And The Word Of The Day Is....

I'm back up in Fishkill, New York again this week for work. Normally when I come up here I go to work, go to the hotel, go for food, repeat as necessary. You know, I'm here to work. This time however, I have decided to take a few side trips and go see all this historic stuff that I happen to be surrounded by.

Today I took a thirty minute drive from my hotel to the town of Hyde Park, NY and visited the country mansion of the Vanderbilts. It was amazing. Hence, the word of the day is "opulence".

The mansion (preserved by the US National Park Service) is a part of probably one of the greatest estates preserved from the Gilded Age of America. I learned this from our tour guide. Some other things I learned:

- The term "Gilded Age" was actually a snub of wealthy society types by American author Mark Twain.

- The Vanderbilts only stayed in the house a couple of weeks each Spring and Fall. (They had a bunch of houses and yachts they also visited.)

- The Vanderbilts preferred the English Service System where men did all the serving and women did all the cooking and behind the scenes work. (As opposed to the French Service System where women do all the serving and men do the cooking and work behind the scenes.)

- Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt slept in separate rooms. Mrs. Vanderbilt's room was a copy of Marie Antoinette's bedroom at Versailles.

- All the beds in the house are very small.

- There was a very strict protocol around the turn of the century and a visitor's social status was considered always when it came to assigning bedrooms for them or even where they were to sit at dinner.

- Most of the exceptionally wealthy people during the Gilded Age in America gave away almost all of their fortune to charity. (They also paid a fortune in taxes.) The reason they didn't give it to their children was the belief of the time that their children had all the advantages of being raised with money and were expected to go out and make their own money.

In a word...Opulence....

Front of the Mansion

Rear of the Mansion

View of the Hudson River

101

How often do you resharpen your saw? Author Stephen Covey (the "7 Habits" guy) uses the term "Sharpen the Saw" to describe the process of self-renewal. It's true that we all become dulled from time to time and a quick resharpening is often just the thing to put thing in perspective and get us back on track.

Last Sunday, the small group that Daleen and I lead at our church provided the food for a church class entitled PCC 101. All of the small groups take turns to provide the food and child care for the class and this time was our turn. No one in the class brought children so Daleen and I just had to bring dinner. After everyone ate, we asked if it would be ok for us to sit in on the class since it had been several years since we went through it. I can honestly say that being reminded once again of the mission of our church has had quite an impact on us. It almost feels like we were growing a bit dull lately at our church and have now been resharpened.

For those of you who don't know, PCC 101 is a class that introduces people to Powhatan Community Church and basically tells them all the ins and outs of who we are and what we do. The class is led by our senior pastor and he spells out everything about our mission, how we are organized, what we do, what we don't do, and why we do it. It's actually a requirement for church membership and I think it's great. How often have you wished that before you signed up for something, a senior member of the organization sat down with you and told you absolutely everything so you could make a membership decision based on all the information?

The best part of the meeting was when we went around and folks explained how they found our church and what keeps them coming back. All the stories we heard were really interesting. We even got to tell our story which made for some fun reminiscing. All the people in this particular class, including us, had come from some previous church. But everyone in the room had come to PCC looking for something.... something they hadn't found until they came to us. Some people had positive experiences from their previous churches and some had very negative experiences. However, what struck me the most that night was the part of each person's stories where they talked about their initial experiences with coming to PCC. While there were differences in how people found our church, what they experienced walking in the door was all very similar. The folks we met at the 101 class all experienced some great things about PCC from the moment they first arrived. They all felt welcome and liked there wasn't any pressure. They loved the music and Brian's messages, and since their initial visits, it seemed most had been growing into our church community.

There is a saying among a lot of the people who make our church go. "It's not about you." I think it's a good reminder. However, last Sunday I got to see up close who "it is" about. These folks left the churches they were attending for a variety of reasons. They could have simply stopped attending church and fallen away from Christian community. Instead, PCC and the people who make it happen, worked together and were used by God to create the right environment where these people could come and be met right where they were. I think about the other people who show up every week who have never been to church, feel they are broken or lonely, and are looking find some purpose and experience God. They are all who "it is" about.

