something like, "Nice report ... keep up the good work." He returned to his seat in the corner...and I filled my drawers. Well, not really, but I could have.

Oh, the screaming fits. The first one I experienced was during that time I was 'living' in our Detroit Headquarters. They had a group of us who were from out of town holed-up in a hotel nearby. One night, a little after 3am, my room phone rang. The voice on the other end was Mr. B. himself. The words he spoke were distinct and certain. "There will be a sales meeting in the Conference Room in one hour - be there!"

As I struggled to make some sense of this nightmare I was sure I was having, I suddenly realized it was the real thing. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, put on my suit and tie and headed out to find someplace between the hotel and the office to grab a strong cup of coffee. As I came through the hotel lobby I met several compatriots. They were all comparing stories of similar nightmares.

We all made it to the Headquarters Conference Room on time. We were all a little on edge as to what was about to happen. It didn't take long to find out.

He entered the room, followed by the guy who always sat in the corner. He began a tirade about how slowly our company revenues were increasing. He was almost literally having a fit. He appeared to be, quite honestly, 'stoned'. When he started throwing things across the room, the man in the corner rose, moved to him, took him by the arm and quickly escorted him from the room. The man in the room who bore the title of President of Operations rose. He said he was 'sorry' for what had happened. He also suggested that what had happened here not be talked about ... among ourselves or with others.

He said we were all to leave ... go home, or back to the hotel ... get some sleep. Then he said we needed to be back on our job, whatever capacity that was, by 11am. If we were people who normally had appointments with customers or vendors, we should be sure to keep any appointments we had already made for that day. Also, we were to take Mr. B.'s comments seriously. We needed to increase company revenues more quickly.

The pressure continued. Some few weeks after the report meeting mentioned above - the one where Mr. Corner Guy gave me a passing grade, we all received word about one of the local sales reps - Timmy O'Reilly. A real leprecaun of a guy. Well liked by everyone. Well known around the trucking business in southeastern Michigan.

He apparently was taking a lot of 'heat' from the new cadre. On this particular morning he was getting ready to make scheduled sales calls across the river in Windsor, Ontario. He was at a gas station refueling his company owned car, when he had a heart attack, and died there on the ground next to his car. His wife and family all immediately began blaming the stress he had been experiencing at work...and so were a lot of other people in our company. The lines were beginning to form in opposition to the intimidation and pressure everyone was feeling. Some quit and went elsewhere. Some thought they could fight back some way. Some of us just kept doing our job as best we could in hopes that this nightmare would soon end.

It had been long enough that some of us were starting to notice some irregularities in the way things were being done. Some people in our accounting department were whispering about new 53-foot semi trailers that had been ordered. They had seen the purchase orders. They had seen the checks go out to pay for this new equipment. No one could find where any new trailers were being delivered to any of our branches anywhere. We were becoming guarded in our conversations. We were becoming watchful in the goings on of the company.

In the mean time, our Vice President of Sales for the Western Region called me and said he had an idea. He asked me to meet him tomorrow at our terminal in northwest INdiana. Dutifully, I left home early [home was a place where I did actually get to go occasionally], and appeared at our northwest INdiana terminal at 9am, as requested.

=============
[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Nefarious - Part 4

2009-06-21T12:51:00.006-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, and June 7, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

- - - - - - - - - -

Time to back-up a little.

I had taken on my new side-kick at about the 2 month mark of the new regime's ownership of the company. During that time, they had been very actively meeting with all the constituents of the business: customers, unions, drivers, operations and sales people, office personnel, equipment suppliers, government agencies, freight brokerage agents, et al. The message was pretty much the same. "We're putting millions of dollars into this company to bring it back to life and grow it. We need your help." For many of us, we had no clue it was in deep financial distress.

Feedback scuttle-but from the drivers was that the company was asking for deep cuts and concessions from the Teamsters Union, which represented them. Translated, it probably meant they would be coming to the rest of us shortly. The difference being that they would have to negotiate with the union. With us, they would just tell us how it was going to be.

At about month 3, they backed-up our current pay date by one week. In the past, we were paid one week behind - the work week ended on Friday, and we were paid the following Friday. Now it was going to be 2 Fridays after the end of a work week. Multiply that by 400 employees, and that was a chunk of money not being paid out. They said it would be used to purchase some badly needed new 53' semi-trailers. Seemed reasonable to me. We were all going to have to sacrifice to make the company grow.

In the same general time period, I was a participant in a sales meeting in our Corporate Headquarters Conference Room. Other Sale Reps and Regional Managers were also present. One of the ideas that was seized upon by the new regime was that we needed to recapture some portion of Government Business which, for various reasons, we had lost in the past year.

Who here should be assigned that task? Government Agencies have all kinds of special requirements to meet re bidding and pricing and various other red-tape issues. Somehow, because of my very diverse experience in various aspects of our company, my name got offered for the sacrifice. Once others got someone other than themselves in the spot-light they were, symbolically at least, off the hook - for now.

I forgot to mention one special person who was also in the room. He was present in most of our meetings. He always sat back in a corner and observed. He never said anything. He always accompanied the CEO. He was younger ... had a muscular build ... his last name ended in a vowel ... and he had a noticeable bulge under the left arm-pit area his suit coat.

After I had been duly acknowledged for taking on this new task, I felt this very strong hand grasping me by the left shoulder from behind. I looked up and over my left shoulder. It was the mysterious and somewhat frightening stranger from the corner of the room. He bent over and whispered in my ear, "We're sure you'll do a good job ... won't you?" And he returned to his corner.

============
[to be continued as time is available]

Nefarious - Part 3

2009-06-07T17:14:00.014-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from posts of May 3 & 26, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

- - - - - - - - - -

My new friend, side-kick, and boss [the new Vice President of Sales for the Western Region] was gone about 20 minutes. I waited and had another drink. I didn't know, or suspect, that this would be only the first of many similar meal interruptions. I had the opportunity to eat at many fine establishments over the course of the next 6 months.

"Just had a little business to tend to." That was pretty much the normal reply when he returned to the table. I use the term "reply" although that suggests there was a question; I never asked any questions. I suspected his "reply" was all I needed to know.

Not all these places had curtains to pass through. Sometimes it was just a table or booth back in a corner someplace out of sight and hearing. Although, I do admit there were a few occasions when loud, agitated voices could be heard ... and while the conversation itself was not understood, the heat of the discussions could be sensed.

There were some occasional meetings where he had "...a little business to tend to" at someplace other than a nice restaurant or bar. Those gave me the opportunity to set and wait in the reception area of several businesses in the Chicago area. I would wait while he met with someone in an office elsewhere on the premise.

On one such occasion, the office in which he was meeting was very nearby the reception area. The loud voices could be heard by everyone. Suddenly the door to the office in which he was meeting flew open. He was exiting, with an older, very irate man close behind him shouting obscenities and calling him names. As he passed me, on his way out, he motioned for me to follow. The older guy continued his tirade, adding, "Don't you and your goon ever step foot in MY business again."

First time I'd ever been called a 'goon'.

Then there was another time I remember with almost a sense of awe. It was middle afternoon - between the regular lunch hour and dinner-service time. We went to a very modest, but nice, restaurant. It was bright and cheery and well lit - many places we went were dimly lit. I always found those places to be a little difficult to see people clearly, unless you were relatively close to them. I now suspect that was more by design - for reasons that were for other than ambiance only.

He said he had someone to meet and had me set at a table fairly near the entrance. He then went to another vacant table across the room. Apparently his 'client' had not yet arrived. I ordered a drink, and told the waitress I needed to get something from my car, but I'd be right back. I figured that if I was going to be waiting a while, I may as well go through some paper-work in my briefcase.

I left the establishment and headed down a sloped sidewalk to the parking area. Coming from the other direction I encountered a very attractive woman. She was a little taller than average; slender; light-brown hair; lightly tanned; red lipstick which complemented her bright red form fitting knee-length dress; medium height high-heeled shoes; shapely - by almost anyone's standards: very attractive.

We nodded a quaint 'hello' to each other as we passed.

I retrieved a couple of folders from my briefcase and returned to my table in the restaurant. I looked over at my friend's table to see if his 'client' had yet arrived.

There she was - the lady of my sidewalk encounter - at his table. I almost choked in disbelief.

This gal had people turning heads, and she was seated with my boss, the Vice President of Sales for the Western Region of the company.

I ordered another drink.

I never knew how long these meetings of his were going to last - 20 minutes, an hour? This one was not too long - less than half an hour. I noticed him stand and she rose right after he. They started coming across the room. I was near the entrance, and they'd have to come past me on the way out. I was riding with him, so I was fairly confident that he wasn't leaving without me - at least not for any length of time.

They were along side my table very quickly. They stopped. I stood. He spoke.

"Jimmy, I'd like you to meet my wife."

You just had to be there to appreciate this moment - I was in a state of shock and awe. I have no recollection of what I might have said - although I probably slobbered as I spoke. He said he'd walk her to her car and then be back in.

I look back at that event and the word that comes to mind is something like:

moll
n. Slang.

A woman companion of a gunman or gangster [usually very attractive].

=============
[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Nefarious - Part 2

2009-05-26T05:00:00.012-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from post of Sunday May 3, 2009]
- - - - - - - - - -
NEFARIOUS

Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

- - - - - - - - - -

Cancelling my lunch appointment with my new business prospect was not difficult. He almost seemed glad to hear from me. It probably saved him the task of calling me at the last minute and canceling for some obscure reason of his own - that would not have been uncommon for a first meeting. Statistics indicate that it takes 7 contacts with a new prospect before your trucking company starts handling any of their freight. After-all, they already have their freight being handled by somebody and, barring some major failure, they don't really relish changing things.

The trip from Milwaukee took me a little over 3 hours. Traffic through Chicago was especially bottle-necked in several places. When I arrived at the company's terminal office in northwest IN I found everyone hard at work - or trying to get their work done. There was a 'stranger' in their midst asking questions and watching everything they were doing - our new Vice President of Sales for the Western Region.

