Lies, Misinformation, Ignorance and The Search For The Truth

The 1976 film, "Network," is a satirical film about the Television Industry. The protagonist, Howard Beale, is being fired from his network because of low ratings and threatens to kill himself on air. After much persuasion, the powers to be let him back on the air to ostensibly apologize. Instead, he rants and raves that life is bullshit and comes up with the now famous phrase, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." This galvanizes the nation and in each subsequent show the live studio audience chants the catchphrase: "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

That's kind of how I feel about the state of our electoral process and the lies, misinformation and untruths that are rampant on our airwaves, internet and snail mailings that inundate my mailbox each day. When did it become okay for politicians and their minions to spew garbage that are out and out lies, or at best exaggerations that leads to misinformation? By now everyone realizes that I lean toward the left. However, it is not just the right that is guilty of these hate messages that are not even close to the truth. ALL politicians, and even worse, the PAC's, that have no conscience, seem to think that it is just dandy to tell lies to deliver their message.

And it doesn't stop with the politicians. It seems that most people believe that if you read it on the internet or in an email, it HAS to be the truth. I have lost count of the viral email messages that purport to "know" somebody that swears that the following story is the truth. After 2 minutes of research, it is apparent that the story is complete and utter bullshit, but it has been sent to 1000's or even millions of people. Don't believe me, just go to Snopes.com and look at the Top 25 Urban Myths that have been debunked but that the majority of this ignorant population still believes.

Did you know that Obama is a Muslim, not born in this country, that Bill Gates and AOL will give you thousands of dollars if you just forward their email, that there is a Senate Bill that requires that all handguns be listed on your tax return, that ALL Real Estate transactions carry a 3.5% tax that Obama created, that Obama has authorized millions of Palestinians to settle in the US, that Bill Cosby is either dead or is running for office (depending on which email you receive first), that Abercrombie will send you a $25 gift certificate for forwarding their email, that Jamie Lee Curtis or Lady Gaga or both are hermaphrodites, that Muslims are exempt from the Health Insurance mandate or that Richard Gere had a gerbil removed from his anus in an emergency surgical operation? These are all absurd and any intelligent human being would, at least, check them out before forwarding the email purporting such "truths." I suggest Snopes.com, Urbanlegends.about.com or scambusters.org.....but then again there is another email that says Snopes is in Obama's pocket and is all lies!!

Which brings me back to the political arena. John Raese, the Republican candidate for the Senate in West Virginia says that the Health Care Law requires a patient to go through a bureaucrat or panel to reach a doctor. That is flat out untrue. Allen West, running for Congress in my district (although he can't vote for himself since he doesn't even live here) says that the Health Care Law cuts $500 million dollars from Medicare and that benefits will be reduced. In reality, the law will slow the rate of increases in payments to providers and benefits for beneficiaries will be as good or better than they are now. The extreme right is saying that Obama is a Socialist...but on the other hand he is in the grip of Wall Street; He's weak on defense, but on the other hand he is escalating the Afghan War; he is soft on immigration but on the other hand is deporting record numbers; and he raised taxes, when in reality he cut them for 95% of all Americans. So which one is it....or is it okay to talk out of both sides of your mouth? And I could go on and on and on. Those on the right can probably site many, many cases where the Democrats are distorting the truth too....but this is MY blog, so I don't feel compelled to do so! It seems that many believe if they just say it often enough or loud enough then it will become the truth.

The following quote is generally attributed to Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but they are not entitled to their own facts." What a great quote! But, I much prefer we take up Howard Beale's mantra - "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

And The Journey continues.........

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

Food, glorious food....I am a foodie! I love gourmet food; I love comfort foods; I love All American diner foods; I love deli foods; I love sandwiches, pizza, Barbecue, Southern food, Jewish delicasies, Chinese food, Sushi, Italian food, Mediterranean food, Breakfast foods, Seafood, Mexican food, Cuban food, Greek food, and I even "kind of like" vegetables.

