The Night Before

The small memorial at Orange County Choppers. 

I have little recollection regarding the night before 9/11/01. I remember that the semester was just getting started and that I had class early the next morning. I know that I was preparing for a trip into the city for the ASVAB and that I was working on scheduling a meeting with the President of the college to discuss starting an ROTC partnership with Southern New Hampshire University (a partnership was later formed with MIT). I can also faintly recall hearing the sounds of the Giants’ Monday Night Football game coming from a dorm room a few feet away but there is little else that my memory possesses.

Overall, it was just another cool New England night with the biggest concern of those around me was starting off the year right and making sure that they got to class on time the following morning. When I woke up on Tuesday morning I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary and I went about the early morning preparing for class and taking a slow walk to the Academic Building. It really was a beautiful beginning to the day with only a few thin clouds in the sky, a light breeze coming off of the bay, and the temperature remaining crisp and comfortable.

When I walked through the doors and glanced up at the television perched in the corner I could see that something was going on but didn’t really take the time to watch and process what was transpiring. I was running a little behind getting to class but managed to get there by 8:50am, there was little else on everyone’s mind and the conversation quickly lead to an early dismissal about 5 minutes later. As I retraced my steps back through the building, I once again looked up at that same television just as the second plane struck the South Tower.

This is when we all knew that this wasn’t simply an accident and as the news and speculation streamed across the screen I quickly pulled out my cell phone and called my dad to make sure that his meeting at the World Trade Center the day before didn’t carry over into the morning. Thankfully, it seems as though I was one of the last to place a successful call as cell phone service was nearly nonexistent by the time I got back to my dorm room and turned on the news. As Peter Jennings shuffled through the information we all turned up the volume of our televisions and walked outside to try and catch our breath. And as the fighter jets screamed above our heads low enough to read the warnings on the underbelly of the planes, we could hear the reports come in that the first tower had collapsed.

The rest of the week remains absent from memory as days seemingly condensed into seconds while minutes felt like weeks. Fifteen years later and I still have those memories etched in my mind. And I am sure that fifteen years from now they will remain as vivid as they are today.  

The Collection Is Growing Exponentially!

Over the years I have had various business cards of different designs and for different purposes. Starting in college, I found this to be a great tool when going to meetings, networking events, and when interviewing for jobs. Having a clear, well designed business card has always made a great impression and proved to be a key early on in both my academic and professional careers.

It is actually interesting for me to look back at all of my old cards as I have kept copies from every address and position that I have held over the years. While many times I opted for a very basic design and layout, there are other cards when I used a little creativity to help them stand out. Having recently in the late fall and wanting to change things up a bit, I found myself in a position where I needed to update my cards. While in the past I have always walked into the local Staples to get the work done, this time around I decided to give Vistaprint a try.

The basic templates and stock options were all reasonable and offered a wide variety for just about any profession or service imaginable. While there was nothing with a square and compass I did find an appropriate design with just a hint of blue that I was able to tailor to my needs. With a thick linen stock, these new cards should hold up much better than the last batch and it was only a couple dollars more for the batch of 500.

Designing my personal cards was a little more of an involved process as I really wanted to change things up as compared to the ones that I have had printed in the past. With a stockpile of photos from various trips at my immediate disposal, I decided that this would be a perfect time to use some of my favorite images. So I went with a full color design on the front and back evenly spacing four photos on the front and six on the back. It seems like a lot but it actually worked out and looks fantastic.

Of course, when placing this order I was given the option to purchase an address stamp at a significant discount. With the amount of physical mail that I still send out on a regular basis this was well worth the five dollar investment. When I received the order at work the following week the cards were better than expected but the stamp fell short. More accurately, it was a little off center and tilted. However, to their credit, it took me about two minutes to get everything squared away with customer service and a new unit was in hand by the end of the week.

So now I find myself with quite the collection of active business cards as I have two personal options, one for lodge, one for work, and I am also receiving promotional business cards for each book that I publish. I have two in hand so far with two more on the way and a more that will follow later in the year. By the end of the year I may have a pocket full of about a dozen options. I think I may have a problem.

Graduation Party

Today was one that made me think about my own experiences and left me in a state of slight disbelief. We spent a good part of the afternoon at a family get together to celebrate the graduation of a cousin. Oddly enough, the timing worked out almost perfectly and we were all ready to go and out the door with more than enough time to make it down the highway to the party. Given that we left the same time our son usually eats, this was a surprise to both of us.

The party itself was great. Not only was it nice to celebrate this milestone in life but it was also an opportunity to see a lot of family members that we had not had a chance to speak with since the bris. Things have changed quite a bit since then and the change of pace was welcomed. And, I must say, these people sure know how to throw a party.