I was reminded once again that the first part of the mission of our church is to reach the unchurched people around us. When we first started attending PCC, I was excited about working on Sundays and seeing that part of our mission happen. Seeing God use me to carry out that part of His work was what really got me pumped. However, over the years of attending PCC, I felt my enthusiasm start to dull a little. I started to see the work I did with the church as simply "work". I think attending this 101 class has fixed that. Talking with people who have been affected positively because folks in our church put their spiritual wellbeing ahead of their own set me right back up again. I feel like I have had my saw resharpened.

You know, it really isn't about me. It's about God and the unchurched people and helping to get them connected up together. A spiritual matchmaker if you will.... with a boss that is willing to take anybody. I think my level of spiritual growth is beyond what just sitting in the seat on Sunday mornings alone can offer to me. I have been reminded that where I am personally going to get the most bang out of my Sunday mornings is to put the people and God, who it is all about, ahead of myself and do what I can to help the church with it's mission.

There are still a lot of people in our community that are looking for what we are offering and want to experience God, and I'm recommitting myself to working with our church to make that happen. My saw is resharpened and I am ready to get to work. What's happening with your saw?

John, I'll email you this week to give you all the dates I am going to be in town and available to serve.....

Hate to Paint

I was home from New York last week. It was great being back. As you can expect, I had missed Daleen, Colin, and the rest of my family and friends. My time at home was busy as well (didn’t have time to write a single blog posting). While at home I was driving back and forth to Manassas, VA where I have been doing a lot of work. In addition to travelling locally, we spent a lot of time working on the house. This time I installed some new lighting, did some drywall repairs and getting ready to do some interior painting.
We have a lot of small drywall cracks, nail pops, etc. My friend Josh is a structural engineer so of course I showed them all to him, expecting him to tell me my foundation was starting to come apart and the house was going to fall over at any moment. (I always expect the worse when it comes to my house.) But alas, Josh said everything looked fine and there was nothing a little spackle and mud couldn’t fix.
Personally, I hate doing drywall work almost as much as I hate painting. I think my drywall repair work isn’t as easy because I lack the proper tools. I watched a guy at work do it the other day and he used a really big, very clean, metal drywall knife to get his mud smoothed just right. He also did very thin coats of mud and in the end, didn’t need to do any sanding. I need to get the right tools for the job. Mmmm… new tools….
Then there was the electrical work. This is the part I actually do enjoy. The hallway by our front door has always been very dimly lit by one light that is too far away. We remedied this by installing two new recessed lights just inside the front door and replaced the old hallway fixture with a larger and brighter one. Unlike my drywall work, this job went very quickly and turned out perfectly. Unlike working with sheetrock, I have all the right electrical tools and the experience to actually use them.
Now it’s time to do some painting. I’m back in NY working this week and Daleen is going to try and do some of the painting on her own. I secretly wish she could just do all of it before I get back. I rate painting my house right up there with waterboarding as things I would rather not be subjected to. If you ever want information from me, no real torture is required. You could just threaten to force me to paint my entire house and I’d tell you whatever you wanted to know (even if I didn't know anything.)
We have a lot of work to do on our place this year. We’re going to need to buy some more paint and tools. That’s the cheap part. Our ancient heat pump and air handler is also probably going to die this year and that’s going to be the expensive part. There’s a lot of stuff in between that also needs to be done. We’re in no hurry though. We’re going to get it all done eventually and we’re going to do it right. By then a whole new list of things to do will come up. I just wish we didn’t have so much painting to do…..

The Last Hour

I’m looking at my watch and it’s 5:00AM. I’ve been at work since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. Everything is humming along as it should now and I can finally relax for the last hour before I can head out the door and go to my hotel for some much needed rest.

I’m in Fishkill, NY this week, working out of my company’s office at one of IBM’s semiconductor plants. Unfortunately, my work this week is all at night, usually between 6:00PM and 6:00AM. Needless to say, I’m very tired. There are a lot of folks here who have been working the night shift for years. I have no idea how they do it. I’m simply not made to work that kind of schedule.

Regardless of my difficulties with working at night this week, I am very thankful to be working. Many of you know the plant I was working out of in Richmond closed a few weeks ago. The consequences of that closing including the closing of our company’s office at that site and shipping all of our parts and equipment back to our factory. Since that time, I have been sort of an engineer-at-large, working on some projects from home and doing a lot of travelling to some of our other field offices.