He immediately noticed me when I came in the door to the dispatch office. He seemed relieved and happy to see me - almost genuinely so. He had been hanging around almost four hours [I did learn he went out for lunch for almost two of those hours]. We introduced ourselves, exchanged a few pleasantries, and went into an office adjacent to the dispatch room. This was the 'Sales' office for this terminal.

Because I was the company's Regional Manager for this area, I was also the current Sales Rep - the previous occupant of that position had recently moved on to a competitor. It appeared the newly appointed Vice President of Sales for the Western Region had already made himself at home. Sales Reports and other materials were scattered about the desk; the local terminal manager, who had also just met our newly appointed Vice President earlier in the day, had been providing him with records as requested.

From appearances, I guessed we were about the same age. It also seemed to me that he liked to eat more than adequately - his girth was substantial. I was not in especially great physical shape myself, but I was in an acceptable weight range for height and age. I did also note that although he lived in the Chicago area instead of NJ, his last name also ended in a vowel ... like those new guys in our headquarters in Detroit. I wondered if they were all related somehow.

It was now approaching mid-afternoon. He explained that he had been hired by the new owners to help us increase our sales revenues in the 'Western Region'. He asked a lot of questions about my background and experiences with the company. What positions had I held, and where had I worked, and how long I had been with the company, etc., etc.? It seemed to me that he would have already known most of this information. It seemed reasonable to me that he should have been adequately prepped before our meeting.

He also told me that the company wanted to expand into some different types of businesses. He felt his strengths were with the 'connections' he had all around the Chicago area. He stated he believed we would work well together, as I had been highly commended by our new owners in Detroit - pure schmooze.

Small talk only goes so far. There were more significant matters to start discussing. He suggested that, if I was available, we should continue our discussions over a nice dinner somewhere. I soon learned that was his M.O. [modus operandi]: let's talk about it over food [and drink]. His preference that day was in a south-side of Chicago suburb. We ended up at a very nice, but noticeably plain-looking [on the outside] restaurant in Cicero. This was closer to the southwestern suburb in which he lived - I was the one who would have to travel back to where I was staying in Merrillville IN.

This is where it started getting to be a little bit like being in 'a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot'. The decor was classical Mediterranean - pillars and vineyard type decorations. We were seated in the main dining area. There was also a very nice bar off to one side, separated from the dining room by a half-wall partition. At the far end was an arched doorway going into another area. The archway was adorned with a curtain hanging from it. On both sides of the archway were dining booths - both were occupied.

We both ordered a drink and studied the menu. He stated, very matter-of-factly, that in many of the circles in which he had contacts, things were done or accomplished as favors or as repayment of favors. He helps me - I owe him. I help him - he owes me. We both know people we've helped and now they owe us. We remind them that they owe us, and together we get our goals met and the company gets the increase in sales revenues for which it is looking.

I think I was starting to understand his take on this ... and merely accepted it as a view of a way in which business can be conducted. He was my new 'boss' and I really did want to accomplish 'growing' the company - our new mantra.

It was during this part of our conversation that he revealed he had never worked in the trucking industry before, and knew very little about it. I was to be his connection - his 'joined-at-the-hip' companion - his right-hand-man. I would help him, and he would help me. Such an offer.

I started having flash-backs to another person I knew. He operated a vending machine business - his name was Tony.

After a couple of drinks and between the main course and desert, he excused himself. He walked towards the archway at the far end of the room - the one with the curtain hanging from it. As he neared the archway, an occupant from each of the booths on either side stood and 'challenged' his approach. There were some quiet words exchanged. One of the 'gatekeepers' disappeared behind the curtain. In a brief moment he returned. The 'gatekeepers' sat down. My new friend passed through the curtain.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Nefarious - Part 1

2009-05-25T08:42:00.000-04:00

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

It played like a poorly written script for the Pilot of a TV series. If it had been promoted as "based on real events", I doubt anyone would have bought it. Although, I've learned that reality sometimes resembles and often times out-surprises fiction.

NEFARIOUS
Pronunciation:: \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

In January of that year I had passed my 19th year of service with the company, a mid-sized interstate trucking company headquartered in Detroit. It was now June, and I was facing yet another Company announcement - THE COMPANY HAD BEEN SOLD...again.

The sale of trucking companies is fairly common. Many are privately held businesses with aging owners who are ready to sell them and 'go fishing'. Another reason to buy a trucking company is to get access to the customer base and grow your existing enterprise. These are common and legitimate reasons. The company I worked for was bought and sold seven times while I worked for them. Counting the original owner and founder, I worked under a total of eight owners.

As with most acquisitions, the new owners come in with their own agenda and their own way of doing things. Change is inevitable. Much of that change is in terms of which of the acquired employees will be kept. Through all of those changes in ownership, I survived. I don't know if it was because I was very good at what I did, or because I was grossly underpaid.

None-the-less, through all those gyrations of change, I never got used to it. The first couple of months seemed to be directionless. Keep doing what you're doing, just do more of it. The new owners and their crew seemed to be throwing around a lot of money - big dinners with major customers - luncheons and conferences with union leaders - they even had food delivered to the drivers' break room regularly. They were trying to win everyone over with a message of, "growth is good for all of us, and we're going to grow."

Some items of note: the holding company which the new owners operated was based in NJ. The new leased company cars we were assigned were from a leasing company in NJ. The last names of these new people that came in to run 'our' company all ended in vowels. Some of the people that were now walking the hallways of our Corporate Headquarters had an noticeable 'bulge' under the left arm-pit of their suit coat. Some of them had a very distinctive and blended NJ / Italian accent.

But, hey! I'm not prejudiced or nuttin - my wife's mother was first-generation Sicilian; my wife's maternal grand parents were from Palermo, Sicily; my mother-in-law's brothers and my wife's cousins looked like and sounded like these guys. It was like meetin' wit more of 'THE' Family ... only my wife's relatives were all from Chicago, not NJ.

I digressed. Sorry.

At about the two month anniversary of the 'take-over', things started jumpin'. I was in Milwaukee, WI. I had several appointments scheduled that day. Two were with existing customers, and one was with a potential new customer. I met with the first mid-morning, a brewery of some size and reputation. It was a routine generic 'keep in touch' kind of meeting.

I had an hour to kill before my next appointment. This was in the days before we all carried pagers or cell-phones. The routine was that you called your office 3 or 4 times a day to get messages and field questions from whomever. That meant finding a pay-phone somewhere and making the call. I found a phone and made my call.

- - - - - - - - - -
Her: "Where are you?"

Me: "Milwaukee."

Her: "Call Detroit headquarters and talk to Mr. Bxxxxxxxx."

Me: "Mr. Bxxxxxxxx?!?!"

Her: "Yes, Mr. Bxxxxxxxxxx!"

Me: "What's up?"

Her: "I don't know. They just want you to call him right away. They're waiting for your call. In fact, I'm supposed to call them and let them know that I've heard from you...so don't blow it off. OK?"

Me: "Okay!"
- - - - - - - - - -

Mr. Bxxxxxxxxxx was the new CEO - the big cheese - the big kahuna - the top dog. In two months time he had proven that he had a silvery tongue ... he could talk almost anyone into or out of almost anything [including Teamster Union Officials - but, I'll save that for later]. Then he could turn around and cuss you and demean you and question your manhood and make you feel like a worthless piece of xxxx - without ever taking a breath or blinking an eye. A real expert in the use of words. That day he was fairly calm ... but emphatic.
- - - - - - - - - -

He: "Where are you?"

Me: "Milwaukee."

He: "How far are you from our terminal in northwest IN?"

Me: "In driving time, probably about 3 hours...gotta go right through the heart of Chicago."

He: "You need to get down there right away. Your new boss is there waiting for you."

Me: "My new boss?"

He: "Our new Vice President of Sales for the Western Region."

Me: "I've got a lunch appointment scheduled with a potential new customer."

He: "Cancel it!"

- - - - - - - - - -

I didn't even know we had a Western Region ... but hey, it's their company.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

another day, another hero

...in the valley of the
shadow of death...

- - - - - - - - - -

Government cover-up

2009-05-24T05:00:00.001-04:00

first Georgetown - then:

TOUCHDOWN !

- - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - -

How to negotiate with God

2009-05-23T20:40:00.008-04:00

inch by inch by inch

and then God said...

- - - - - - - - - -

A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. All of a sudden he said aloud, "Lord grant me one wish". The sky clouded and a booming voice said, "Because you have tried to be faithful I will grant you one wish." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want to." The Lord answered, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the logistics of that kind of undertaking: the supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific; the concrete and steel it would take. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time to think of another wish. Think of a wish that would honor and glorify me".

The man thought for a long time. Finally he said, "Lord, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know what they feel inside. I want to know what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment. I want to know why they cry. I want to know what they mean when they say 'nothing'. I want to know how I can make a woman truly happy?"

After a few minutes God said, "How many lanes do you want on that bridge?"

- - - - - - - - - -

the e-mail is in the mail

2009-05-22T17:22:00.008-04:00

latest poll numbers show...

how bad is it?

- - - - - - - - - -

One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the rascally behavior that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time.

When the angel returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not. "

God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion."

So God sent another angel to Earth for a time.

Upon returning from earth, the angel went to God and said, "Yes, it's true. The Earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good.'"

God was not pleased.

So He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what the e-mail said?

Oh, you don't?

That's OK. I was just wondering,

because I didn't get one either.

- - - - - - - - - -

[thanks to Billie Sheppard for this one]

Wall Street vs street smarts

2009-04-29T13:57:00.010-04:00

Hedge fund managers, derivatives traders, mortgage loan officers can learn something.

when do I run out of money?

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 'This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.'

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, 'Which do you want, son?'

The boy takes the quarters and leaves the dollar.

'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!'

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store & says, 'Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'

The boy licked his cone and replied, 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'
- - - - - - - - - -
the lesson to be learned:
Greed & quick big profit = nothing left for later.

[thanks to friend Ken M]

Pro-Life Commencements

2009-04-24T07:09:00.002-04:00

Will others speak up for the unborn?

