Tag Archives: chapter excerpt

We interrupt this book to bring you the following…

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In shocking news today, the U.S. president reached a compromise with Congress, agreeing to a 100% tax on all speaking fees, book royalties and presidential reelection campaign funds in order to pull his country from the edge of the economic abyss.

Murdoch’s empire claims to have Blackberry audio in which the treasury secretary says that he’s willing to sell Alaska to Russia and give up market domination rights of the Philippines and Japan in exchange for China buying all U.S. treasuries from now on, thus turning the U.S. into a regional power and a foreign freetrade zone for the Communist country.

Members of Congress will meet the compromise and allow reporters to follow them on “vacations” with donors and lobbyists, submitting all travel-related expenses and graft as 100% taxable, subtracted, of course, from their Congressional compensation packages.

This, the budget office assures us, is sufficient to put the U.S. treasury back on the plus side.

Off With ‘is ‘ead!

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In mob news today, the English-speaking world tracked, followed, stalked and captured the head of a large media empire.

The media empire provided 24/7 news coverage of the downfall of their emperour.

At last report, the mob was deciding whether to spread the parts of the head to the ends of the earth, or…

…put the whole head on display and increase tourism to only one spot on the planet.

Meanwhile, the World Court declared that email/text messaging is a public utility and thus subject to no rights of privacy, opening the door for a complete transparent exposure of all transactions – business, personal or political – to every citizen of Earth.

Thanks to Kamil at DQ in Guntersville, Houlihan’s in ATL airport, Shatandra at ATL news stand, Kathy at Alabama welcome center, Lacey at VF Outlet in Boaz, Outlaw Steakhouse, and Charles at McDonald’s in Douglasville, GA.

I’m taking a break from blogging to concentrate on writing a book the rest of this summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Y’all have a good one, y’hear?

Indelible Fruit Trees

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Returning to “staying on message.”

In the delicate balance of managing seven billion prople, when people have individuality that shares traits of common culturres, happiness is social.

Over the weekend, my mother’s family told stories about events, selves and ideas.

We decompressed, getting out from under the shadow of self-protection that the bombardment of negative news reinforces.

Image/brand management gives way to tales and legends of family lore.

Trapping rabbits for spending money as a teenager.

Taking the family car out for a spin at age 14 to go “parking.”

Visiting relatives and reporting on hoarding behaviour.

Playing epic sessions of Rook.

Throwing footballs in the backyard.

Sending bottle rockets into the neighbours’ treetops.

Looking at old family photos from the 1920s.

Recalling words like ectomorph and endomorph.

Fixing broken/leaking objects at a cousin’s house.

“Cuz, what do you think of my yard? Great, huh?”

“Looks like your mowing deck is askew.”

“Yeah, I noticed that it started messing up a couple of mowings ago.”

Finding a cotter pin had slipped or broken off and rigging one from a paper binder to level the mower blade platform.

Spending days prepping food and cleaning the house in preparation for the family reunion.

Swimming in the clubhouse pool.

Saying goodbye.

Returning home.

Cleaning up.

Diving back in to our crosscultural lives, putting on our self-defense shields that consist of platitudes and gratitudes.

The message of seven billion working toward one goal continues…

Sports Accounting

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There was a time, a long, long time ago…

Well, now that 10,000 is only 6 away…

Two kids outrushing my father for a Braves T-shirt, forever famous in a facebook photo.

A long list of thanks: Janet, Cindy, Sherri, Phil, Steve, Barry, Ashleigh, Taylor, Justin, Gordon, Elaine, Amy, Mason, Anne,, Bruce, Chestney&friend, Nicholas, Maggie, Anna, Brian, Abby, Braves management/players/fans/security/food/support staff, Tipsy Pig BBQ, Toledo Ticket Co., AmeriPark.

Swim meets at Georgia Tech, as seen on live Internet feeds.

Chocolate donuts from Publix.

Old Fulton County stadium wall.

Streets after streets of fracnchises streaking by, competing for disposable income.

0% chance of rain at 9 p.m.? I wanna be a TV weather forecaster.

Why do we say that time has a length?

GWTW @ 75.

Trivia games in-game.

During a heat wave.

Watermelon, salty pretzel, hot dog, ice cream, potato chips and Coke. Souvenir cup and baseball cap.

Individual demographic profile.

Local on the 8s.

Peace and quiet.

Truth and beauty.

Player of the game.

Fireworks.

Teffeteller vs. Jackson on Family Feud. Parcheesi and Oleo.

Anonymity.

Blurring of media.

Surgery, not snake bite.

Drawing circuits on flexible paper with a pen plotter using conductive ink. 3D plotting turning circuitry into artwork.

No Apologies

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First of all, a thanks for the food and hospitality from Felicia during the family reunion.

Also, a thanks to Ashlyn and Shari at Wnedy’s.

More thoughts later…the Committee wants to convenr and confer. What you infer is yours to refer or defer.

How so we build hope in one group without reducing hope for another?

Belief in a shared dream.

1955 Dream Caes on the cover of Motor Trend. Winning Wimbledon. Seeing family. Pain-free sleep.

Time for negotiations.

I could get used to being pampered.

Observe and Report

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Last night, while munching on a “healthy” veggie burger at Beauregard’s, thanks to Drew’s service, a guy dressed head to toe in my favourite team colours told my wife and me to watch a rising football star at Grissom High School in Huntsville.

We will.

We hope he wears orange and white for UTK on the football field soon, carrying on the traditions of Condredge Holloway, Joey Kent, Jayson Swain, and Rashad Moore.  Maybe we can get Johnny Majors and Phil Fulmer back in the fold together again for the very first time and bring the likes of Trooper Taylor the Recruiter back on the staff with Dooley.

There’s hope in Big Orange Country, now that integrity is a real priority.

Do I smell controversy in the Heart of Dixie?  Auburn and Bama fans don’t want me to spell out the answer.  Will Finebaum show his true colours or detail the facts?

Go Vols!

Time to taste my wife’s wonderful peanut butter sticks, a family favourite, just in time for the 4th of July.

Happy 1st of July to Canadians.

And congrats to Sharapova.

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled interrupted life.

As you know, I come from an impoverished family

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Hey – still alive.  As far as joy juice (“general anesthesia”) goes – one moment I was looking around the operating room and an hour later, but felt like a second later, I woke up feel nauseated.  The only aftereffect has been my ability to keep a thought process going even though my body starts snoring off to sleep.
Here’s a link to procedures, including surgery, for removal of a ganglion cyst in the wrist area, similar to mine (although mine was arthroscopically excised).
WARNING: actual surgery images in video:
However, for me, Dr. Maddox I have to thank, seeing as he took care of other problems in my wrist area that I can’t detail here.
Suffice it to say that I owe a debt of gratitude to The Orthopaedic Center, Dr. Maddox and all the staff there.
= = =
On to a continuing subject: the difficult year of 2011, where I have to keep looking for the ultimate set of emperour’s new clothes to fashion for you.
= = =
  A successful banker, back on his college campus for a class reunion, visited his old economics prof, and picked up the current semester’s final exam.  “Holy smoke,” he exclaimed, “these are precisely the questions you asked our class fifteen years ago.  If you always ask the same questions, don’t you know the students will get wise, and pass them on from class to class?”
  “Sure,” answered the prof blandly, “but in economics, you see, we’re constantly changing the answers.”
= = =
Anyone read John Hyde Preston’s A Short History of the American Revolution that maintained the school stories of the Boston Tea Party were not what you think?  Even bunk?
= = =
Enough burning through a book of BC’s stuff.
= = =
The truth is where you want to find it.  Observe the sleeveless magician – anything up his skin?  In my working experiment, the U.S. defaults and starts an economic war not seen since you know when.  Are you profiteers interested in this or shall we chicken out for the umpteenth time and play reelection politics one more time?

Absolut Humour Clears Your Liver

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What do I do with all this salad flavouring?

Reading “How To Care For Yourself After Surgery” revealed clear instructions requiring the patient, me, to ‘cover [the affected area] with a light dressing.’

That eliminated my imported balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Thousand island looks too much like some postsurgical…well, you get the picture.

Honey mustard is too sticky.

Ranch didn’t have the consistency I wanted.

I settled for blue cheese, thick enough to coat the surgical site and give the CRNP something to contemplate while removing the sutures next week.

Now, if I can just keep the cats away from the salad dressing, I’ll be all right.

In global business, I beseech the Pope, Dalai Lama, ayatollahs, tribal chiefs, Gandhi descendants, priests, preachers, psychologists, rabbis, professors, parents – all spiritual/moral/ethical leaders – to teach strong skills to young and old in resisting lies, cheats and stealth when conducting business within our family of seven billion people.

I can see what you’re doing. Not like it’s a secret.

In scenarios where the U.S. defaults on debt payments, the domino effect didn’t cause widespread panic for months.