2008: Nostalgia: Development: Reflection

OpEd: Getting the Order of Things Right Economic Development Summit: The goal is to refine the objectives. 1)Workforce Development. 2)Downtown Revitalization. 3)Government Relations. 4)Marketing. 5)Entrepreneurial Environment." This listing of the goals from the recent economic summit has a flaw. It is in the reverse order of priority. The keynote speaker of the conference was Terry Whipple and his speech was titled "Catch the Culture." The rich environment for economic development is marked by openess to the new, by a tolerance of young, and yes flawed ideas that are being shaped and perfected. The rich environment is not marked by closed, rigid process that blocks through restraint of trade or quid pro quo arrangements where there are certain entities that require that they receive all the profit from the arrangement or the idea will be denied development. In summary; Where there is restraint of trade and impediments to free flow of ideas, there will never be a vital economic process. There may be the show or "facade", but never the real thing.

A bit about "Nurture" and "Launch"

In the early days when my wife and I visited other couples with kids, it was common to hear couples recite the exploits of their kids...and I would assert that every parent from the moment of his childs birth, believes that his or her child is the finest thing that the world has ever produced...that kind of devotion and dedication and well..bonding...goes with the territory... I guess we could call the first 18 years or so, "the nurture years", when in order to be the best parent one would like to produce the best child, and yes...do it in better style than ones parents did...yes...a little generational rivalry...all in good spirit of improvement... Then the graduation...and I well remember the whooplala that I made of the first two daughters...I thought it necessary for members of the family that had a band to show up and produce a complete extravaganza...and of course it was necessary for my wife and I to redecorate the house completely...just for the graduation mind you...If I had been more savvy I would have known that launching takes a decade or so..and to save some energy....the kids are your kids and need you till the end....and being a parent never ends... Then comes the "Launch" or the launch to college, and then the launch to the work world....The nurture period takes "love" but the "Launch" takes Love and Faith...Of the two...I would assert that "Launch" is harder...cause it means having faith that you did a good job, and can let go...faith that you have instilled the independence and wisdom to your child that they do not need micromanaging any more...but know how to be themselves...yes...it is harder...and painful... I know: the Sermon on the Mount did not cover "Launch": Trust me...HE would have said it best..."Of all these, "Launch is the hardest".

"Facetime" not "Facebook" is the key

It is amazing that folks have bit hook line and sinker into the "Facebook" obsession---designed by a guy that was not good socially in order to help his friends, and "the whole world" get connected so he could then spy on them and sell the data for revenue...now nice is that? As a result, we have millions of homes that are so obsessed with facebook that they cannot focus on each other, as in "Shut up, I am working on facebook." Take a little time off world from the keyboard to get back to a glass of wine and a friend and some real conversation, in person, without earphones please....

"I've Been Working on the Railroad"

When I was a young boy, living in Mahtomedi, Mn, the song, "I've Been Working on the Railroad" was a big favorite---maybe because my dad did work on the railroad, as a railway mail clerk, and indeed his father before him had worked his whole life on the railroad also, and at the very end, at the age of 63, he was appointed the "Supr of Mails"...I know because I saw the article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1926 or 1927 that said "Irishman makes good"...and detailed his career....After this, Michael worked for the railroad, the Hill family, and I believe it was Lewis Hill. Growing up in a railroad family, when my dad came home from a trip, his "grip" or satchel, was in the hall...and he usually came home late at night, but in the morning on the way to school, I would check the "grip" because where he stayed in Williston there was a bakery next door, and he always brought home a bag of cookies, and some glazed ones were favorites of my sister Suzie and me....A cookie in the morning on the way to school meant all was right with the world.. Those were the days before zip codes...when the test to become a railway mail clerk was one of memory...and one that to "throw the case" or demonstrate that one knew above 90% or so, the proper mail order of the destinations...because the mail was thrown off the train on hooks that were next to the stations...so memory was the key to the job....another thing...was the payroll..it went by mail...and the head of the crew always carried a pistol to protect the money...I probably always imagined that Wyatt Erpe would have rode up to the train and then my dad would have to fight him off with the pistol....but it was real low key...and I never did hear of any incident.

A bit about "Perfection"

As a youngster growing up in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, I spent a lot of time playing basketball on the outside court at St. Jude's school, and working on my outside set shot from the point...I thought that because I was pretty short,( I know that is hard to believe), I probably would not be a center kind of guy, and that the key was that outside shot...once the dream of perfection as a point guard faded, I turned to ice hockey---or more precisley broom hockey...but here again, after several years of hacking, I looked for other areas of perfection.... Every day after school, my mom had me empty my bookbag and place any papers, or holy cards( those were the old days) and put the paper on the refrigerator....There was nothing better than getting a 100% in red on a math assignment and having it on the fridge for a week following...and I really grew to love perfection...and learned that 100% shuts up a lot of people...and vowed that THIS was the secret to life...perfection...and I was firmly determined to attain it.