Here's to you,
NOTRE DAME

a tip of the ole chapeau to Ebeth Weidner

the Ballad of Timothy Geithner

2009-04-17T14:48:00.002-04:00

my taxes are filed
and ON TIME

Thanks to Adrienne and Jennifer over at the Morning Buzz.

As she says in this parody, "Only in America".
----

Can you say "OUTRAGE!"

2009-04-14T22:28:00.009-04:00

Let the government do it -
they can do it better than we can!

Newspaper Column
dated 4/14/09

Living with Children

[Abridged version - complete text follows down farther]

- - - - - - - - - -
Forget nationalizing the banks. Certain influential Democrats in the US Senate are thinking seriously of nationalizing parenting.

In February of 1995, President Bill Clinton signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early opposition in the Senate persuaded Clinton not to risk submitting it for ratification.

The Convention...obligates signatory nations to conform their laws to its articles; ...articles extend...such rights as...to include the “freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or in any other media of the child’s choice.”

The Convention allows for children to protest, through legal channels, parental limit-setting of almost every sort, ...even to protest parental discipline. The language...clearly establishes the state as the final authority where the raising of children is concerned.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is one of the champions of ratification.

For more information on the UNCRC and to sign an online petition calling for a much-needed Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution, go to www.parentalrights.org . In the meantime, call and/or write your two US Senators and let them know how you’d like them to vote should ratification come to the Senate floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Complete version of article is below]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Forget nationalizing the banks, certain influential Democrats in the US Senate are thinking seriously of nationalizing parenting, transforming it into “governmenting.”

In February of 1995, at the urging of his wife (now Secretary of State), who just happens to be one of the world’s most ardent children’s rights advocates, President Bill Clinton signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The major media paid almost no attention to this momentous event, giving Clinton a free pass. Thankfully, early opposition in the Senate persuaded Clinton not to risk submitting it for ratification. The UNCRC has been in legislative limbo ever since…until now.

The Convention is an international treaty that obligates signatory nations to conform their laws to its articles, certain of which extend needed protections to children, including protection from sexual exploitation. No sensible, moral person would argue with that. Other articles, however, extend to children such rights as “freedom of association” (Article 15) and “freedom of expression (Article 13).” The latter is written to include the “freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or in any other media of the child’s choice.” It is pertinent to note that “child” is defined as anyone under age eighteen. One can assume, therefore, that these rights activate at birth.

Yes, the freedoms in question are subject to limitation, but not at the discretion of parents. Nuances of that sort can only be exercised by the state. Parents are permitted to provide “direction” to the child in keeping with the child’s “evolving capacities,” but nowhere in the document is their authority recognized.

Government intrusion into child-rearing matters is already a reality and has been for some time. But this is not mere intrusion; this is the replacement of parental prerogative by the state. The Convention allows for children to protest, through legal channels, parental limit-setting of almost every sort (Article 16: No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy….), even to protest parental discipline. The language, often recklessly vague, clearly establishes the state as the final authority where the raising of children is concerned. As such, the document could more accurately be called the United Nations Convention on the Abolition of Parents’ Rights.

This time around, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is one of the champions of ratification. She gave the Obama administration a March 23 deadline, already expired, for moving toward ratification. I think it’s safe to say that she (and many of her same-side-of-the-aisle colleagues) wants this over and done with before the American public is fully informed. During her confirmation hearings, UN Ambassador Susan Rice expressed support for the treaty, but did not agree to Boxer’s desire for hasty ratification.

For more information on the UNCRC and to sign an online petition calling for a much-needed Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution, go to www.parentalrights.org . In the meantime, call and/or write your two US Senators and let them know how you’d like them to vote should ratification come to the Senate floor. Given that ours is still a government of, for, and by the people, let us pray that the people make themselves heard!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents' questions on his website at www.rosemond.com.

Our Lady...Notre Dame - - - Obama...our bane

2009-04-07T17:50:00.013-04:00

web-site log of media coverage

University of Notre Dame
provides 'sanctuary'

for President Obama

This site is now up and running.

http://www.catholicity.com/notredame.html

Get out your reading glasses - lots here to digest.

"Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage"

2009-04-05T14:54:00.006-04:00

Men's Brain vs Women's Brain

Mark Gungor

...EXTENDED

This has been around for a year or so, but maybe you've never seen it. Share it with your spouse...maybe even view it together.

So set back, put up your feet, and relax.
Learn why you are different from your spouse.
[10:38]

love him or hate him

2009-04-03T22:11:00.003-04:00

that's how people respond to

- Glenn Beck -
"don't give up"
he says

On today's broadcast he got personal.

Click 'here' and watch.

i think i'm going to have

2009-03-29T11:02:00.028-04:00

a short series of short stories about - Ch 2

vacation week - 2009

[spring break]

Day 3

While Rozann finished repacking for our journey to Lake Havasu City, I went and picked up our rental car. This was accomplished by taking the Hotel shuttle to the airport, then catching the car rental shuttle to the rental facility.

The airport uses one fleet of Airport Car Rental Facility buses and transports all car renters to the same centralized facility. Each of the Major car rental companies is located together at this one same facility. It makes it really convenient. Renters just go to the individual counter for the rental car company they have chosen, and complete their transaction. It is a lot like a food court in a mall or airport, only this is a car rental court.

Back to the hotel, pick up Rozann and our luggage and begin our 4-1/2 hour trek to Lake Havasu City. Actual driving time was probably under 4 hours - the rest of the time was bathroom and scenic view stops.

Lake Havasu City is in the extreme western side of Arizona. It is on a man-made lake formed on the Colorado River by a dam at Parker AZ [the Parker Dam] about 25 miles south of Lake Havasu City. On the other side of the lake / river is California. To the North about 60 miles is the southern tip of the state of Nevada.

The area is mostly dry mountainess terrain - arid and desert-like conditions abound. Cactus of many varieties thrive here. They average just under 3-1/2 inches of rainfall per year. The average annual daytime high is 88 degrees farenheit. It has become a retirement and resort type community. The permanent population is around 55,000 - the winter snow-bird population adds another 20 - 25,000 from November to April. Friends of ours rented a house for 6 weeks and invited us to come visit [they are retired school teachers from Minnesota].

The drive from Phoenix provided a great deal of scenic opportunities. We arrived at their home around 3pm. After unpacking and getting settled, they took us on a short driving tour of the city. It included a walk along the touristy area of the Canal Bridge River District.

It is here that the world famous "London Bridge" is relocated. An American Industrialist had purchased the bridge in London, had it totally disassembled, shipped to the desert of AZ, reassembled, and used it to form the heart of what is now Lake Havasu City. An oasis in the desert is what was created, and people from around the world come to visit...even from Muncie, IN.

Back home for a leisurely dinner was next on the agenda...a game of cards, and then to bed for a full night's sleep.

[to be continued]

i think i'm going to have

2009-03-28T22:49:00.016-04:00

a short series of short stories about

vacation week - 2009
[spring break]

The beginning is a good place to start.

Day 1

Sunday, March 22, we decided to take an extra day before actual plane departure. We booked a room at a north-side Indianapolis Hotel for Sunday night. For the main event we went to a movie and saw the Nicholas Cage thriller "Knowing". After shopping at a supermarket, we went to our room for dinner. Miscellaneous TV completed our Sunday adventure until we fell to sleep.

Day 2
Monday was a sleep in. When we finally went down for breakfast, they were almost done serving. After checking out, we went downtown. Lunch at the Indiana State Museum Cafe was followed by viewing a movie at the IMAX theatre. Then it was time to head to the airport. We booked long-term parking at the Adam's Mark Hotel. For $5 per day they not only allow you to park there, they shuttle you to your terminal and pick you up on return.

The new airport terminal is absolutely fantastic [my humble subjective opinion].
We had pre-checked in online and were also able to print our boarding passes in advance. This allowed us to go directly to the gate for boarding. So far so good.

Then it started getting interesting - and only a little stressful.

The previous incoming flight at our gate was to discharge, then reload and take off for another destination. While they were reloading, it was determined it had a mechanical problem, and could not pull away from the gate area. All those passengers then had to be placed on other planes and flights to get to where they were headed. That was very time consuming, to say the least.

It had our gate blocked up. The incoming flight that was to be our outbound flight now could not come in to the original gate. They had to find another gate for it...and all of us who were scheduled to go out on it had to change gates. Lost time was realtively not too bad...about 1/2 hour and we were ready to start boarding at the new gate.

As the first group of passengers to board were lining at the gate, one of them - an older gentlemen - seemed to pass out. As everyone in line moved out of the way, the ticket agents came over and tried to move him off the floor and into a chair. They realized he was more than passed out. Emergency crews were summoned from the Airport Fire & Rescue Station. While they were en-route a passenger who seemed to know what to do, began doing chest compressions. A fight attendant ran on board the plane and came back with a portable defibrillator. When the emergency people arrived they continued with occasional shocks and chest compressions. After about 30-minutes they had him revived and stabilized for transport to a local hospital, but had to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Thank God he was talking and breathing as they left with him.

Forty minutes late already, they were able to resume the boarding process. We were then in the air to Dallas-Fort Worth airport where we had a connection to make going on to Phoenix. The pilot did a good job and was able to make up about half of the lost time.

For us, the saga was to continue.

We arrived at our connecting gate in time for our next leg of the journey. We then discovered that not only had the gate been changed, but it was in an entirely different terminal. But we weren't late because there was a delay involved on this flight, too. Once boarded and ready to depart, the plane pulled away from the gate and headed to the tarmac - where we sat for over an hour awaiting the delivery of commissary supplies. All of this happened because of the original gate change. We eventually left from Dallas for Phoenix, and arrived about 1-1/2 hour after the original planned arrival.

Then we caught a shuttle to our hotel for the night. The next morning, Tuesday, we would get our rental car and head to Lake Havasu City.

