Wednesday, April 25, 2012

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When you have three children, of course only one can be the first, and that one becomes to the others the measuring stick for all privileges, all fairness, and all comparisons.

Now, in our family, our daughter is the oldest. The three kids would be getting along perfectly one day, and then suddenly the boys would learn about something their big sister got. Then I would hear the march of determined feet to my desk, and then those words, "How come she gets to...?"

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

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Some people have wall-to-wall carpet. Me? I have a wall-to-wall schedule. Maybe you do too. It was like that even when I had to take my daughter to college years ago. She had just returned from a missions trip to Manila and so had I. We had one day to get her to Chicago for college. Not only did we have to get her to school that day, but on that particular Friday, I had to produce some of these radio programs.

Friday, April 20, 2012

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When my son was a teenager he used to read the Sunday cartoons, and I heard him laughing out loud one day. He called out to me, "Hey, Dad, come here. They got this one right!" He could really relate to this particular cartoon, and knowing that this was something that would help my intellectual development, he let me read it.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

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The passenger across the aisle from me wasn't very happy. He was complaining to his seat mate on the plane about everything and complaining with a lot of profanity inserted, oh I'd say maybe like every third word. The man next to him was mostly listening as this shall we say colorfully spoken speaker cussed out his favorite baseball team, then the service on the plane and the clients he was working with.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

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Over the years, when my kids were growing up and at home, they didn't carry a wallet full of money. And they did need some money along the way. They had to buy their lunch at school. They had to buy clothes when they outgrew them or wore them out; which happened frequently. They had to pay admission prices when they went to special attractions. They needed spending money for trips and vacations, and for cards and gifts.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Wow! For once, the United States Congress was totally united. No partisan torpedoes. No verbal dueling. Even tears of compassion from some usually tough opponents.

Gabby did it. It had been just over year that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was gunned down in a Tucson, Arizona mall. The head wound she received threatened to end her life, you remember, or, at best, to leave her severely handicapped. And a little over a year after the shooting, she made her way to the floor of the House of Representatives to announce her resignation, for now, so she could concentrate on her continuing recovery. She really is a profile in courage.

Friday, April 13, 2012

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I've ridden with a lot of people on a lot of elevators, but none quite as unusual as the young man that I met on an elevator a while back. Actually, he wasn't unusual; but what he carried was. He had his arms full of a wadded up tuxedo and a wadded up wedding gown. So here's this fellow, marching down the hall with a wedding gown and a tuxedo in his arms.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

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I was in a meeting in a hotel. It was in the 90s outside, but I was ready to put gloves on so I could write my notes without shaking. Maybe you've been in those rooms. It was hot outside but the air conditioner was on one notch past high - I think the setting was like on "arctic"? And all of us in the room became concerned about that setting, and one by one we wandered over to the box on the wall. You know we're all "fix it" guys; we'll make it better.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

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After Whitney Houston's sudden death, the world has fixated on replaying her iconic and now more poignant performances of her signature songs. And what stuck in my mind is the video they have shown of one of her first performances and the video of one of her last.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

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I know you shouldn't yell, especially on a Sunday, but I did. On a Sunday a few months ago during the Super Bowl.

But, hey, my New York Giants were playing for the championship. And they needed my help, right, my encouragement, and my suggestions of course. How could they hear me if I didn't yell? I know it's, okay, just earth stuff, but it was fun to watch them win; especially since I have a special attachment to the Giants that goes back to our years in the New York area, when I used to speak for some of their pre-game chapels.