The Hardest Part

In the last few weeks, I’ve lost a couple members of my family—my extended furry family. My sister- and brother-in-law, and my best friends both lost dogs.

When we take on the responsibility of having pets, we take on all responsibilities, including having to know when to say goodbye. As I think about my dogs, I try to live the prayer that says: “Lord, help me to be the person my dog believes me to be.”

As far as canine guidance, I don’t believe anyone has said things better that the unknown author of this piece—words that I can never read with dry eyes—called A Dog’s Plea:

Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for although I should lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will quickly teach me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footsteps falls upon my waiting ear.

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to bitter elements.

I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Feed me clean food that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having any fun. Please see that my trusting life is taken gently. I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

Even though we know intellectually that we have provided a good life for them—what they give to us, and how they attach themselves to our hearts—makes losing them one of the most difficult things we have to go through in our lives. Knowing when to say goodbye—that’s the hardest part.

Sweet dreams, Cosette and Kate. You will be missed. 

-M 

New Beginnings

It’s been a while since I posted here on the ol’ blog. Lots of stuff has gone on since my last entry. Sadly, some folks have left us, I had some back surgery—and I’ve been laid off at work. It’s been a trying year.

So as I sit here on 9/11 and reflect with the rest of the country about moving on from a tragedy like the attacks on the Twin Towers, it puts into perspective my personal “tragedy”.

Tomorrow is my last day with The Walt Disney Company, my work home for 14 years. I’ve learned a lot in my time there, and believe it to be one of the best companies there is to work for. That is not to say, that, as a large corporation, it does not have its share of problems! But, this is the company that I chose to work for. It means something to me, because I believe in the company. As my friends have heard me say over the years about Disney—“Yeah, I drank the Kool-Aid”.

Not a place I want to leave, for sure—not until I’m able to retire (if that day ever comes!).

What I have been touched by, is the outpouring of concern my fellow workers, as they learned that my position was being eliminated. I’ve had people watching for jobs for me, giving me words of strength, affirmations of my abilities and contributions, and even adding me to their families’ prayers (!).

This has made a very difficult event for me a bit easier to handle. In the eye of the hurricane, it is hard to get perspective—and finding a new job at my age and in this economy, seems a daunting proposition.

One of my good friends, Boze Harz, has been through this recently—I hadn’t known as I was lamenting to him about my layoff on Facebook. He sent me back a note that I’ve thought about, every day since I got it. He spoke about faith, learning about himself and being humbled. Also, that he is better in some ways having been through this difficult period.

I know that whatever happens, and wherever I end up—I’m still applying for Disney jobs—it’ll be OK—and most likely, better than in the past. I’ve got people who support me and believe in me—especially my wife, Mo.

But I’m telling you, in the eye of your own hurricane—small as it may actually be as you relate it to the events in the world—it is sometimes hard to see your New Beginnings.

Terminally Unhip

I’ve just finished reading Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter by Randy L. Schmidt. I recommend it as an interesting read...

One of the things that I found interesting was the fact that, a lot of modern artists, as well as artists of the time the Carpenters were in their prime, hid the fact that they were fans of the duo’s music, and of Karen’s unique and beautiful voice. It just wasn’t hip to admit that you were a fan.

Well, here goes—I was and am a fan of the Carpenters. I totally appreciate a well crafted “pop” song—in fact, I’m much more of a “pop” guy than a “rocker”. I grew up with Top 40 “Boss Radio”—everything was a single. And unlike today, you could hear Barry Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Beret” followed by “Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra, then The Stones with “Paint it Black”. Even as the music evolved, you’d hear Yes, followed by Rick Springfield—Elton John followed by Sammy Davis, Jr.  I appreciate great arrangements, clean and crisp production, and excellent engineering, regardless of the genre of music.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy kick-butt, three-chord rock—I do, both to listen to and to play. But I also like artists that have always been derided, defiled and dismissed by the “too-hip for the room” crowd.

For the record, besides the Carpenters, other taboo artists that I enjoy (and even own!): Barry Manilow? Check. Donny Osmond? Check. The Jackson Five? You bet. Michael Bolton, Wham!, Monkees, Tommy James and the Shondells and many more are all are in my music collection.

The irony of this is that, most of these artists’ hits can play, and everybody knows all the words. Disco may have “sucked”, capped by the disco records destruction in 1979 at Comisky Park organized by DJ Steve Dahl in Chicago, but at every wedding I’ve been to in the last 20 years, there isn’t a person that doesn’t know Y-M-C-A...including me.

What can I tell you? I’m just terminally unhip.

-M

Epitaph for the Madman

I found myself, a couple of months ago, in a odd situation.

After what seemed like a “normal”, albeit very uncomfortable, bout of self-diagnosed food poisoning, I ended up being admitted to the hospital.

Sparing you the details, I must say that it is a very strange place to be—both physically, then mentally—when you hear a doctor speak to you about being in a life-threatening condition, and what “could have happened if any more time went by”.

After 8 days, I have a new appreciation for the dedicated nurses that helped me while I was there. I will say that they did get a kick out of me, as I was not a “normal” patient—up early, dressed, not in bed, but reading my Kindle with my iPod on in the mornings, or strolling around the halls taking my IV drip for a walk, but most of all, with my laptop at a makeshift desk, working. Great wi-fi signal at the hospital, by the way...

While I was there, I didn't think too much about anything but going home. After having a couple of months to reflect, I have thought about quite a few things.

I've never been one to think or speak too much about death. It was also never mentioned in our family growing up. I was once visiting Penny Terwilliger and her family in Iowa, and was floored to hear a rollicking discussion about “who gets what” when family members were gone! After I got married, my father-in-law was always talking about his demise—mostly in a comic way, but sometimes very seriously, when it came to planning, financial arrangements and the like.

I think it is a healthy thing to discuss in a family—it certainly doesn't mean that it needs to be dwelled upon, but a healthy discussion, with some humor is not a bad thing.

As for myself, I have actually thought a bit about my legacy for when I leave the planet. As I reflect about my life so far, my assessment is that I've done an OK job living up to my own expectations—not a gold star mind you, but not terrible.

As I think about how I’d like to be remembered by those that I’ve had contact with, I’d be very happy if they would think about me and say “He was a good guy”.

-M

Everything Old is New Again

I got a postcard in the mail, inviting me to come to a GM event that would allow me to drive several new cars side-by-side, at a test track set up at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA.

The thing that jumped off the postcard for me was not the ability to drive a brand new ’Vette or Camaro. Nope. The words that got me excited were “Come and drive the all-new Chevy Volt.”

If you have not been following the development of the Volt, it is GM’s new electric car that is a true plug-in hybrid. It can be powered completely using the batteries and electric motor up to a rage of 60 miles—this, of course—varies with your driving style, the terrain, what accessories are being used, etc. After you use up the battery power, a small gasoline-powered engine kicks in.

I can hear you yawning now. Sounds like a Prius, circa 2000—man, Mark is easily amused (or completely losing it...). What holds my interest? two things—unlike a Prius, a Volt can be plugged into a standard 110 volt outlet overnight, and you get fully charged batteries. If you don’t drive over 60 miles a day, this mean you would never use the engine, and you’d be purely using electric power. Statistics show that over 75% of the drivers in this country don’t drive over 60 miles a day (they obviously don’t live in Southern California...).

They truly revolutionary thing about the Volt, is what happens when the battery power is not enough to power the car. Like a Prius, a gasoline-powered engine kicks in, but instead of that engine providing actual power to the front wheels (a la the Prius and other Hybrids today), the Volt’s engine generates electricity to power the electric motor—at no time does the engine actually power the car. This is exciting.

All is lost, if the car is not practical, and the Volt is just that. It is a small sedan, with all the modern comforts we’ve come to expect, and GM engineers even gave it some style. It is pretty responsive, have good acceleration and braking and is really comfortable to drive. It’s a bit pricey at $40K, but the Federal Tax credit available is $7,500.00 which nets you out at $32,500.00. They have made the lease very attractive as well.

Electric cars have been around since the 1800s. Battery technology has been one of the major drawbacks in the development of practical electric cars, but technology is moving on. New batteries and the DC motors now available have take electric vehicle development to a whole new level.

