The Ashimmy Blog

What are you thankful for? Its probably right in front of you

Image via Wikipedia

OK, let me get sentimental here a bit about tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.  Sitting here at my laptop typing a blog post while I listen to "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Beddingfield, thinking about going to a party tonight, football game tomorrow morning and up to my family for a big holiday dinner tomorrow, we take for granted our lives.  In fact more than take for granted, we actually complain and wonder why we don't have it better.  Even in these tough economic times, for the most part we are spared the real disruptions and tough times that many in this world confront every day and that our grandparents faced in years gone by.

I was reminded of this last night while watching my sons baseball team practice.  I was talking to a mom of another boy on the team.  Having seen this family throughout the baseball season a couple of times a week, I never noticed or thought anything of them other than they were nice people and their son has a great compact swing when hitting.   I mentioned to the Mom that we had gone away this past weekend across the state to Naples and had a great time.  She told me that they have not had any vacation for 2 years.  Her husband lost his job 2 years ago and has not been able to find another one.  She is a licensed nurse and works 50+ hours a week and makes 50k a year.  She supports herself, the two boys and her husband on this.  They are 5 months behind on their mortgage and she is at her wits end. 

Now of course you can say why can't the husband find a job.  I don't know, but that isn't the point.  Think about the pressure her and this family live with everyday and what it must feel like hearing about others going to Disney or other places on vacation here in Florida. Thinking about trying to buy healthy foods that cost more money.  About getting the kids extra help so they do better in school.  For me it made me realize that my problems can be very small indeed compared to others, even right in your community.

So be thankful for what you have. For sure there are others who look at what you have and would be grateful for it.  Look no further than what you have in front of you and realize that no matter what, it could be a lot worse.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Related articles by Zemanta

• The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

9/11 - Seven years later, a moment of silence

God took me off the grid

I had every intention of blogging during the long holiday weekend. Catching up on email and work at some point was on the agenda as well.  However, this morning in the middle of email my laptop froze up.  I could not do anything with it and so had to power down.  On start up I got a missing media notice and it looks like my hard drive went kaput.  Luckily my Windows Mobile phone has everything I need to stay connected. Email, typepad blog platform, etc.  Well we went to my family in Hollywood Beach for a fireworks display and BBQ tonight.  I left my phone in a backpack, so I would not take it in the beach or water with me.  Great, it rained, the backpack got soaked and my phone is down now too! 

So I think it is God telling me to go off grid this weekend.  I am writing this on Bonnie's desktop machine. The kids are staying with my cousins and Bonnie and I are headed down to Key Largo for the weekend.  I have her spare pink Razor with my Sim card for phone calls, but that is it.  No email, no computers, no blogging!  Speak to you all Sunday night or Monday, enjoy your weekend!

Hopefully, I had one article written scheduled for tomorrow morning. I hope it publishes.

Long holiday weekend

I am really looking forward to a long holiday weekend with the family. We are driving up to Orlando to stop in Disney World and SeaWorld. Going to check out the new water park they opened there called Aquatica. It has water rides unlike any we have ever seen. A day there and two days at Disney should have the kids in a great mood. Lets see what kind of mood it leaves me in. Waiting on long lines in the sweltering heat is not a lot of fun, plus I can only imagine what it is going to cost to fill up the gas tank to drive up there!

Its Mothers Day, be thankful you have a mom to call - so do it.

Mothers Day is always a tough one for me. My mom passed away 25 years ago and though time has passed to cover up a never healed wound, every Mothers Day the scab is torn off a bit and the regret and pain ooze through. Having our kids celebrate Mothers Day with my wife has made it better, but nothing takes the place of your own Mom. Fred Wilson reminded me of that today with this post about a Tom Friedman piece in the NY Times today.

Tom just lost his mom last year after a long bout with dementia it seems. She was 89. Tom reflects on her remarkable life and how she influenced him to be what he is. Can any of us say any differently? Weren't all of our Moms special to each of us. Isn't so much of the people we are today directly related to that woman who raised and nourished us? Of course. So on this day honoring Mothers everywhere, if you are lucky enough to have your Mom available to thank, do so and don't miss the chance because you never know when you might not be able to.

Happy Mothers Day Bonnie and to all of you mothers everywhere!

Where is Shimel?

Sorry readers if I have been slow on blogging but with end of year/quarter work and kids on vacation, blogging has taken a bit of a back seat.  But I am back and hopefully with lots to say.  I spent lots of time at Disney World with Bonnie and the kids over the vacation.  The kids had a ball, even though Orlando had record low temperatures.  We frooze! I won't bother with a top ten list, but my least favorite thing about Disney is lines. I hate waiting on line for everything from rides to food to going to the bathroom.  For the money you pay there, you shouldn't have to do it!

Anyway, holidays are over, the kids are back in school and I am back to blogging.  Stay tuned.

Cats in the cradle and other New Years thoughts

"Warning: non-security post" One of my favorite songs as a kid was Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle".  Maybe because my parents were divorced and my dad was not around, the song struck a chord with me.  When I grew older and got to know my Dad I was struck at the many similarities between him and I, in spite of the fact that he was not there for the formative years in my life.  I am sure as a result of that experience I try to savor every moment with my own two sons. 

We were sitting and reflecting at dinner tonight about New Years and as I often do I was telling the boys a story.  I usually make up one that ends with a moral lesson.  Tonight as I was coming to the moral punch line in my New Years story when my oldest son Landon, 8 years old, looked up at me and said, "Dad, you could sum this story up by saying that half a meatloaf is better than none".  Anyone who knows me knows that I am always using corny analogies like this, so I was laughing to myself hearing Landon say that. 

As soon as we were done with dinner my youngest son Bradley started complaining that Landon had not given him enough time on their Wii video game.  Landon looked at him and said, "I went outside to give you time to play Wii while I was gone, it is not my fault you didn't play.  Dad I can lead a horse to water, but I can't make him drink". At that point the words from the song, "My boy had grown up just like me" rang into my head.  It made this New Years special and caused me to reflect on all I have to be thankful for watching these boys grow up before my eyes.

I am thankful that I have been able to spend the time with both boys these past years. I wish I could spend more time with them and hope to in the year coming up.  But I reflect back on the growth both of them had over this year and am amazed.  Much of the credit goes to my wife Bonnie who is home with them all the time and puts so much love and effort into raising them.  They say children make it all worthwhile.  I have to agree, sometimes just taking a step back and realizing it makes the wonder of it all almost overwhelming. I look forward to many more New Years with them.

Happy New Year to you all and enjoy every minute with your own families and loved ones!

Happy Thanksgiving

Not sure who is reading blogs today or tomorrow, but to those of you (you know who you are) that have taken the time to check in today, from everyone here to all of you and yours, have a happy, safe and secure Thanksgiving!

In case you have been wondering, here is a link to an article on why we eat turkey for Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

Great holiday weekend, but does anybody care about Labor Day anymore?

Like most of you, I had a great holiday weekend.  Spending time with Bonnie and the kids, swimming, bowling, movies, BBQ, tennis, etc. Watching a little bit of the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon (another big year for Jerry's kids, I hope it will lead to some breakthroughs). You could get real used to three day weekends couldn't you?  Sitting down tonight to finish editing this weeks podcast, I was thinking a bit about the idea of holiday weekends.  It seems that Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend have become the bookends to the beginning and end of Summer.  On Memorial Day, I think most of us get it that it is about a day of remembrance for all of those who have given life and limb so that we may live free.  I am not sure how many of us actually take the time to reflect on that during Memorial Day though.  But I would venture that more of us do that, than take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Labor Day.

For those who may not know Labor Day was set aside as a national holiday in 1894 to commemorate the organized labor movement in this country.  Through ups and downs, depressions and boom, the American labor movement thrived. In its heyday in the 50' nearly one half of all US workers  belonged to unions.  Of course that seems now like ancient history and no one can argue that labor unions have as much influence or relevance as they once did.  I remember being younger and many older folks arguing passionately about the good or evil of unions.  You don't hear that much anymore. Instead, maybe the holiday should celebrate the American worker who strives to be more productive and competitive in this new flat world (check out Friedman's book in the left column) we must all live in. 

In any event it sure is nice to have the long weekend, no matter how you feel about labor unions, American workers or anything else.  If you are interested in more on the topic, former Clinton Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich has a good blog article up on this subject. I also found an interesting article along these same lines from the Kansas City Star's, KansasCity.com.  Maybe next Labor Day or before, you can take a moment to think about America's laborers and what the labor unions meant to the people of this country.

Are we entering an age of the private equity bubble?

Was just reading two pieces of news today.  One was that Hilton Hotels is being acquired by the Blackstone Group, the private equity group that recently had an IPO. The other was that KKR, perhaps the king of private equity filed for a 1.25 billion dollar IPO as well.  In the tech world, the private equity boys have already made more than their presence felt.  Now with the public markets finally starting to open up again to tech companies, does the private equity market represent a viable alternative or will we see that bubble burst like so many others before it?

I don't know, but I do know that some people will make a ton of money and a lot of others will get in too late and loose. I have seen this movie before and know how it ends.  But that is capitalism I guess and that is what makes our country go round.

Happy 4th of July to everyone!