One of the things that I couldn’t help but think about was the fact that this year marks 15 years since I had the same kind of celebration. I just can’t believe that it has been that long even though there are many days when it seems like an entire lifetime has passed since I celebrated my graduation along with my siblings (each of them graduated from college the same year). When reflecting on this, there are so many family members that I am friendly with now that I wish I had known better then.

Of course, there are a lot of things that I wish was different about that time in my life. The changes in attitude, perspective, motivation, and experience are staggering when considering my life now compared to my personality immediately after high school. There is a reason why I ended up on the 5 year college program. Thankfully, the one whom we were celebrating today seem to have their head on right and has the motivation to succeed.

When asked to write something to the graduate today there was no way that I was going to say something similar to that above. There really isn’t a need for that. All I could say was to enjoy each day (individually and as a whole), work hard, and take advantage of all the opportunities and experiences that come your way during this time in your life. After all, you may not know exactly where they are going to take you but so long as you keep your head on straight, they will all provide you with a life that is full, vibrant, and makes you excited every day to get out of bed in the morning.

Kind of wish that I had heeded my own advice as a teenager but, in the end, it may have not been a perfect ride so far but I wouldn’t change any of it. Okay, maybe one or two or twelve things but all those experiences made me who I am now and I am pretty darn happy with that. Some of you may not be but I am feeling really good about the way things have turned out.

So, I leave you with this clichéd question to think about (and possibly respond below): Knowing what you do know, the experiences that you have had, and the mistakes that you made, what advice would you give to yourself when you graduated high school?  

Things Could Have Been Different…

Another year has come and gone and I can still remember the chaos that surrounded us all on this day 13 years ago. The memories, which I wrote about on this blog last year, still remain and the emotions that flooded both my heart and mind, while faded, still linger. I was one of the lucky ones in that I didn’t know anyone who lost their life as the Manhattan skyline forever changed but, unfortunately, I know many who have since lost their lives in resulting wars.

I think about them from time to time and wonder if I had been able to make it through basic training. I wonder how things would have been different if my body had held up. These are the thoughts that crowd my mind during this day. I guess you could say that I am also fortunate in this regard as well because if I wasn’t discharged the following summer, there is no guarantee that I would be here today.

This is a day of remembrance and reflection for me. Even having working in Manhattan for a number of years, I have only been to ground zero once. However, I can remember the chill that came over me changing trains in Brooklyn… do I take the A, C, or E to work today? I remember that year, I couldn’t take the E, I had to take the A train and get to mid-town as quickly as possible. While it wasn’t necessarily logical, I couldn’t bring myself to walk onto the E train as it waited for passengers at the station.

Now, far removed from those days in New York City, I was sitting and talking with my colleagues about where they were that morning. Some of us were in college, a couple were working, and a few were still sitting in their grade school classes not fully comprehending what was happening as the events unfolded. I guess you could say that none of us could comprehend at the time.

For the first time, I am witnessing the change in the perception of events that I so vividly lived through. The age gap is slowly widening and I am meeting more and more people for whom the memory of this day seems more of the abstract variety rather than the visceral. I will never forget that day and I will forever be grateful for the twists that occurred in my life since then that not only allows me to look back but appreciate all that has changed, all that has happened, and all that could have been different.

Draining My Patience

I know, your already jealous with anticipation.

With a busy day planned (as has been previously mentioned), I was up and out of the apartment early so that I could get to the office in time to pull some plans together an prep for a couple of calls. Nothing like a full day ahead of you to ensure that your entire morning routine is completed in about 15 or 20 minutes… showered, dressed, packed, and coffee poured. As is a known rarity lately, I was actually running on time and was on track to get everything accomplished on my list by the time I went back to sleep that night.

Just like the day before, Wednesday, my phone betrayed my progress at the office. As I read the text from my wife I knew that it wasn’t going to be an early evening. In my rush to get out of the apartment in the morning I didn’t notice the fact that the shower drain was completely blocked and so when my wife got home, looking forward to a relaxing shower, she found herself in anything but a relaxing situation as the water level was still a quarter of the way up the side of the tub. This wasn’t the first time so toward the end of the work day we agreed to meet out for dinner and I would pick up a couple of bottles of Drano on my way home.

When we got home, ceiling still in shambles by the way, I headed to the bathroom, made a quick and unsuccessful attempt to snake the drain, and poured about half a bottle of the clog dissolvent in the tub. Per the instructions I waited about thirty minutes and checked the progress. With the water level unchanged it as time to escalate the attack so I pulled off the plate below the spout and attempted to run the snake down the trap. Once again, unsuccessful. Finally, I poured the other half of the bottle directly down the trap and walked out of the bathroom to calm my exhausted wife while we waited the thirty additional minutes. These apartment issues have really been a drain on my patience (embrace the pun).  

