Stormy Weather

Every region of the country seems to take a perverse pride in its own brand of nasty weather. “If you don’t like the weather in (Texas, Georgia, Maine, Wyoming—you fill in the blank) just come back tomorrow.” People love to boast of their triumph over adversity. “Why, it was so cold, the firemen just turned on the hose and then shinnied down the icicle that was formed.” It also is axiomatic that however bad it is now, it was worse back when. “Hot? Why back in the summer of (insert preferred year here), it was so hot that folks were baking cakes on the screened-in porch.”

Death of the Dollar Movie

“Sherlock Holmes” was a movie I wanted to see. I even considered paying full price (gasp!). But before I could make the decision, it was off the screen at the Cinemark 24. It was pushed off the screen so that another film could be put on 8 of the 24 screens. Within a week “Holmes” was on the screen at the dollar movie. Before the week was out I cruised over to Movies 7, paid $1.75 and sat down with eight other bargain hunters for a night at the movies. No matter that there were about 300 empty seats for that performance.

No News; Good News

If you are a regular watcher of the nightly network news or listen to Rush Limbaugh too much, it is easy to think the world is going to Hell in a handbasket. (One of my favorite American alliterative locutions.) Seriously, you can overdose on bad news delivered in 20-and 30-second segments. That’s why every few weeks I have to go into a news blackout mode where “no news is good news.”

When to Shut Up

Most entrepreneurs like myself, are more inclined to do well with the creative side of a business and more often than not find themselves short on running-the-business skills. Now, I’m not talking about leadership. I mean the basics of business.

Facebook Rejection

Almost daily I receive an invitation to join a social or business network. Ninety percent of the time I opt-in and take the few minutes to respond and connect. When I don’t respond I feel guilty. I feel compelled to check “yes” or “no.” But sometimes the note just lies on my desk (opened, read, not responded to) or I eat it (trash).

Mom-A-Rama

I’m not a practicing M.D., nor do I play one on TV, so I can’t properly judge that issue, but I am a practicing M.O.M. (Mother of Many), so I can tell you what they do cause—aggravation, car accidents, and frustration. And that’s just for starters.

The Simple Life

Toddling off to bed was an important part of the simple life, as one usually got up before dawn to start a fire and haul water from the crick for the morning latte. Bed is also important for filling the otherwise endless space between dusk and dawn when nothing much is going on anyway, and you couldn’t see it if it was, what with burning brands not giving off all that much illumination.