Threadbare – Not just a pretty face – Reg update

August 1, 2011 1 Comment

Reg Update – Resume

Reg’s story Threadbare – Not just a pretty face.

Jobs in the retail profession and clothing business remain scarce in Atlanta.  I recently spoke to Reg who was taking an OSHA class for his not so temporary job.  He had taken a “temporary” supervisory job in construction to help with the Lepper household cash flow.  That was almost three years ago.  It requires a hard hat and steel toed boots.  Hartmarx evidently, doesn’t sell steel toed boots.  He bought the boots from Wal-Mart – $19 bucks.

There are blisters on every toe.  He’s up at 5 AM.  It takes an hour  to get to the job site.

It’s 6:45 PM,  so he’s just getting home now.

I hear some of our Congressmen and women are complaining about the hours they’re spending away from home and now they are complaining about how much they make.  They’re getting a steady paycheck and Cadillac benefits.

They won’t pull this economy up by it’s boot straps.  Reg and people like him will.

Maybe they need a swift kick in the keester from those boots I’m talkin’ about.

Maybe they should just go home and be with their family?

Meantime, Reg has been and is actively looking for work.  Sending out his (click on the link to Reg’s “resume“) doing  job interviews, volunteering his time for Career Ministry and consulting their members regarding many aspects of their search for new opportunities and careers.

Filed under Conservative, income tax, leadership, Musings, Payroll Tax, Rants, Republican, Small Business, startup, stimulus, Talent, taxes Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Livestrong Anyway!

October 9, 2010 1 Comment

Make no mistake about it, Lance Armstrong is no Mother Teresa!   If Lance is guilty of doping, what should we do?  Take away his bike? 

My message is less about Lance, the man and more about Lance, the messenger.

I am sure you have heard the expression, “Don’t shoot the messenger!”  Regardless of how you feel or think about the man, the message is clear, “Livestrong Anyway”.

Recently my sister Kay was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Thank God, she will survive, albeit after suffering surgery, chemo and radiation therapy.  For Kay, amongst  many untold stories, there is a long hard road ahead.  Our family, myself included, has always been an advocate for the fight to cure cancer.  We have friends and family members fighting Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer and MS.  We are no strangers to the challenges life imposes upon all of us.

I maintain a good fiction writer could tell a story as good as the story Landis has told about allegations Armstrong was doping (In 2006 Floyd Landis was stripped of his title after testing positive for synthetic testosterone).  Landis knew all the ins and outs of doping and he wasn’t the only malcontent that had hung out with Armstrong, so the courts will need plenty of corroboration from cyclists who either were complicit or witnessed the doping.  As soon as Landis came out with his story Armstrong should have sued him instead of dismissing him as a loser.  There’s too much at stake.

For my part, there are lots of questions.  How many of us could have endured Armstrong’s road to a cure from a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs?  How many of us could have endured the challenges of winning seven 7 consecutive Tour de France races, typically 21 days of racing and covers 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) championships?  Is he less of a champ if he was cheating or only if he is caught?  Could it be said he won fair and square since most likely everyone was cheating?

In 1998 the race stopped in protest at what the riders saw as heavy-handed investigation of drug-taking allegations.

In 1998 the Festina team was disqualified after revelations of organized doping within the team.

In 2006 Floyd Landis was stripped of his title after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.

In 2007 team Astana abandoned after Alexander Vinokourov was caught doping

In 2007 Michael Rasmussen was removed by his team while wearing the yellow jersey for lying about his whereabouts during a team training session in Mexico.

In 2008 Riccardo Ricco was kicked out of the race after testing positive for CERA

In 2008 Moises Duenas Nevado was kicked out of the race after testing positive for Erythropoietin

In 2008 Manuel Beltrán was kicked out of the race after testing positive for EPO

In 2010, Alberto Contador,  the three-time Tour de France champion was provisionally suspended by the international cycling federation after a small amount of the banned drug clenbuterol was discovered in one of his samples by a laboratory in Cologne, Germany.

My message is Livestrong Anyway!  LIVESTRONG  http://www.livestrong.org/ has a life of its own.

Many good-hearted folks worry about the consequences of the weighty accusations and bad press about Armstrong which Livestrong and Armstrong must endure.  A friend of mine, pictured here below has raised thousands of dollars for Livestrong and for a cure.  She recently wrote, “It makes me nervous for Livestrong and the 28 million people living with cancer.”  So what happens to an organization built on the courage and determination of one man?  The organization is built upon people who are dedicated to the fight against cancer; who have family members with cancer or who are cancer survivors themselves, such as Doug Ulman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Livestrong.  Whatever the outcome, what the many volunteers and the organization Livestrong has done for cancer victims cannot be undone, which has  all been great.  Excellence survives!

In any case, I’m a much bigger fan of Mother Teresa.

Anyway

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway!
If you do good, people will accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway!
If you are successful, you will win
false friends and enemies.
Succeed anyway!
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway!
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway!
What you spend years building may be
destroyed overnight.
Build anyway!
People really need help
but may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway!
Give the world the best you have
and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway!

Written by: Mother Teresa

Whatever the outcome, whatever Armstrong  has done, what Livestrong has done for cancer victims cannot be undone, which has been all great.  Even Mother Teresa had her doubts about her God, so why should we doubt Lance, the supreme being of cycling?

Filed under Celebrities, Event, leadership, Musings, Rants, Talent Tagged with , , , , , ,

Was it so long ago?

July 7, 2010 1 Comment

Who amongst us never experienced the thrills and spills learning to ride a bike? You may still remember the cement sidewalk in front of you, rushing closer and closer until you kissed its rough surface with your face, your hands or your knee. Then, finally you were able to roll over those cracks (the one’s that broke your mother’s back) spinning freely, and spoiling gravity’s hold upon you. It is your first freedom ride, a ride outside your parent’s grasp, still sharing a rewarding moment in time with Dad, Mom or both.

If you never tried cycling, you’re never too old to acquire some pedal power, whether it be a beach cruiser or a sleek racing bike. You are just a few bumps and bruises away from one of the best of times life affords us.

Many of us have always had a bike. We will take it for a casual spin, but the bike spends more time resting in a corner or hanging from the ceiling of the garage. At the opposite end of the spectrum there are a select few who have become elite cyclists, who have made a profession out of cycling. The most famous of all cycle races, the Tour de France is in its 4th day of 21 days of speed and endurance racing.

A growing number of us have taken up cycling as a sport, like tennis or golf. We may ride 4-5 times weekly on local bike paths or the more serious among us, cycle on the roadways, preferably in bike lanes, where afforded us. The more serious riders may have taken to Event riding, from charity rides, like bikeMS, a weekend ride; to endurance rides, like Ride the Rockies, a seven day ride through mountainous terrain. Club rides are also popular, for the social aspect and riders gather based on skill level and ride in numbers before or after work hours and weekends.

Where the rubber meets the road, there are always conflicts of interest. Those of us who are more taken to automobiles than bikes may not appreciate the sight of spandex in its many shapes and sizes, slowing or getting in the way of our progress. Some cyclists are rude and blatantly disobey the rules of the road. Some are ignorant or unaware. Some are just plain day-dreaming or not paying attention, as they should, in traffic, where the same rules apply for both cyclists and automobiles. Subsequently the same applies to motorists. One might suggest, the same personalities whether on a bike or in an automobile act in much the same way.

Cyclist or motorist, let’s reflect back on our childhood memories; those precious moments we share in common, when we first learned to ride a bicycle; then try to getting along. It could be, “just like getting back on a bike”.

Share the road.

Filed under Event, Musings, Rants, Talent Tagged with , , , , ,

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