Big Aussie Holiday!

It's been a while but this is worth bloggin' about......

The travel to Sydney wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. Everything went as scheduled and we landed in Sydney a little earlier than planned. It took a while to get to the hotel however as traffic was a little tough. The hotel, which ended up being decent, was not on the harbor I wanted but on Darling Harbor. I would have preferred Circle Quay which is where the Opera House is as well as the famous Harbor Bridge and The Rocks which is an area that has lot's of shops, restaurants and music. Back to our hotel, Star City, which is attached to the only casino in town. Not a positive on this trip. The service was way less than desirable. We arrived at 11am and of course normal check-in is 3pm. We got in at 2:30. We went to the harbor to grab some lunch walked around and got back to the hotel around 1:30. I wanted to get internet access but even in their lobby you have to pay, which seems to be normal here whereas in the states usually the lobby is free. I said I would pay for it but they weren't sure whether I could put the charge to my "future" room or would have to pay cash. Every little thing was so difficult for them and I just said forget it. Enough of complaining. The place is beautiful and we had an awesome time in Sydney. From the little cafe on the corner where we ate breakfast to the beautiful harbors (especially Circle Quay where the Opera House is) to the great people and animals we met. Here are some pictures and later.....Melbourne and the Australian Open.......

Macy's, What Were You Thinking?

This blog will have to belong to the "what are they thinking" file. We're looking for some furniture. It's torture. Do we want this? Is this too much? Can we afford it? Will it go with the table? Ya-da, ya-da, ya-da (see Seinfeld for this reference). We decide to go downtown on a Saturday to look at the furniture department in Macy's. They would have a large choice and some at reasonable prices. Really, though, it is Christmas time and we just like being downtown with all the hub-bub and people shopping and the strange faces you see and the homeless and the rudeness and.....sorry. I do love it. Really!

So we go to Macy's and hit the shoe department first. What do you think, I am with my wife and daughter. Nothing happening but the shoe department is ENORMOUS and plentiful. Well laid out for traffic flow, tons of area to try on and probably a million salespeople waiting to serve you. As it should be. Now we go to the top floor. The TOP FLOOR! Should be special. Hell, you can even get a great look at the "Great Christmas Tree" from there. We took the escalators up so we could see everything on the way up. It's better then the elevator where rude is the temper of the day. I especially enjoy being socked in a 5ft x 3ft elevator car with a lady who just went out for a smoke. Intoxicating! Anyhoo. We get to the top floor, actually the top two floors, which is totally dedicated to furniture and rugs. This place was a tomb. We saw only one salesperson the whole time we were there. Very few people were looking. The walls, ceilings and floors were old worn out stained and just plain yuk! The furniture fit beautifully though as it was just as old and ugly as it's surroundings. There was a clearance of course but I can't imagine they can sell anything that way. "What were they thinking?" There was a sign at one point that said something to the order of "Sorry while we remodel" or something like that. Sorry! They put sorry on the map with the sorry display of furniture they had. Personally I would have closed off those two floors until it was in shape to be a showcase of my products. I am surprised and stunned that a marketing giant like Macy's would be so lax and foolish. My warehouse with machinery and wire and cable looks more presentable.

Macy's....you should be ashamed.

Awe Inspiring Natural Wonder

Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon? I just did today for the first time. If I could have imagined what it would be like to stand on the south rim I would have been much more excited about going there to see it. Blew me away! Blew me away! I could not have imagined the sheer size and beauty. I think one of the awe inspiring aspects is how on earth was this incredible hole in the ground made. The colors, the angles, the sheer drops, the caves, the paths, the river, everything about this canyon makes you wonder aloud. We heard that so far 120 people have defied the boundaries of this monumental state park and have fallen to their death. I do not have a fear of heights but sometimes I feel a rumbling in my "yarbles" (groin) that scares me and at the same time makes feel like I want to jump. It is a scary sensation that makes you feel your alive but reminds you in an instant you might not be. My wife, Beth, and my good friend Scott have a fear of heights so they did not wander toward the edge as often as Betsy, Scott's wife and Seattle Sutton distributor, and I did. Just soooo cool. Too cool.

Why has it taken almost 50 years for me to see the canyon? As my father-in-law would say about a movie he loves, "Run, don't walk". Go see the canyon asap. It is more than worth it.

Stress, Disappointment, Worry and Surprise

I’m on a plane flying to Phoenix with Beth and my friends Scott and Betsy. Time to kill so I thought I would write some random thoughts for my blog.

I like to blog but hardly ever do. Why is that?

I have lots of stress at work these days. I can’t figure what else I can do to increase revenues. Done everything right as far as I can see. We should double volume but no. I have got to think way, way out of the box to get this ship right. I am still confident in what we’re doing and I have to just continue to work hard and be patient. Working hard has not been a problem but patience has.

I am so disappointed in how the White Sox season ended and felt like well there is the Bears, Hawks and Bulls. I find myself enjoying the playoffs though I didn’t think I would. Can’t believe the Twins left 17 men on base last night. Not Twin or Gardenheir like at all. I wish Joe was playing. What happened to him. Crede, Crede……

Finally doing some work on the house. Wood floors throughout the first floor and up the stairs into the guest bedroom. It will look awesome but will force us to do more like painting and furnishing. Beth is going to stress over spending the money. You know how I feel though. Money is a means to an end not the goal. Money is evil only if you worship it. Money is fun if you use it to enjoy yourself and your surroundings. I don’t want to get to the point where I’m broke or default on our mortgage but I don’t want to spend my prime years worrying that we won’t be able to care for ourselves when we’re 80 years old. If I can’t…well they shoot horses don’t they?.

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize! What? I like Obama but really, give him some time. It almost takes the weight out of the award now. I mean they didn’t give it to Elie Weisel or Mother Theresa when they were young based on what they thought they would do with their life. I hope and pray that Obama’s agenda leads to affirmation of the Peace Prize but we won’t know for many years.

Remember that my blog is “The Luckiest Man in the World” and that hasn’t changed because that is what I am. There is stress, there is illness, there is loss, there is uncertainty in my life but that is part of life and on the richter scale for stress, illness,l loss and uncertainty I hardly register a blip. Many more people handle 7.5s and 8s with grace and dignity so I am going to always remember I am “The Luckiest Man in the World”. I mean have you seen my wife, my daughter, my son, my family (the Circus)? It’s all good!

I can lose weight pretty easily but I can gain weight very easily. That sucks.

I am still a “jack of all trades, master of none”. I like to be active and play sporting games but I just don’t improve too much. Platform Tennis season has just begun and I am worse than I was last year and after 4 years, going on 5, I am still only on series 11 and deserve to be there. I know what to do and how to do it I just don’t. I used to think I was mentally tough but Paddle has proved to me that I am just “mental”. I have improved in golf after a couple of thousand dollars in lessons and a bunch of days at the range and I hope I will work over the winter to be prepared to go to a new level next season. Baseball/Softball has been over for almost ten years now. I miss it. Bowling is the one sport where I excelled but I don’t play anymore. I am going to get a new ball and start. I love bowling. I don’t care if that is queer, it’s what I like.

What a year for all my friends to be turning 50. Because of the economy everyone was so toned down on their celebration. Bummer, man. Oh well, I guess it is just marking time. I had made a 15 year plan when I was 35 and it was supposed to set us up to enjoy our 50s as empty nesters, which we are. I am going to stick to it and try to do something fun and kick it off right.

I am done for now. Be back soon.

The Best Golf Outing of the Year

I have been involved with The Children’s Heart Foundation for a dozen years and acted as the National Board President from 2004 to 2008. I am currently on the Illinois Chapter Board which looks to raise awareness in Illinois and raise money to fund the most promising, cutting-edge research of congenital heart defects which affects nearly 1 in every 100 children. That is 40,000 children per year. Half of them will have their first invasive surgery in their first year of life. 20% of those will not see their first birthday.

The great thing is that through research like the projects CHF has funded (37 research projects totaling more than $3,400,000) over the last 13 years, the mortality rate has dropped 30% and many of the surgeries are less invasive so recovery is quicker. These kids are never “cured” or “fixed”. They live with their defect or heart disease for the rest of their life. Many require up to three or more different medications each day. Most cannot ride a roller coaster, take PE class in school, or even ride a bicycle. Some have learning disabilities. One thing is for sure and that is that all these kids are remarkable and seem to have something special. Maybe all they go through to stay alive makes them that way.

One of our events will be September 21st. It is the The Children’s Heart Foundation’s 10th Annual Golf Outing at Conway Farms in Lake Forest. This is the best golf outing you’ll attend all year on the North Shore’s premier championship course. Personally I find it is also the best food you’ll ever have at golf outing as well. We have many golfers who have attended this outing year after year. Our sponsors “re-up” each year as well. The Presenting Sponsor is The Exchange Group. The Exchange is an auto dealer that offers Porche, Audi and Saab. Each year they bring out four beautiful cars for the par three holes as “Hole-in-One” prizes.

The day begins with the outstanding driving range facilities which includes a large putting area as well as chipping and trap practice areas. There is a fabulous buffet lunch that you won’t believe. Golf is beautiful and challenging. After golf there is an open bar, wine tasting and a great silent auction. For dinner we set up a beautiful tent were you are served wine and a fantastic meal including a fish and beef. There is a live auction, a “Wine Lotto” and presentations from the Executive Director, a doctor whose research we have funded, MacKenzie Kline our National Spokesperson and it is all set up by our special emcee, Dave Eanet of WGN.

In order to build the excitement and increase our funding potential (last year we netted over $100,000) I need your help. Play golf with us. Take your three (or just one or two) best clients out for a day they will always remember. Sponsor a meal, the golf balls or a hole. At the very least place an ad in our ad booklet. You can have as much as a two page spread to as small as a business card size. If you are not a golfer but know someone who would be interested in playing please pass this on to them and let me know and I will contact them. If you cannot sponsor or place an ad in our booklet consider sharing the space with a vendor/customer partner.

See the attachments for “Save-the-Date” and the sponsorship brochure. If you have any questions at all please contact me. You can sign up for golf and learn more about CHF on our site at http://www.childrensheartfoundation.org/ .

Thanks for your consideration to participate.

Best regards,

Leo

Moving On: Graduation

May 13, 2009 and we’re sitting in the new Yankee Stadium on a beautiful Wednesday morning.  The field is transformed with staging, railing and flowers.  I can’t believe I am attending my daughter’s college graduation, as I am sure I just attended my own very recently.  Well it was 27 years ago it just seems recent.  At least it was just last week that I helped Jessie move into U-Hall for her freshman year and just a couple of days ago we visited her in Italy for that second semester of her sophomore year.  Yesterday Kevin and I were painting her room pink.  Man it was hot. 

 

Back to reality.  Back to today.  Sitting in the airport to return our Midwestern home I am reflecting on the last three days that were an exhilarating whirlwind of running and doing, packing and eating, walking and cabs, grad events and chilling.    Jessie is just beautiful and I swell with pride every time I think about her, see her or talk (brag) about her to my friends and colleagues.  She is sweet and smart and has completed a challenging educational experience in the most urban of settings in the world.  New York University is full of itself and for good reason.  I really don’t want to go into it as every speaker, at this well-established and self-proclaimed largest private university in the country, at her school’s ceremony and at the all inclusive ceremony today stated it over and over.  The list of Alumni and the city itself earned that right.  It doesn’t mean that we Big Ten grads need to hear it over and over as if we had an accident on the carpet and they are rubbing our noses in it.

 

May 29, 2009:  Whatever the experience Jessie is back in Chicago now and planning on going back to school to achieve a new goal.  I am glad she is doing it in Chicago.  NYU is a super school and so is Northwestern University where she plans to take some science courses she needs for her current avocation.  I’m sure 4 years from now when Kevin graduates University of Iowa and Jessie finishes grad school I will be thinking….it was just last week that I sat in Yankee Stadium, listening to Senator Clinton speak as my daughter graduated.  And the week before that I was sitting in Assembly Hall in Champaign, Illinois wearing a cap an gown.  

Service is Fun

Yesterday I was a Chicago White Sox Volunteer working with City Year to do a small makeover at the Valentine Boys and Girls Club on Chicago's south side. The White Sox, following President Obama's call for service, planned this day and I couldn't have been more pleased to be a small part of the team of volunteers whether just fans or with City Year or working for the White Sox. Christine O'Reilly his the head of Chicago White Sox Charities and she is really quite amazing managing some really big events all the while maintaning personal relationships with donors and fans, no matter the size of their wallet or availability of service.

Christine was my sales rep in 1983, my first year as a season ticket holder. The way we reconnected some 10 or 15 years later is interesting. My sister lived in Scottsdale. Once when she was coming to Chicago to visit family she sat next to a very nice and very attractive young women and they began a conversation. Christine said she worked for the White Sox and my sister said her brother is a big fan and a season ticket holder. When she told Christine the name there was, or so she said, a faint familiarity. Christine then told my sister, Michelle, to have me call her if there was anything she could do for me. Well, when Michelle told me about Christine of course I remembered her and called soon after. We had a nice conversation and truly appreciated her time.

Interesting thing is all that Christine has done for me, my family and the foundation I work with, I have very little way of repaying her. The big one was back in 2000 my daughter was being a Bat-Mitvah and we were having the party at the Stadium Club at Sox Park or Comiskey (those are the choices, not Cellular Field or The Cell). Ozzie has always been a family favorite and in fact back in 1988 we named our Tibetan Terrier, Ozzie, after then White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen. The other possibility for a name was Baines but I could sense they were going to trade Harold and I was right. My daughter wanted to invite Ozzie to her Bat-Mitzvah party and Christine who maintained a very good relationship with Ozzie, currently on the Devil Rays, sent him the invite. Of course, he was at spring training and could not attend even if he had an inclination to attend but Christine made sure that Jessie got an autographed baseball as a gift from Ozzie. She then said "I'll have to get you to meet Ozzie this summer".

We met at 5:30 one night when the Rays, then the Devil Rays, were in town.  Christine led us out onto the field from behind home plate.  The Devil Rays were taking batting practice and we stood off to the third base side near the Sox dugout.  Christine got Ozzie's attention and he waved.  After a stint in the batting cage he came over to say hello and gave Jessie a huge hug.  He said he has to hit again but he will be right back.  Jessie all aflutter and the rest of us with big smiles of amazement watched as Ozzie to a few more cuts in the cage.  After his turn he came over to us and brought the bat he had used.  He signed the bat and said "here Jessie, this is for you."  Very cool.  Ozzie was super but we weren't done.  Christine said "come on, let's go sit in the Sox dugout for a while.  I loved that.  Soon some players came out into the dugout.  My man, Harold came out and he took pictures with us.  I have a jacket with the #3 on it as Ozzie and Harold were always my favorites.  Well this is one of the best experiences in sports that I and my family ever had and Christine was to thank for it all.

Wrapping up, sometimes you can pay it back and sometimes you can pay it forward or you can just do for others to help.  Anyway you slice it, when you volunteer and get to work with others just being a part of the community you get paid big with a great feeling in your heart.  I felt good at the end of the day and I know Christine feels good all the time.  Volunteer.....your heart will thank you.