Tell Your Children You Love Them...Part 2

My daughter Dana is fond of saying that her parents are the hardest working people she knows. Thank you Dana. But I think it is a family trait.

My children learned early on that the only way that they could get the "goodies" they wanted was to go to work. And work they did. Because like many parents we are as stretched as possible trying to make ends meet and take care of the basics and reacting to the financial surprises that life springs upon us.

They get it. And it is not just for themselves. They are giving, helping others in need. And sometimes those in need just might be their parents! I get gifts at Christmas or birthdays stuff that I want but would never think to buy for my self because of one bill or another that is deemed more important. They understand we take on the bulk of life's problems because that is what we do and we do it willingly.
Their turn will come soon enough as with my daughter Kristine who has her own house and the bills that come with ownership, she deals with that as well.

The giving never stops. I tell my children that mom and dad are on speed dial and if any problem arises to call or ask for help. My pledge to them, as long as I am breathing I am willing to help them. We will figure it out together.

The purpose for writing these two posts is to let them know how much we love and care for our children and to let them know now, not later when someone is not here to hear or read about it. Be grateful for your family.

Tell your children you love them.

Tell Your Children You Love Them

They are your legacy after all. I had thought writing about this since Christmas. It is wonderful for me to be with all my children at least for a day. Life being what it is, get togethers are few and far between. Children, nah, they are older now but they will always be my kids. They are smart, good looking and bring something of worth to the world. Proud parents we are.

Nicholas, the youngest is now 27.He annoys his sisters that he managed to pass all his math and science courses without ever studying. He is quiet around the house but I know he is a cutup with his friends. He works on his car, complicated stuff by watching a few videos and a bit of reading. I have no clue to where it comes from but he makes it look easy. He has a graphic artist certificate which he needs to put to use, when he gets around to it. I have published some of his work here and on facebook. Wonderful stuff. I enjoyed watching football with him on Christmas, joking, eating and drinking. A great time, wish there was more.

Dana, the younger sister is now 29. A force to be reckoned with. She has her bachelors in exercise science, a master's degree in nutrition and will soon start on her Phd. Someday she will be a professor teaching somewhere. She is a reader, something we share. She has a clear vision of where she wants to go and is not afraid of the journey. We talk a lot and share experiences. She has credited her scholastic success to a few teachers in high school who taught her the basics on how to prepare for higher education and to be ahead of her fellow students. It took awhile to figure out what was right for her, once done, it was pedal to the medal. Her Phd will be a huge challenge but she is up to it!

Kristine the oldest is now 31. She is a communications officer for many years with Palm Beach county or 911 as most would call it. Another smart sibling , she makes a very difficult job look easy, a highly stressful job that most people can't handle which proves itself on a daily basis. Some of the horrific stories she has told happen on a daily basis. She works very long hours but puts that overtime to good use, she has owned her own home for three years and I told her by age 40 she will be a millionaire.! She has goals for the future and can make the changes on the fly. She is very determined and I know she will succeed.

I know this post sounds like bragging and I am. Mom and I have done our best and our expectations continue to be exceeded. How much we have contributed to their success I am not sure but we have tried.  To say we love them all doesn't begin to express how much. We are not the only parents to be so lucky but I am glad we are in the running.

Tell your children you love them

Waning interest in writing and readers tuning in

I saw the word waning on a blog recently and that word seems to say it all. I am stopping writing for awhile, except for any business news updates, for posterity it seems.

My enthusiasm has dropped off and my readership has disappeared. Everything runs in cycles, this cycle has no where to go but up.

To all of you that have followed or read my stuff over the years, thank you.

Be back when I deem it necessary.

Ray

7-11-15 thoughts

I read about a sign in a taxi cab that said "Thank you for not running for president!"

Blogger are tired of writing. It's true.

I am having a going out of business sale on my ideas this year. Meaning, instead of wondering if I have a good idea, let's find out. I am not getting any younger.

If you didn't know, my first provisional patent has been approved. It took me ten months to figure out what I wanted to do and put the idea down on paper. I hope the second one is simpler. It is only a starting point. Now to bring it to market. If successful I realized I need to help people directly and indirectly. A big task.

I got into a discussion on religion with someone at work. Once you take the emotion out of the equation it can be quite boring. He was the expert and yet would run to google to verify what I just said. funny.

Listening to candidates talk shows how narrow minded their thinking is and how small their following is. Hate mongering has its limits.

I hope.

When is the last time you used white-out?

If Rip Van Winkle woke up from a deep sleep after 20 years, would he be surprised that Bush and Clinton are still running for president?

Too many people work too many hours for too little pay.

Why cant the USA be known for the biggest and best education and health care system instead of having the largest military in the world?

We are fighting this century wars with last century ideas.

Sometimes I feel that countries spend most of their time rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Our countries infrastructure is falling apart and yet no one is doing anything to fix any of it. Remember that the next time you drive over that bridge on the way to work.

until next time.
coffee?

ray

What leads to success?

This question must be bothering me a lot because I woke up very early in the morning thinking about it. Thinking about past success here and there and wondering why there aren't more of them, what is holding me back.

Relating to sports, the perfect swing, the throw, the winning shot, the big save, the extra effort, why doesn't it happen more often? What holds one back?

Fear of winning versus fear of losing? Being good enough versus being great more often than not.

What do others perceive of me? Because of course perception is reality. There are different sign posts for other people to determine achievements in life.

In no particular order:

Job

Money

Career

Education

Home

Car

Friends

Children

Status in the community

Major accomplishments

and so on, feel free to add to the list

The question is nothing to lose sleep over except that I am.

Satisfaction is fleeting, it is like trying to grab a handful of smoke.