Growing up, I was a meat and potatoes guy...about the only green vegetable I would eat was Iceberg lettuce - and that had to be smothered in 1000 Island Dressing. And don't even think of putting tomatoes on that lettuce. Not to say that my Mom didn't TRY to get me to eat my veggies. I just didn't like 'em. Maybe it was the consistency. Maybe it was the color. Maybe it was the smell and the taste, but about the only green veggies other than lettuce that I might eat were sweet peas....and then I would mainly push them around my plate to make it look like I ate some. I would eat squash as long as it was in a casserole with lots of butter and onions and occasionally would eat a little bit of string bean casserole as long as it was covered with mushroom soup and fried onions. But broccoli - gross; asparagus - ugh; brussels sprouts - no way; beets - not on your life; spinach - not even Popeye's promise of big muscles could get me to taste.

My idea of a balanced meal was a big fat potato to go along with my slab of beef, chicken, or pork. Or a big order of fries with that burger or hot dog. Or a sweet potato to go along with my ham, cole slaw and cornbread. If anybody had told me that cole slaw was made with cabbage, I probably wouldn't have eaten that either - but the mayo and vinegar hid the taste.

And then I got married. Connie LOVES vegetables. This is kind of funny since she NEVER ate them as a child either. But even she couldn't get me to eat my vegetables. Lisa came along and announced at the age of 9 that she was through with meat. She didn't like it and wouldn't eat it. A few years later she gave up poultry and seafood too and became a vegetarian - oh horrors! Not long thereafter, Connie quit eating red meat too. But at least I had a partner in Brad - I made sure he knew that Real Men eat meat! And then Brad met Claire - a dedicated Vegan (except for the occasional ice cream) and she converted him too. So, in my family we have 1 Vegan(Claire), 2 pesci-vegetarians (Brad and Lisa will eat fish), a no red meat zone around Connie, and me - a lifetime carnivore. What is a guy suppose to do?

I'll tell you what a guy is suppose to do - adapt! OK, so I started trying things. Asparagus - yummy, spinach (raw is best, but creamed with garlic ain't bad!), broccoli - tolerable, string beans and peas - ok, and even brussels sprouts as long as they are roasted and have some flavor. I even have gotten to really, really like beets along with other assorted veggies. I even make a big pot of Gezpacho about every couple of weeks chocked full of many varied raw veggies. I have found that just about any vegetable that is roasted on the grill is not bad at all. I even like tomatoes now! AND, I have been know to go with the flow at strictly Vegetarian restaurants and even enjoy it!

But give up my meat? No way! I have just learned to have a little less of it, but every once in a while, a guy has to do what a guy has to do...the picture is of Sunday night's dinner! Yummy!

And, The Journey continues........

When Did "Liberal" become a Bad Word?

I am a Liberal. There, I have said it! And I don't agree with the Conservative right, that it is a bad thing! Liberal is defined by The Anerican Heritage Dictionary as: "Having, expressing, or following political views or policies that favor civil liberties, democratic reforms and the use of governmental power to promote social progress. 2. Tolerant of the ideas or behaviors of others; broadminded."

Hmmm...doesn't sound soooo bad! I believe in equal rights for all...no matter race, color, sexual orientation or anything. I believe in the power of government to do good WITHOUT infringing on my individual rights. I believe in a Woman's right to choose and the government should have no say in this matter. I believe in the seperation of church and state and don't want the evangelical right to insist that the government tell anyone how to run their private life, including choosing who to marry or have a relationship with. I believe our schools should be sacred and teachers should be paid at least 3 times what they make now. I believe in protecting our environment - we only have one earth and if we continue to ruin it then it really won't matter what we do economically because we will have failed our children and our grandchildren.

When I was in school, I didn't much care for History. However as I have gotten older, it has become one of my favorite subjects! Looking back at American History it is interesting to note that our Founding Fathers were all LIBERALS. Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison were moving away from a centralized government to form a government of the people! Lincoln, besides being a Republican, was a Liberal! He put forth the ideals of equal liberty for all - not a bad legacy! Teddy Roosevelt, another Republican, was a Liberal...he busted up corporate monopolies to help the common man. And he is credited with doing more for the environment than any President ever and is credited with preserving so much of America's natural resources.
FDR was a Liberal - he guided us through the Great Depression and WWII and lifted many of our elderly out of poverty. It has been LIBERALS that have brought real change to our Country!