In these recent economic times, many of my friends and coworkers have been let go and are having extreme difficulty finding work elsewhere. Seeing long-time employees of my company get laid off has been hard, and I see myself in a tough situation with no real place to call home right now. I’m not the only one in this situation either. Some other folks in my company have seen their sites close and are also floating around, waiting. For me, being in NY right now is a good thing. And I am being utilized which is a very good thing. However, these trips are only temporary. We are going to continue going around and around for a while like this, but nobody knows for how long. I am just hoping that when the music stops, I won’t be without a chair.

I’m still not all that worried about what the future holds. I firmly believe that whatever comes, it’s going to be great, one way or another. Life really is too short to go around making yourself sick over what might happen. We’ve chosen to be optimistic. We are still hoping to stay in Richmond and I’ve started to shake a couple of trees to see what might turn up to allow us to stay. However, we have also started to prepare for having to relocate with my work. So, you’ll get to hear all about our painting and remodeling projects to get our house ready to sell, just in case.

I’ll be sure to keep you informed as this all unfolds. However, I think I have blogged about this more than enough lately and haven’t really had anything new to say about it. Right now, we’re good. Really good. But man, am I tired…..

The Crazy Life of Colin J

My son is a whirlwind of activity these days.


We recently celebrated his 3rd birthday and since then, he has been a man on the go. For starters, his 3rd birthday parties were great (both of them). We had one for him and his pals and a family one. As expected, he got a ton more toys that we found room for by getting rid of older toys he had outgrown. This of course we had done in secret because if he knew those older toys were going away, they would suddenly become his new favorite toys. His birthday was also a little different this year because we added in some games we could play as a family. He got a game where these little plastic fish open and close their mouths and you have to catch them with these little plastic fishing poles. He also got the game "Don't Spill the Beans", which consists of all these little plastic beans which have now ended up all over the place. The best game he got has been "Candyland". It has been something fun we can do together and it's neat to watch him work with his colors and do some counting. He even wins the game more times than me! He usually stays focused in the beginning of every game. Now if we can just find a way to keep him from drifting away near the end.

After his birthday came his buddy Luke's birthday party. Luke also turned three. His mom and dad are good friends of ours and it was a fun party. They had it at the YMCA here in Powhatan. It was a pool party.....in February. Luckily the Y puts a big bubble over our pool in the winter so it was nice and warm for the swimming. (I think it also helped that it was 70 degrees outside.... 70 degrees out.... in February....that's going to be a whole different posting.) Luke's mom and dad put on a great party. Pizza, cupcakes, and lots of apple juice were on the menu and it just so happens that those are Colin's three favorite food groups. Then they did some awesome crafts (the party was a beach theme). On the way home, after all that sugar, I figured if the car were to break down, Colin would have enough energy to tow the car back to the house. However, the swimming must have worn him out because after we got back, he crashed out on the sofa. He never sleeps on the sofa so I know he must have been really tired. I'll have to remember to get him over to the pool the next time I need him to get some sleep.

The latest thing Colin has been doing is soccer. There is a local indoor soccer club for small children. Daleen took him for his first game the other day and I got to watch the video afterward. What fun. Colin did pretty good actually. We have a soccer ball at home that he likes to kick around, so he knew that part. The only bad part is that Colin would randomly just run off and go do his own thing. He would be standing in the circle, doing what the other children were doing and then he would just run off for no reason. Hey, it's his world. We all just live in it. His buddy Luke is also on his team and more or less did the same thing. Together they are sort of like the Thelma and Lousie of the 3 year old soccer team. Colin hasn't changed his name to Pele' just yet, but we're glad he's into sports.

So I guess we have officially opened the Mom and Dad Taxi company for business. Our taxi company has not yet acquired the necessary minivan vehicle, but Daleen assures me there is one in our future. In the past Colin used to just go wherever we were going with the exception of the occasional doctor's visit, play group, or trip to the park. But now he has places to go and people to see. It's all a part of growing up I guess. The next big thing is going to be potty training. We sort of have been messing around with this, but this weekend the gloves are coming off. Daleen has a plan and is on a mission. I'm just going to get out of the way and just do whatever she tells me. It's just safer that way.

