Raising Arizona

We watched the DVD "Raising Arizona." I wanted to see it after watching "The Big Lebowski" last week.

Synopsis

Raising Arizona follows the exploits of H.I. "Hi" McDunnough (Nicholas Cage), a white-trash loser and convenience store robber who is constantly in and out of jail. We learn that Hi isn't a bad person though, since he never actually uses live ammunition in his gun. During the long opening sequence we learn some of his history, and notice that each time he is booked, the pretty Edwina (Holly Hunter) takes his photo. Hi uses their short time together to flirt with her, and eventually comes back (a free man) to propose marriage. The Policewoman and ex-con begin a new life together in a remote trailer in the Arizona desert. Hi gets a degrading job drilling holes in sheet metal, while Edwina continues her police work at first. But after repeated attempts to conceive a child, it is determined that Ed is unable to do so. They soon hatch a scheme to kidnap one of the "Arizona Quints," the miracle babies of unpainted furniture store magnate Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson). The Arizonas joked on TV that they had "more than they could handle" so Ed feels that it is somehow justified that she and Hi take one to raise as their own. After a comical series of events, Hi finally grabs one, possibly Nathan Jr., and they drive off. Meanwhile Gale and Evelle Snoats (John Goodman and William Forsythe), jailbird pals of Hi, have finally tunneled out of prison. They head straight for Hi's place, and Ed is not amused. The two felons are suspicious about Nathan Jr., but are allowed to stay for a few days as they are friends of Hi. Nathan Arizona wants his Son back, of course. After the inept local police fail to discover much, he gets a visit from biker Leonard Smalls (Tex Cobb). Smalls, a rather disturbing figure (like something from the Road Warrior), wants twice the posted $25,000 reward, but guarantees he will find the baby. Nathan Arizona refuses, threatening to call the cops on Smalls. The biker disappears, determined to grab the baby and sell him on the black market. Hi and Ed try to have a nice day together with Glen, Hi's supervisor and his wife Dot. Unfortunately, Glen and Dot are swingers, and Glen proposes a wife-swap to Hi, who is not game. After assaulting Glen, he winds up being fired. Later that night, he robs a convenience store and is chased through the surrounding neighborhood. The next morning, Gale and Evelle figure out Nathan Jr's true identity and decide to claim the $25,000 reward for themselves. They fight with Hi, wrecking the trailer's interior in the process. They make off with the baby on their way to rob a "hayseed bank." Hi is soon found by Ed, and they go after the Snoats Brothers. Leonard Smalls has also been busy, tracking the Snoats' to Hi's place and then heading for the bank. The Snoats' do successfully rob the place, but accidentally leave the baby behind. Hi and Ed confront the evil Smalls, and after a bruising confrontation, he is killed. But the whole experience has left them with mixed feelings about keeping Nathan Jr. and they end up returning him. They can only dream of a day when medical science will catch up with them as it did for the Arizonas "with a vengeance."

Ben Kaplan's City Of College Dreams

We took the boys to see Ben Kaplan talk about getting into college at the Schaumburg Convention Center. We visited the booths and then listened to Ben Kaplan talk about how he won over $90,000 in scholarships which allowed him to attend Harvard. He had a one page worksheet to make notes on "20 Things I Learned Today." They are:

1. Never rule out a school because of the sticker price.

2. Students of any age and background can win college scholarships.

3. I will be like froggie and apply for at least one dozen awards.

4. In addition to big awards, I won't neglect smaller local awards.

5. For financial aid purposes, the base year begins on January 1st of a student's junior year in high school.

6. Families with special circumstances, should speak the language of professional judgement.

7. Don't believe the college rankings hype. Find a school with a great personal fit.

8. When applying to college, demonstrate that you deserve a preferential package.

9. To leverage my time with new applications, I will bridge multiple applications and recycle prior work. Remember the clipper ship.