[to be continued]

if lotteries pay out small change

2009-03-16T18:24:00.003-04:00

What do bail-outs pay?

try this on for size

What does a trillion dollars look like? Click on the link and find out:

(US national debt is 10.9 Trillion dollars as of 3/4/2009)

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

Boy, do I feel broke.

is life too hard?

2009-03-10T12:33:00.005-04:00

am I treated unfairly?

how hard do I try?

Do I have what it takes to persevere through life's hardships?

In Christ, all things are possible.
- - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - -

Maybe I should go out and have a good day ... in spite of those around me.

On Facing Up to Adversity 2

2009-03-04T11:16:00.006-05:00

Seuss-isms
by Ted [Theodore] S. Geisel

better known as...
Dr. Seuss

from: Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

It's a troublesome world.
All the people who're in it
are troubled with troubles
almost every minute.

Just tell yourself, Duckie,
you're really quite lucky!
Some people are much more ...
oh, ever so much more ...
oh, muchly much-much more
unlucky than you!

...............

I guess I never thought about it that way - WOW!

the tongue hath power

2009-03-02T12:43:00.004-05:00

The Stock Markets Continue to Plunge

On Facing Up to Adversity 1

2009-02-27T07:10:00.008-05:00

Seuss-isms
by Ted [Theodore] S. Geisel

better known as...
Dr. Seuss

from: I Had trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

I learned there are troubles
of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead
and some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat.
I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going
to have troubles with me!

...............

and just maybe I should throw in a prayer for good measure.

I am not what you see

2009-02-21T09:18:00.012-05:00

the real me is inside the cover

my essence, my soul, my being

Who am I?

I've been giving some extra thought to a couple of verses from the New Testament. The Letter to the Galatians has held a lot of 'good stuff' for me for several years, now. I'm not sure just when it was, but I read book by an evangelist who contended that many Christians, if not most, were being deceived. His premise was pretty straight forward.

The Holy Spirit of God is pouring out His spirit on all who are willing to receive it - but many / most are too prideful to accept it. We have been deceived into settling for less than God has for us. He uses verses from Galatians to drive home his points.

In the letter to the Galatians, Chapter 6, Verses 7-8, it reads:

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. NIV

Pondering these verses has caused me to examine just where and what I've sowed. Determining, then, that I have both a sinful nature and a holy nature to cultivate and feed - which one is by my choice - I've been led to, and pondered at great length, the passage in Galatians, Chapter 5, verses 16-26, where it is written:

Life by the Spirit

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

My reflections here have shown me where I need to feed ... and cultivate ... and from where I need to sow. That which then grows in me will reflect the Holy Spirit of God, and not my sinful nature, which I struggle to kill. Then, I can truly portray an image of Christ for others to perceive.

God willing, others may then be drawn to accept the pouring out of His Holy Spirit - by seeing inside my cover: my essence, my soul, my being.
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So much for my personal thoughts today, but it has been awhile since I've made time to post much of any substance ... and these thoughts were on my mind.

God's gives talent to us all

2009-02-17T16:28:00.023-05:00

but many of us fail to use it fully

an excerpt from a
SWAN LAKE ballet

as Peter Ilyitch may never have imagined it - or maybe he did.

Go to this link

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=feca9a3ee15c7de848d4&mui=
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

pig ears, or sow ears, or earmarks

2009-02-10T19:44:00.005-05:00

used to be a favorite at the local county fairs

soooo-eeeee, pig pig pig pig

Time will tell.

the book: "CHOICE THEORY"*

2009-02-10T13:16:00.015-05:00

the author: William D. Glasser, M.D.

We Need a New Psychology

chapter 1

Suppose you could ask all the people in the world who are not hungry, sick, or poor, people who seem to have a lot to live for, to give you an honest answer to the question, "How are you?" Millions would say, "I'm miserable." If asked why, almost all of them would blame someone else for their misery - lovers, wives, husbands, exes, children, parents, teachers, students, or people they work with. There is hardly a person alive who hasn't heard the sayings, "You're driving me crazy .... That really upsets me .... Don't you have any consideration for how I feel? .... You make me so made, I can't think straight." It never crosses their minds that they are choosing the misery they are complaining about.

[the above is the first paragraph of the book]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I find this premise interesting - it means [to me, at least] that I am not a victim; I cannot blame others; I am responsible for myself.

What do you think? ... or do you?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
* HarperCollins Publishers in 1998
ISBN 0-06-019109-0 [hardcover]

Not All Super-Bowl Commercials are Equal

2009-01-30T11:25:00.005-05:00

Some get ignored on the way to political correctness

NBC should realize who is watching

You won't see this during the game, unless NBC changes their mind. Give them a piece of yours. Go ahead and e-mail your favorite NBC official. Don't have a favorite? Then send to this one:

victoria.morgan@nbc.com after watching this ... they've turned it down and will not allow the owners to buy time to show it during the game [or any other time, either].

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pray all pregnant women will make the same choice.

then I noticed

2009-01-26T11:43:00.002-05:00

and then i said...

2009-01-23T15:26:00.002-05:00

Soccer Fantacies

2009-01-19T21:01:00.013-05:00

I never knew much about soccer

then I went to the
National Soccer Coaches Association
convention in St. Louis

This past weekend I spent 2 - 1/2 days in St. Louis with my soccer coach twin brother. He brought two of the other coaches with him from St. Benedict at Auburndale High School in Cordova, TN [eastern suburb of Memphis].

COACHES: brother Jack - Julie - Andy
[my picture is at top center of blog]

While my brother has been attending these events for many, many, years, this was a first for Julie and Andy.

Some of the highlights included the national draft for both the men's and women's professional soccer leagues. Additionally there were the awards banquets for the high-school and college All-American selections.

We had a good time confusing people who met us for the first time. Of the thousands in attendance, I think half of them knew my brother. While I had many coming up to me and talking to me, thinking they were talking to 'Coach' Jack Schenkel, we managed to keep them laughing at themselves when we presented ourselves together.

And a good time was had by all. I now know a little about a lot of different topics [combinations, 4-4-2, 3-4-2-1 and other formations, backs and forwards and wings and strikers and keepers, set-plays, counters, corner kicks, crossing, support, dribbling, heading, add-time, touches, etc.].

Always good to be home.

Pre-Presidential Election Cartoon

2009-01-15T07:34:00.005-05:00

What do you think ... or do you?

Too Harsh?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Clarification regarding this post:
Material below is from the site JFB and is not my own.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This cartoon appeared just days before last November's election. It appears here, on the eve of what threatens to be the inauguration of unprecedented human slaughter, as a reminder of the sway evil has over so many Americans-- even those who've received the most precious and salutary of gifts, the Catholic faith.

JFB

Legacy

2009-01-11T12:42:00.012-05:00

does what appears behind the comma after our name matter?

Eulogies

I knew him as Homer. Many called him Dewaine, his middle name. Maybe I didn't know him long enough, or closely enough to merit that familiarity.

We worked together off-and-on for probably 10 of the past 13 years. He was tough and strong - a real mule [yes, besides being strong, mules can be stubborn] and a workhorse. He could work at very physical things and run circles around men half his age. He was a 'steel fist in a thick velvet glove'. He'd do almost anything for someone else in need ... and he'd go toe-to-toe with almost anyone if he disagreed with them.

He died last week end at the young old-age of 69.

During the last 5 or 6 or 7 years he's been battling cancer. They'd beat it out of him in one part of his body, and then a year or so later it would show-up somewhere else. When he was able, he continued to work.

'Retirement age' meant nothing to him - he needed to be productive. When he wasn't working for a paycheck, he was working for free ... always helping others who had less [and many would look at him and his life-style and think he was the one who could have used the help]. He raised his family on very modest means.

He graduated from High School in 1957. At a time when post-high school education was not as common as today, his education served him well. He'd admit that he wasn't the best reader around, but teach him, show him, and once he learned how something was done, he owned that knowledge.

I was blessed to have been in-the-loop with his illnesses. Whenever he was doing poorly, or something else was diagnosed, or when he was hospitalized, or he just needed prayer, he or someone in his family would call me. Sometimes he would come by where I was working and see me personally - and I'd pray for him right then and there. I'd visit him in the hospital and find a noisy room full of family and friends. When it was time for me to depart I would tell him I'd like to pray with him before I left ... and the room would go dead-silent. They'd all bow their heads and honor the time for prayer - and when I was finished, the noise level went right back to where it was before. He kept the nursing staff in stitches with his jokes and funny stories.

At his funeral, I saw many pictures of a younger man with a full head of dark hair and full, long beard; now the hair was gone and the beard was mostly white. His wife, and adult children [2 daughters and a son], and grandchildren [half a dozen or so] were given the opportunity to say something about him if they would like. to The option was to write something - they all wrote something.

The preachers doing the service [one who had recently left that congregation and the other who had recently replaced him] read many of these remembrances. Any of us would love to have been remembered in such wonderful terms ... and there were more than a few references to his ability to have his say when he disagreed.

The words his family and friends wrote about him gave me another whole view of him as a person. I am truly honored to have been considered a friend. May our God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, greet him as he enters their presence and he hears the words, "Well done!"

Oh ... and behind the comma - Homer, Beloved Husband and Father

New Years Revolutions

2009-01-06T18:14:00.021-05:00

Change something ... for the better

one day at a time

I try to think in terms of being able to make a difference. A lot of it is a matter of attitude ... and gratitude. It is the old story of throwing one star-fish from the beach back into the water ... then another ... then another ... then another ...

Compared to the millions of dehydrated star-fish that die every year, my efforts may seem fruitless ... but it is not. My efforts make a difference to each of those star-fish I pick-up and throw back to the water.

looking forward to the past

2009-01-06T17:55:00.003-05:00

22 out of 23 isn't too bad

ring them bells

The Christmas holidays are all but past. I hope they are not soon forgotten.

Our concern for others seems to grow during this season. We can all look around and see someone who is worse off than I. For a short time some of us are able to look beyond our own needs and be willing to share some of what we have to benefit those who have not.

