Atlanta, GASeptember 24, 2019 Like an ocean subjected to lunar influence, life moves in cycles, waves, and tides, with shifty undercurrents asserting unpredictable sway. When, five moons ago, my severance was sown, I thought I would reap rounds of golf that would fill my days like kudzu covers Georgia. Having spent last week pulling that […]
Columbus, OHSeptember 13, 2019 Today, like a New England pond on a crisp fall day, we have a moment to reflect. Most of you, assuming you actually stoop to read this drivel…must wonder why I bother to write it. Let’s consider potential motives. Perhaps as an escape from stale hotel lobbies, noisy airport lounges, or […]
Atlanta, GAJuly 14, 2019 We’ve all heard the story of the lady who receives a beautiful red rose and places it on her cluttered kitchen table. The flower is lovely, but its charms are overwhelmed by the mess around it. She clears the debris, giving the rose room to shine…but exposing the dull veneer of […]
Atlanta, GA June 11, 2019 “I don’t like my job and…I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.” “You’re just not gonna go?” “Yeah…” “…So you’re gonna quit?” “Not really…I’m just gonna stop goin’.” “So…you gonna get another job?” “Nah…I don’t think I’d like another job either.” – Office Space, 1999 We live in a remarkable […]
Atlanta, GAMay 29, 2019 This week, as our days lengthen and my time increases, the pendulum swings from the mental to the manual. But the pressure is high…and the heat is on. May in Atlanta is usually beautiful. Skies clear. Temperatures moderate. Humidity is low. Flowers bloom. Birds chirp. Pollen subsides. And a comforting breeze […]
Barnsley Gardens, GAMay 17, 2019 This week started quickly, like a piece of trash in a fast-moving stream. It ended peacefully, in this corner of paradise an hour-and-a-half northwest of Atlanta. This is our second consecutive year coming here for the annual meeting of The Georgia Tech Alumni Board, of which my wife is a […]
St. Louis, MOMay 15, 2019 “Is this your bag?” “Yes”. “I need to take a look inside.” Sigh… “Uh oh. Here it is. You can’t bring a bottle of wine thru security. You can go back and check the bag, or leave the bottle here.” I completely forgot I had packed the cabernet gift the […]
Atlanta, GA November 22, 2018 Our Senior Vice President of International Finance scrolled the résumé, flipped the page, continued her futile scanning, then looked up at me quizzically. “I am looking for your Spanish skills.” “Oh…well…I admit I’m not fluent, but do know some and am able to learn. Meanwhile, I am fully capable of […]
Nashville, TNJune 21, 2018 Life moves in cycles. Some times in long, slow Kilauean streams…at others in sudden Vesuvian bursts. Among the ebbs and flows, familiar patterns form.Seven lean years follow seven fat years. Stocks take the stairs up, and the elevator down. Leaves bud, bloom, and blush. Nations are born Stoic…and die epicurean. […]
St Louis, MO April 26, 2018 The Cardinals are to St Louis what the “Canon in D” is to Pachabel’s oeuvre…it’s not all there is to it, but it’s the only thing anyone usually brags about. They are the unifying force and central object around which the disparate components of this city and region revolve. The […]