BUT, we have to thank the Republican Party for making Liberal a dirty word. They have spent the last 30 years branding the term as "weak," "anti-American" and eltitist. Liberal, socialist, communist - they are all the same to those that have branded the term. And it has worked...it has worked so well, that most Democratic members of Congress are running away from the label - and we end up with a bunch of mealy mouthed, hapless leaders with no guts. I am tired of listening to the right wing pundits and their attack on progress, but there is nobody out there that has the guts to challenge them...so I am becoming disgusted with ALL of our politicians.

With this election cycle, we are all being inundated with TV commercials - but not a single one of them presents any ideas or a roadmap on how to fix things. All they do is attack, attack and attack. During my corporate years, when someone would bring me a problem, I would tell them "Bring me a solution, not a problem." All of our politicians only want to bring problems to the public but have yet to bring us real solutions.

We need LIBERALS to once again stand up for true American values. Let's protect the environment; Let's bring real race relations to this Country; Let's get a Healthcare system that works for EVERYONE; Let's fix entitlements so they work for all Americans; Let's establish equal rights for ALL people in this Country including Gays; Let's quit trying to force and make law of the evangelical right's beliefs and morals on all, including a woman's right to choose.

I hoped that President Obama was going to be the one to FINALLY step up and be that guy who brought real change to this Country. Unfortunately, The Party of No, The Republicans, are so busy rejecting everything, and the Democrats are so busy trying not to offend anybody. And both are only interested in getting elected rather than doing what is right. What a pity!

Yea, right...but what about the economy? That seems to be the overriding subject of the year. How do we get out of this mess? It is not going to be by going back to what the Republicans did from 2000-2008. In 8 years, Mr. Bush and his cohorts took us into the toilet...and now there are those that want to go back to their failed policies. How quickly we forget. And I am not saying that the current strategy is the end all of end alls...far from it..BRING ME A SOLUTION, NOT A PROBLEM. Unfortunately, there is not ANYONE out there who is even trying to come up with the best solution - they are too busy attacking each other and defending their turf rather than generating new ideas or being tolerant of the ideas or behaviors of others or being broadminded...in other words, being the LIBERAL we need them to be.

And the Journey continues........

My First Blog

8 Years ago I decided to write the story of my attempt to climb a 14,000 ft mountain in Colorado. That was before Blogs came into fashion...I was going to write a book!! After 3 entries and 6 pages, I kind of forgot that I had even started it. However, it had a great title..."A Fat Man's Journey"
Although this blog is intended to be free flowing - that is, I reserve the right to blog about anything I want to blog about - after reading what I wrote 8 years ago, I have decided to reproduce it here, along with my postscript comments dated today.
I am not sure if anybody is going to read my blog, and frankly I am not sure I really care...but perhaps it can serve as my own sounding board and maybe one day my grandchildren will enjoy reading it and get to know their grandfather better!
So, here are the first few pages of "A Fat Man's Journey"....stay tuned, I have plenty to say!

A FAT MAN'S JOURNEY

One of the side benefits of solo exercise is that without talking to someone else, your mind is free to roam. And, in my case, roam it does! Take tonight for instance.

It is May 7, 2002. Tonight I started phase 2 of my training regiment, whereby I am exercising twice a day instead of once. My evening exercise is a walk or hike carrying a day pack filled with winter clothes and wearing my hiking boots. My morning exercise is either a 2.5 to 5 mile jog or 45 minutes on the Stairmaster, a couple of hundred crunches on a slant board and pull ups and dips on the Gravitron. But, I think I am getting ahead of myself. Maybe a little explanation is in order………………

On tonight's hike, the mind roamed freely over various ways to tell this story. Should it be a journal with chronological musings? Maybe I should write my life story. Boring! Or maybe I should let this flow as my mind does. Yeah, that's the ticket, let's freeflow!

