Somehow I managed to run out of ink, leaving my printer beeping at me in the middle of a document. This is a rather intolerable situation so I called a hard-working local store owner, ordered some ink cartridges, and provided a VISA number over the phone so my husband could easily pick them up for me on his way home from work. I was pleased when he arrived, but, alas, there was no receipt for my records. My husband said the two boxes and a piece of paper were together when he went to the counter but he was handed only the boxes. I emailed the store, explained the situation, and asked if they could email me the exact amount for my records. What do you think happened next?
The Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport is a gem. If you like boats, especially wooden boats with gleaming finish and white sails, I highly recommend it. For the organizers, I have some other recommendations! Last year as we left the show, people with clipboards were stationed at the exits to collect our feedback. My only suggestion involved the parking situation. Arriving cars streamed down the busy street past available parking lots without realizing it, were flagged into a large full lot, and directed from one yellow apron to the next around a loop and onto the street back the way we had come. Had a few yellow aprons marched up the street a few blocks, all of us could have been directed into available slots the first time. So this year we returned to witness the same ridiculous traffic pattern, though I think there were even more yellow aprons present to help us all turn around.
Mark’s Meadow School, an elementary school in Amherst, Massachusetts, will close after the 2009-2010 school year. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported on June 20th that the principal wants next year to be “a celebratory, meaningful time” and that he wants to find out what children are saying and feeling about their school closing and then discern how to make it a positive transition. I think we need a passel of committees, a flock of psychologists, and a herd of grief counselors. If we really work at it, perhaps sacrificing weekly instructional time to the process, I am certain we can leave every child feeling distraught and victimized. They will cherish the memory of Mark’s Meadow and mourn its loss. They will fear the new year and worry about how they will fit in and adapt through such a dramatic transition. They will be fully aware of how they have suffered while others remain in schools unaffected by changing times.
A Wall Street Journal story on May 19th echoed a familiar conclusion: “Nobody is spending money right now” Based on what? One man, whose values were altered by a brush with cancer, tried to sell his entire ocean-front estate and most of his belongings in a single-day auction. Those belongings included a room full of hunting trophies, 8 rare parrots, antique road signs, pricey cars and more.
Today The New York Times reported that 4.8 million people lost or left their jobs in February and only 4.3 million were hired. That’s grim news. Unless you dig deeper. There were also millions of job openings in February. And many of the 4.3 million were new jobs in areas that are growing.
Two on-coming cars swerved into my lane right in front of me on Saturday. One was on a mountain road and my reciprocal swerving took me dangerously close to a rock face. I don’t know that a ringing cell phone was the reason for each but I do know cell phones, hot coffee, small children, and a general lack of attention to driving are constant, common, and horrific causes of car accidents daily. How will you feel if you are talking with someone who is driving and you hear the crash? How will you feel when your call goes unanswered but you learn later that your friend or loved one died in an accident just then, maybe because they were trying to answer your call?
The house next door boasts a new “Sales Pending” sign. One farther down the road just sold. Sales at American Dream Hot Dog Carts Inc. in Florida were up 150% in January and revenue has tripled from a year ago at Nation’s Leasing Services in California, which depends largely on leasing hot dog carts. Meanwhile, white collar folk are selling hot dogs to replace or supplement income (Sarah Needleman, The Wall Street Journal). Small companies win (Peter Bregman, Harvard Business Publishing) by passing on a sense of stability to customers in contrast to all the fear emanating from corporate America. U.S. companies may be cutting costs and jobs, but the smart ones are positioning themselves for the rebound by holding R&D budgets steady (The Wall Street Journal). The resourceful are not hunkering down. They are looking ahead and making smart choices.
Unemployment has sunk to 1983 levels. People are paralyzed with fear. In 1983, my husband and I both switched jobs, bought a house with a 12.75% mortgage rate, bought a new car, and started a family. My parents retired at that point too. I don’t remember anyone being stressed.
Mona lived down the hall from me in college. Never was a person more aptly named. She moaned constantly. Almost literally. She always had something to complain about. I’ve learned since that there is a surprisingly significant percentage of the population that always complains. They are the perpetual victims of life. Many people are occasional victims. In certain situations, they can’t see anything except great unfairness unfairly heaped upon them. I recommend that you avoid these victims of life. They sap your energy. Don’t hang out with them. Don’t seek input from them. And for goodness sakes, don’t hire them. They will just make everyone else miserable. And for those of you who feel unfairly victimized further by this recommendation, I suggest you get a grip. Figure out what you can do to improve your situation and then set about making those improvements. And for the myriad things you can’t control, it’s time to get over them and move on.
After attending a UMass hockey game, we stopped for a burger at a small tavern that we had enjoyed once before. We were by far the oldest people in the restaurant, which was not too surprising so late in a college town. Within minutes of taking our order, they turned on 2 giant speakers and flashing lights. They moved us to a different table in the corner and removed our original table along with all the others to create a dance floor. Jekyll and Hyde.