10. To enhance my credentials, I will expand upon my strong points.

11. Learn to manage energy, instead of time to balance student life.

12. I will parlay each experience into something bigger and better. Remember the red paper clip.

13. Each dollar I save on related college expenses frees up more cash for paying tuition.

14. To craft a truly memorable essay, I will show not tell.

15. Because college savings is the anti-loan, I will save 8 to 10% of monthly income.

16. To reduce the cost of college loans, climb the student loan ladder.

17. Each free tuition credit I earn now is one less I have to pay for later.

18. To succeed in school become your own best advocate.

19. To learn any subject or skill more efficiently and effectively make brilliant mistakes.

20. The common link among all scholarship winners is that they apply.

Some other notes: One myth is most families pay the full college price. Tuition discount is about 1/3 if $30,000 paying $20,000. The discount for public schools is not as big about 15%. The amount is relative to the cost of the school. Look at all types of scholarships. For merit based take action by using school resources, other school's resources if necessary and colleges. Ask counselors, teachers what scholarships are available for specific fields of study. There is no national clearing house for scholarships. Two good websites: Scholarship.com and FastWeb. The harder they are to find the lower number of applicants. Illinois Student Assistance Commission available for the state of Illinois. Think strategically, pay off credit card debt. Find out what college's professional judgement policies are. For related expenses like textbooks, computers - do online searches for best prices. Understand the types of student loans available - Perkins, Stafford, private. Earn college credits by taking advanced placement courses. Challenge your personal comfort zone. Pick a college that feels like home - don't discount being part of a caring community. When applying write persuasively. Recycle, re-use, re-think, repackage. You want to make a good first impression in a short time. Use anectdotes that demonstrate great character. Emphasize your truly standout talents. Remember bigger and better so you can have the future you didn't imagine was possible.

The Big Lebowski

I watched "The Big Lebowski" on DVD. A guy I worked with recommended it. I can't believe I haven't seen it. I want to watch all the other Coen Brothers movies I haven't seen. "The Dude Abides!"

Synopsis

Jeff Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), known as The Dude, is a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire whose wife (Tara Reid) owes a lot of dangerous people a whole bunch of money resulting in the Dude having his rug peed on, sending him spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter (John Goodman) a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from The Dude.

The More You Have

"The more you have, the more you're occupied; the less you have, the more free you are." - Mother Teresa

Blogiversary

It's my "4th Blogiversary!" Believe it or not I've been blogging since September 25, 2004. I can't believe it's been that long. I finally learned how to post pictures and even videos. My Dad's picture from a local newspaper was the first picture I posted and my son's band's first gig was the first video I posted. I'm still figuring it out and will post others as they relate to my posts. I use my blog mostly to keep track of what books I've read, what movies I've seen, what concerts I've been to, my son's sporting events and accomplishments, family events, inspirational quotes and helpful articles. I "borrow" a lot of good stuff from other blogs and websites I've discovered. My internet filing cabinet. It's great to be able to go back and reminisce. I've even had a couple of authors visit my blog when I've mentioned their books. How cool is that. I have some great ideas for other blogs which I may eventually puruse. I'm lucky becuase I have a 16 hour block of time each weekend at my part-time weekend job at a data center that allows me to get paid while surfing the internet. I also do other stuff like read the newspapers, listen to the Cubs or Bears on the radio, watch movies on DVD on the computer and listen to music on the radio. It's been a very rewarding experience and I encourage anyone who is thinking about blogging to just do it.

No Excuse

"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." - George Washington (1732 - 1799)

Greatest Mistake

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continuously fearing you will make one." - Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Power

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."
— Alice Walker

Autumn

"When you are reluctant to change, think of the beauty of autumn." - unknown

First Home Cross Country Meet

It was a beautiful morning for our first home cross country meet at O'Brien Park. We got there early at 8:00 a.m. We volunteered to help and Joanna worked the water table and I worked the finish line taking tags from the runners as the finished their races. Our oldest son finished eighth in the boys varsity race with a time of 14:58 for 2.75 miles. He was first on his team. The varsity boys won their open race with 5 top ten finishers and brought home the first place plaque. Everything was over at about 1:00 p.m.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/downersgrove/sports/x650663212