"Social Media" means you are good with "Clickers" and "Mouses"

It is really breathtaking to behold the development of society from the olden days when folks gathered over coffee in the early morn to talk of issues...and for the locals, farmers gathered to talk of crops, weather, etc, and the ladies talked of other matters... Nowdays, with all the development of "social skills" kids can stop by a Starbucks...and well just stop in one and see what is happening...all the students with their headphones on, sipping a coffee, and checking their phone every couple of seconds to make sure that they will not be criticized for not responding fast enough to every little digital need... Nowdays, a "friend" is someone that you have clicked on, and "Liked"...How wonderful is that...pretty special and satisfying I would guess if one was a modern, and satisfied by clicking... So how about you?...time to take off the headphones and respond to the wonder....I just wonder how social you have become, and whether in your old age, with a weathered mouse and mousepad, you will be wonderfully happy alone.

The Legend of Theodore Robinson---reflection

Many years ago, Chris Eager, the then president of UBT bank, and activist in the move to create the Evansville Senior Center, came to a meeting of the Evansville School Board, to introduce the concept of the Evansville Community Center, and why it was expanded to a broader concept to get public support...during the question and answer period, he was asked why the middle school was called the "Theodore Robinson Middle School"--to which he replied, " Theodore Robinson was a student here who left and became a great painter in Europe, studying under some of the great masters...and our goal for our city and school should not be to be able to say that we have created graduates that have lived their whole lives in Evansville, but that we have launched students to form successful lives and families and careers." I who had favored the name "Grove School" was stunned, and recognized instantly that Chris was right....I hope to launch our children to the larger world, and even ouselves, and to be able to say to strangers, "I am from Evansville, Wisconsin."

Carephobia spreading across the land

"Carephobia" or the fear of caring for others, seems to be sweeping across this nation...and at the end of the month, with all the fear mongering about the new health care system where the poor may actually have some access to health care, it seems that for some politicians with an anarchist bent, they have decided to create total chaos so that few participate and thus the premiums are driven up skyhigh...and also, with the effect that there are millions of citizens that do not have their proper medications....I would think that our august politicans should make an exception in this type of malicious conduct so that it is actionable personally and not protected by the veil of governmental immunity...

Those "White Carpet People"..

It is always special to be invited to those locations where one pauses for an hour or so, to sip wine, or light coctails in fine glasses, and all the carpet is pure white, no spots, and where there is not a speck of dust anywhere, or even a child's toy anywhere...and after an hour of short conversation covering the lightest of topics like the weather or some clothing matter, one departs, knowing that it may be that beauty is only skin deep, but for some it never gets much deeper.

High Ups Protest...say Laity got the Message Wrong....Dogma still is king:;;;;

A little denial in the press today...seems...some folks have a hearing problem...

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Bass Fishermen joyful with First Lady's message for Wisconsin: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Bass Fishermen joyful with First Lady's message for Wisconsin: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Evansville Observer: Reflection: Politics: OP Ed: "Errors Cost You Mone...

Evansville Observer: Reflection: Politics: OP Ed: "Errors Cost You Mone...: Many years ago, I was a financial consultant for a major Wall Street firm. Shortly after passing my Series 7 Exam, I was working a public of...

"Gangsta"

WEDNESDAY, JULY 01, 2009 Blogs: The Gangsters in St. Paul The gangsters had a major presence in St. Paul, Mn. during the 1930's----and in addition to the bars and nightclubs to frequent in St. Paul, on the weekends, during the heat of the summer, they motored out to the lakes---on the East to White Bear Lake and to the West, Lake Minnetonka. Click on the post for a blog that reviews some of the activities in St. Paul...and the tours available...as in historical preservation. As a boy, I remember vividly remember my grandmother pointing out the cottage that Ma Barker rented out for one summer---She should know. She rented it to her. ...right on the path above the dock on the east side of White Bear Lake in Mahtomedi. Ah the glory days. The days of speakeasies....and much more. I know because one had once been in the apartment building I lived in when I was a boy. Tucked in the basement. Did not seem very stylish. But then things were a bit different from the movies. It must be remembered that the action by the FBI to kill John Dillinger was purposeful drama---because up until that time the public enemies were considered the banks and not the gangsters---at least there was real mixed feelings. The rate of foreclosure was very high and there had been a bank and foreclosure holiday--- Thus the perfect timing of "Public Enemies" being released today.....just in time for the coming foreclosure holiday....Sen Clinton mentioned and advocated for it during her campaign....and if the reworking of mortgages does not work, look for it to happen again.... We are today, as then, filled with a glorification of "Gangsta" and "Thriller" but want to be law abiding most of the time, at least when convenient. Posted by Evansville Observer at 9:57 AM

Classic: 2008: Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door:

