Just for fun:

My wife sent this to me and I felt the need to share:

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a
silk paper wrapped package. ‘This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.’ He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She never put it on; she was saving it for a special occasion.

Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said: Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion. I still think those words changed my life.

Now, I:

Read more and clean less.

Sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

Spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day.

I wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.

The words ‘Someday…’ and ‘One Day…’ are fading away from my dictionary.

If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do
it now.

I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

Today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present!

While this can be seen as a sad sentiment I think in these dark economic times it would be better to remeber the above and enjoy our lives more.

Seemed appropriate on this first ever occasion.

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Abraham Lincoln

I bumped into a rather interesting article written by Ben Stein a few years ago about who should be considered a star.

I was struck by how many people in our community seem to have what I would call lives that matter. I was also struck by the notion that the people that are fawned over or vilified are really of no importance in the grand scheme of things. Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Paris Hilton all add no real value to the world yet we get quite worked up about something they say or whether they wear bloomers when they exit the car. They can be very entertaining, yes, but what do they actually do that matters so much?

In the article I referenced, Ben Stein talks about some of the remarkable soldiers fighting over seas. Whether you agree or disagree with the war, I have to salute the unbelievably brave men and women that VOLUNTEER to go in harms way. Makes Miss Hilton’s clothing choices seem inconsequential by comparison.

Closer to home I look at the teachers that do a remarkable job in a dysfunctional education system with rather limited resources. While there are a number of outstanding teachers, John Marvin comes to mind. My youngest daughter had the incredible good fortune to have him as a teacher and later was his teachers aid at PHMS. John seems to have this rather strange notion that his ego is secondary to the children that he is there to instruct. He also works to teach them critical thinking skills as well as trying to see all sides of an issue. Rather brave for a 6th grade teacher and like a I said he has some rather strange notions! That we could all be that… significant in our lives. Makes me wish I were a bigger person.

We have some great cops here in Pleasant Hill and I love the fact that PH has gained the reputation of a boring place to do police work. I also think of those truly brave cops that patrol East and West Oakland as well as Hunters point and the Sunset District in SF. Talk about tough duty! I am quite sure that I possess the courage for that only in a video game!

I have many other hero’s and people that I respect and admire. Jim Thompson, John Wooden, Abe Lincoln, Socrates, Dave Eary as well as the man the raised me, Lon Menchen to name a few. And of course my mom. Some I admire for having moral courage and some for being there to stare down the eye of thy enemy.

I guess I would like folks to think about those we admire. Coming soon is the nominations for Awards Night. It’s worth thinking of those that make this community a better place to live. We can then take that opportunity to recognize them for what they do. And while they may not be throwing themselves on a grenade to save us, they none the less do make sacrifices to make this… Pleasant Hill.

Think about that next time Paris wears a short skirt and no nickers or Michael Savage says something stupid. Oh, wait… that must be their job!

Well, I guess the Jalapeños are going to kill us now! It turns out that the tomatoes were not the culprit in the great tomato scare of 2008 but 1, I repeat 1 jalapeño from Mexico was found to be tainted. WOW, I am a feared!!!

I remember back in the late ’70′s a “scientific” study came out that said that hair dye would cause cancer. Well, on closer inspection for the average person to get the same level of exposure as the rats in the study you would have to, now get this, dye your hair twice a day for forty seven years!

So as I have advocated before, be smart but don’t let the bad news, especially in an election year, sway you from trying to succeed. Yes, the ozone is being depleted, global warming may be killing the penguins and polar bears and we will have no water for our lawns, children or monkey’s in the next 15 minutes. Just don’t panic. Success gives you the ability to help yourself and all the causes you want.

So strive for success. Other wise, the tainted jalapeños win!

Man the heat is upon us!

Now would be the time to be creative about staying cool. I know that there are lot’s of suggestions but cold water and cool showers top the list. Also, water not alcohol is the ticket. I know that may sound strange coming from me BUT it is really important to stay hydrated during the heat. Water not beer helps to keep you cooled down.

If you know someone that needs to cool down have them go to the Pleasant Hill Senior Center, 233 Gregory Lane in Pleasant Hill.

Something you can do to help is to shut off any unnecessary lights and things plugged into the wall. For more information on that you can check out PG & E at their web site for helpful tips.

Do what you can as every little bit helps as we look at over 110 degrees in the next two days.

I was reading an article today that was in the online addition of the Sacramento Bee and it was talking about the possibility of the state increasing the number of things taxed, like services and movie tickets, and it made me think that we should pay closer attention to what our elected officials are doing for us and to us in Sacramento. One of the ways to do this is to attend the Government Affairs meetings that the chamber has on the last Monday of each month at Left Bank. It would be one way to stay informed. The other is to read the papers.

I am a bigger fan of the printed word, or in this case the digital word, than I am of video. One of the main reasons is that with print media you can sort through what you want. Print also has the space, though they don’t always use it wisely, to give you all the facts they uncover. The tv news folk often condense a story so much as to remove any useful content. Then comes the teaser, “Pitbulls with AIDS on fire and how they effect your home value, film at 11!” When you tune in you find the story has nothing to do with the headline.

But I digress. I guess my point is to stay informed. It is important to know how seemingly small changes can have a big impact and rather than waiting for it to occur and THEN dealing with it, try looking down the road and planning for what will come along. It could mean thriving or starving.

But that’s just my opinion. And I’m sticking to it! Film at 11!

Change is something that happens whether we like it or not. The weather changes, kids change, our spouses and not always for the better.

Here at the Chamber I have learned that change CAN be a great thing. When I started 5 years ago Sue Ketwig handed in her notice. And, no I don’t think my deodorant had failed. But that gave me the opportunity to hire Nancye Loving. She was a breath of fresh air. No one was sure how we had ever gotten along with out her.

Then last year Nancye decided to expand her horizons and again I was shopping for the next staff person. That gave me the opportunity to hire Kelly Sunseri. And wow what a hire!

Well several weeks ago Kelly came to me and said she needed to go part time so she could take a second job. I realize that some would view this as a bad thing but I came to the conclusion that it could be made to work.

So now we have Kelly as part time and we have hired a part time receptionist, Bryanna Ballard, here at the Chamber. I believe that it will give us the opportunity to service our membership even better and than before. Call us and find out!