Tolkien Spoken Here I spent my middle school years in the back-woods of South Central Maine. I guess that helped make me, in part, a Mainiac. We were living in Poland Spring, the scene of oh so many stories. Poland Spring was an old-world resort for the carriage trade of Boston and New York going back as long as 1794 when Hiram Ricker “discovered” that the combination of the fresh spring water, devoid of most…
The Root of All Evil “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10, King James Bible). This scripture has been dissected and analyzed for years and there is a great deal to chew on with such a broad claim. It is said to be an epistle of the Apostle Paul and…
Early to Rise As I have thought many times, I am both blessed and cursed with an overactive mind. I have read up on sleep patterns and all the ancient proverbs about sleep and they all gravitate to the theme that it is healthier and more productive to set a pattern of sleep such that you go to bed earlier and rise earlier. Some say this is the wisdom of Ben Franklin, some say it…
Jumping Jimmy I am starting this story today because yesterday the news shot around the world that Jimmy Cayne, the controversial long-time CEO of Bear Stearns died at age 87, probably with a cigar in his mouth. I want to tell my story about Jimmy Cayne, but I probably need to take my time and not rush it to print since it brings up many mixed emotions, some of which are not particularly attractive. Therefore,…
Weather or Not For as long as I can remember, I have advised myself and others that the selection of a long-term or retirement residence should be based on those people closest to one’s soul. They may be parents, siblings, children or friends, the circumstances of and social conventions of one’s particular family will likely set the priorities or preferences. But the choice of retirement home is even more challenging than, say, any other residence…
The House in the Clouds Twenty-six years ago, Keanu reeves made a little movie that didn’t get much attention, only scores a 6.7 on the IMDB index and co-starred Anthony Quinn and Giancarlo Giannini. It was Alfonso Arau’s (the guy who made Like Water for Chocolate and Three Amigos) A Walk in the Clouds. It tells the story of a man who meets a woman in need after he returns from WWII. She is part…
Back on the Chain Gang The house has cleared out of the holiday visitors and tomorrow is the start of the last week of the year for 2021. New Years Day will be next Saturday and my agenda consists of one massage on Wednesday and that’s it. We don’t leave for Florida until the end of the following week, so there isn’t even much to prepare for just yet. My last semester course ended, has…
Total Recall It’s late Christmas morning and most of the presents have been unwrapped and the bows and ribbons saved for another future gift wrapping while the wrapping paper gets crumpled up and thrown into a trash bag. Kim has perfected the Christmas morning program with everyone getting a big stocking stuffed with small joking wrapped gifts. The objective is to find things that are mildly appropriate and amusing and yet not so over-the-top that…
Andre the Giant In 1946 in the little town just 40 miles East of Paris, a man was born to a family of Eastern European immigrants (specifically Bulgaria and Poland). Andre Rene Roussimoff weighed thirteen pounds at birth and carried the nickname Dede. Right from the start he was taller and bigger than all the other children in his village and while a trained clinician might have diagnosed gigantism at an early age, the family…
Father Knows Best In 1975 my best friend Paul convinced me to apply to business school at Cornell and to join him on his quest for strategic greatness in the business world. In those days I spent all my time with Paul and his young, sweet wife Ann and we often joked about his favorite childhood TV show, Father Knows Best, starring Robert Young and Jane Wyatt as the iconoclastic parents that represented the best…