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008 "Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door" or "Son of a Preacher Man"---a true story (Ed.note: click on the post for a version of the song by Bob Dylan) Last Sunday, as the family headed out of town to launch the youngest to college, we reached for the music---it had been a long standing tradition that the very first song was always supposed to be a Tom Petty number. I offered that I had a special Tom Petty tape from years ago and they said "O.K." As the song began, there were some moans. "We don't want Bob Dylan," they said in unison. "Relax" I said. Tom Petty is coming shortly. Then Tom Petty came on stage to thunderous applause and he began singing "Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's door with Dylan, in limited acoustic version. We had never heard this version. We all loved it. As the car rolled along, I remembered a famous lunch I attended last December----a lunch of all the community organizations in Evansville. I don't get invited to too many lunches, and was just launching into the entre when the main speaker arose. We will call him "Son of a Preacher Man"---- He began by recounting that he indeed was the son of a preacher man---and that many organizations in Evansville had dreams----and those in attendence knew what they were. He went on: "For a second, let's just go around the room and list off all of these dreams"----and they obliged. The new library, the new fire station, the new city hall, the new police quarters, the Lake Leota Project, the new schools, two of them, the new community center, and the new waste water treatment plant." Just then, I decided to bite into my sandwich: The speaker went on. "I know that there are some who think we need to make choices. That we cannot have ALL of these things at once. For me, as the son of a Preacher man, I think otherwise. We can have it ALL!!! And NOW. That is what I believe." That is when I chocked on my sandwich. Posted by Evansville Observer at 10:32 AM

2010: Audio; Easter Sunday; Fr. Kevin Dooley; St. Paul's

2010: Audio; Sermon of the Week; Easter Sunday; St. Paul's Church; Evansville, Wi: Fr. Kevin Dooley.

2010: Audio; Easter Sunday; Fr. Kevin Dooley; St. Paul's

2010: Audio; Sermon of the Week; Easter Sunday; St. Paul's Church; Evansville, Wi: Fr. Kevin Dooley.

Nostalgia: Audio; Gospel Homily: Fr. Kevin Dooley: 9/18/2008

Daily Mass: St. Paul's: 9/18/2008; On Big Sinners and Small sinners....the difference

Great Expectations: No Expectations--the difference

When you expect nothing...you are never disappointed...for that is what you get...and in the disappointment you can be consoled by prayer that by destroying all the idols of inspiration to be your best..you have been left with the rest...and that is as it should be. And what you did not get was not a loss because you never dreamed of getting it.

Nostalgia: Audio: 2008: Cantors St. Paul's: Palm Sunday 2010

Audio; Cantors of St. Paul's; Palm Sunday: 2010: Unplugged guitar:

"Rigor Mortis"

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting my relatives in Florida in February---and immediately noticed that my walks became more spirited...and even ran a bit like the good old days...in fact my hands that were cracked from the cold of the frozen tundra seemed to cure instantly... On my return, I mentioned this power of flexibility in a weight group I was attending.... One woman sitting beside me said: "It is not just stiffness of body, but stiffness of mind that is the problem...I am coping with ageing relatives that know everything, been there done that about virtually every element of life..and I vow to be different..I vow to be alive, not dead in my later years"

Nostalgia:2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008 Analysis: "The Reverse Empty Nest Syndrome---the theory" As the first born of three children, I spent little time wondering about how my parents were coping with the empty nest. As the time approaches for our family to face the empty nest however, I have begun to review the many articles on this syndrome. In a cursory glance of all the stuff that has been written....I have concluded that much of it no longer applies---here is why. Nowdays, it is far more prevelant that the kids are moving home with their kids, and in fact....the parents are looking for hotel rooms so they can have a getaway weekend for two. Thus----there is in fact NO empty nest syndrome. It is a myth of the past like the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

Sermon of the Week: Fr. Kevin Dooley: Sept 14, 2008

Fr. Kevin Dooley: St. Paul's Church: The Religion of Fear vs. the Religion of Love; Why the message of threats might work, but is not what God calls us to.

Memories of the Korean War

Memories of Korea;;and the End of the Korean War I remember the end of the Korean War...vaguely...I was five, and I remember the call..my grandmother took it and then told my mom it was for her and was long distance...I was in the dining room eating some toast, cooked my favorite way in the old fashioned toaster, the ones with the two sides that came down...anyway...all of a sudden my mom started crying, and then my grandma started crying...I was a little startled, but they reassured me that it was ok..."your dad is coming home they said." The next few years from 1950 to...well how long was it...it was till 1960 when John Kennedy got the economy "moving again" and we got in the Vietnam war etc....for those ten years there was a type of austerity...and all suburbs were built up around, all the little box style homes with the new kitchens with dishwashers....the men came home from the war and it was frustrating during the retooling to get everybody working again. In today, 2013, I expect the end of the wars will be frustrating as well...and getting the economy moving again without war will be frustrating...and it will provide a challenge to prove that American capitalism can work without war..stay tuned. Posted by Evansville Observer at 11:33 AM