36th Annual Kevin Keogh "Mustang Run" Invitational
September 20, 2008
Boys Varsity
2.75 Miles


RACE RESULTS
Course record is 0:13:45.0 by David Mitchell of Downers Grove South on Sept. 25, 2000

Place School Name Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1 St. Charles North Max Clink (Sr) 0:14:23.8
2 St. Charles North Steven Miller (Sr) 0:14:29.6
3 Oak Forest Ed McDaniel (Jr) 0:14:39.6
4 Bloomington Andy Szabo (Sr) 0:14:48.7
5 Bloomington Josh Roig (Sr) 0:14:51.7
6 St. Charles East Tim Johnson (Jr) 0:14:53.6
7 St. Charles East Jordan Heggen (Jr) 0:14:54.7
8 Downers Grove South Bobby Castillo (Jr) 0:14:58.0
9 St. Charles North Peter Johnson (Jr) 0:15:01.8
10 Oak Forest Pathik Gandhi (Jr) 0:15:02.8
11 Oak Forest Ralph Woolard (Sr) 0:15:05.1
12 St. Charles North Brad Wheeler (Jr) 0:15:05.5
13 Oak Forest TJ Ryan (Jr) 0:15:05.9
14 Oak Forest Josh Driver (So) 0:15:07.0
15 St. Charles East Mike Faith (Jr) 0:15:08.5
16 St. Charles East Nick Cramer (Sr) 0:15:09.7
17 Downers Grove South Jeff Lester (So) 0:15:12.9
18 St. Charles East Jake Osborne (Jr) 0:15:14.8
19 Downers Grove South Spencer Zidarich (Jr) 0:15:18.8
20 Downers Grove South Eric Bernard (Jr) 0:15:19.7
21 Bloomington Kyle O'Daniel (So) 0:15:25.7
22 Bloomington Brian Meyer (Jr) 0:15:26.2
23 St. Charles East Jake Zahn (Jr) 0:15:29.7
24 Bloomington Joe Roig (So) 0:15:32.8
25 Wausoneie Valley Josh Roberts (Jr) 0:15:34.7
26 Downers Grove South Kyle Enke (Sr) 0:15:36.0
27 Downers Grove South Steve Husby (Jr) 0:15:44.0
28 Bolingbrook Matt Gutierrez (Jr) 0:15:44.4
29 St. Charles North Aaron Sanchez (Jr) 0:15:46.1
30 Wausoneie Valley Pooj Padmaraj (Sr) 0:15:52.8
31 St. Charles East Dylan Kapp (Jr) 0:15:59.0
32 St. Charles North Tim Van Hiel (Sr) 0:15:59.4
33 Wausoneie Valley Joe Brant (So) 0:15:59.8
34 Elk Grove Straube Tylor (Jr) 0:16:01.0
35 Bolingbrook Ricardo Rodriguez (Jr) 0:16:07.3
36 Oak Forest Matt Krolik (Sr) 0:16:13.1
37 Addison Trail Alberto Martinez (Jr) 0:16:14.9
38 Oak Forest Dave Neuman (Sr) 0:16:15.7
39 Elk Grove Loftus Ryan (Sr) 0:16:17.4
40 Wausoneie Valley Connor Feeney (Jr) 0:16:18.7
41 Bloomington Ben Hanson (Sr) 0:16:21.6
42 Bolingbrook Jesse Stanford (Sr) 0:16:22.1
43 Bloomington Neil Pickering (Sr) 0:16:28.1
44 Wausoneie Valley Michael Hennessy (Fr) 0:16:33.4
45 St. Charles North Jack Little (Sr) 0:16:34.4
46 Bolingbrook Jeff Silva (Jr) 0:16:34.9
47 Elk Grove Graham Kennedy (Jr) 0:16:36.8
48 Addison Trail Jimmy Baumgartner (Sr) 0:16:37.7
49 Wausoneie Valley Ravi Thombre (So) 0:16:40.1
50 Wausoneie Valley Jonathon Solis (Jr) 0:16:47.4
51 Downers Grove South Craig Schieve (Sr) 0:16:51.4
52 Naperville Central Brian Spencer (Sr) 0:17:21.8
53 Naperville Central Erik Vetrovek (Sr) 0:17:29.4
54 Bolingbrook Mark Carlson (Jr) 0:17:34.0
55 Bolingbrook Nick Bade (Jr) 0:17:40.9
56 Naperville Central Brandon Hood (Jr) 0:17:41.3
57 St. Rita Albert Alfano (Fr) 0:17:53.3
58 Elk Grove Connaghan Patrick (Sr) 0:17:58.5
59 Naperville Central Dan Hamburger (Sr) 0:18:02.3
60 Naperville Central Zach Cooper (Sr) 0:18:07.2
61 St. Rita Connor LePrete (So) 0:18:09.1
62 Naperville Central Kevin Lind (Sr) 0:18:12.0
63 Elk Grove Tom Fortman (Jr) 0:18:14.3
64 St. Rita Peter Vanek (Fr) 0:18:21.3
65 Naperville Central Colin Drinkard (Jr) 0:18:24.5
66 St. Rita Ken Faneeca (Jr) 0:18:27.8
67 Addison Trail Kevin Yarborough (Sr) 0:18:32.3
68 Elk Grove Scott Holste (Jr) 0:18:47.7
69 Addison Trail Joe Christopoulos (Sr) 0:18:56.7
70 St. Rita Isaiah Brown (Jr) 0:19:15.3
71 St. Rita Dave Straple (Sr) 0:19:48.5
72 St. Rita Steve Scheide (Jr) 0:20:01.3
73 Addison Trail AJ Line (So) 0:20:43.7
74 Addison Trail Kevin Endres (Jr) 0:22:26.8
75 Addison Trail Virbhadrashinh Vaghela(Sr 0:25:11.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Program (C) 1985-2008 Fred Kreppert, Yorkville, IL (630) 882-2364 fred@kompusport.com
Results by Kreppert Kompusport Software, Yorkville, IL http://www.kompusport.com

