A lot of people ask me why I favor Mitt Romney in the upcoming election.

 

While I am registered as a Republican, it is because in Florida an independent (which is what I consider myself to be) cannot vote in so many elections.

 

Having met Mr. Romney I can tell you that his personality is a bit stiff.  [ok…..MORE than stiff]  After about 30 seconds of “great weather” and “man, that was some great food!”….he tends to run out of things to say.

 

I suspect that I could sit down with President Obama and carry on a conversation all afternoon. “ Let’s talk about football! “    “ Tell me about  a good movie you recently saw.”      “ Wanna know where my favorite cheeseburger is served?”   All kinds of really fun things to talk about.

 

I like him, but I am not going to vote for President Obama in the upcoming election.

 

The way I see it is he inherited a really bad situation.  And, while he promised to turn it all around in four years…..I never expected him to do so.  Nevertheless ….I don’t think I have seen too much progress.  Unemployment is still well above 8%.  And while the financial markets have come back fairly well (albeit very volatile), the nation’s economy is still in the tank.  So much so that the Fed introduced QE3 the other day.    The stimulus package could have and should have been much more effective.  The T.A.R.P. money went to those who helped cause the economic turmoil in the first place.  And how about those "shovel ready" jobs?  I feel that President Obama's administration has come up short. 

 

But, I give the President credit where due.  Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to the world.  Muammar Kaddafi no longer terrorizes citizens of Libya.   Thus far no American troops are in Syria.  There have been no terrorist attacks on American soil during his administration.  But....our ambassador to Syria (along with 3 other Americans) was murdered on 9-11.  Shouldn't the administration have anticipated a terrorist act toward our embassies in the middle east?  I think so.

 

I believe that Barrack Obama is a really good man.  I believe he is a patriot.  I believe that he is incredibly intelligent.  I believe he really cares about America and the world.  I feel he has worked hard for the past 3 + years.  And there is no doubt in my mind that he is an American….since the day he was born.

 

But, in thinking about all the above and a good bit more….I think that he has come up short of expectations.  Not that he didn’t try.  He just didn’t have what it took to achieve.

 

So, perhaps it is time to try a new approach.  While I believe there is a role for government….I agree with the founding fathers that less government is more desirable.    Mr. Romney has a pretty good track record from my understanding.  He made an awful lot of money at Bain Capital.  But, isn’t that what it is all about?  Isn’t that the American dream?  Did people lose jobs because of Bain Capital?  Yep.  But according to what I’ve read…..90% of the businesses Bain took over succeeded.  As I recall from my school days… a 90% grade was still an “A.”  While governor, he inherited a budget deficit and turned it around for three years in a row.  Unemployment went down during his term.  The Salt Lake Olympics was plagued by scandal and problems.  He led them to a successful conclusion.  I have never heard a solitary word spoken against his family or moral values.  In fact most who know him describe him as a decent, humble and honest individual. 

 

I recently spoke with a gentleman who attended business school with Mr. Romney.  This individual described Mitt Romney as “the guy in the class that everyone knew was by far the smartest.” 

So maybe Mitt Romney is not the guy who is going to be my best friend.  That’s ok.  I’m hiring a president and not a friend.  I’ve got a new puppy for a friend.

 

The times seem eerily to me like President Jimmy Carter’s term.  Good man in the wrong job.  I believe it is time for a change.

 

I intend to vote for Mitt Romney.  Four years from now….I will re-evaluate.

 

I woke up this morning thinking about last evening.  Donna, my wife,and I spent the evening at the Quail Hollow Country Club participating in a charity poker event.  The event sponsor was Tampa Leads and Philanthropy, a group of local business owners of whom I am a member.

 

This was only the sixth or seventh time in my life that I have played poker.  It was Donna’s first.  It was also the first time that she had met some of the members and that I had met member’s spouses.  During the course of the evening, it was impossible not to notice the laughing and the joy among the 40 some persons present.  There were a  few VERY good poker players there.  There were also some less than professional level players.  Yet….they all had one thing in common:  they were having a good time!

 

Waking up this morning, I couldn’t get out of my mind how very blessed I am to have people like these in my life. 

 

There is a potential hurricane heading our way in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Republican National Convention begins this week in Tampa and the Democrats will do the same in Charlotte next week.  Syria, Iran, Israel, Haiti, economic problems in Europe, high unemployment and housing problems in the United States are all still on the surface ready to bubble over. 

 

For at least one evening, though, all of us in that room were able to put aside our cares and our problems and have a good time enjoying one another’s fellowship and company.  In the play “Jesus Christ Superstar,” there is a song with apropos lyrics:

 

                “Try not to turn on to,

                Try not to get worried,

                Problems that upset.

                You know everything’s alright, everything’s fine.

                …Let the world turn without you tonight.”