This was the 22nd year (out of the last 23) that I was a Salvation Army Volunteer bell-ringer. I saw a lot of generous people pass by my kettle station - I say generous because they were stopping and depositing money into the kettle.

That was then ... this is now. The needs are still there. More people than normal are out of work. More people than normal are depending on others to help them make it day to day. More people than normal have lost their home and need someplace to stay out of he cold. They still need our help.

Salvation Army isn't the only show in town. Check with your local church or other philanthropic organizations ... ask how you can help. The 12 Days of Christmas still leaves 353 days of need. Get involved - help!

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new life

2009-01-04T12:15:00.012-05:00

fresh camera batteries make the difference

you shoulda seen it before

May I present a few 'after' shots [sorry - I didn't take any 'befores']:

Thank you for your patience. For those of our family and friends who have wandered in at anytime during the past 6-1/2 months, the mess was almost intolerable at times - just ask Rozann. And those who have wandered in anytime in the past few days, you have seen the transformation - the epiphany of our efforts.

In Review: the room is approximately 11' x 22'; the area where the TV and cabinets is now located was an enclosed closet and storage area - all of which was ripped out; the area in the corner of the room where the stacked washer-dryer units set had bad flooring which I had to rip up and repair and replace; drywall was installed all the way around; new exterior door and accompanying storm-door; new door to kitchen area; 6 new windows and accompanying storm-windows; new Pergo laminated flooring; new ceiling; new cabinets at both ends; new stackable washer and dryer; new 37-inch LCD-HD 1080p flat-panel television; 2 new electrical outlets and 1 new TV cable hook-up plug-in; new area rug; new 3-seat couch [both ends of which are recliners]; new 2-seat rocker-recliner with center drink-holders and storage.

All-in-all, not too bad for a week-end do-it-yourselfer - and the best part of all is ... ROZANN likes it and is happy [now that the mess is cleaned-up]!

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2009-01-03T19:56:00.003-05:00

now is the time to speak

consummatum est
-
-
-
say feenee
[ c'est finis ]
-
-
-
IT IS FINISHED !

Tomorrow will be a day of rest ... as it should be. A handful of miscellaneous odds and ends - touch-up, clean-up, put-up - and the room is now in use.

ALLELUIA - thanks be to God - Amen!

[batteries dead in camera - hope to correct that tomorrow and then I'll try to post a few pix.]

as the New Year approaches

2008-12-30T18:42:00.003-05:00

progress is

measured in the details

Two windows and one doorway to go.

In addition to getting the finishing molding around the other two doorways and four windows, I've installed a set of 3 cabinets [one more cabinet yet to be installed on other side of room]. I've kept busy with the small finishing details of touch-up painting, the hanging of framed paintings and such, the set-up and installation of our first flat-panel television [37" LCD 1080pi], replacing electrical switch and outlet cover-plates, etc., etc.

All this puts me close enough to being done that my wife finally reminded me that there is a theater surround-sound system to be reinstalled. We took it out when we disassembled the room last June. I'm going to get that put back in, but it will be at the bottom of the list ... along with the other audio and video components that have not been used since that time. Maybe by Easter for all that stuff.

By the time I return to work on Monday of next week, other than the stuff in the above paragraph, I hope to declare completion ! ! ! !

'twas the third night before Christmas

2008-12-22T15:32:00.002-05:00

...and all through the house [well, at least in the added-onto-the back-0f-the house combination laundry and television viewing room]

I am still installing moldings around
windows and doorways
- the floorboard is now done

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm trying ...
I'm going as fast as I can.

There were six windows which I replaced. Four of them now have trim moldings and two are still awaiting this finishing touch. Then there remains one of three doorways that still requires molding, and it is a double-wide opening at that. All-in-all I MIGHT have the windows trimmed by Christmas ... the double wide doorway will have to wait.

Now, they still need to be painted, mind you, but they're almost all trimmed.

Can I have an "AMEN"?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A delaying factor has been the season - the 'ringing the bell for the Salvation Army' Season. The two weeks before Christmas is my usual time to 'man the kettle' and 'ring the bell'. It has cost a little extra this year ... that being those hours I would have used to continue the now over 6-month long project. I am not complaining, just making excuses for my continued delay.

Check me out about Easter and I'll bet I'm completely finished.
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and the clock keeps ticking

2008-11-30T18:25:00.008-05:00

goals and deadlines

the floor is done !

. . . . . . . . . .
The original project was the floor. It grew and got side-tracked several times in the interim. Last June, when my lovely bride ripped up the carpet in the added-on-to-the-back-of-the-house 11' x 22' TV and laundry room, I caved in and agreed to replace the flooring.

Since that eventful day, I have:
- ripped-out a closet that went across the width of the room at one end
- replaced a rear-of-the-house entry / exit door and storm-door
- replaced an interior door to the kitchen
- dry-walled and painted the entire room
- replaced 6 windows and outside storm windows in this room
- replaced an upstairs storm window [not related to this project]
- installed a new ceiling [grid and drop-in tiles] and light fixture
- added and ran the wire for 2 electrical outlets and 1 TV Cable outlet
- repaired / replaced a section of damaged floor
- built a 5' x 4' x 7" platform on which sets her majesty's stacked washer & dryer and a supplies cabinet
- installed laminate flooring [Pergo]

...and I only started the project middle of last June - WOW! Keep in mind that there was hardly a flat unbowed or straight and square wall or ceiling or floor surface anywhere in this added-on-to-the-back-of-the-house room.

- have started the floor, window, and door moldings and hope to have that part completed by Christmas.

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And we had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with five of my six siblings and most of the children and grandchildren associated with this grouping of our families. I hope you had a special time, too.
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Requiescat in pace

2008-11-23T17:15:00.008-05:00

sometimes we bring it on ourselves
... and sometimes we do not

aged 51
... and 44

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yesterday...
It will always be yesterday, now.
We buried the both of them...
Yesterday.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Muncie, IN

Debby was 51 and the mother of five wonderful children - four boys and one girl.

The eldest boy now had to take charge of the arrangements for 'mom'. He flew home from California about 10 days ago. He was told "...it is almost time, and you need to be here - you need to let her see you one more time."

The next in line, another boy, received a similar message. His flight from New Mexico arrived one hour after his older brother. The other two boys and the girl live here with their dad. The eldest of these two boys graduated from High School last year; and the youngest of the two is now in 12th grade - he will graduate this coming Spring. The girl is now in the 7th grade and a joy to all who know her - she loved her mother a lot!

Together, they all shared the burden. 'Mom' stayed around for 10 days after being admitted to the local hospital. The prognosis was "days, not weeks". The cancer did its part and now she is gone.

Debbie was our good friend. A few years back when she was hospitalized for an extended period of time, three families divided up her family and took them in so dad could work. We were fortunate to be able to care for two of the boys.

Requiescat in pace.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Double Oak TX [Dallas-Ft. Worth area]

Jim was 44 and the father of three wonderful children - two boys and one girl. He was also a marathon runner and competed in events in different cities.

The oldest of the boys is now 9 years old. He is a member of the school's Chess Club, a local HVASBA baseball team [the Rangers], and a local GLASA soccer team [the Grizzlies].

The next in line, the other boy, is now 7 years old. He, too, is a member of his school's Chess Club, a local FMYSA baseball team [the Cubs], and a local GLASA soccer team [the Blue Sharks].

The youngest, a girl, is now 3 years old. Her job is to be the loudest cheer leader for both of her older brothers. She and mom go from practice-to-practice and game-to-game. Dad hasn't been able to attend these events for some time now.

They have now placed their 'dad' in a place of rest ... and they will miss him greatly.

Jim was husband to our niece Michelle. His cancer used up all their financial resources as it went from colon to liver to lungs ... all since May of 2007. She will be looking to return to the work-force soon.

Requiescat in pace.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yesterday...
It will always be yesterday, now.
We buried the both of them...
Yesterday.
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With Compassion for Others - We Build - We Fight - for Peace with Freedom

2008-11-11T00:05:00.014-05:00

VETERANS DAY
November 11
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can do

Amen!

. . . . . . . . . .

[ 6:07 ]

'Click on' the above > and remember

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then click on this link [and keep the kleenex close at hand]

http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DAD

born November 11, 1921
place Huntington, INdiana
died November 11, 1995
place Toledo, OHio
WW-II service in U S Navy
Construction Battalion
aka: SeaBees [CB's]
Honorable Discharge

. . . . .

. . . . .

MOM
born December 3, 1922
place Toledo, OHio
died January 4, 1993
place Toledo, OHio
WW-II service in U S Navy
W.A.V.E.S. - ratings AS, S2c, AM3c
Honorable Discharge
. . . . .
You can 'click-on' the picture for an enlarged view...
SEABEE's Memorial in Washington, D.C.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Do I Know You?

Go to bottom of page to read a love-story from my parents.

lofty sights

2008-11-10T21:20:00.005-05:00

and then there were less than 3 weeks left

[over]head way being made

It doesn't hurt to have high expectations. In my minds eye, I could see getting all the ceiling grid-work and tiles installed this past Saturday. I forgot about a dinner commitment for the early evening. And I had a few ancillary chores and errands to take care of in the earlier part of the morning.

All in all, I had 5-1/2 goods hours from a friend and my own hands. I had installed 20% of the grid-work and tiles a week ago. Then on Saturday we were able to install another 40% of this 11' x 21' room.

I now have 60% of the room with new ceiling. It is my hope that I'll have enough time available through this week, including this coming Saturday, to get the remaining 40% installed.

On this past Friday we purchased the new laminated flooring ... 250 square feet. I didn't intend on buying it a full week ahead ... I just thought I was going to be done with the ceiling this past Saturday. So be it. But I am getting closer. I really expect to be able to start with flooring this coming weekend.

Any bets?

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GO VOTE

2008-11-04T12:34:00.004-05:00

even at 6am I had to wait in line

snaking congo lines
- care to dance?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The polling site for the precinct where I vote is in a large Presbyterian Church hall adjacent to the State University here in our fair city. I normally show up at 6am and get ballot # 3 or 4 or 5. This morning I got there at 7 minutes before 6am. When they 'opened' the door to announce that the "Polls are now open!", I made my way to sign-in and received ballot # 14. That is approximately 3 times the number I usually encounter when the doors open ... and in the span of that 7 minutes, the line grew to probably 40 or so.