Fourth Victory

My youngest son's team won their fourth game in a row 35 to 20 against my old high school Willowbrook. The played a great first half and were ahead 20 to 6. Willowbrook gave us scare in the third quarter with two touchdowns. We scored a long touchdown and that was the game. It was a beautiful night for homecoming. We worked concessions for the varsity game and watched the Varsity beat Willowbrook 40 to 6.

The Rate Race

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin (1939 - )

Rock N Homecoming 2008 Talent Show

We went to the Downers Grove South Homecoming Talent Show at 7:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. The show started with the "Blues Brothers Revue" by the DGS Lab Band. Then one of the girl students did an excellent job singing "A Real Fine Place To Start." The senior dance team - The Fillies did a fantastic routine to "Saturday Night" by Elton John. Another senior did a great job playing a medley on the keyboards called "Please Silence Your Cell Phones." A student band called "The Possibilities" did the song "Good Thing." Another girl sang "Realize" and then a group of guys called "Sam Bottorf & The Deloreans" rocked with "Johnny Be Good." One of the cheerleaders sang "Teardrops On My Guitar." Then my oldest son's band Neon 10 played "Commissioning On A Symphony In C." His band's first live gig. He's the bass player.




They did great. The DGS Fillies did another dance routine to "Throw It On Me, Feedback" and "Shawty Get Loose." The DGS Madrigal Singers did a song and dance routine to "Jailhouse Rock." A group of four guys called "J SAP" did an excellent dance routine to "Ice Cream Remix" "Bounce" "Apologize" and "Lollipop." The show closed with and Earth Wind & Fire Medley by the DGS Jazz Ensemble. The emcees kept the show going with an excellent banter. What a talented group of students. Grandma and Poppa, Grandma Nash, Aunt LeAnn and cousin Kelly all came to watch.