Naw, that would be too hard to follow. So, I think I decided that this story could be told using a journal technique, but that I would allow myself the freedom of digressing in order to tell the whole story. And that's what this is…the first digression of the story!

In December, I finally decided that enough is enough! Being fat is not good…not healthy, not attractive, not appealing and uncomfortable besides. I had reached 232 pounds…a lot of blubber for a 5'8" 50 year old man. I've been there, done that before. My whole life I have fought the fat battle. Lose 40 or 50 pounds, become a health fanatic, eat right, exercise plenty and then somehow, somewhere lose my way. This time I guess I got fat because of a severe case of what my Dad calls the PLOM disease. PLOM is an acronym for Poor Little Ole Me. In other words, I was depressed. And, I had plenty to be depressed about. I lost a small fortune in the stock market, didn't have a job, my self esteem was at an all time low and I was in complete denial of my despair. If you asked me, I took the Alfred E. Newman line: "What? Me Worry?" But I did worry plenty and food and the couch became my solace. But more about that later.

So, why did I decide it was time to get healthy again? Maybe it was the heart problems my friend David had Thanksgiving week. David has become one of my closest friends over the last few years. He is exactly one year older than me. We share the same birth date and have been celebrating together for the last few years. To make a long story short, David went for the routine stress test, ended up in the hospital with a major blockage, had an angioplasty and scared the living bejeezers out of me as I viewed my own mortality. David and I have a lot in common. We both have had plenty of heart trouble in our families, so our genes are predisposed to heart problems. We both were brought up in the South where fried chicken and other artery hardening delights were the norm. And we both worry a lot about everything, but try not to show it! So, I figured if David is having his first serious heart problems at 51, then I am not far behind!

So, I guess David had as much to do with my current fat fighting campaign as anything. As has been my experience in other fat battles, I know that exercise plays a big part in my campaign to lose weight. I started slow and built up to a pretty good program and the weight started to fall off. But, in order to keep my attention, I needed a goal. Whether it is in business, sport, family, finances or whatever I do, I am a goal oriented person. Give me a goal, point me in the right direction and I will usually succeed.

The goal became clear after much thought…I needed to be prepared to climb a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado the 2^nd weekend in June. That was the time my daughter, Lisa, would be receiving her Master's Degree at The University of Denver. Since we would be there anyway, I could share one of her great passions, mountaineering, with her. Training now became easier, the weight started to fall off and I was well on my way to reaching my goal.

Now, it is May 7^th. One thing that became clear in tonight's hike was my desire to write about my journey. But exactly what journey do I want to write about? Is it my journey to the top of the 14'er or a longer journey through life. I am not sure, but maybe the smaller journey is a microcosm of the larger journey. Or, maybe I am just full of bullshit and this is an exercise that will flush it out of my system. Only time will tell.

I love to write. Unfortunately, up until this time, most of my writing has been done for business, not pleasure. This one is for pleasure and is for me! Only if I think it has any merit or has a possibility of entertaining will anyone else ever see this story.

So far today, I have been told that I am crazy and that I am obsessive. Guilty on both counts. As I started out of the neighborhood, I stopped to talk to a neighbor and explained the reason for the backpack: I am in training to climb a 14'er, and, by god, I am going to be ready. "I don't know what it is about you men when you turn 50," exclaimed Anita, "but you all seem like you have something to prove. You're crazy."

When I was nearly finished with the evening's sojourn, my wife, Connie, pulled up beside me in her SUV and rolled down the window. "I can't believe you're out exercising again. Didn't you already go to the gym today? You are really compulsive." I would prefer "dedicated", "determined" or "special" but I suppose compulsive is better than "crazy", "dumb" or "idiot."

Nonetheless, I feel good! I succeeded in 2 workouts today (the last time I did that was in high school), negotiated the lease on a client's condo, arranged the purchase of a new car for my mother-in-law, bought a new backpack and new hiking shoes, listened to some good jazz and began this story.

But, as Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day! It is nearly 11:00 and I have to get up early to jog. Besides, if I write too much on the first night, then I won't have anything to write about tomorrow.

So….A Fat Man's Journey begins……….

May19, 2002

Boy, time flies when you are having fun! It is hard to believe that I have not written anymore of this saga in nearly 2 weeks. But, I have again gotten bogged down in the responsibilities of the moment and felt that I shouldn't be writing for fun when a client's business plan has not been finished. Sometimes when I am writing, if the juices aren't flowing, then it is hard to put the words on paper.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks. I have been busy doing a lot of nothing!! All of my good intentions always seem to be cast to the side when things are not going my way. The real estate business is slow for me now. The few buying clients I presently have are only interested in those properties that don't exist and the selling clients are being unreasonable in their negotiations. Since I am not finalizing any contracts, the bank account is quickly dwindling. My finances are no better then they were 20 years ago. What a difference a few years and a stock market debacle makes. Notice that I didn't say "crash." A crash occurs to the entire market. This is a debacle because my results were precipitated by a downturn in the market coupled with my greedy and indefensible market strategy or lack thereof.

Let me backup….I was born in 1951 into a decidedly middle to upper middle class family in Atlanta. My Dad was a salesman..and a damn good one too! When I was born he worked for my Grandfather, Mom's Dad, in the family steel business but soon thereafter went out on his own. He was a road warrior that worked hard to provide for his family…his wife and 4 sons. I know there were financial struggle. I noticed that we didn't always have what others in our social circle and extended family enjoyed. But, it didn't seem to matter. We lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood and there was always plenty of food on the table. Mom ran the house and always made sure that her brood was well fed. When it came to food, she was the typical Jewish mother. Her specialties always delighted and there was always plenty of food to go with the abundance of love.

Even though we weren't wealthy, my Dad always made sure that we lived large. My brothers and I all had cars, nice clothes and a little cash in our pockets. Most importantly though, Mom and Dad were always there for us. They didn't miss ballgames, school functions or the occasional trip to juvenile traffic court. They put us through college, helped us get a start in life and took great interest in what their "boys" were doing.

So, it was not a bad childhood, but I guess seeing others with more whetted my appetite for some of the better things in life. My folks always taught their kids the value of hard work. We all had jobs as soon as someone would hire us. Until then, there were always trucks to unload at Dad's warehouse and yard work to be done at home. My first real job was a summer construction job. Digging ditches, hauling concrete block and stacks of lumber as a general laborer not only built my body for the upcoming football season but also paid better than the easier grocery or ice cream parlor job. Even in this job, I immediately realized that it would be much better if I was the one giving the directions and orders rather than the one who was carrying out the tasks. And that line of thought carried throughout my work career.

Anyway, my life is the classic tale of boy works hard, boy makes good, boy realizes his financial dreams, boy has more then he ever thought possible and boy loses nearly all of the financial gains and comes back down to earth. So, now boy is trying to build all over again. Maybe that is what this journey is all about. Maybe, the financial success is not the end all of end alls.

Let me get back to today. It is Sunday afternoon. I have set this afternoon aside to work on my consulting client's business plan. And that is really what I should be doing, but I am one of the great procrastinators of all time. I usually do my best work when deadline pressures loom, so I am sure the business plan will be fantastic as the deadline is near, but this writing seems more important to me right now! I am sitting at my desk in my office, Beethoven playing in the background, rain pelting the windows and the rest of the world whirring on the other side of the closed door. In other words…..paradise! One of the things that is missed by living in Florida is the "ugly weather weekend day." That is the kind of day where one stays in and reads, writes, listens to music, takes a nap or watches a movie. No golf, no hike, no beach, no gym. When the weather is perfect everyday, I feel guilty if I am not out doing something, but this kind of day is refreshing.