If one is lucky, life is a marathon and there is a long way to go.

Ray

People's thoughts on religion leave me dumbfounded

Late Sunday night, I had a last minute sale that took a lot of time to finish up and took me 20 minutes past closing before it was done..

While waiting with the customer, one of the managers said something to another, ( I found out it was goodnight in Arabic) and the customer took offense. Her husband was Muslin and she went off on a tirade about being offensive, out of place and disrespectful and so on.
How offended her son would be if he had heard it.  He might only be offended because they taught him to be offended.
Personally I wanted to close the sale and go home.

It wasn't said to her, the translation was no big deal and she looked like a white New Yorker who was wrapped a little to tight.

WTF.

To me it was another example of religion being used as a divisive tool against someone else.
And she went on and on and on..

I wanted to walk away. And leave the sale. Unsold.

Don't look to me for sympathy. Don't try to validate your actions with indignation. I am not buying it.
If everyone kept their religious preferences private what a quiet world it would be.

ray

The College scam or how the NCAA makes billions and gets players for free!

Okay, maybe just a billion dollars. The March Madness will pull in about a billion dollars this year and the players get nothing.

Student athletes, right.

Growing up we always wondered how the players had time to study, laughed at basket weaving courses and the like. It has gotten worse.

Now for basketball they have a new once and done where in agreement with the NBA they have to stay in school for one year before moving on. In reality most will not play anymore. They, like Mungo "only pawn in life."

The highest pay goes to the coaches some a million, some ten million while the players live on ramen noodles.

The NCAA gets a nod nod wink wink to it all because schools have hitched their financial success on the almighty sports dollar and the TV money that keeps rolling in to their coffers.

College sports is an addiction that many can not out grow. For others it is a reprieve from the fact that done right a college education will support and nurture you for a lifetime, but man, it's hard work.

Either way the madness is almost done and then it is back to the reality grind.

enjoy.

ray

The Miracle on Ice or how my love of hockey faded away

I have not followed hockey for many years and yet I grew up in Chicago, home of the Blackhawks and my early years and well into my twenties, my love of the game was insatiable. And it all faded away.

Why?

I was watching a documentary on the Russian team and their point of view on losing to the USA team in 1980, a huge upset. Honestly, if they played one hundred times more, the USA team would have lost one hundred times. Their team concept of play, speed, strength, passing, shot making ability was next to none. If they played full time in the NHL, they would have been multiple Stanley Cup champions. They were that good.

By then the NHl had developed into a game of thuggery, where fights were a constant. Every team needed an enforcer to protect the star players. Sometimes fights would break out right at the beginning of the game and they hadn't dropped the puck yet.

A game that was a showcase for considerable skills on ice was a game had become boring and predictable and like a jilted lover, I walked away and never looked back.

This was from a guy whose ear was glued to the radio listening to the away games, who yelled at the TV so loud, Mom came downstairs to see who I was talking to, who once got so mad at an outcome of a game that I broke the on-off switch with my hand in frustration. This is from a guy who along with others would travel for hours to play at 4:00 am in the morning in an enclosed arena where we would rent the ice to play like our heroes as opposed to bringing a shovel to the park to help clear the ice so we could play.

This is from a guy, like others loved to hit and knock people down, who were respected for our relentlessness effort of our play, whose shoulders still hurt from knocking into people wearing full equipment and pads while we just wore a jersey. yep, the Chicago way. This from a guy who had great stick handling skills but limited skating skills who became a goaltender because that is what crazy people did.

and walked away from it all, till this day.

3 Storeys in Each Day, China's New Normal

It is not just the speed of the building going on 

but the planning and the precision of the building

that most impresses me.

The next time you have a remodeling job going on 

and it seems to take forever, remember this video.

and laugh.

Maybe, Just maybe let sleeping golf balls lie

My story starts with an overcast day, a little bit of rain and an offer of free golf and beer. After a morning of working at my daughter's house I had a late tee time of 2:06 last Friday.

I was already tired and normally don't play so late in the day because of the heat and darkness factor, but what the heck, exception time.

It was a first time for me at this course and did not know what to expect. I met my friend from work and off we went. For such a late start time the course was full and the race against the clock was not looking good. We added on a third which was not uncommon but in a rare occurrence he was a pain and would not play with him again. But that is a story for another time.

Being that I had not swung a club since mid November of 2014 I was a bit anxious but I hit it nicely
down the center of the fairway and off we went. In fact I was pleased with most of the front nine ball striking and we were having fun.

And then the trouble began on the back nine.

First the rain came, lasted for a couple of holes. But we play golf and rain won't stop us. Then after one swing I felt my left knee give way and knew that it would cause me problems later on and as expected it began to stiffen.

Then a shot of mine rolled down the slope and stopped just on the edge of the water. It was not playable and I was to pick it up, take a penalty stroke and continue on.

And the I saw it. A brand new, pristine golf ball sitting by its self within reach, a new golf ball for the taking. And even though I had stopped fishing for golf balls many years ago, what the heck. And after a few attempts out popped the ball on to dry land and then it happened.

Reaching down to pick it up I felt myself start to lose balance. Sensing the inevitable I tried to at least to try not to get hurt. First the right foot, than the left, both hands in, down to my knees and hands, scraping my left knee in the process. I arose from the water sheepishly and trudged back to my playing partner who was laughing hysterically. Luckily he did not get it on his camera phone. Splish , splosh. We ended our outing soon after, I was no longer in the mood. I left for the day to lick my wounds and to dry out.

The next day on arriving at work, everyone took their turn asking me about my swimming lessons on the golf course. Sigh... All in good fun.

and yes, I did keep the golf ball. Thankfully an alligator did not show up!

coffee time
achy ray