All Life Is An Experiment

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Original Locations of Mega-Chains

The biggest franchises in the world all started with just one store. Some are so big and have been around so long that few know where the original was! Read how Starbucks, 7-11, and The Gap started out, and plenty of trivia. Did you know Taco Bell was named after its founder? That Arby’s is named for the pronunciation of R.B, but that doesn’t mean roast beef? And the first Whoppers cost 37 cents? Fifteen such chains are featured in this post found on link

Zambrano Pitches A No-Hitter

I listened to the whole Cubs game on WGN radio. They played the Houston Astros in Milwaukee due to the hurricane in Texas. Carlos Zambrano pitched a no-hitter. Cubs won 5 to 0. Awesome.

Rainy Race

My oldest son's cross country team was suppose to have a meet at Marmion Academy in Aurora. The bus left the school at 6:30 a.m. and drove all the way out there only to find out the race was cancelled. One of the teams drove two hours to find out it was cancelled. They came back to the school and then went over to their home course at O'Brien Park. They ran a team only race. It was a rainy muddy mess and they all took a team picture running down the sled hill into a giant puddle. We watched from the car.

Third Game

My youngest son's football team won their third game in a row 39 to 7 against Downers Grove North at Downers Grove North. We got there right at the beginning and watched the whole game under umbrellas. It rained the whole game. It was 32 to 7 at halftime. It would have been a bigger win but the referees seemed to call more penalties on our team. He got to play the last set of downs again on offense. We left right after the game because of the lousy weather.

Dirt

I finished reading "Dirt" by Stuart Woods. I've been putting books on my new shelves and I'm going start reading them and then donating them to the library.
I bought this one from the Villa Park Library a while ago.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dirt takes place in the world of gossip columnists in New York and L.A. Amanda Dart, known as the "High Bitch Queen" of columnists has been exposing the peccadilloes of the glitterati for decades, carefully keeping quiet her own secret sex life with a series of very discreet boyfriends. Then, when a photographer bursts into a hotel suite, where Amanda is administering to her current beau, and takes extremely revealing photographs, her life is turned upside down, just as she has been turning other lives upside down for all these years. What's more, the following day a fax arrives on her office machine, a scandal sheet called, of course, Dirt, revealing all about her to the world. Yes, she even discovers that the fax has been sent to opinion makers throughout the city. Now Amanda has to attend the usual openings and parties and face everyone who hates her, everyone who has now seen a photograph of Amanda performing a deliciously vile act upon her lover. Amanda does not like this. Enter Stone Barrington, an ex-cop, now a lawyer and sometime investigator, and Amanda's lawyer puts them together. Stone finds himself hunting a wisp of smoke, a person who sends faxes from a series of copy shops around New York City, never using the same one twice. Inspite of nearly impossible odds, Stone and a couple of ex-cop buddies begin to make some progress in their investigation, and Stone's new girlfriend, Arrington Carter, seems to be right in the middle of the whole thing. Amanda gets madder and madder and crazier and crazier and, by the time Stone works the whole thing out, she and everybody else in the book gets his just desserts, some more than others.

Things We Have To Learn

"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." - Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Best Solutions To Money Worries

The best solutions to money worries are founded on spiritual values.

Here are seven steps to help you conquer your financial concerns:

1. Remind yourself to think creatively. Remember it is impossible to develop creative thoughts out of a mind that is worried. Therefore, ask God to give you a peaceful mind through which He can send an answer to your problem.

2. Remind yourself that God will supply all your needs out of His vast abundance.

3. Ask yourself if you are thinking lack. There is a curious law that if you think lack you tend to create a condition of lack. Shift your thoughts to abundance and believe that God is now in the process of giving it to you.

4. Read and study various methods of money management. There are techniques which others have discovered and proved. Add their knowledge to yours.

5. Plan and pray over your expenditures as a family, and each member will feel pride and cooperation as the budget is controlled.

6. Practice the good old American principle of thrift and frugality. This requires spiritual power for it involves self-discipline.