Thankfully this final attempt was indeed successful and we were able to resume with our usual, but slightly adjusted, evening routine. An hour until midnight and I was finally sitting down at the computer to get some work done. Not a great end to the day especially given the number of things on my to do list and the fact that I have to crawl out of bed and be awake enough to participate in a conference call at 7am. I guess it is a good thing that I am able to function on four hours of sleep for an entire day. I am sure that skill acquired during college and, more recently, working the overnight shift will continue to pay dividends.  

Keep Your Debts To Yourself!

Well, with her new book being released, it should be no surprise that Hillary Clinton was in the news again this week. Something else that should not be surprising is that fact that, once again, she is backpedaling to ‘clarify’ the statements that she gave to Diane Sawyer. One thing that you have to keep in mind when this happens is the fact that it is more than likely that all of the questions that she was asked were vetted and responses rehearsed for weeks prior to the two women sitting down for their conversation.

I am sure you have either watched, read, or listened to Mrs. Clinton expounding upon her hardships upon leaving the White House in January 2001 with particular focus on the financial ‘struggles’ that the Clintons’ faced reentering private life. As was reported by CNN, “Mrs. Clinton said she and former President Bill Clinton were "dead broke" and "struggled to piece together the resources" for mortgages in pricey Washington and the New York suburbs and their daughter Chelsea's tuition at prestigious Stanford University.” Yeah, even CNN is calling BS on this one.



Be careful what you say, your face might freeze that way!

I know, it must have been hard struggling to find some means of gainful employment so they could keep paying their mortgages, resolve their debts, and scrape together the pennies to cover Chelsea’s college tuition. Obviously, she had no other choice but to take advantage of the bountiful ‘limited’ opportunities at hand. She didn’t really want to but she had to force herself to make millions of dollars in speaking fees. How else was she going to pay off her millions in debt, keep current on her mortgages, and pay for her daughter’s schooling? It’s not like she could simply move to another state and swipe a Senate seat.

Maybe if Chelsea were in college now Hillary may not have had to work so hard to pay for her college tuition. It seems as though this administration wants everyone to have a college degree that they don’t have to pay for, at least not at full price. Now, I agree that higher education has become outrageously expensive and I am always for getting a discount but I am offended that we, as taxpayers, are going to have to pay for that discount. Where did you think that money was going to come from? If you are going to offer money for education we should, at the very least, give the funds to people that have earned that money and funnel the additional funds into the GI Bill. Oh wait, that's right, you already screwed up the VA.

I don’t know about you but I already have plenty of personal debt that I am trying to pay down without taking on someone else’s burden. I struggle every month to find that little extra so that we can make progress. Slowly we are inching closer and closer solvency but every time a new tax (which is what this whole scheme will end up being) that is a little less each month that I can apply toward solvency. So stop telling me how hard you had it trying to make payments on your numerous homes and the struggles you faced when you were forced to earn millions talking to the mindless throngs of sheep. And, most importantly, stop spending my money on things that don’t make any darn sense and are an insult to financial responsibility.

Time To Look At The Records…

I have been thinking a lot about my college days as of late. Things have changed so much since those years when my biggest worry was getting my writing done and sending them out for publication. While this writing holds some of the same qualities as the work that I was dong then it is still a completely different process but in the actual writing and, of course, all the other things that are swirling around in my mind as I put my thoughts on the page.

Thoughts of these days have been popping into my head both because I am itching to publish again but also because my wife is embracing her education in a way that I was never really able to do. Throughout my higher education I was always working on numerous projects in addition to getting the usual work done for class. I guess some things really haven’t changed.

My wife is completely different. She takes her education very seriously and always has which is why she has always exceeded my limited educational achievements. From graduating with honors from her undergraduate college to completing her first graduate class this past week with a 4.0. Both of these hard earned honors are things that I never even came close to in the years I spend in college. Honestly, I wish I had her focus.

It really makes me think about all the things that I have going on at this moment and all the energy that has been spent just trying to keep things moving forward. But I can’t imagine things any other way. As I have said before, I have to keep busy and if this keeps me from being an academic then so be it. A few years ago there may have been room for change but I am enjoying the hectic life too much to slow down. My wife is able to keep an academic pace and focus that has long escaped me, if I ever really had it, and while I am a worker, she is the thinker. Our respective academic records support me on this.   

I have always been a proponent of backing up your statements with facts. Unfortunately, I have to regrettably call my wife a liar at this point for a very simple reason… and I think you will all agree with me. I make this bold statement because for all the years that we have known each other and the nearly five years that we have been married my wife has always made some self-deprecating statement or allusion that I am so much smarter. Well, I am calling BS on that because if you look at the facts, I am clearly not the smartest one in this marriage.