 

I hope that in the days ahead you will find time to enjoy yourself and the company of people you love and care about.  It feels REALLY good!

 

Kintsugi is what the Japanese refer to as the” art of golden joinery.”  In the 15^th century,  shogun Ashikaga Youshimaga dropped a cherished tea pot and the ceramic  vessel broke into pieces.  He sent it to China to be repaired.  The resultant repairs, with ugly metal staples, were so shocking that the Japanese began experimenting to discover a better way to repair broken ceramics. Firing lacquer resin sprinkled with gold dust as infill, Japanese craftsmen developed this new art of Kintsugi and it became so popular that people deliberately broke ceramics simply to enhance their beauty. 

 

It is remarkable to me, that there are those creative persons who can take something broken, and turn it into a beautiful piece of art.

 

I’ve been thinking about Kintsugi for some time now and the notion has occurred to me that perhaps we human beings will do ourselves some good to learn from our Japanese friends.  Each of us have “broken” parts of our lives.  Sometimes they are physical – like Olympian Oscoar Pistorius (blade runner).  Sometimes, though, the damaged parts  are mental or spiritual.  Singer/song writer James Taylor has a well documented history of mental illness that runs through his family.  Yet, “Fire and Rain,” - - - a story about this dilemma - - - is a wonderful work that has stirred millions of music lovers.  One thing about the human spirit :  it is indomitable .  If we are determined, there is little that can stop us. 

 

My wish for you is that you find that which is in you to employ spiritual Kintsugi to achieve your fondest hopes and dreams.

 

 

Do you have an opinion regarding rights of gay persons’ right to have recognized legal marriages or unions?  Got an opinion of abortion?  How do you feel about gun control?

I have opinions on each of the above issues.

Mine may not be the same as yours.  Then again, maybe we agree.

Whether we do or not have the same opinion  has no bearing on yours or my worth as a human being.  Neither does it need to affect our friendship. 

I promise not to try to assure you that I have all the wisdom and all the answers.  Please give me the same consideration with your views.

Sure…we can talk about contentious issues.  I’m quite willing to listen to your view and have even been known to change my view after hearing another person’s rationale for a particular opinion.

Too often, though, I think our society has caused us to be frightened of those with whom we disagree.  And that causes many of us to be disagreeable. 

I believe God created you.  I am convinced that God doesn’t create junk.  You are, therefore, significant in my eyes. 

Anyone care to articulate on this subject?

 

 

8-3-12

I love my family.

 

This weekend is the big, long-anticipated, “Back to School” sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s/ Aunt Donna and Uncle Ray’s house.  Some of the kids have gotten too old for such nonsense.  But we will have 6 or 7 little monsters running around eating pizza, playing Net Box 360, doing crafts and trying to “stay alive” performing Simon Sez routines.  Somewhere along about 2:00am the last eye will finally close.  And, by 5:30am….the first one will awake and encourage all of the others do so.  Then comes decorating doughnuts with icing and sprinkles.  At 9:00am we will all line up and head out doors for the much-loved nature walk where we hope to see evidence of deer (they leave poo on the path); all sorts of leaves and plants; fish and turtles  in the lake; and with a bit of luck, we may even spot a red bird.  Finally, when they are gone, Donna and I will spend the rest of the day cleaning up and promising ourselves never to do that again (the same promise we made after the last sleepover and the one before that).  

 

When I was a child growing up, ours was never a close family.  Seldom did I see cousins, aunts or uncles.  Grandparents lived on opposite ends of the country, so we saw them only now and then.

 

When my wife and I married, we decided that we wanted to be facilitators of family gatherings.  It has happened.  Besides sleepovers, we have partied  and celebrated a lot of holidays together (I believe it was about 32 for Thanksgiving).  We had 6 trees last Christmas so everyone could have the type they like best.  We have vacationed together   using walkie- talkies to communicate while driving the back roads of Tuscany and had a great family feud that lasted the whole time we were at Folly Beach, NC.  We have worked together on the American Cancer Society’s   Relay for Life (team name:  All in the Family).  We have done picnics.  We had our own Iron Chef completion (secret ingredient:  whole coconuts).  Thrown Mardi Gras parties and even staged a “Greatest Race” throughout  central Florida. 

 

One day, in the not-so-distant future, I suspect that I will be an old, old man wondering where all the years went?  I will have my memories, though, of all the good times watching people I love having fun one with another.  And I will be content to know that all the cousins, nephews and nieces (the in-laws and the out-laws !) are still hanging out together making new memories.  If I’m lucky, maybe once in a while a grandchild (great grandchild?), a nephew or a niece will stop by and talk about all the good times that they had growing up as part of a big, loving family.  Eventually, from high on my perch in Heaven, I’ll have the pleasure and sheer joy of watching the cycle play itself out over many, many generations.  My family is one great gift and blessing from God and I give thanks for every member.

 

 

7-30-12