7. Take all your bills; lay them on the table then ask God what to do about them. Ask Him for a definite plan of financing. Then systematize your expenses, your debts, and your income on the basis of the insight you receive through prayers.

Excerpted from What’s Your Trouble? by Norman Vincent Peale. Copyright © 1980 by Peale Center for Christian Living.

Living Apart

"I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart." ― e.e. Cummings

Long Range Goals

"You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures." — Charles Noble.

Gowing Older

"Don't regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." - Unknown

10 Ways To Get Rich

Warren Buffett's secrets that can work for you

By Alice Schroeder - Parade Magazine
http://www.parade.com/index.html
Published: September 7, 2008


With an estimated fortune of $62 billion, Warren Buffett is the richest man in the entire world. In 1962, when he began buying stock in Berkshire Hathaway, a share cost $7.50. Today, Buffett, 78, is Berkshire’s chairman and CEO, and one share of the company’s class A stock is worth close to $119,000. He credits his astonishing success to several key strategies, which he has shared with writer Alice Schroeder. She spent hundreds of hours interviewing the Sage of Omaha for the new authorized biography "The Snowball."

1. Reinvest your profits

When you first make money, you may be tempted to spend it. Don’t. Instead, reinvest the profits. Buffett learned this early on. In high school, he and a pal bought a pinball machine to put in a barbershop. With the money they earned, they bought more machines until they had eight in different shops. When the friends sold the venture, Buffett used the proceeds to buy stocks and to start another small business. By age 26, he’d amassed $174,000—or $1.4 million in today’s money. Even a small sum can turn into great wealth.

2. Be willing to be different

Don’t base your decisions upon what everyone is saying or doing. When Buffett began managing money in 1956 with $100,000 cobbled together from a handful of investors, he was dubbed an oddball. He worked in Omaha, not on Wall Street, and he refused to tell his partners where he was putting their money. People predicted that he’d fail, but when he closed his partnership 14 years later, it was worth more than $100 million. Instead of following the crowd, he looked for undervalued investments and ended up vastly beating the market average every single year. To Buffett, the average is just that—what everybody else is doing. To be above average, you need to measure yourself by what he calls the Inner Scorecard, judging yourself by your own standards and not the world’s.

3. Never suck your thumb

Gather in advance any information you need to make a decision, and ask a friend or relative to make sure that you stick to a deadline. Buffett prides himself on swiftly making up his mind and acting on it. He calls any unnecessary sitting and thinking “thumb-sucking.” When people offer him a business or an investment, he says, “I won’t talk unless they bring me a price.” He gives them an answer on the spot.

4. Spell out the deal before you start

Your bargaining leverage is always greatest before you begin a job—that’s when you have something to offer that the other party wants. Buffett learned this lesson the hard way as a kid, when his grandfather Ernest hired him and a friend to dig out the family grocery store after a blizzard. The boys spent five hours shoveling until they could barely straighten their frozen hands. Afterward, his grandfather gave the pair less than 90 cents to split. Buffett was horrified that he performed such backbreaking work only to earn pennies an hour. Always nail down the specifics of a deal in advance—even with your friends and relatives.

5. Watch small expenses

Buffett invests in businesses run by managers who obsess over the tiniest costs. He once acquired a company whose owner counted the sheets in rolls of 500-sheet toilet paper to see if he was being cheated (he was). He also admired a friend who painted only the side of his office building that faced the road. Exercising vigilance over every expense can make your profits—and your paycheck—go much further.

6. Limit what you borrow

Living on credit cards and loans won’t make you rich. Buffett has never borrowed a significant amount—not to invest, not for a mortgage. He has gotten many heartrending letters from people who thought their borrowing was manageable but became overwhelmed by debt. His advice: Negotiate with creditors to pay what you can. Then, when you’re debt-free, work on saving some money that you can use to invest.