Regardless of which candidate is elected, the beneficiary is the process we use to provide our country with leadership elected by the people. The people are out in droves. It is now lunch hour for many. I've driven by several voting sites. The lines are longer that I've ever seen them.

Here's to what helps make America great!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PROGRESSO

2008-10-30T20:01:00.007-04:00

sometimes you just have to give in...

the glass menagerie

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Several weeks ago I disassembled, right down to the rough frame, one of the six windows in the target room. My goal was to see how much time and energy were required to remove a unit, then all the glass from these double-hung pulleyed and weighted windows [there were 10 pieces of glass per unit], sand to the wood, refinish and re-glaze the entire unit, and reassemble and reinstall the whole thing. What with my usual limited pieces of time to do this task, the endeavor had spent over 2 weeks on that one unit and was not yet completed. About a week ago a friend said something like, "Schenkel ... why don't you give up and spend the money to buy replacement windows that you can install yourself and save yourself all this hassle - and maybe even make your Thanksgiving target for room completion."

As of this evening, five of the six windows are now replaced, including new storm windows installed.

Tomorrow I start on the ceiling. That will be followed by the floor [of which I have already removed a rotten section and shored it up and put down new sub-flooring].

Maybe ... just maybe ... I'll have enough done to move furniture back into the room by Thanksgiving. I may still have some finishing work, like molding and such, but it might actually be usable.

Whoops - I forgot something. I added a couple of new electrical outlets and a cable TV connection when I did the first drywalling over four months ago. I've run all the wire - I just need to get a licensed electrician to hook them to the breaker box. No fun being done, plug in the TV and nothing works. Guess I better do that soon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

when do we make the time

2008-10-13T15:53:00.005-04:00

last week: final mudding
this week: final sanding

...except for my calendar

So, this past Friday I got the last mud up.

Then it happened again ... the calendar thing:

Saturday morn I installed new storm door,
then rest of the day - FULL
Sunday - FULL;
Monday eve [tonite] - FULL;
Tuesday eve - FULL;
Wednesday eve - FREE after 8pm;
Thursday eve- FULL;
Friday eve - leave for annual camp out
Saturday - on camp out
Sunday - return from camp out early afternoon
Sunday afternoon and eve - relatively FREE
Monday eve - FULL
Tuesday eve - FULL
Wednesday eve - FREE
Thursday eve - FREE
Friday eve - FULL
Saturday daytime - mostly FREE
Saturday eve - FULL

I haven't looked beyond that, yet.

Anyone making book on this project? Will I get done by Thanksgiving?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

beginning of the end

2008-10-06T22:30:00.002-04:00

final mudding begins

...but can I get it done by Thanksgiving?

No matter how I look at it, I still think there is a lot of work to accomplish yet. When I started the last week of June, I really knew it would not be an overnight project. I knew I would have days and weeks where I'd do nothing towards the project. Even now, when I can see three of the four walls drywalled and painted, I still see a lot of work to be done. This last drywall is now up and mudding has it's first application. Sanding and 2nd applications to follow someday in the next week or so ... or so.

I wonder if Guardian Angels can be talked into helping.

And then I look at my personal calendar and I see days filled with 'work' demands, and evenings filled with service and ministry commitments. TU & WE full; TH & FR may have some time; weekend full; next MO full; perhaps next TU. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll make it by Christmas. The floor and ceiling should go more efficiently. The last finishing tasks will be molding and trim work. It is going to be close. I wonder if she'll dis-own me if I don't make the deadline I myself set 3 and a half months ago.
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Rosh Hashana

2008-09-30T18:10:00.006-04:00

"for a good year"

L'shanah tovah

. . . . . . . . . .

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

The shofar is a ram's horn which
is blown somewhat like a trumpet.

No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah and much of the day is spent in synagogue, where the regular daily liturgy is somewhat expanded. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year.
. . . . . . . . . .

To all our Jewish friends, "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2008-09-28T20:08:00.014-04:00

Desert dry Diamondhead crater climb
...then 7 miles away,
hiking in a tropical rain-forest

. . . . . . . . . .
['click-on' any of the photos to see an enlarged version]

Tuesday morning, August 12, 2008

This is Rozann as we walked across the floor of the crater - see the rim in the background. This is the low-point and starting point of the climb. The top of the rim is the goal. The semi-rugged path is very worn from tourist traffic, and the stairs up some parts of the trail are narrow and steep and plentiful. Fortunately, there were several 'rest-areas' along the route up, so we could catch our breath.

This is view from one of the WWII era 'pill-boxes' at the summit. The fortifications were meant to deter an attack by sea - of course they didn't attack by sea. Above picture is of lighthouse as seen with naked eye - below is with zoom lens.

. . . . . . . . . .
Tuesday afternoon, August 12, 2008

In a tropical rain forest, the size of things is almost unbelievable...look at Rozann next to these tree roots...look at the plant leafs behind that [she is rain-soaked, as was I - what should we have expected in a rain-forest?]

The target site for this hike was this water-falls. Was it worth the hike? Considering all the rain, and the 'moderate' rating of the trail, and the muddy clothes we 'pitched' once we got back to the hotel - of course it was worth it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

when the saints came marching in

2008-09-23T19:26:00.012-04:00

I was there in that number

twelve 20-30 something
single adult saints

. . . . .

I don't know all their exact ages, but I do know they're old enough to know better. And their 'better' is the way they hang-out with one another, take trips together, and serve others just for the sake of promoting friendship and 'love of the Lord.'

Since the last week of June [approximately] I have been engaged in an effort to clean-up / re-model / restore an old added-on to the back-of-the-house room. It has been slow going, to say the least.

This past week-end the saints arrived to give me a hand.

. . . . .
On Friday evening, the first two of three vehicles pulled-up in front of my house around 9pm. Each had 4 occupants. They drove from South Bend Indiana after each had gotten out of work at their 'day-jobs'. One additional vehicle with another 3 crew-members arrived Saturday morning around 10am. We also have a young woman presently living with us who joined right in with these never-before-met new friends.

Total = 12.

Their mission, and they had freely chosen to accept it, was to come to Muncie IN to help old uncle jim on his remodeling project. The goal was to relieve some of the pressures he was feeling from the slow progress he was making.

Two of the group, a JustinW and a SheilaP were the perps who put the group together. They just put a 'call' out to their other 20 - 30 something single friends and before they knew it there were 11 of them committed to the road trip [3 hours] and the 'Help Uncle Jim' project was launched.

There were a total of 4 men and 7 women saints. JustinW's family lives in Muncie, so he and the other men spent FR and SA night there. The 7 women stayed at our house [along with the recently moved in young lady I've mentioned - she made 8]. Bodies were everywhere - and the water heater seldom had time to recoup ... but everything worked out just fine.

Saturday was the project work-day. They did just about anything they were asked to do - and even if they had never done anything like it before, they were open to learning. They painted shutters, they hung drywall, they sanded and painted 4 doors [which included removing and reinstalling ALL hinges and knobs and locks, etc.] They removed a couple of other doors in order to move an upright freezer from an enclosed back-porch and placed it in the garage. Then they moved a spare refrigerator-freezer from the added-on to the back-of-the-house room to the space formerly occupied by the upright freezer that was now in the garage [this included removing both doors of the unit, reversing all hinges and handles, etc., to the opposite side of the cabinet - they learned a lot]. Wood furring strips were cut; a built-in toy-box was sanded and painted with 3-coats of the wife's specified color of paint. All kinds of odds- and ends were accomplished. ALL of it left less for me to do between now and completion of the job in the next couple of months.

Then it happened.

It was time for the University of Notre Dame game to be televised. Work stopped - and all of them, men and women alike, gathered in front of the TV. The women were as knowledgeable and enthusiastic during the game as any I've ever met. They claim that everything stops in South Bend when the team is playing at home - and when they are on the road, everyone is in front of a TV during the game. Such avid loyalty - wow!

When the game was over, they helped pick-up and put away all tools and paint and equipment. The men headed to Justin's house to clean up and come back in an hour or so for a huge dinner with all of us. The women began their rituals to get ready also - and as fast as they showered and cleaned up, they reported to the kitchen and dining area to help get everything prepared and set up for the banquet.

And what a feast we had. The food was great - the table conversation [we had 2 tables set up: one with 9 and one with 6] was super. We talked about quantum mechanics [I think] and guardian angels and creationism and each shared, per my question to them, about their own personal journey that eventually brought them together in South Bend Indiana ... and eventually to my house in Muncie IN. Home towns were from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the twin-cities of Minneapolis - St Paul to the heart of dixie in Alabama to Chicago to home-grown South Benders to a couple of locations I've forgotten. And each of them was responding to a 'call' from the Lord to seek out other like minded seriously Christian singles and help each other make it through the mine-fields of present day culture and society. They were nurses and computer IT geeks and homeless shelter staff and office workers and grad-students [one young lady working on a Masters in Theology] and other health care professionals including a speech pathologist and others occupations I've since forgotten.

I will N E V E R forget their faces and their pleasant dispositions and their willingness and eagerness to help.

Here's to: Justin W, Sheila P, Sarah H, Ricky T, Sarah E, Liz B, Peter G, Laura G, Meghan S, Dan R, Joy H, Allesha L - may God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit always keep them safe.

And I was there in that number, when these Saints came marching in.

- - - - -

happy anniversary

2008-09-19T11:04:00.002-04:00

to me

TODAY...
September 19, 2008...
a date which will live in infamy

Today is the one year anniversary of this b-log ... and while it has been pretty silent lately, it will return!!!! as soon as the back-room project is completed.

Thanks for your help.

it is hard to top Pearl Harbor - we didn't, but...

2008-09-19T07:25:00.005-04:00

Monday afternoon

farewell Waikiki
- hello southern east coast

[ You can click on the pictures to see them enlarged]

Pearl Harbor consumed our morning. It had an almost numbing effect on us - it really put us into a somber mood. After leaving there, we decided we'd just take a drive around the south & southeast & eastern coast and see what we could find - at least as far north as Kanehoe. It was a beautiful drive.

It took us along the 'gold coast' area - the very fabulous and expensive waterfront homes and properties. Many of them looked like movie sets - almost unreal in their opulence. Of course they were gated and the road was narrow and we weren't they only sightseers out that day. So there was no opportunity to stop and gawk and take pictures.

We eventually came to and thence through the beachfront communities of the southern-east coast. The waves were moderate and a lot of wind-surfers were out trying their hand at managing their sails.

I forget

2008-09-13T23:02:00.003-04:00

Here we go again

Which one's are the Republicans?

this November

2008-09-11T21:18:00.005-04:00

vote your conscience

CATHOLIC VOTES COUNT

. . . . . . . . . .
[ 3:34 ]

CLICK on the above >, then be sure you cast ballot
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...and a big "THANK YOU" to Joy for sharing this with me

speaking in tongues

2008-09-09T14:46:00.014-04:00

glossolalia

Every VOTE counts

Father John V. ???
or Father Kyle S. ???
or Father Dennis S. ???
. . . . .

As a small child, many of us display characteristics and behaviors that can foretell some part of our future. What do you think? Could this have been a home video of any of our Blog Fathers? Cast your vote in 'comments'.
. . . . .
[ 1:59 ]

. . . . .
'Click on' the above > and then cast your vote.

there's always room for one more

2008-08-31T19:31:00.015-04:00

God has a plan for each of us

No room in the inn?

It has been over a week since I've posted ... and for several posts before I stopped, all I had written about was our Honeymoon - 25th Wedding Anniversary - Current August 13 Anniversary Celebration in Hawai'i. I will complete some of that, too, soon.

Life has not been without the usual busyness, as well as some extra busyness - ergo, no posts. Besides regular work days and various ministry activities, I have embarked on an adventure which I've reference a few times in the last couple of months - that being the remodeling of the added-on to the back-of-the-house TV and laundry room [not added on by current residents but by those prior to us]. It has been consuming the few hours extra I'm able to steal in the course of a week. And it is finally starting to look like something is being accomplished - that makes my wife happy which makes me happy ... but it is a slow process.

The B I G event of the past week is a new member to our household. No-o-o-o-o-o, it isn't a household pet [ie: dog, cat, bird, etc.]. It is a human being. No-o-o-o-o-o, it isn't a baby, either - we've raised our kids and, while we've talked of adoption and/or foster-care, we've not done that, either.

We've gained a 22-year old recent college graduate, who, upon approaching graduation, realized she didn't want to leave our town while her fiance was taking another year to complete his degree. She wanted, if possible, to find a good Christian living situation for herself - that is, a Christian environment in which to live...with a family or couple, and thereby provide that biblical hedge between her and that which so much permeates the culture around us.

They both are committed Catholic Christians and are working very hard to remain pure for their marriage next May 2009 - and beyond. She was referred to us by the DRE [Director of Religious Education] at the Campus Newman Apostolate parish where she is an active member.

So how does such a referral come about? and how does one make such a decision and choice? Well, first, the DRE knew us through our recently ordained nephew with whom she struck up a friendship while she was working on her Masters in Theology at the seminary at which our nephew was studying. She learned that we've done this before. This young woman is the tenth early twenties woman with whom we've shared our home in the past 15 or so years.

If you've ever shared living arrangements with anyone, you'll already recognize that it is not always easy ... and that applies whether it is a husband and wife, or any other related or un-related people. We've been there before, so we've tried to prepare for the difficulties that can arise with personalities, life-styles, habits, preferences, etc.

There were friends of ours who experienced some extreme financial difficulties - they lost their house and their small business. We let them move in with us until they could get on their feet. That lasted several months, to the best of my memory. That was 15 years ago - and we're still friends. In other words, people can decide to get along, even in difficult situations.

There was another time we took in 2 of 5 children from one family. The mother needed a lengthy hospitalization [8 weeks] and the dad needed to work. SO, we and two other families took in the children and kept them until things got back to normal for them. We think this is normal Christian living and think more people ought to be doing it, too. Share what the Lord has given - make room for others in the Inn.

Living together and renting a room are very different things. We are not perfect beings, and with all the years we have under our wings, we have definite patterns of life and behaviors long developed. But, we are very willing to work at it, bending where necessary to make it work - and she is, also. So, we'll give it go and see if we can all survive until her wedding next May.

Well, I gotta get back to sanding some dry-wall 'mud'. I've promised this job done by Thanksgiving. The walls get done all the way around, first - than the floor gets done with a laminate hardwood pattern material - then the ceiling gets redone [??tile, drop-in, drywall, suspended?? - not sure which yet]. If we decide to put drywall on the ceiling, then that would require painting - and that would cause us to do the ceiling before the floor.

Pray for us.

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...may they rest in peace

2008-08-22T21:40:00.013-04:00

2403 men, women, and children killed—and 1178 wounded

USS Arizona
. . . . . . . . . .

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 the Imperial forces of the nation of Japan waged a deadly and devastating attack on the forces of the United States of America on the island of Oahu in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Now we come from all over the world to visit this memorial, this monument, this tomb. We simply refer to it as 'Pearl Harbor'.

. . . . .names of the U.S. Navy forces entombed in the USS Arizona
. . . . .

On Monday morning, August 11, 2008 we rose before 5am. We readied ourselves and made our way to the Hotel's Kuhio Beach Grill Breakfast Buffet. Some were apparently there when the doors opened at 5am. We arrived at 5:20am and found the room half full already - and this was before 5:30am on a Monday.

After completing our breakfast feast, we made our way to the 'Tours Lobby' area of the hotel. This is where tour buses picked-up and dropped off their pre-ticketed passengers. This was a very efficient and very well thought out part of the life and design of this tourist resort. We arranged tickets the day before at one of the Hotel's several Concierge stations.

Our bus was scheduled to pick us up at 6:15am. It was on time, but a member of a group of 13 men, women, children had not found her way down from her room - and the rest of us waited. The driver was very polite and courteous - and very emphatic ... someone needed to find this person and get her to the bus. Every minute we delayed would mean we'd be 15 - 20 people farther back in the line at the gate. The woman showed up within moments of that pronouncement.

Monday morning ... 6:30am ... highway H-1 from the east side of Honolulu at Waikiki Beach to Pearl Harbor on the west side of Honolulu ... traffic not unlike many large metropolitan cities on the mainland ... a driver who seemed to know the route and the traffic blindfolded - it all added up to a trip at unbelievable speed, considering the traffic and congestion. We arrived at the Pearl Harbor Visitors Gate by 6:50am - we were the second small tour bus to arrive. We were in the first 25 or so people in the line. By 7:15am, less than half an hour later, the line was almost around the block.

. . . . .

Once we were through the Visitors Center, and after watching a short film on the story of the attack, we were transported by passenger launch to the memorial itself.

Above is the entrance to the memorial, directly over the remains of the sunken destroyer USS Arizona [seen below], the tomb for those personnel still on board when it was sunk.

. . . . .

blessed be the Lord's Day

2008-08-19T19:32:00.010-04:00

...out one side door and into the next

Sunday Mass not 100 feet away

It didn't take much effort to walk to church on Sunday morning. There was a 6am, 8:30am, and 11am Mass directly across the street from the hotel - we made it to the 8:30am celebration.

. . . . .

St. Augustine By-the-sea Roman Catholic Church
- Waikiki Beach, HI -
. . . . .

[in the extreme upper right corner of the picture you can see the form of 5 or 6 balconies on the hotel - that is how close we were.]

. . . . .

The celebrant was a native Hawi'ian priest ... at least he sure looked like it - and then he opened his mouth and spoke ... his accent was NOT Hawai'ian. Now, he did have native relatives on the island and that is why he was there - he was on vacation visiting relatives. His home parish, he told us, was an African-American parish in Oakland CA. There were a lot of vacationers in the church that morning, besides him.

As a note of some interest to some, Sen. Barach Obama was also on the island all week on vacation with his family and visiting relatives - and causing an uproar wherever he went. He visited old friends, and the High School he attended, and lots of other 'photo-op' locations - and he played golf several times. The rest of us went about our own agendas.

After Mass we went back across the street to our piece of Paradise and found our way the the big breakfast buffet at the hotel. Let me tell you, I've not seen a bigger spread than this. And because of the high percentage of Japanese visitors to the island, there was ample opportunity to try foods we don't see on our table at home ... at least Rozann tried some ... I stuck to bacon and eggs and pancakes and waffles and fruit and juice and coffee and pastry and ham and fried potatoes and sausage and cereals and...

The doors opened at 5am each morning. We were there bright and early every morning of our stay, between 5-6:30am, except that first day we went to Mass first. Then we could get a good and timely start on our day.

People of Praise, an ecumenical charismatic covenant community with 22 branches in North America, has a branch in Kailua, on the eastern windward side of the island. We are members of a People of Praise branch in our hometown - Muncie, IN. At 2:30pm they were scheduled to have a weekly branch meeting which includes prayer and singing and sharings and fellowship. We were going to be there and meet some new people ... and see some others whom we already knew. It was a wonderful way to spend a Lord's Day afternoon.

After the meeting, we went to dinner with several of the local members. By the time we ate and talked and drank and talked, it was time for us to head back to our south side of the island location before darkness set in.

As we were still somewhat sleep deprived from the trip over, we went directly to the hotel. We ordered up a 'pay-per-view' movie and watched the latest Indiana Jones outing. I think we both fell to sleep while it played.

Our first full day in paradise was over. Tomorrow it would be time to start seeing the sights. Our tour bus to Pearl Harbor was scheduled to pick us up at 6:15am ... and we needed to eat breakfast before that.
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keepin' on keepin' on

2008-08-17T15:24:00.027-04:00

the inevitability of things not going according to plan

Aloha, y'all - Part 2
. . . . . . . . . .