My son, Brad, arrived home from college yesterday. Brad is one of my great accomplishments in life. A hulking 22 year old with a heart the size of Texas, Brad has just finished his 4^th year (of 5, hopefully) at the University of Colorado. Having him home for the summer should be an exciting experience. Hopefully, he will become an exercise companion. He can help to further motivate me as I attempt to motivate him to get back into shape. As a top-notch high school athlete, he was always in good shape. During his four years of college life he has let himself go and could now lose 40 or so pounds. I don't plan on getting on his case for at least a day or two.

The highlight of the last two weeks has been the addition of a new family member. As my wife, Connie, has continuously lobbied for a new dog since Tootsie died a year ago, I finally conceded and brought home Bella, an 8 week old Lab/Australian Shepherd mutt from the Animal Shelter. What a beauty! Although this was intended to be a Mother's Day gift, Bella is secretly more MY dog rather than Connie's, but if I say that out loud, then no one will help me care for her. But Bella and I know!

My exercise continues. Not two-a-days everyday, but I am getting plenty of practice with the backpack and continuing to run the streets and attack the Stairmaster at the gym. My biggest concern is with the altitude. It is difficult to get prepared for a 14'er when one is training at sea level. I guess I have to work that much harder to get ready. Brad brought me a book on 14,000 foot peaks of Colorado. Lisa has informed me that we will be climbing Mt. Princeton, a majestic mountain in the Collegiate range. This will be her 31^st fourteen'er! Well, if I finish it then I can tell everybody that I completed Princeton! There I go again…another stolen line from my Dad!

It never ceases to amaze me how many times I open my mouth and my Dad's words come out! Back in mid 1980's, we lived in a southern suburb of Boston. On one of the frequent trips that Mom and Dad made to visit, we were sightseeing and drove over to Cambridge. As we approached Harvard Square, my Dad demanded that we park the car so he could walk through the hallowed grounds of Harvard.

"That way, I can tell everybody that I went through Harvard!" he exclaimed. So, stop the car we did and took a brief walk around the quadrangle admiring the ivy covered walls of Harvard. Upon getting back in the car, Dad said, "Now I can say I went through Harvard. Not bad for a guy who never went to college."

So even though I like to think that most of my material is original, my folks' idioms keep spewing from my mouth. They feel like my own words. They even taste like my own words. Maybe they are my own words and we are merely extensions of those that come before us.

My birthday was last week…51 years old. Wow! I remember when I thought 51 was old. Now it seems really, really young. Where has the time gone? It seems that life has been a flash. A half century plus one year is a long time. I hope I have at least another 51 left in me. There is still so much to do……..

Connie gave me a cool digital camera for my birthday. It will be fun to document the journey in pictures and share them with all that matters to me. But, in reality, this is another "toy" for me to enjoy. One of my interests recently has been the technical revolution. I am enthralled with the high-tech world and have had my share of computers, PDA's, gadgets, Tivo's, camcorders, DVD's, CD's, players, recorders, cell phones, amplifiers, etc, etc. It is mentally stimulating to learn about these gadgets and to understand how they work and make even mundane tasks exciting. I believe that if the technical revolution had been around 30 or more years ago, I would have been a high-tech geek working in the high tech world!

It's been a good weekend….Brad has come home for the summer, Dad and Sharon have come into town for a couple of weeks, Connie and I had a good workout together in the gym this morning, Bella is growing quickly, our June 6^th trip to Colorado is rapidly approaching and A Fat Man's Journey continues……………..

June 3, 2002

It is hard to believe that another couple of weeks have passed since I last wrote. It seems that there is never enough time to do what we intend to do! But, I have continued to exercise and prepare for the climb! It is Monday night and we leave on Thursday for Colorado. I can't wait!

I finally semi-finished the business plan and am now putting the final cosmetic touches to the presentation. It would be nice to get this completed before we leave for Colorado, so that we can see if there is any investor interest. It worries me that the clients think that I am the sole answer to raising money for this new venture….I have been there and done that and it ain't easy!!!