Unlike the $120,000 performance 2-seater from Tesla motors (absolutely beautiful...) www.teslamotors.com or my favorite, the 2-seat, experimental Aptera www.aptera.com, the Volt, for me, is an exciting first step from a major car manufacturer in mass-producing an electric vehicle for all of us that is bringing some “firsts” to the market. Not unlike the iPad, the Volt and its’ technology will be the first step for practical electric vehicles.

I'm not naive enough to believe that these cars don’t have their own issues—an increased demand for electricity would have us burning fossil fuel to generate, and lets face it—our power grid has it’s own set of challenges.

The first practical electric car in the US was in 1891. I’m excited about the Chevy Volt in 2010. For me personally, I’m not able to run out and buy one—we’re already a 3 car family, and there are just 2 of us(!). But I'm excited for the future, and the new choices I’ll have when I’m in the market.

Much like Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway) talks about—he takes existing technology and applies new ideas to make it practical—I believe the electric car is a steppingstone to change the way we will drive in the short term—and maybe the long term as well. I know that my 9 year old nephew, Jackson, will have may choices when he is buying his first car, and that is exciting to me.

Everything old is truly new again...

-M

New Beginnings

Just over a month ago, my niece Desiree Withers married her fiance, Monzelle Dozier. It was a beautiful wedding—a serious ceremony, then a celebration and a time to join with friends and family.

It made me think of being a newlywed, now thirty-one years ago. All the new adventures Des and Monzelle will take together, the love, the laughter and even some tears. I hope for them that they share the experiences that I have shared with Mo—as we have grown together in our lives, individually and together.

Marriage does not mean losing yourself or your identity, or becoming the same person, rather, it allows you to grow and strengthen your individuality in the comfort and confidence of knowing that your partner always has your back.

In this way, marriage is not constraining, but liberating.

Congratulations to Monzelle and Desiree. Here's to new beginnings.

-M

In Praise of Long Term Friends

I'd like to think that I've made quite a few friends over the years, and always enjoy meeting new people. I've been fortunate through work, summer camp, youth group and church to have been exposed to lots of different people and make friends all over the country.

That being said, I'm most appreciative of friends that I've known for a long time—those “evergreen”, “hang in there through thick and thin”, “couldn't imaging them not being there” friends. I’m genuinely sad for anyone that doesn’t have this type of friends in their life, and I’m surprised how many people I know who don't.

My longest term friend, Pat and I have known each other since 4th grade (we were actually in kindergarten together, but didn't know each other then!) We see each other infrequently, but—like with all my long term friends—when we get together, it seems like time melts away. The beauty of these friendships is that they have not only the past in common, but there is a genuine interest and concern about all the things that have happened in our lives since the last time we were together. We’ve grown together, added wives and kids and others to our friendship circle.

I was very tight with a friend in high school, Don. He and I were inseparable for a few years. As I went off to my short-lived college career, and to summer camp, then on to live in the Chicago area, we lost touch. We were able to get back together awhile later, back in Seattle and had a great time reminiscing, but after talk of our escapades in high school ran out, we found that we had nothing in common any more—we had moved on, but separately. I remember feeling profoundly sad at this experience at the time.

I met my friend Hap in 1970. Our friendship continued and we were roommates for a couple of years in 1974. I see him every few years (in fact he's coming for a visit next week—I think it’s been 5 years this time). We talk and e-mail a bit, but when we get together, we just pick up where we left off last time. Much fun and some serious stuff always ensues.

Facebook has been a fun way to see what friends that you haven’t kept up with are doing, and for those past friends who you’ve lost touch with, it is nice to “connect” in the electronic realm.

It’s really wonderful to have our really close friends, David and Lynn, and their kids just across the street from us (for 8 years this month....). How’s this for long term? I met David in 1971, and have know Lynn since she was in high school (and apparently had a crush on me—but that’s a different story...).

I’m truly blessed to have all my wonderful friends, but this is a special shout out—in praise of long term friends. Thanks to you all for enduring, and making my life better.

-M