American Airlines terminal at Honolulu
. . . . .

...and then God said

Landing in Honolulu was quite exciting.

First, it meant we 'made it".

Second, it confirmed that the 'Garden of Eden' [aka: Paradise] was not created anywhere near the Tigris or Euphrates rivers - it was on an Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The light puffy clouds, the sunny bright-blue sky, the multi-shades-of-blue color of the surrounding waters, the palm trees, the beautiful green of the plant-life on the sides of the great volcanic mountains, the sandy beaches, the dark-tanned complexion of inhabitants, the seemingly genuine greetings from all whom we encountered ... "ALOHA", and the sincere "Mahalo" affirming their gratitude for our being there - all of this testifying to the surreal sense of being in paradise.

But, of course, just when we had assured ourselves that all was wonderful, then we had to deal with the real world ... again.

. . . . .

We found our way out from the air-line's terminal to the 'Rental Car' bus-stop. Once on board the bus for our rental car company, we were ready to take on renown traffic congestion from the Airport [west of Honolulu] to the Waikiki Beach area [east of Honolulu]. All our arrangements for this trip had been made last March - plenty of time for anyone involved to have things ready for our arrival ... or not.

We knew gasoline prices on the mainland were high ... and we had been told in advance that prices for everything in Hawai'i would be higher - significantly higher. Trying to respond defensively, we had reserved an 'economy-class' car to drive while we were on the Island.

Apparently, so had everyone else who had arrived before us that day. None were available.

Upgrade? Would we be interested in an upgrade? Sounded like the old 'bait and switch' to me. "How much extra?", I asked.

"Extra? Why would you think that?", she responded. "There will be no extra charge. We don't have the vehicle your requested. The upgrade is 'on us'. No extra charge."

Paradise? Maybe we were there after all. My mainland cynicism had gotten me ahead of the reality. Of course we'd be glad to accept an upgrade. "What kind of vehicles would be available?", I asked. "How about a 4-wheel drive Jeep Wrangler - get you off-road onto the more secluded beaches and sites?"

Damn the gasoline prices - we were taking the upgrade!

. . . . .
H1 highway from Airport through the city
. . . . .

It was still daylight when we arrived at our hotel - the luxurious Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. It truly lived up to the reputation we expected. When we planned this trip, this is exactly what I was sure we'd never be able to afford - but we did it any ways.

After all, we were celebrating our never-before-taken honeymoon, our 25th wedding anniversary, and our current anniversary on Wednesday the 13th. This was absolutely the ideal.

Hotel Entrance
. . . . .

I pulled up into the Arrival entry lane and was faced with my second major decision [the vehicle upgrade was the first] - to 'self-park' or to 'valet park' or to find a lot or garage a couple of blocks away for much less of a daily fee [maybe]. Being the big spender that I had already exhibited with renting a gas-guzzling Jeep, I ventured into the world of 'Valet' parking ... at least for the first night.

Marriott situated this resort directly across the street from the eastern end of Waikiki Beach on 5.2 acres of luxuriously landscaped and manicured grounds. The rooms were in two separate towers - one with 25 floors and the other with 33 floors ... and all the rooms had balconies with beautiful views.

Hotel lobby . . . . . . . . . . . . Sunset from inside room

. . . . . . . . . . . . . View from balcony . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

It was now after 7:30pm Hawai'i time [1:30am back in Indianapolis], the sun was beginning to set, and we had not eaten any dinner. Time to check in and get something to eat.

Check in went flawlessly. Our room was almost beyond expectations. The view from our room on the 26th floor was mind-numbing. And our stomachs wanted to visit Paradise - one block away was a 'Cheeseburger-in-Paradise' restaurant. Off we went in search of the perfect bed-time snack. It was 9:30pm in Honolulu [3:30am in Indianapolis] when we returned to our room and fell into bed.

See y'all tomorrow ... today is over.

[to be continued]
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another second chance

2008-08-17T10:36:00.015-04:00

My Way Sunday
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

modern technology

[Thanks to my dear wife, we are able to reproduce some of the pictures we took, as would be typical of what you would see on a trip like this.]

. . . . . . . . . .

Aloha, y'all - Part 1

. . . . .
our base of operations
. . . . .

Common Hawai'ian Words:

aloha - love, hello, welcome, goodbye
hale - house
kane - man
luau - traditional Hawaiian feast
mahalo - thank you
mauka - a directional, toward the mountans
makai - a directional, toward the sea
pau - finished, complete
poi - staple food made from taro
wahine - woman
lei - garland, usually of flowers, but also of leaves or shells

. . . . .Diamond Head crater rim
. . . . .

We experienced a wonderful celebration of our time together. We visited most of the island in our 5-days and 5-nights there. We saw typical tourists sites and we visited with a number of friends who live on the island in the Kailua area [eastern windward side of the island].

We visited only the Island of O'ahu, which is home to Honolulu, the state capital. It is not the biggest of the islands in the state, but is the most inhabited.

. . . . .looking east towards Waikiki Beach [in distance]
. . . . .

The island of O'ahu is divided into five main parts:

Waikiki/Honolulu Side: contains Honolulu International Aiport, Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, Manoa Falls, University of Hawaii, Diamond Head Beach Park, Ala Moana Beach Park, Hanauma Bay State Park, KoKo Head Mountain, Sandy Beach Park, just to mention a few.
Windward Shore: contains Kailua Beach Park, Lanikai Beach, Polynesian Cultural Center, Kaneohe Beach Park, Chinaman's Hat, the Mormon Temple, just to mention a few.
North Shore: contains Turtle Bay Resort, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay Beach Park, Waimea Falls and Gardens Hike, Turtle Beach/Laniakea Beach, Hidden Beach, just to mention a few.
Leeward Shore: Kahe Point Beach Park, Makaha Beach, Ko Olina Resort and Marina, Waianae, Kaneana Cave, just to mention a few.
Central O'ahu: contains the Dole Plantation,Wahiawa Botanical Garden, World's Largest Maze, just to mention a few.

at the Dole Plantation
. . . . .

In The beginning

On Friday night August 8, we stayed the night at an Indianapolis hotel near the airport. We needed to be at the airport at 7am to begin our adventure - and an adventure it truly was ... right from the beginning.

The plane was full.

Our itinerary was to take us from Indianapolis to Dallas to Honolulu - all via American Airlines.

Our first Indianapolis plane never left the gate.

A mechanical problem with a hydraulic pump left us stuck there. No replacement pump was available locally. The nearest was in Chicago. They could, and would, get one to Indianapolis in several hours, but that was a sure way to miss all those connections out of Dallas for many of those on board - including us.

All passengers whose final destination was Dallas - Ft Worth [DFW] were set aside as a seperate group. They would be placed on other flights going to or through DFW. Those who were making connections through DFW, like us going to Hawai'i, were then worked with individually to place on other flights to get us to where we were intending to go.

American Airlines
. . . . .

The net result for us was a rearranged itinerary - new flight plans and new time-table. We were now getting to Hawai'i by adding a stop.

Indianapolis to Chicago
Chicago to LosAngeles
Los Angeles to Honolulu

Our arrival in Honolulu was originally scheduled for 3:40pm Honolulu time [6 hours behind, or 9:40pm Indianapolis]. Our new arrival time was now set for 5:55pm Honolulu time [11:55pm Indianapolis] - only 2:15 behind our original schedule. Not too bad. Our arrival in Chicago was just in time to make our connection. The flight to LosAngeles was in the process of boarding when we arrived at the gate - but we made it.

[to be continued]
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dunce

2008-08-16T19:29:00.002-04:00

Any Way Saturday
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We got home last evening.
After having had no sleep for 33 hours straight, I half-way unpacked and went to bed around 9:30pm and slept until 8:16am this morning.
Then my lovely wife woke me up and reminded me that I had volunteered to help set-up the hall [tables and chairs] for the wedding reception this afternoon.
We finished that - went to the wedding at 11am ... to the reception that lasted until 4pm ... helped clean-up the hall ... came home and went to the 5:30pm evening vigil mass and came home.
I sat down at the computer.

It was my intention to post some pictures from our 25th wedding anniversary trip to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
I took almost 30o great pictures - make that probably closer to 250 great pictures - keepers - and another 50 of the trash-can variety. and started to download these 300 great pictures.
There were some other older pictures from an earlier June wedding, so I wanted to delete those older pictures.

Can you guess what happened next?

And now the media card is empty.
And you don't get to see any of those 300 great pictures ... and neither will any of my kids ... or other friends ... or my wife [who is at the grocery store while I stayed behind to download these 300 great pictures].

Have a great Saturday.

When I get over this, I'll try to post some comments about the trip.

Aloha y'all

2008-08-09T00:05:00.000-04:00

Any Way Saturday
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
into the deep blue of sub-orbital space
[well, not really - but why not imagine]

Waikiki, here we come

. . . . .

This is actually being written Friday evening from the lobby 'Business Center' of a hotel near the Indianapolis International Airport. We are checked in here for the night. A shuttle will take us to the airport early tomorrow [Saturday] morning. We'll be picked up around 6:45am, fly to Dallas to change planes, then go over the big waters to the little islands of Hawaii, and finally arrive at our room at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa around 10 - 11pm Saturday night - a loooooong day.

I D I D N O T bring my lap-top [not my idea] ... so I am at the mercy of my wife and the availability of computer internet services once we're there. I am looking forward to this 'honeymoon & anniversary trip'.

On our agenda includes: Pearl Harbor, the beach, a luau, the beach, visiting friends in Kailua, the beach, seeing some of the central island beauty via the over-the-top higways between Honolulu [southern shore] and Kailua [eastern shore], the beach, celebrating our actual anniversary on Wednesday the 13th, the beach, whatever providence throws our way, and the beach...

I'll try to check in periodically ... but if that doesn't happen much, we'll be back to IN on Friday afternoon.

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. . . . .

Don't let the Chinese fool you. This whole Olympics things can still be about the athletes if we don't make it political, too.