My sweet daughter, the light of my life, sent me this writing with her personal note….Maybe, this Mount Analogue is really what I am trying to write about:

"There are outer mountains and inner mountains. Their very presence beckons to us, calls us to ascend. Perhaps the full teaching of a mountain is that you carry the whole mountain inside yourself, the outer one as well as the inner. And sometimes you search and search for the mountain without finding it until the time comes when you are sufficiently motivated and prepared to find a way through, first to the base, then to the summit. The mountain climb is a powerful metaphor for the life quest, the spiritual journey. The path of growth, transformation, and understanding. The arduous difficulties we encounter along the way embody the very challenges we need in order to stretch ourselves and thereby expand our boundaries. In the end, it is life itself which is the mountain, the teacher, serving us up perfect opportunities to do the inner work of growing in strength and wisdom. And we have a lot of learning and growing to do once we choose to make the journey. The risks are considerable, the sacrifices awesome, the outcome always uncertain. Ultimately, it is the climb itself which is the adventure, not just standing at the top.

First we learn what it's like at the base. Only later do we encounter the slopes, and finally, perhaps, the top. But you can't stay at the top of a mountain. The journey up is not complete without the descent, the stepping back and seeing the whole again from afar. Having been at the summit, however, you have gained a new perspective, and it may change your way of seeing forever.

As best we can, we show others what we have seen up to now. It's at best a progress report, a map of our experiences, by no means the absolute truth. And so the adventure unfolds. We are all on the mountain together. And we need each other's help.

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindful Meditation In Everyday Life

Lisa followed up this thought provoking piece with this postscript:

"I am looking forward to our ascent of Mt. Princeton and for introducing you to a piece of my world that is sacred and very close to my heart."

Ah…my other great accomplishment in life…my daughter, Lisa. One of the great individualists that I have ever known, she is a complex, delightful, deep thinking, analytical, free-willed bundle of energy. Lisa WILL save the world from itself..I am convinced of that. Or at the very least, she will leave this world a much better place than she found it! I admire my daughter, even envy her as she travels through her life eschewing the material things for the pleasure that giving and living provide on their own! The person she decides to share her life with will be one of the luckiest people in the world, because there will never be a dull moment in Lisa's life!

One of the great tragedies is that my mother never got to see my kids grow up. She would have lived vicariously through my daughter as I believe that Lisa's adventures would have thrilled my mother and her unorthodox ideas and paths. They are remarkably alike in their personalities.

It is late now and I will try to write more before the trip….In any event, I will have plenty to write about upon my return……………and the journey continues!

October 12, 2010

The road to hell is paved with good intentions! Now, it is 8 years later and I never got around to writing any more about the adventure. It doesn't really matter now, but I never did complete the 14'er....got within a hundred feet or so of the summit and due to Lisa's freaking out over a couple of clouds, headed back down the mountain. I am sure that I still made it over 14,000 feet....the hike took over 12 hours to complete!

So, the last 8+ years have been a blur:

Brad DID graduate from Colorado and met the love of his life in Boulder. He and Claire were married and now are expecting their first baby....our first grandchild...in January. Brad and Claire have lived in Colorado, New York (while Claire got a Culinary degree), Israel, California and now Baltimore. All of those travels netted Brad a Masters degree in Jewish Education and a position with a large congregation in Baltimore. Lisa has remained in Denver since receiving 2 Masters degrees from University of Denver and is the Regional Resource Coordinator for the Gov't's HIV/AIDS and Teenage Sexual Health programs. Needless to say, I am proud of both of their accomplishments! Connie's Mom, Florence, passed away last October. My Dad and Sharon bought a condo in Boca West and spend the winters here. We moved 7 years ago to a smaller house and I am still hawking some Real Estate and accepting Consulting jobs wherever and whenever I can get them.

AND......I have lost and gained 40 to 50 pounds about 3 or 4 times in the last 8 years....the struggle continues! The latest was a 40 pound drop since last Thanksgiving...thank you Jenny Craig and lots and lots of exercise.

Now that I am in the 60th year of my life, I have decided that I need to do something epic to celebrate my 60th Birthday. I've done the mountain thing, have even bicycled from home to the Keys...but I really want to come up with a self-satisfying epic adventure. There are several things in the consideration stage.....stay tuned: A Fat Man's Journey continues..........