7. Be persistent

With tenacity and ingenuity, you can win against a more established competitor. Buffett acquired the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983 because he liked the way its founder, Rose Blumkin, did business. A Russian immigrant, she built the mart from a pawnshop into the largest furniture store in North America. Her strategy was to undersell the big shots, and she was a merciless negotiator. To Buffett, Rose embodied the unwavering courage that makes a winner out of an underdog.

8. Know when to quit

Once, when Buffett was a teen, he went to the racetrack. He bet on a race and lost. To recoup his funds, he bet on another race. He lost again, leaving him with close to nothing. He felt sick—h e had squandered nearly a week’s earnings. Buffett never repeated that mistake. Know when to walk away from a loss, and don’t let anxiety fool you into trying again.

9. Assess the risks

In 1995, the employer of Buffett’s son, Howie, was accused by the FBI of price-fixing. Buffett advised Howie to imagine the worst- and best-case scenarios if he stayed with the company. His son quickly realized that the risks of staying far outweighed any potential gains, and he quit the next day. Asking yourself “and then what?” can help you see all of the possible consequences when you’re struggling to make a decision—and can guide you to the smartest choice.

10. Know what success really means

Despite his wealth, Buffett does not measure success by dollars. In 2006, he pledged to give away almost his entire fortune to charities, primarily the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He's adamant about not funding monuments to himself—no Warren Buffett buildings or halls. "I know people who have a lot of money," he says, "and they get testimonial dinners and hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. When you get to my age, you'll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That's the ultimate test of how you've lived your life."

First Cross Country Meet

My oldest son ran in his first cross country meet of the season at Lyons Township High School. It was a muddy mess and he did well finishing with a time of 16:27 for 4000 meters. There was a freshman runner who came in first with a time of 14:35. We watched the Junior Varsity Boys race and the Varsity Boys and left about 10:00 a.m.

The Kill Artist

I finished reading "The Kill Artist" by Daniel Silva.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Gabriel Allon had a simple but brutal job: he tracked down and eliminated Israel's terrorist enemies. But when his wife and son fell victim to the danger that accompanied him everywhere, Gabriel quit and devoted himself to the work of art restoration, an occupation that had previously been a cover for his secret assignments. Now Ari Shamron, the head of Israeli intelligence, needs Gabriel's particular kind of experience to thwart a Palestinian plot to destroy the peace negotiations in the Middle East. The architect of this plot, a Palestinian zealot named Tariq, is a lethal part of Gabriel's past, so as the two begin an intercontinental game of hide-and-seek, with life and death as the prizes, the motives are as personal as they are political. The story features a vivid and fascinating supporting cast, including the magus-like Ari Shamron, a beautiful French Jewish model who is seeking retribution for her family's death in the Holocaust, and a marvelously comic down-at-the-heels London art dealer. Set these colorful and varied characters against a brilliant background of political intrigue and vengeance at the highest levels and a manhunt that covers three continents, and the result is a smart and electrically exciting global thriller.

First Home Game

I left work twenty minutes earlier and we got to the field just as the game started. The parking lot was still not finished but we were able to park on the gravel not far from the entrance. We grabbed seats about five rows up at the forty yard line. My youngest son's sophomore football team won their second game against York 34 to 7.It was a cool summer night. Their offense did it again. He got to play offensive line for the last set of plays. We left after the first quarter of the varsity game. The varsity didn't do as well and lost their second game.

Younger Today

"You are younger today than you ever will be again. Make use of it for the sake of tomorrow." - unknown

Cost Of Living

"In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular." - Laurence J. Peter

Years

"There are years that ask questions, and years that answer." - Zora Neale Hurston

Living Well

Fill you heart with kindness,

Fill your body with laughter,

Fill your eyes with tenderness,

Fill your visions with hope,

Fill your hands with service,

Fill you mind with wonder,

Fill your imagination with possibilities,

Fill your moments with kindness,

Fill your days with joy,

Fill your life with holiness,

Fill you soul with goodness,

Fill your spirit with joy,

Fill your prayers with gratitude,

Fill the world with peace,

Fill the universe with love

Astound Ourselves

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison