Thank Goodness It's Monday #382

VENERABLE MEN (AND WOMEN)

A VETERAN REFLECTS

ON VETERANS DAY

I did not give uniformed service to our country in the youthful days when I might have been most valued for it. 

So I believe Veterans Day doesn’t evoke the response in me that it does for those who gave over a portion of their life – or in the families of those who died – in the Armed Forces. 

Actually, I struggle with very ambivalent feelings on Veterans Day. 

·        My father did his duty as part of “the greatest generation.” And I recall, even as a child, I was proud to see his name on the hometown monument honoring veterans of World War II and moved by the idea that his name was among the lucky service men without a star next to it denoting their having made the ultimate sacrifice in service.

·        On what may be the other side of the emotional equation, I am a draft card carrier from the Vietnam era who, by some quirks of fate, was never called upon to choose a course of action other than military service. Had I been, I can’t honestly say what I might have done. I know I lost a number of friends in that conflict, both to death and trauma. The Memorial Wall in Washington DC never ceases to move me in indescribable and complex ways.

These are things I normally hold close. But today I share them with you in TGIM because a recent little editorial “opinion” in our local weekly giveaway newspaper, penned by Ed Flynn, a regular contributor whose writing and insight I often enjoy, encapsulated much of the ambivalence I suspect many feel.

I’d like to believe his view fairly says what I (and perhaps others) am challenged to articulate. 

And Ed has earned the right to say it.

Here it is, in its entirety.

****

Ed Flynn

 I always feel a bit guilty on Veterans Day.

Like many other veterans, particularly those who have seen combat, when I remember the dead and wounded – as we’re supposed to do on Veterans Day – I can’t help but wonder; why them and not me?

In my case, I spent two years in the Pacific during World War II.

Most of that time was with the Seventh Fleet as a radioman aboard an amphibious flagship overseeing landings in the Philippines and other Pacific islands.

While we faced constant Japanese attacks from the air -- and while several ships near us were hit and sunk, and we were strafed several times ourselves -- our peril was nothing compared to that of the Marines and soldiers we put ashore on those beaches.

More than 400,000 Americans, mostly young boys like me in their late teens or early 20s, never came home from that war, giving their life for our freedom on some Pacific island or European battlefield.

I came home.

I had married before I went overseas to the wonderful girl who would be my wife for the next 66 years until I lost her two years ago.

We bought our first home in River Edge NJ with a G.I. mortgage; and we had two beautiful daughters who grew up to give us three grandchildren who, in turn, gave us six great-grandchildren.

Like most families, we had our trials and tribulations in the course of those years.

It wasn’t always easy but, for the most part, it was a good life, without the tragedies some other families have had to face.

We had a life that those who died during our nation’s wars never had a chance to live.

Now I’m 90 years old and living alone, forced by arthritis to use a walker to get around, dependent on my children and grandchildren to perform tasks for me that once seemed so simple.

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel sorry for myself.

But, then I reflect on all the good years I’ve had, thanks to those who never came home, those whose life ended when they were young -- not just in World War II, but in World War I and Korea, and Vietnam, and now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I thank those who are buried in some cemetery in Normandy where poppies grow, or whose bodies were returned home in a flag-draped coffin to be interned here; to those to whom politicians and other orators pay tribute on Veterans Day.

In World War II, more than 16 million Americans were in uniform.

Tiny flags were displayed in the windows of almost every home. A blue star indicated that the boy who lived there was now in service; a gold star indicated that he would never return home.

The whole country was mobilized during World War II; women worked in factories helping to produce tanks and planes; children collected scrap that could be turned into bullets; gasoline and food were rationed; everyone sacrificed.

Today, there are more than 60,000 members of our volunteer armed forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

But, here at home, you would never know we are at war.

Most families are untouched by the struggle against terrorism. For most, life goes on as usual.

There is no draft, no rationing; in fact, no call for sacrifice.

And, so on this Veterans Day, while you’re enjoying a barbecue, eating a hot dog or downing a cold beer, you might pause and ask yourself, "Why them?"

Why not your own son, or daughter, or grandchild?

And, the next time you hear someone loudly proclaiming how we should put "boots on the ground" in order to overthrow some foreign dictator, you might want to ask them, "Whose boots?"

While you’re at it, you might try to find the time to attend a parade or a memorial service – if there is one in your community anymore – and say thanks to a veteran.

Not that the average veteran is looking for thanks, but he or she will still appreciate the fact that someone cares.

Click this to link to the original article.

****

I care, Ed Flynn. 

I’m confident my circle of TGIM friends cares as well. 

Thank you, one and all.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. In 1825 at the laying of the corner stone for the Bunker Hill Monument, Daniel Webster, perhaps the most famous orator of the day, was to make the day’s most significant speech. The crowd estimated at 50,000 included perhaps two hundred gray-haired men, remnants of the days of the Revolution.

Daniel Webster
with the Bunker Hill Monument
in the background

Among them stood some forty scarred and time-worn veterans who had actually shared in the bloody conflict they now gathered to commemorate. 

As Webster passed these forty in the crowd, it’s reported his voice trembled as he uttered the words –

“Venerable men.”

 

Addressing the veterans directly he also said: “Our poor work may perish, but thine shall endure:  this monument may moulder away, the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to the level of the sea; but thy memory shall not fail. Wherever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of patriotism and liberty, its aspirations shall claim kindred with thy spirit!”

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY #381

“NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE REAL

THE PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY”

 

Thank Goodness It’s Monday doesn’t “do” politics -- at least not overtly. 

However – 

Tomorrow is Election Day 2012. And as a matter of principle we will make a last minute attempt to add some wisdom and understanding to this election’s noisy and noisome process and thereby inform TGIM readers/leaders in a way which, we hope, will encourage you to participate tomorrow (if you have not been actively engaged all along). 

In addition: Ideally we will also find some lessons we -- each and all, without regard to political affiliation -- can take into our everyday world as well.

No stump speeches here: In the bundle of items that follow you’ll find nuggets of wisdom, touches of humor, quotes and anecdotes and perhaps some overlooked history. They’re drawn from sources inside and outside the political world that I hope we can agree are “informed.”

So let’s get going. 

 

I saw this on a bumper sticker, many elections ago.

 

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

Plato (c.428-347 BCE) said that.

What this country needs is more people to inspire others with confidence, and fewer people to discourage any initiative in the right direction; more to get into the thick of things, fewer to sit on the sidelines merely finding fault; more to point out what’s right with the world, and fewer to keep harping on what’s wrong with it; and more who are interested in lighting candles, and fewer who blow them out.

Father James Keller (1900-1997) founder of The Christophers said that.

Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) said that.

As I stand aloof and look

there is to me something profoundly

affecting in large masses of

men following the lead of those who do

not believe in men.

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) shared that poetic thought in Leaves of Grass.

County judge, chair of a committee, President of the U.S., they are all the same kind of jobs. It is the business of dealing with people.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) 33^rd US President said that.

Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.

Financier and statesman Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) said that.

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971) is alleged to have said that.

Never tell them what you won’t do.

Clergyman/Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908-1972) said that.

Be sincere. Be simple in words, manners, and gestures. Amuse as well as instruct. If you can make someone laugh, you can make that person think and make that person like you and believe you.

The so-called Happy Warrior, statesman Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) said that.

People criticize me for harping on the obvious. Perhaps someday I’ll write an article on “The Importance of the Obvious.” … If all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, perhaps most of our big problems would take care of themselves.

The taciturn 30^th US President, Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge (1872-1933) said that.

Have you noticed that many people who laugh at kids who believe in Santa Claus are the same people who believe in campaign promises?

Comedian Joey Adams (1911-1999) is credited with that observation.

If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.

Graffiti in London, 1979

It’s useless to hold a person to anything he says while he’s in love, drunk, or running for office.

Actor/advocate Shirley MacLaine said that.

I can imagine a political campaign purged of all the current false assumptions and false pretenses – a campaign in which, on election day, the voters went to the polls clearly informed that the choice between them was not between an angel and a devil, a good man and a bad man, an altruist and a go-getter, but between two frank go-getters, the one, perhaps excelling at beautiful and nonsensical words and the other at silent and prehensile deeds.

Commentator and curmudgeon H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) wrote that.

These big politicians are so serious about themselves and their parties. This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it.

Humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935) said that.

There are men who, by their sympathetic attractions, carry the nations with them and lead the activity of the human race.

TGIM favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) wrote that.

All voting is a gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it.

RWE’s friend and neighbor Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) said that.

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

French President Charles De Gaulle (1890-1970) concluded that.

TGIM Takeaway: In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, “holds office”; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

The 35^th US President, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) gave us that Takeaway and I share it as a nonpartisan conclusion and will add only: 

If you don’t vote, you’ve got nothing more to say on the subject. 

I’m Geoff Steck and I approve these messages. 

I hope to see your right-minded participation as they tally the votes tomorrow.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. Today’s TGIM headline -- “Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy” – originates with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).

Thank Goodness It's Monday #380

MAKE MAGIC

– NOT MISCHIEF–

 ON HALLOWEEN 

When you were growing up, what did you call the night before Halloween?

 

In our New Jersey neighborhoods October 30th goes by several names, depending on where you grew up.

 

·         Mischief Night seems to be most common.

·         But in some rural areas it’s called Cabbage Night.

·         Around Paterson it’s called Goosey Night (and it’s listed that way on the Public School calendar).

·         It’s Hell Night around Camden.

·         Gate Night just a little north of me in Rockland County, NY;

·         Doorbell Night in Connecticut;

·         Hacker Night elsewhere.

·         Other names include Trick Night, Mizzie (or Mizzy) Night and Mat (or Mad) Night.

·         Around Albany NY they call it Beggar’s Night;

·         In Detroit it’s famously known as Devil’s Night and, since there’s a history in that town of setting fires all over the city, a more pacific Angel’s Night effort is now promoted.

·         Fair and balanced 2012 World Series reporting: San Francisco seems to favor the Mischief Night designation. 

No matter what you call it, the countdown to Halloween 2012 is dashing toward the finish line. Although, for a great many kids, as well as some adults, and certainly for all those retail establishments that sell candy by the bag, the “observance” has been going on for quite a while, the day (or maybe days) so many kids (and a good number of adults) have been waiting for is soon at hand. 

So how about a little Halloween history on the way to some TGIM treats?

Halloween comes down to us from the pre-Christian era Celtic festival of Samhaim, held October 31, the last autumn night before the cold and  bleakness of winter.

On this night, considered the Celtic New Year, the Druids believed that the supernatural world drew closer to the physical world. That meant human beings were more susceptible to the influence and power of the unseen. Magic spells could be cast more easily. Divination was more revealing. Dreams held special significance.

This capsule history is spelled out in Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book, Simple Abundance. She continues:

“I believe Halloween is the perfect reminder that Magic flows through us. Mystery infuses every encounter of every day. We conjure up the shoe that cannot be found anywhere in the house, transform leftovers into a feast, coax a bounty from the barren earth, banish fear, heal hurts, make money stretch till the end of the month. We do all this and much more. But most (people) aren’t aware of their tremendous power for good.”

Do you believe in Magic? You don’t have to be some sort of Druid or Celtic celebrant.  It’s not about some particular occult faith or any mystical hocus-pocus.

Belief is an informed mental exercise.

►   It’s about putting trust or confidence in a person or a concept.

►   It’s about acceptance and conviction about what you understand as a verifiable truth.

►  It’s about having faith in your own ability to get something accomplished.

►   It’s about consciously developing a habit that makes things happen.

Anyone can believe in Magic of that nature. It’s available to each of us because it’s not just about Halloween-ish trickery (or “treatery” if that’s a word.)

Magic flows through us. What an empowering approach to an occasion that’s become so over-commercialized and even subject to criticism from some quarters!

As Breathnach suggests, isn’t Magic what we perform when we create an authentic lifestyle for ourselves and those we love? Can’t we shape unseen forces with our creativity … bring into the physical world what only existed in the realm of unseen beliefs?

And if this can be done unconsciously, how much more could we accomplish — how much more success might we experience — if we were alertly aware of our powers, developed them fully and focused them on creating our desired outcomes?

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Summon the Magical powers that lie within you (and each of us). Direct them toward making your desires reality. It doesn’t take some dark art or spell or arcane incantation. 

What would you like to know more about or accomplish? Set your own course of study and make an earnest effort to know the ideas and ideals that work for you in the real world.

Of course –

Be careful what you believe.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make sure you’ve got facts (not speculation) and all the facts you need before you settle on a course of action. Check and double check. Know your sources. Search for independent resources to verify what others tell you.

And watch out for tricksters and mischief makers. Don’t be naive and think that with all of today’s sophisticated means of communication you can’t be duped in the 21st Century. Realize that, with the profusion of broadcast channels … and the gazillions of connections of the digitally interconnected world … and the only slightly more personal relationships created by social media, there are abundant opportunities to deceive a well as inform.

Added point: In the run up to this Halloween, consider all the lives you touch in the course of your life. Sometime in the perhaps-overhyped, candy-fueled course of the day, commit to using your Magical Powers more wisely and effectively. Stay a thoughtful and thinking person and you won’t be “tricked” into wrong decisions this or any other time of the year.

Wishing you nothing but treats.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “I am sure there is magic in everything …” observed Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (1849 – 1924). She was a playwright and author best known today for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy (which, although an anachronism now, was the Harry Potter of its time and made her essentially the J. K. Rowling of her day; wealthy, celebrated and influential).

 

“I am sure there is magic in everything” she said –“Only we have not the sense to get hold and make it do things for us.”

Thank Goodness It's Monday #379

STRESS!!!

HERE ARE A DOZEN QUICK-READING WAYS

TO GET THE BETTER OF IT

 

“Stress can be your worst enemy -- or your best friend."

That’s a bit of so-called “advice” I suspect you’ll find in the early going if you plop a phrase such as “Stress Management” into your search engine of choice.

 

That’s what I came up with straight out of the box.

Arrrgh! Thanks a lot for that gratuitous input. And just what action do you recommend to accomplish the mental judo that flips a stressor over to Good Buddy status?

No answer is forthcoming. Or, worse in some ways, was web-centric advice that suggested, “Write a stress management business plan ….” 

More arrrgh! If I had the time, the inclination and the wherewithal to write a stress management business plan -- then I probably wouldn’t be feeling so stressed!

So here’s the deal. Since I was finding the world-wide search for answers was only creating more stress, I opted for another tack. I picked up the phone and rang up folks in my circle who I felt might have ideas worth knowing. 

The results: Not necessarily genius, but stuff certainly worth knowing and reviewing. So I’m going to share with you a dozen of the ideas other executives and entrepreneurs told me they use to break tension and maybe even make stress work for them. (BTW: No one bought the “stress as your best friend” premise.)

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Pick and choose what you suspect might work for you. Keep in mind that’s what’s most stressful for one individual may be “nothing” to another and that the solutions may not be equally effective for everyone.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Add the ones you think might work for you to your toolkit. Review the list from time to time for methods that may apply as circumstances change. Share as appropriate.

Here, in a makes-some-kind-of-sense-to-me order are a dozen for your consideration:

► Maintain your sense of humor. Jokes, humor and funny anecdotes can be the antidote for stress-inflaming tension. The entrepreneur who shared this added, “If stress burned calories, I’d be a supermodel.” I was feeling less stressed already.

►Never be a martyr. Treat a problem not as something that’s being done to you, but as something you can do something about. Then get to doing, well, something … almost anything … about it.

 

►Stay curious. Face the stressful unknown with adventuresome curiosity, seeking to minimize apprehension. Greater knowledge and understanding can minimize anxiety.

►Stop worrying. (No, and not “Be Happy.”) Point here is, if you’re stressed at work but at all suited to your position, you really don’t have a great deal to worry about most of the time. And on the rare occasions when worry may seem justified, remind yourself that you can function – I dunno – let’s say at least twice as well without the undue stress. So give yourself that advantage.

►Respect yourself. (This is related in a way to “Stop worrying.”) Modesty and a certain amount of humility are to be preferred to braggadocio, but don’t sell yourself short. When you feel stressed in the quest for success, review all that you’ve accomplished so far, then determine that you will not be dissuaded from future success.

►Prioritize. Structure your day so you accomplish the most important things early, and don’t try to handle more than is possible in one day. When feasible, try to tackle tough jobs right away, rather than waiting for them to build up to the point where you have to rush and feel stressed out.

►Have confidence in associates. While you can’t delegate stress, you can reduce it by remembering that, having picked the right people for the right posts, you can count on them to do their best to bring a stressful situation to the best possible conclusion.

►Don’t face it alone. Talking it over helps knock fears and anxieties down to defeatable size. (I knew that. It’s why, in part, in the search for de-stress strategies, I called folks who are inclined to be supportive.)

►Organize. Stress often stems from the chaos of disorganization. Being organized introduces elements of predictability and control. When you’re in control, stress is reduced.

►Take frequent breaks. Especially in a creative environment “the pause that refreshes” (anyone else remember that advertising slogan?) is one way to minimize stress. The breaks don’t have to be long, but they can be real stress busters. And odds are, a five-minute break isn’t going to diminish performance or add significantly to, say, a project’s completion time.

►Eat to win. Eat light lunches; heavy food makes you lethargic. Go easy on the booze; it’s a depressant. Reduce caffeine; sure it might jazz you up but too much coffee or caffeine-loaded, high-fructose-corn syrup soda can make you unable to take the daily pressure in a natural stride.

►Get rest. Stress and lack of rest are coupled together with the frequency of peanut butter and jelly. Lack of rest can turn ordinary molehills into Himalayas of stress. No one can run the business marathon – or life’s marathon – day in and day out and expect to win without adequate rest. Pay attention to the need for rest, and heed its warning.

Remember, these ACTION IDEAS come from folks who are NOT physicians, psychologists, or therapists, so this isn’t “professional” advice. But these strategies do stem from real life experience in the real business world.

Take it easy in the days ahead. And if you can’t, apply some of the above. And if that’s not helpful, hope we’ll better inspire you next Monday.  

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. In the spirit of the first item how about a few more not-too-serious quotable thoughts about stress?

·         “Stressed is desserts spelled backwards.”

·         “Stress: The confusion created when one's mind overrides the body's basic desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it.”

·         “Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.”

·         “God didn't do it all in one day.  What makes me think I can?”

And, for a big (literally) finish:

·          "Cheer up, the worst is yet to come. Quit worrying over the little stuff and wait for something really big."

Thank Goodness It's Monday #378

BIG BIRD’S 2012 LEADERSHIP LESSON

FOR EVERYONE

Had enough post-debate Big Bird talk?

 

I’m guessing you probably have. But for me it’s been a –

Bird-in-the-hand moment. I have a story. Therefore I won’t let debate fatigue stop me from regaling you with a Big Bird-centric, non-political, TGIM-minded anecdote that I reported a decade-plus ago in the pocket-sized publication Leadership – with a human touch.

It’s not (overtly) political. You don’t have to be a fan of Sesame Street … supporter of Public Broadcasting … or even remotely liberal in your thinking to connect to the TGIM-minded Takeaway here.

 

So I’m simply going to seize this Big-Bird-in-the-headlines opportunity to share it again, almost verbatim.

Here ‘tis –

“You never turn down the opportunity to work with a legend like Carroll Spinney,” wrote actor Noah Wyle in Esquire magazine. 

“He has thrilled audiences from more than 140 countries daily for the last quarter of a century. His face has graced the cover of Time magazine. He and his coworkers have earned 71 Emmys.”

Perhaps you, like millions of his fans, know Carroll Spinney better as his 8-foot-2-inch, yellow-feathered alter ego: 

Sesame Street’s

Big Bird

And, like Noah Wyle, perhaps you have a fondness for Big Bird because he made mistakes … got frustrated … and was baffled by questions that plague kids and adults alike:

·         What makes a friend?

·         What’s good and bad?

·         What’s for lunch? 

 

Here is Wyle’s report on their first encounter:

“Excited doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling …. Sitting three chairs to my right was a slender, distinguished-looking gentleman wearing the bottom half of a feathery costume. White beard, kind face, gigantic orange feet.

 

Outtake from the upcoming
feature-length documentary film
I Am Big Bird
 

“I knew those feet.”

Their first conversation went like this:

“How do you do, Noah?  I’m Carroll Spinney,” Big Bird said to Wyle.

“How do you do? It’s an honor to work with you.”

“That’s nice of you to say,” was the Big Bird reply. “Today will be fun. Would you like to rehearse?”

With Wyle being gently guided by the ever-professional Spinney, the day’s rehearsal and filming went smoothly and quickly. After the last scene was wrapped up, Wyle reported:

“I walked over to Carroll and tried to articulate what I had learned coming back to Sesame Street: 

·         “That he was the most dedicated performer I had ever had the pleasure of working with.

·         “That I hoped to bring the same enthusiasm to my work.

·         “And whatever frustrations he may have had doing the same character for almost 30 years were appreciated.

·         “That I liked him a lot.”

“Carroll?” I said.

“Noah, thank you for joining us. It was very nice to meet you,” he said.

“Carroll, I just wanted to say –“

“Before you go, I have something for you,” he interrupted.

He reached behind himself and plucked two yellow tail feathers from the costume’s backside and handed them to me.

“Take these home to remember me by.”

TGIM Takeaway: Noah Wyle concludes, “It was something I didn’t expect him to do. It was something he probably wasn’t supposed to do. But I learned that it’s just the kind of thing you should do when you’re an old friend.”

Do I have to tell you how to get to Sesame Street in your daily dealings?

Follow that bird. Thanks for reading, friend.

 

(Now, what’s for lunch?)

Carroll Spinney
in October 2010

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. “Jim [Henson] had written letters to his five children to be opened only after his death. Brian read from his. Jim wrote, 'Be good to each other. Love and forgive everybody.' I remembered Jim telling me that he never wasted energy on hating anybody; he had too much thinking to do.” Carroll Spinney reports that in his book, The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers.