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Eternal Gratefulness

In 2006 – when the economy was surging with no apparent end in sight – we decided it would be good to let our children experience the struggles less fortunate people endure.  So on Thanksgiving, we joined with other families from our parish to serve at a homeless shelter in downtown.

There we encountered men and women whose lives no one would choose to endure. Yet amidst all of the pain and suffering from ailments, abuse and avoidance, there was gratitude. As they made their way through the line to receive turkey and all the fixings, some responded with words and smiles, others simply nodded. I struck up a side conversation with a young man who said he arrived in Houston three nights earlier, having been dropped from a bus after being released from prison. “I don’t know anything about living on the street,” he said. “I’m scared, and have no idea what to do.”

Watching our youngest, who was eight, refill water glasses and hand out cake, I realized she had no fear at all. To her these were just people and she was getting to help them. It was a wonderfully fulfilling day for the five of us… and we returned at Easter and a few other times over the next few years. With each opportunity to serve came joyous feelings of playing a small part in making our community a better place. I believe our children have a clearer understanding of the world because of those simple acts of kindness.

Today, as you break bread with your family and give thanks for the many blessings in your life, take 10 seconds to remember those who are alone and adrift. There are a lot more people hurting than five years ago… and every one of them could use your prayer.

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Like a Rock

‘Giddyup giddyup 409’… ‘And good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye’… ‘I remember when rock was young’… ‘We’re going racing in the streets’… ‘Baby you’re much too fast.’ These lyrics are from songs – by The Beach Boys, Don McLean, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Prince – that pay tribute to a manufacturing icon: Chevrolet. From the BelAir, to the Corvette, to the Camaro, Chevy exemplifies the ‘heartbeat of America’ to multiple generations of car enthusiasts.

When Dinah Shore sang, “See the U.S.A in your Chevrolet” in the 1950’s, she popularized the brand with millions watching on the emerging technology of television. Sponsorships of Bonanza and Bewitched solidified the company in the minds of parents. Then the 1963 redesign of Corvette into the Stingray and the 1967 introduction of the Camaro made Chevy the envy of teenagers and sports car lovers. Things were good for decades in Detroit. As the famous commercial noted: “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.”

Like all companies, Chevy has its share of legacy clunkers. In the ’60s, Ralph Nader took the company to task for the faulty rear suspension of Corvair. The Vega’s engine problems and overall poor quality in the ’70s signaled the beginning of the end of America’s reign as automobile manufacturing king. The SSR – released in 2004 – tried to capitalize on the ‘retro’ movement. Time magazine described it as a “putative performance machine, heavy, underpowered and unforgivably lazy.” Then there was that whole bailout and bankruptcy at GM three years ago. Don’t look for that episode to be featured in any Chevy historical film.

It’s been a long journey for the company French racecar driver Louis Chevrolet started a century ago today with ousted GM founder William C. Durant… and there is reason to be excited about the future. Silverado is the number two selling vehicle in the country. Equinox and Cruze rank among the top 15. The plug-in hybrid Volt, released last December at a manufacturer’s suggested price of $40,000, is the most fuel-efficient car on the road with an EPA rating of 93 mpg. Like any organization, Chevy proves innovation and stick-to-it-ness are essential for long-term success.

Happy 100th birthday, Chevrolet.

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Boo Hoo

As a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays… until we moved to the country when I was seven and there were no doors within walking distance. Then Halloween was just my brother’s birthday. (Happy 56th today, Mike!).

When our children were little, it was an annual treat to take them around our neighborhood and go to ‘only houses with lights on of people we know.’ That ended last year. When I asked our 13-year-old this weekend what she was wearing, she said, “I want to stay home and hand out candy.” Guess my next opportunity to celebrate this fun occasion is with grandkids, whichever decade that might be.

Some folks at our church don’t allow their young kids to trick-or-treat. After all, they say, it’s a holiday rooted in darkness, filled with satanic undertones, totally pagan. Perhaps. Maybe. OK. However, I don’t think little Johnny or Susie – age six – think wearing a Lightning McQueen or Angry Bird costume this year has anything to do with celebrating the devil. (Although they might get scared if someone dressed as a presidential candidate walks past them on the sidewalk.)

To me this is more of the same ‘everybody gets a trophy’ mentality that is pervasive in our society. ‘Lexi played soccer, and at the party afterward our wonderful coach gave everyone a medal and said each one was the team’s MVP, and Jen, the soccer mom, got a trophy for all the kids, and Tom, Adam’s father, made goals for everyone to practice in the off-season.’ Wow! Imagine if these eight-year-olds had actually won a game.

It’s a big world. Most of it is good. Part of it is bad. There are Buzz Lightyears who want to save mankind… and Big Bad Wolves that want to devour it. Your role as parents isn’t to shield your children. It’s to teach them the difference between good and bad – and to protect them until they’re old enough to make their own decisions. Sheltering doesn’t help them learn. Teaching everybody wins isn’t dealing in reality. Those acts – done mostly to hide from your own fears of what might happen – simply delay the inevitable until young adults are unprepared to deal with what they encounter in daylight and darkness.

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Kindling Success

Addendum: RIP Steve Jobs – You are this generation’s greatest innovator

Amazon recently introduced a new version of its trendsetting Kindle electronic reader. While the original ignited change in how books reach audiences, the latest intends to disrupt the momentum of Apple’s iPad. Kindle Fire has a bigger – color – screen, a faster browser the company believes will be as smooth as its Silk name and stores everything in the cloud. Since iPad hit the market 18 months ago – having sold more than 30 million units – competitors appeared and vanished quickly.

HP announced six weeks ago it is discontinuing TouchPad after determining it mistakenly tried to compete with Apple’s 83 percent market share. So what makes Amazon think it will succeed where others failed? Amazon is upfront that it’s not taking aim directly at iPad. Kindle Fire is WiFi only with no 3G access. There is no camera, nor can you create and edit documents. You can’t place a voice call. What you can do is access Amazon’s extensive digital library. As CEO Jeff Bezos noted in unveiling Fire: “What we’ve done is really integrate seamlessly all of our media offerings – video, movies, TV, apps, games, magazines and so on.’

Most importantly, you can buy Kindle Fire for $199. The entry-level iPad is $500. Amazon is betting the digital content it sells will make up for the low price. That’s an advantage other Apple competitors aren’t able to utilize.

Anytime there is innovation, copycats follow. The key to not ending up in the product graveyard is to provide enough differentiation that consumers have a viable choice. As someone who purchased the original Kindle several years ago and has read many books on it, I’m glad to see Amazon take the next step in improving its device. Someday – in our lifetimes, I’m guessing – hard copies of books will be collector’s items and nothing more.

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Always Remember

Last week, our youngest – for an 8th grade class – had to interview someone about the ‘most historical moment’ of his/her lifetime. She chose her grandfather, who just celebrated his 80th birthday. He told her the assassination of JFK tops his list, as he was too young to remember Pearl Harbor, although having spent 27 years as a naval fighter pilot beginning in 1954, he certainly understands the meaning and significance of ‘a date which will live in infamy.’

I was three-and-a-half on November 22, 1963, and have been fascinated by JFK since my sophomore geography teacher told us about his experience as a senior in high school in Dallas on that fateful day. I’ve read most of the conspiracy books, watched all the famous news programs, walked Dealey Plaza and spent time in the Sixth Floor Museum. I’ve even seen Lee Harvey Oswald’s unmarked grave in Rose Hill cemetery – a hunt completed with my sister and brother-in-law on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

Today, we remember the victims of 9/11, so I asked our daughter – who’s a senior in college – what she recalls from being a sixth grader in 2001:

“They didn’t tell us about it right away, but we knew something was wrong, because teachers were crying and kids were being picked up. After a while we had this assembly, and the guy basically told us God had performed so many miracles that day, which didn’t make sense to me. Oh, and I remember asking one of the lunch aides why kids were leaving, and she said ‘must be a lot of dentist appointments.’ None of the adults knew how to handle the situation. They saw us as kids, but a lot changed for us on that day. As part of the post-9/11 generation, I think we would better handle something like this, or at least know how to talk about it.”

It’s a common conversation piece to ask those who experienced historical moments where they were and what they were doing when they found out. For those alive today, the discussions might include the Crash of 1929, Pearl Harbor, Germany’s surrender, Jackie Robinson, JFK, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, Neil Armstrong, Nixon’s resignation, Challenger, the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11.

Of course, as time passes, memories become less clear. Yet, as long as we pause to reflect, those dramatic events will remain part of who we are as a nation. We’ll pass them on to future generations, and hopefully teach them new lessons. A friend who’s a printer made a magnet for clients a couple of weeks after 9/11. He gave one to us. It shows an American flag and says, “We Will Never Forget.” We haven’t. It’s still on our refrigerator.