Wednesday Morning Financial Haiku

A look at the monthly Fidelity statement and business section this morning inspires the following Haiku (for those that forgot the format of this lovely poetry style, here's a refresher http://volweb.utk.edu/school/bedford/harrisms/haiku.htm)

Years of savings - gone
Retire? Ha! That won't happen
"Dow" now rhymes with "Ouch"

Now, off to work...

Play Ball!

Today marks another opening day for baseball, and I'm visited by some wonderful memories of my youth. Baseball does that to a person. It is a constant - in our DNA. It's always been here and always will be.

I think back to spring mornings, and walking to our neighborhood convenience store on a beautiful spring day with my brother for baseball cards, and then walking home, talking about who we got in our packages, and attempting to chew the rock-hard gum that must have resulted in most of my childhood dental bills. I remember my grandmothers - both big baseball fans. They were incredibly knowledgeable in the game, followed their teams closely and with a passion, and in Grandma Peg's case, susceptible to cheering for a slug like Clint Hurdle because "he's good lookin'!"

Since smell is the sense most tied to memory, every time I smell a certain brand of cigarettes, I'm immediately taken back to the Met stadium, standing in line with my dad and my brother, waiting to get a Schweigert hot dog.

I'm visited by memories hundreds of games of baseball and softball in which I played - some organized, some pick up - and think of the friends and family with whom I played. I think of recent things, too, like the last game that my dad and I attended together on Father's Day, the road trips my wife and I have made to Chicago and Kansas City, and the summer ritual of having dinner in front of the TV and watching the Twins.

There's something inherently optimistic about Spring - it is a time where just about anything could happen, and so too is it with baseball. At the start of the season, any player could develop into a .300 hitter, any pitcher a winner of the Cy Young, any team a division champion, if only a few things break their way. It is a reason for hope, a sanguine outlook, and an understanding that warmer days, cold beer, hot dogs, radio broadcasts at the cabin, "circle me Bert" signs, and a Justin Morneau upper-deck shot are just a few days away.

James Earl Jones says it much better than I:




Play ball. Play ball, indeed.

Now if you would excuse me, I need to find some time to get up to Rogers and have a catch with my dad.

My Wife, TV Model

Check it out at the :43 mark

A Monumental Visit

With our sales meeting completed, I had time to make my way to the heart of Washington DC and do a quick monument tour. The weather was marginal, but the cherry blossoms were near their peak, the mall was full of folks, and I was able to see all of those landmarks that I really wanted to see.

All of it was moving and inspiring in its own way, but I got a little choked up in a couple of areas. Lincoln was way more impressive than I expected, and upon reading the inscription of the Gettysburg Address on one of the walls and reflecting on the times and environment in which it was delivered, I was touched and moved.

The war memorials were incredible - each in their own way. WWII made me so proud of the shared sacrifice the county made during perhaps the darkest time in human history. It awes me to think of the sacrifices made by that generation, and I shamefully surmise that if history asked my generation to do the same, we'd come up woefully short.

The Korean memorial was haunting, with its images of soldiers on patrol. I was shocked to learn of not only the large losses suffered by the US during that war, but the magnitude of the UN losses above and beyond that. This was a bloody, bloody conflict, and one that feels like it is too often overlooked.

We ended with the most moving - the Vietnam memorial. I could not help but think of my family - the Lewis boys, my Louisiana cousins, my brothers-in-law, heck even my dad and uncle that either served in fighting, served but did not have to go, or did not serve but clearly know those that did and did not come home.

While at the monument, I checked the book, and did not find my surname in it.

The names - all the names - add a sobering magnitude to the country's loss. All of those young men, all so capable of infinite possibilities, all killed in a far away land in a war that was ill advised, poorly run, and dubious in its goals and necessity. On top of all of that, these troops were victims of a vitriol by some that was misguided and, at times, ghastly.

We close with the splendid cherry blossoms. Nature's handiwork, and a God-given gift among man-made things. The blossom offers hope for the coming spring - a promise of rebirth, growth, prosperity, and harvest. Hopefully it serves as a harbinger of such a future for ourselves as well.

A Too Quick Visit

With business to do in DC, I attempted to mix in some family time with my brother and his clan down in Charlottesville. Thanks to a conspiracy between the weather, Delta airlines, Hertz, and the horrific DC traffic, I arrived too late and missed seeing the kids before their bedtime. I was able to spend some decent guy time with Kev (in between work), and we ended the evening watching Charles Barkley nearly dislocate his shoulder while swinging a golf club.


Thankfully, I was able to see Coley in the morning. He was tired and shy, so I'll have to wait until later this year for a big bear hug. Sammy was sick, and I never got to see her at all.

I got to see Kev's renown wine cellar, and my photo totally does not do it justice. Its lighting is impeccable and creates an incredible space. If it weren't for me giving up the schweel for lent, I'm sure we would have hung out there, talking baseball, politics, and wine, well into the evening. Maybe next time.

Hopefully we land our business in DC, and I get to return some time when there's not such a rush (and I'm NOT on the wagon...)

TPT and Your Money

At 6:15 this morning, the KQRS morning show broadcast a 60 second commercial for Twin Cities Public Television's (TPT) broadcast of the Antique Road Show. Don't get me wrong - Road Show is a good show, and offers a great educational and historical perspective. But what happened to the "public" in "public television?"

Here are the issues in this situation:

• I know of no business, none, that is not in cut-back mode. We're firing people left and right, freezing wages, invoking furloughs, killing profit-sharing, killing 401k contributions, etc. This is what life is like in the real world. How, in this environment, does government get up the funds to all of the sudden do advertising?


• Is buying advertising the best use of the taxes you have paid? Is it how their members choose to have their contributions spent?


• KQ dominates radio in the Twin Cities. Their morning show, in terms of dominance of share, is top 5 in the nation, and has been for years. It's not cheap. Of all the properties in which TPT could advertise, it chose the absolute most expensive - by a long shot.


• Radio advertising is finite - there are only so many spots per show. Now that government is buying spots, guess what happens to the remaining spots? Limited supply, meet increased demand...


• And hey, as long as we're advertising, there's no need for a more cost effective :30 spot - let's buy the big :60! It's just the taxpayers' and members' money.

I know there's precedent for the government advertising - the USPS has been doing it for years now. And with their loss of nearly $3B in 2008 and projected losses of an even greater amount in 2009, that's a heck of a model to emulate.

Let's hope that this is just some kind of test.

Kathleen Edwards - Gotta Check this Out

I really enjoy finding new artists, and while I had previously downloaded some things from Kathleen Edwards (In State and Six O'clock News) it wasn't until a fortuitous encounter with iTunes recommendation engine that I did a deeper dive on her work. Holy crap, have I been missing out.

I'd define her as alt-country, with a really sweet, smoky voice and some really incredible lyrics. She's Canadian, but does not have much of a following in the States. Unfortunately, that is too often the case for Canadian musical acts (e.g. The Tragically Hip, Cowboy Junkies - and how the mighty Rush is not yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a travesty).

The attached video gives an insight to her talent and personality. For more information, along with a number of great, free downloads, check out her site at http://kathleenedwards.com/

You have to love a chick that can fold Marty McSorley into a song. Now that is a woman that knows her hockey...

First Foray

Welcome to the blog. As much as I enjoy writing, I probably should have done this years ago, but better late than never. Also, the technology has evolved greatly, hence some of the tough things associated with blogging in the past no longer apply, so there are benefits for those that stay off the cutting edge.

I encourage your comments and appreciate your perspectives. We'll not always see eye to eye on things, especially along political lines, but that's what makes the discourse fun.