The Facebook

As usual, it's been a crazy week. Well, maybe a little crazier than others.

As I mentioned in my last posting, my customer whose site I work at is closing their doors. It was a very sudden move on their part and caught a lot of folks off guard. Imagine walking into work on Monday morning and being shuffled into a room to be told you were out of work, effective immediately, and you were not getting any kind of assistance, severance package, or anything. Needless to say a lot of folks were upset, and now most of them are already gone.

Since I work for an equipment vendor, when they shut down, we had to kick into overdrive and get all of our things out of there before they decided to cut the power and chain the doors shut. My boss was working at a site on Oregon one time where this happened. He showed up for work and all the factory doors were locked and everyone was standing out in the parking lot. No notice. No anything. Since my boss had experienced this before, he wanted all of our equipment and parts out of there as soon as possible. I don't think I've had to work that hard in months, but yesterday, the truck pulled away with several neatly organized pallets.

This week at work, it's been like a big party breaking up. Everyone has been shaking hands and swapping details and making promises to keep in touch. Normally these have always seemed to be hollow promises. You keep up with email for a while and eventually that trails off. However, this time, because of technology, things have proven to be different. Enter LinkedIn, Skype, and Facebook.

People all remember many of Pres. Bush's funny sayings. Bushism's I think people call them. One of my favorites was when he said he had been looking up stuff using "The Google". I can't tell you how much I laughed when I heard that. I still laugh when I think about it. Unfortunately, now I can't stop adding "The" to the front of all my favorite computer applications.

I've had LinkedIn and Skype accounts for a long time but never really did much with them. Skpe is awesome if you have relatives who live overseas like we do. It definitely helps with the phone bills! However since the party has ended at work, those "We'll keep in touch" promises have been kept and my contact lists on those accounts has grown considerably.

Then the other night, I did the unthinkable. I got an account on "The Facebook". Initially, I was very reluctant to do this. I really don't have time for another thing to keep me in front of my computer. I was always getting Facebook invitations but just could never get around to doing anything with it. Then last Christmas, my sisters started harassing me about it. "It's so great", they would say. "You have to do it."
"What's so great about The Facebook?" I asked.
"Ohhh, you can keep up with everyone from High School!", they gleefully replied. Their answer was, in my opinion, the number one reason I wouldn't want to get on-board. I already keep up with everyone from High School that I was friends with. Sometimes we go awhile without seeing each other or talking, but we can always pick back up right where we left off.
But I got the account anyway, because of all the people I had been working with, I was probably the only one not on The Facebook.
So far so good. I do like that instead of emailing my pictures to everyone, I can just post them in one place. We had been doing them on The Snapfish, but since everyone is on The Facebook already, it will be easier. The only thing I haven't had fun with is filling out my profile. I figure I'll eventually get that sorted out, but I never know what to put down. I want to be honest about myself while still trying to maintain some tiny sort of "cool" factor. It's a tough tightrope to walk.
So the only other thing I have noted in the past couple of days is that The Facebook sure sends you a heaping helping of email. I have it tied to my home email address that until recently was hardly ever using. I check it once a week or so but have realized that I need to check it daily now to keep the mail from piling up.

It's interesting to see how technology has changed how we do relationships. We never really permanently say goodbye to one another anymore. It's possible, and very likely, that most of us have friends or know people we haven't and will never meet in person. Also, I have single friends who use The Match.com for dating and they tell me that dating for them is so much easier now. They just spend some time online and make it happen without having to go to bars or have those awkward moments of trying to get around to asking someone on a date.

I'm into this for now, but who knows for how long until I begin to feel it taking over and I gain another temporary seething dislike for technology. I'm still not ready to get on The Twitter though. That is a whole other animal and I just don't think I can be that plugged into the grid right now. But who knows what's going to happen down the road.

So, for those of you who are curious about my job...
I have a job now. My company right now says they have enough work that I can stay based out of Richmond until at least this summer. By then someone will be operating the Richmond plant again and I'll go back there, I'll find a different job in Richmond, or I'll be ready to relocate with my current employer. All are possibilities. I've updated my resume and am sending it to a couple of friends/contacts this week to start doing a little networking and shake a few trees. My aim is to stay in Richmond but we're going to be ready for anything.
In the meantime, while I'm going to be based in Richmond, I'm probably not going to be in town a whole lot. We have an office in Manassas, VA where I'll be spending a lot of time and they already have me scheduled for a couple of trips to NY.
It's going to be an interesting ride and I'm sure something good is going to come out of all this for me and the family.