Office Questionnaire

At the end of this past week in the office I got an interesting email from one of my fellow new colleagues. It was an email that many have received in the workplace over the years but, until now, I had never gotten one. It was a simple questionnaire to get to know each other a little better.

Here were the email questions along with my answers (some information has been removed but the questions remain the same):

·         Type of car you drive: Chevrolet Malibu [the 2012 is not very exciting but definitely practical]

·         Top five movies you could watch over and over: National Treasure, Gettysburg, Super Troopers / Beerfest [any Broken Lizard movie except Club Dread – that movie suuuucked], Talented Mr. Ripley, The Chosen, RED, Holy Land Hardball, You’ve Got Mail, Fargo, Hitler’s Children (let me know if this is not diverse enough) [I can never think of the movies that I stop and watch but these were the ones that came to mind]

·         Favorite TV show (currently or must watch re-runs): Who Do You Think You Are? (and other genealogy related shows). Close second is anything firearms related (i.e. Sons of Guns, American Guns, etc.). [also of note are Northern Exposure, The West Wing, Deadwood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bargain Hunt, Big Bang Theory, NCIS, MacGyver, and many others]

·         Drink of choice (alcohol or non-alcohol): Coffee is my friend (and, by extension, yours too). [Dark beer is good too; the darker the better. And Scotch is right there with it].

·         Favorite superhero: Punisher or Batman (no super powers need apply).

·         Dream vacation destination: Always enjoy going to Jerusalem. Would also like to go to Ireland and Germany to explore my heritage. [of course I am up for traveling just about anywhere as you may have surmised by my numerous posts about my travels in the Commonwealth]

·         Music preference – genre or artist(s): I like a mix of most genres. However, I am finding that my ears don’t agree with much of the sounds produced today. [Metallica to 10,000 Maniacs; Verdi to Clint Black; Buddy Holly to Eminem; you get the idea]

·         Favorite app on your smartphone/tablet: Blogger (essential when you post every day). Close second is Ancestry.com. [too many apps makes me long for a green screen app].

·         Target or Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart (have you been to the Target on City Avenue? That will make you switch). [ironically, you can’t get ammo at Target. But if I had to pick between the two I would go with Amazon.com]

·         Must have snack: beef jerky. [mmmmm, jerky]

I would add:

·         What was your first car: 1998 Ford Mustang

·         Hobbies: Writing, Genealogy, Rotary, Masons, Firearms, Travel

·         Major in College: English/Creative Writing

·         First Job: Shipping books for an antiquarian book store in Wayne.

So, that was the simple questionnaire that I received on Friday. What would your answers be to those questions? Is there anything you would like me to write more about in a future post? Let me know and I will do my best to accommodate. In the meantime, have a great night and a wonderful week!

Brace Yourself To Be Kicked In The Fannie

Interesting discussions abound every week during our regular Rotary meeting. The diversity both in our members and our guests makes for a wide variety of views and varying levels of passion about any given topic. With so much going on in the country and world today there is an endless stream of talking points to spur impassioned dialogues.

Our guest this week, Matthew D. Weglarz, brought to the forefront one such topic when he discussed the ever changing lending market and the possible implications if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to fold. Most notable of the probable outcomes would be the privatization of the mortgage industry and the subsequent elimination of terms extending beyond 15 years. This would be in addition to the increased interest rates that would reflect levels that haven’t been seen in over 30 years. Of course, these are suppositions at this point and like many events in the past we won’t know the true outcome until it happens as there are too many variables to fully comprehend.

Matt, who works for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and serves as Vice President and Resident Manager for the Philadelphia and South Jersey Regions, was very concise in his outlining the current situation that exists in the lending industry but also touched upon his own journey that shapes the way he conducts himself and treats others. The journey that lead him to his current position was not one that is commonly heard of in the executive ranks of his industry.

It is the understanding on a personal and professional level of the highs and lows that exist in life and the extremes in means that exist in society that makes Matt particularly effective in not just helping people make the right decisions but also to give perspective to the raw numbers. Many people are great with numbers but it takes a certain kind of person to see the humanity in the arithmetic. It is something that we each have inside of us, something that Matt has obviously tapped into, and something that we should all keep in mind when we go about our work.

Look for the humanity in what may seem emotionless; find the flex in the immutable; challenge what is accepted as the norm; strive to achieve greater and greater things in life. Don’t just see these as ideas, see them for what they are… actions. We can see these actions in the lives of others, in people like Matt, and know that it can be done because it has been done. If you want to serve others know how to serve yourself as well.