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

Nostalgia: 1982: My Plans for You are Peace...and NOT Disaster

Friday, September 22, 2006 "My Plans for you are Peace...and NOT disaster; When you call on me...I will answer you." This is one of the bible readings that Don Sheehan had us read as business owners back in 1982. The point for us at that time was the providence of God in our lives, and the dire consequences for us personally if we did not believe that we could and would be survivors. The more I reflected on this saying over the years, the more I reflected in the sense of "Peace" that my father had in his life, and how he achieved it facing the difficulties he did. He faced Parkinsons with courage and grace. It was pretty stunning in retrospect. Rather than focusing on the duplicity, difficulty or just plain evil in the world I found it helpful to review my dad's way of finding peace and trying to do likewise.

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Good Kids Don't Chalk Sidewalks: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Good Kids Don't Chalk Sidewalks: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Rifle Association Says they can Save Us: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Rifle Association Says they can Save Us: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

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.

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Rich Might Leave Town, or Country--Locals Rejoice: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Tales From Normal, Mn.----FICTION: Rich Might Leave Town, or Country--Locals Rejoice: Tales From Normal, Mn.: FICTION

Nostalgia:2007: Welcome Failure: Failure is the Breakfast of Champions

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2007 Chinese Fortune Cookie Corner: "Welcome Failure: Failure is the Breakfast of Champions"---a true story Yesterday I had to take my youngest to Janesville for a driver education road lesson. Before the lesson, we had a little time together for her to shop and then to share a bit of Chinese at the Food Court. I have a habit of opening the fortune cookie first--- before the meal. The Fortune Cookie read: " Welcome Failure: Failure is the Breakfast of Champions." I have mentioned in an earlier post, that over thirty years ago, right after a fortune cookie that read, "Not Now, but Soon," I had received a layoff from an employer. Ever since, I have paid strict attention to those fortune cookies. That being said, I wish they were more precise. The vagueness in unnerving. Relax. The driving lesson went fine. I think the Chinese were directing the fortune cookie towards those who did not know that the world of school and life are different. Nobody gets 99.992% success all the time and still ranks at the median of the class. Most folks are blessed with enough failures so they have a balanced view of their strengths and weaknesses. Or at least the whims of the world. After reflection, I feel pretty confident that I have had enough failures thank you. I do not need any more. Then again, maybe the Chinese fortune cookie WAS talking about that planning commission meeting last week---what a devastating failure in the unanimous defeat of the efforts of the community of the 4th Ward to prevent the bar on Exchange Street. Was that what the cookie was talking about? We will never know for sure. The Observer still recommends that this specific fortune cookie be eliminated from the mix till it can be more specific. I hope the Chinese Observer is taking notes. Posted by Evansville Observer at 10:09 AM Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook

Audio; Communion Hymn: " The Treasure"

Audio: Musical Bonus; Guitar Unplugged: "The Treasure."

Memories of Don Sheehan and "Value Investing"

Don Sheehan, a superstar salesman who used to do Dale Carnegie seminars nationwide, used to spend quite a bit of time on teaching sales pros what to concentrate on and what to ignore. To make a point, I remember him whipping off his belt---quite startling in a room packed with people---and then asking everyone to guess what they thought his belt was worth. He then reminded them that he was well travelled---- France, Germany, New York, and San Francisco, and that to remember that this belt was genuine cowhide with a premium belt buckle. He went around the room and asked each person what the belt was worth. The price variation was pretty wide. From $3.99 to $25. "Well," he said, "I bought it at K-Mart just down the street in Richfield. It cost $4.99." We were really shocked. "People are always guessing what you paid for things. It is really none of their business. Let em guess. There is a difference between what you pay for things, and what they are worth. Never forget it." I never have. Thanks Don.