But don't worry. No matter what happens, it will never really be goodbye for us. I'll see you around...... on The Facebook....

Sailing the Sea of Uncertainty

It's been a crazy week at my work.

Last Friday, Qimonda, the customer who's manufacturing facility I work at, filed for bankruptcy. They are a European company so they filed in Germany. Since that time, things here have just been surreal. I'm still waiting for someone to pinch me so I'll wake up.

Prior to Friday's announcement, there were no indications they were planning to file. Was I completely surprised? No. I didn't need Dionne Warwick or her Psychic Friends Network to tell me the company was doing really bad. They were bleeding money at an unbelievable rate and there was no way they could just go on without additional financing.

Since they've announced their insolvency, they are under credit protection and are currently trying to reorganize and get some funding from investors. It's hard to believe this is going to succeed, but they're giving it their best. In the meantime, since they are insolvent, they can't buy materials to manufacture their products (DRAM memory chips), so they have completely ceased all manufacturing and lots people are just standing around not doing anything. It's just freaky.

They are trying to get it together. What is even more freaky is that there are a lot of folks here who are in denial of the situation and believe wholeheartedly this place is going to get bailed out and be back to running production (and losing money) within the week. That may happen. But there's a really good chance it won't.

So how has this affected me? Well, with our equipment shut down we have been able to get caught up on a lot of work we were putting off. And starting today, I'll get to leave work early. We've already brought our property and equipment down from their factory floor. Now we're just waiting to see what happens. Either we are going to go back to work here, or they're going out of business. They're having a large employee meeting this afternoon. I wonder what they are going to say. Regardless, we're prepared to wait until next weekend to give them time before we pull all our parts from their stockroom, gather our things, and walk out. It may happen sooner, but we just don't know right now. My customer is happy we haven't walked out yet. A lot of their other vendors and equipment suppliers already have. Qimonda owes a lot of folks a lot of money, including us.

I don't work for Qimonda. I work for one of their equipment suppliers so I am somewhat indirectly affected by this. Am I concerned? Yes. Am I really worried? No. Strangely, I feel sort of calm about the whole situation. I figure really only one of four things is going to happen:
1. Qimonda gets financing and we go back to work here.
2. Qimonda gets bought and we go back to work here.
3. Qimonda goes out of business and I quit my company to stay in the Richmond area.
4. Qimonda goes out of business, there aren't any good jobs in the Richmond area, and I stay with my company and relocate to somewhere else (somewhere probably not as nice as where I live now).

All four of those options are equally probable. I've updated my resume and have made a few calls just in case. We'll just have to wait to find out which one it will be. Right now I'm sailing on a sea of uncertainty. God is at the wheel and only he knows where I'm headed. I'm good with that. This is going to work out one way or another. Whatever happens, I know things are going to be ok and I'm going to be thankful. I already am.

Hello Again....

Took a little time off from blogging. For the past two weeks I haven't written any postings. I haven't even read anybody else's.

I occasionally go through seasons where I just avoid my computer. A technology mini-vacation. I stay attached to my computer all day at my job and eventually I just get sick of it. Instead I read more books and try and do more stuff around the house. I have been thinking about getting a Facebook account and everyone has been telling me I should. However, the thought of spending more time in front of a screen and keyboard right now just seems so unappealing to me. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about... I have. But sitting down and putting my fingers on the keys..... yeeesh....

I've been loosely keeping up with my email. But I haven't even been really surfing the web lately or playing any computer games. I am pretty addicted to Wikipedia but right now, I only check it every couple of days. I still momentarily go to a couple of news sites that I like, just to keep up with what's going on out in the world. I'm not yet ready to fall completely off the grid.

I think this condition is more encompassing than my computer and has also spread to other technologies including my cell phone. Normally on the ride home from work in the afternoons, I call my friends and catch up with them. I haven't even been doing this. Again, no real reason. Just don't feel like picking up the phone and pushing the buttons. I'd rather just put on the radio (I listen to NPR and WRVA... gotta have some balance) and just drive.

Do you ever go through times where you feel allergic to technology? Over the past couple of weeks, I wished it was warmer so we could pack up the truck and go camping somewhere and just get away from electrical cords and all the data swirling around. My mini-vacation from technology has been good for me. I feel it is ending and I'll be getting back to posting on this blog. This isn't the first time I've taken a break since I've started this blog. It won't be the last. I need a break from technology once in a while. I need to break away from my computer monitor to make sure I'm not missing out on anything that is going on around me. I think my computer and phone need a break from me as well. We all have batteries that need to be recharged.... don't you agree?

Friends in Need

Yesterday was a slow day at work. Very slow. Yesterday afternoon I was keeping myself busy by writing in this blog about how my friend Dan (sits in the cubicle across from me) and I were keeping ourselves busy by trying to solve the world's problems. The big problem yesterday was that India is the world's fastest growing video gaming market and yet there are no games specifically for them. Our solution?.... Sitar Hero... ta-daaaa! Yeah I know, we're such nerds.

And then I got the call from Daleen.

It's odd how the big problems in life always hit you on some idle Wednesday afternoon.

Daleen phoned to tell me our friends Frances and Shannon Wells' house burned down. Everyone in their family is safe thank God. They were renting the house and everything inside of it is gone. They've lost pretty much everything.

We've known Shannon and Frances for a long time through our church. They are a close-knit, hardworking family and great people to know. I can't imagine why this would have happened to them, but many of our friends and church members are not going to worry about that. What we are doing now is thinking about how we can help them and what we can do to meet their needs.
With the loss of everything, they obviously have a lot of needs, everything from a new place to live, clothes, pots and pans, plates to eat off of, furniture, you name it. They need a lot, but I know there are a lot of people in our church family who are ready and want to help.

For those of you who don't do the church thing, this is pretty much how God often works. People run into real trouble and God acts by sending the church and it's people in to help. I have to admit, it's a pretty effective way to go. Together, we can do a lot more than a few individuals could ever on thier own. Also, when I'm helping people in this way, it makes me feel great. I feel like I'm doing something I was meant to do, like I have a purpose. Incidentally, I have also been on the receiving end of care and help provided by the church. In those times, I have always felt a lot more comforted and at-ease than I ever could have without them.

The Wells family has a lot of needs. Our church has a lot of work to do to help them. It's not like there are a bunch of government agencies or any other major aid groups swooping in to assist them. So it's up to them, their families and friends, and us. I would encourage you to help as well. Even if you don't go to church or know them. They're great folks and deserve some help during this time. It will definitely make you feel great.

If you want to help, Powhatan Community Church is accepting monetary donations for the family and will get those into their account. You can contact the church office at 804.598.1174 or at www.powhatancc.org. Also, if you have any tangible items you would like to donate, please contact John Starkey with the church at johnS@powhatancommunitychurch.org. My family is going to help Shannon and Frances during their time of need. We're going to help the church help them. I would encourage you to do the same. I'm doing my part now because it's the right thing to do, and I know someday I am going to be on the receiving end again, and I'll be glad to see that same sort of help coming to me.

What Inflation?

Who wouldn't want five hundred million dollars?


You know, I can't even say "five hundred million dollars" without automatically holding my pinky to the corner of my mouth and doing my best "Dr. Evil" impersonation.

Guess how much five hundred million dollars will buy you in Zimbabwe these days? Nothing.... Absolutely nothing. How sad is that?


I read in the news this week where the Zim government is now printing (hold on to your hat) Fifty Billion (with a B) Dollar notes. That's $50,000,000,000.00 in case you couldn't figure out how many zeroes that is. How much will fifty billion Zimbabwean dollars buy you? Try two loaves of bread. That was earlier this week. It probably won't even buy that much now. One person interviewed said he didn't even understand why the government was even wasting time printing money nobody uses. He said people are only using foreign currency as their own loses almost 100% of its value daily.

This is nothing new. Their hyperinflation problem has been going on for some time. Zimbabwe has, several times now, knocked a few zeroes off their money to try and keep the numbers functional. Apparently, they keep reaching the limits of the numbers that ATM and banking systems can handle. According to Wikipedia, the current inflation rate is over 80 sextillion percent. (For you math types, sextillion in scientific notation is ten raised to the 21st power). In comparison, the current second worst inflation rate in the world is in Burma (at a paltry 39.5%)

So how did they get like this? Well, since their independence from Great Britain and subsequent civil war which changed the nation from the white-controlled Rhodesia to the black African ruled Zimbabwe, there had been a desire to increase black empowerment and redistribute the nation's farmland. Initially, Zimbabwe was a large exporter of food, grown on it's many large scale (and typically white owned) farms. After the change of power however, there was a widely held belief by black Zimbabweans that the land the farms were on was stolen from them during colonialism and that it should be returned to the hands of the indigenous people of the nation.

Prior to 2000, the government sponsored a "willing-buyer-willing seller" program for land reform. Then in 2000, the government, led by a man named Robert Mugabe, started a compulsory program where almost all white owned farms were seized, (often violently), broken up, and then redistributed. The chaotic implementation of the program, coupled with the small sizes of the new plots, the lack of equipment, and the lack of agricultural knowledge severely traumatized the nation's ability to grow food. Zimbabwe, instead of exporting, now imports almost all of its food and people are starving.

In addition, the commercial system has also broken down. The newest commercial black empowerment program requires all businesses (including foreign owned) be owned/operated by black Africans. This has resulted in the failure of most businesses and the departure of almost all foreign investment, adding to the country's problems.

As you can imagine, the results of these governmental decisions have been disastrous. Due to the violent seizures of farmland, several nations (including the US) have leveled sanctions against the nation. Also, Zimbabwe has ceased making foreign debt payments resulting in suspension from the International Monetary Fund. In addition, due to a lack of donations, the UN World Food Program has stopped food aid. HIV is now at it's highest levels in the history of the country at 1.8 million people infected, and the average life expectancy has plummeted. Since 1990, the life expectancy for males has dropped from 60 to 37 and for females it is now lower than 34 years.

The government, led by Mugabe, denies the severity of the situation and continues to place the blame of the problems on the international community. They are convinced, and tell their people, that their situation is a conspiracy to return the country to colonialism and oppression. They have been accused of numerous human rights abuses and election tampering in order to stay in power. Also, they only allow state controlled news organizations work inside the country. News companies such as CNN and Britain's Sky News do not have permission to operate in Zim.

What a sad situation. One can understand that when the indigenous Africans regained control of their country, they wanted to have a greater stake in land ownership and business ownership. The people wanted better lives for themselves and new opportunities. It's a noble goal. Unfortunately, there was a total lack of patience and planning on the part of the government, resulting in a total crash of the economy and the scaring away of potential investors.

So, who cares? Well, for one, I do. I travelled there years ago with work and spent a week in the capitol city of Harare. It was awesome. I also care that these people are starving and dying and their leaders are doing nothing but making the situation worse. They have only succeeded in scaring away or running off anyone who tries to help them because receiving help would mean they would have to admit they made mistakes and they could lose their power.

My in-laws care. Where they live in South Africa is near the border with Zimbabwe. They are currently experiencing a severe problem with illegal immigration as people come looking for food and work. In addition, there is now a severe cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe and these people are streaming across the border and carrying it with them.

It's a bad situation. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. I don't think they can go on like this for much longer and then something is going to have to change for the better. There are many nations on the continent that, like Zimbabwe, are in various stages of development. I hope they learn the many lessons the situation in Zimbabwe offers. Democracy and emerging markets are new to many of these nations and my hope is that they don't start taking steps backward. That would be a tragedy.

Back in Black

I checked my 401K account yesterday and got a pleasant surprise. According to my account statement, I am back in the black......but just a little.


The last time I checked it, I was in the red. Severely in the red.
"How could this be?" I wondered. Am I the new Warren Buffet? Did I somehow pick some winners that overnight propelled my retirement fund back to where it was before this current financial crisis hit? No, of course not. I looked again at the return percentage. "Oh", I realized, "It's my year-to-date return". Which as of yesterday was only a few days.
But still, it was an encouragement to see this, even if it's not really a complete or accurate representation. I have lost a lot from my retirement. A whole lot. I didn't ignore reality, but I got a real boost from seeing that positive number. The encouragement I felt was great.


