Take Two

First of all, Happy Halloween. I know some folks avoid Halloween for the dark conotations and all but we love it here.  It gives us a chance to dress up the kids and get free candy. What’s not to love.

I thought the above cartoon was especially poignant given that the economy shrank by 0.3% last quarter. This is not insignificant at all.  Two quarters of negative economic growth is the textbook definition of a recession (although I think we are already there).  If that isn’t scary enough, check out this story from the NY Times this week.  If you thought housing was bad, credit cards are going to be ugly.  Just this week, we personally experienced this crunch when two companies attempted to change our terms unfavorably without a history a delinquency in the name of risk management.  This is where Wall Street hits Main Street (we canceled the accounts rather than go along in case you’re wondering).  Also, check out this blog post by Joe Nocera (who is brilliant).  Isn’t it good to know that the $700 billion bailout you just financed is not going to grease the economy but rather at assist in consolidation of banks (and they’ll save on their tax bill to boot).

I would not want to be an incumbent politician in this climate for all the tea in China.  As John Lennon said, “You say you want a revolution”.  I think it’s coming.

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Yes, I’m aware that this is not the most insightful thought I’ve ever had but go with me for a minute.  I’ve seen a few instances of this in the last week or so and wanted to share with you.  Let’s go to the tape.

Last weekend, I met with the Ohio UPCI Sunday School Board which I preside over.  I am in the last months of my term (done in May) and really was struggling with whether or not to resign early.  If you read this blog regularly, you know that I spend a lot of time on airplanes and in hotel rooms.  This puts a crimp in my ability to spend time promoting and raising money for Sunday School.  Also, I found out last week that I am going to be in New Orleans the weekend of our Sunday School conference.  This is a bummer for me because it’s the biggest promotional event we have.  It is also the weekend of my final seminar for a graduate progam I’m in with the University of Florida which, if I miss it, I will have to put off for another six months.  That’s not happening.  I explained this all to my board and they generously offered to pick up the slack and cover a number of my functions while I’m out on business and until we can elect a new director in May at conference.  They are cool people and I appreciate them.

One of the guys who stepped up huge for me was the current Sunday School secretary.  As fate would have it, three days after our meeting, he fell off a ladder and broke his hip. Not good times!  I sent out an email letting our board, the district board, and other know about his injury.  We have been inundated with offers to assist him while he’s laid up (I am speaking for him this Sunday).  That’s the kind of people he’s surrounded himself with.  They are good folks and we look out for each other.

I was double booked with appointments last week and sent up a flare to my partners for help.  I graciously had one of my colleagues take a meeting for me and did brilliantly.  I have done the same for her and it’s a great feeling to know that you can count on your partners and co-workers.

The point of this missive is this- take a hard look at the people you surround yourself with.  Are they players or posers?  Do they have an agenda for being in your circle of influence?  If the need arose, could you count on them to step up or would they flee at the first sign of trouble?  It’s a good thing to evaluate the character of your friends and business associates.  Surround yourself with great people who won’t bail on you in the time of need.

I know this is a simple thought.  The best ones usually are.

Image via Wikipedia

Last night, while Becky had powderpuff, I was being a jerk face (her term) and took Michael for a night on the town.  In my defense, I bought the tickets in May.  They were front row mezzanine on the aisle.  You would have gone too.

We started the evening at Hoggy’s as Michael had a craving for barbecue.  Who knew?  We had the mini sandwich platter, some brisket and a cheese pizza.  Who doesn’t go to Hoggy’s for pizza?  Michael ate half the sandwiches, ate my macaroni and cheese (which was exceptional), had an ear of corn on the cob and ate more than half of the brownie dessert.  I have no idea where he puts this stuff.

After dinner we drove downtown to the Palace Theater for Rain, The Beatles Experience. I have been a huge fan of the Beatles for years.  Clearly I never saw them live (they broke up in 1969, I was born in 1968, do the math) but they are clearly one of if not the most influential groups of all time.  The band played songs covering everything from the Ed Sullivan Show appearance to Shea Stadium and Sergeant Pepper to Abbey Road.  They were very tight, very authentic (except the bass player was not left handed) and they rocked hard for two hours.  It was amazing to see how many kids there were.  They guy playing Paul took note of how many little ones there were at the show.  Lots of parents who had had the Beatles shared with them from their parents and were now passing it on.

Michael stayed awake almost until we got home at 11:30 last night which surprised me.  He is not a night owl.  He said he loved the music and the lights.  I’m glad we got to have the night together and enjoy some Beatles and each others company.

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I realize that for the vast majority of my readers this is a non-story but for me with 15+ years in occupation medicine and workers’ compensation, it is a delight.  The latest story via the New York Times is that managers have assisted in what is essentially an enormous fraud on the Long Island Railroad and, by extension, the taxpayers who underwrite it.  Shocking!

My guess is when the original story was written about a month ago they did not see this kind of traction coming.  However, in the current climate of corporate guilt by association, someone (or several someones) is going to jail for a long time for this.  It’s a shame too because the LIRR is great.  The New York MTA, for all of their faults, is one of the best public transportation systems in the world.  It would be great if some of this money the government is doling out were used for infrastructure improvement but I digress.  Anyway, click on any of the stories to be brought up to speed.  This is fascinating stuff.

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Book cover via Amazon

God is not only great because nothing is too big for Him.  God is great because nothing is too small for him.

- Mark Batterson, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

I have been reading this book for the past few days and it is probably one of the most spiritually impacting books I have ever read.  Mark Batterson is the founder and pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.  He talks some about how they founded the church and how God opened doors for them and made provision for them that they could never have done on their own.  It’s great for increasing your faith.  My friend Reg read and did a pretty thorough dissection of it in his blog recently.  If memory serves, he also taught extensively from it (which would not be hard to do at all).  If you are looking for something to feed your soul, I would highly recommend this book.

Ever wonder what possesses someone to put their random thoughts out on the internet for anyone (or no one) to read?  I have been blogging for about three years (about half of that at this site) and have stated that I mainly blog to keep in touch with people, to allow a free flow of thought, and to satisfy my frustrated inter-writer self.  Andrew Sullivan has a great story from the Atlantic about why he blogs.  Check it out.

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• Journaling

It has been a very busy weekend (and previous week).  I had Sunday School Board meetings this weekend in preparation for meeting with the district board in a couple of weeks.  I have a full post regarding that which I will put up next week.  Let me just lead into it by saying it is a good thing to be surrounded with folks you can count on to help you when you are buried and who “have your back” so to speak.

Anyhow, I’m going to head to bed.  I’ll expand this thought more tomorrow.

Rather than opine about the tumultuous stock market (it has been crazy today), I thought I’d share a video.  Either you laugh or you cry.  You might as well laugh.

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I will do a full post tonight.  Allow me to say that the University of Akron was great fun and so unlike when I went to The Ohio State University (you must add the “The”) where we lived like POWs and ate food that was rejected by the hospital patients.  Rock climbing wall?  Kayaking pool?  Stir fry, pizza, or eggplant parmagana for lunch?  No siree bob, we did not have that.

The night at the opera is deserving of its own post.  We saw Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.  I absolutely loved it!  More on that later.  Now, off to Columbus for a meeting and lunch.  Thanks to Opera Columbus for that event.

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• The Pearl Fishers