Way back a long time ago when I was in school, I used to work for Ukrops (a local grocery store chain.) I didn't work at a store. I worked at their central bakery (great experience.... surprised I don't weigh a lot more than I do because of that experience). I could have bagged groceries, but the idea of not having to deal with customers appealed more to me. (Plus, it paid a dollar more an hour.) During my time there, I got to know this guy who worked on the oven room. His name was Paul and his primary job was pastoring a small church somewhere in the Richmond area. It was a very small church, so he worked nights to make ends meet. A great guy. The one thing I remember about Paul was that he was an encourager. He used to always say, "Everyone needs encouragement from time to time." When walking through the facility, he made sure to tell folks what a great job they were doing. He wasn't the boss. He was just some guy. But you could tell what he said about others and their work were genuine. When he came by on his way to the break room and told you your work looked great, you could tell he meant it. It seemed kind of silly to me at the time (I was a teenager) but now I look back and realize that little bit of encouragement was always uplifting no matter what my situation was, or how I was feeling. It was such a little thing but it had a big impact on everyone who worked there.

My son Colin, even though he is two (about to turn three) really responds to encouragement. Sometimes I think he is easily discouraged. He seems to give up easily when something like putting on a shirt or taking off his shoes becomes even slightly difficult. "It's too hard. You do it.", he cries. Or he'll yell, "I can't do it". Lately I haven't been helping him as much with this type of thing. Instead, I have been encouraging him and telling him he can do it. Then when he does, I'm quick to tell him how proud I am of him. I've actually taken to telling him I'm proud of him for all sorts of things he is doing. I can tell it has an effect on him. It makes him smile and I think it helps him to believe he can tackle all sorts of stuff without giving up easily.

My friends Julie and Barry are encouragers as well. Like everyone else, they have a lot to be thankful for, but they also have their fair share of problems. But no matter what, they always seem to have a positive attitude and encourage others to look at the good side of every situation. They're awesome to be around and no matter what mood I'm in when I see them, I'm always uplifted after we talk. It's not that they try and help me solve my problems or ignore reality, but they always take time to actually listen, and then say something to put me in a more positive frame of mind.

My 401K is down, but I saw a little positive movement and it had a big impact. I was encouraged. I like being encouraged. We all do. Perhaps over the next week you could take a moment and encourage someone. In the tough times we are going through right now we can certainly all use it. Tell someone you are proud of them. Tell someone what an awesome job they do in their work. Tell someone you appreciate what they do and how it affects you. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way and you'll see it makes a difference. I promise.

End of a Season

It's all over... and my wife couldn't be happier.

The 2008-2009 deer hunting season in Virginia has officially come to an end. Daleen is very happy now that she doesn't have to listen to my alarm clock go off at 3:30 most mornings I am off from work. I'm not too sad about it either. I need a break and I like sleeping in too.

Now the countdown is on once more. It's already nine months and counting until the mayhem begins all over again for the 2009-2010 season. I have already been thinking about what I did this season and how I can make improvements for next year.

It's been an awesome hunting season. I put plenty of food in the freezer and I also let a lot of them walk away. I learned a lot of new things this year, met some really great folks, and built up better relationships with some guys I already knew. I even got to spend some time with a relative I hadn't seen in ages. Best of all, I spent countless hours in the woods, just sitting, taking it all in. In case you didn't know, Virginia forests and farmland are extremely busy and loud places. You just have to sit still long enough to notice.

Of course it wasn't all fun. I think I got the biggest scare of my life while hunting this year. Also, those deer I harvested didn't just walk to my truck and get into the back on their own. (I definitely got my exercise.) And while I like processing the venison myself, it is a lot of work. It's really not all fun.... but that is all part of the package.

Overall, it was a great season. A dream season. I can't wait till next year. I actually don't have to wait the whole nine months this time. I'm kinda cheating this June and going on a weeklong hunting safari in South Africa with my brother-in-law and his buddies. New places, new friends, new challenges. It's going to great.

In the meantime, Daleen is going to be happy. No getting up early. No wondering if I'm going to be home or out in the woods. No wondering if I am going to get around to my honey-do list. She deserves a break from my absences. I'm going to enjoy it too..... until the woods beckon once again...