Speaking at home town

I've been invited back to my home town to talk to a local service organization. I'm privileged but somewhat at a loss on what they may want to hear. I'm think they'll likely want to me to keep it light and short. I think I can do that without too much difficulty.

I plan to cover a brief history of my life since high school, lessons learned and some humor.

You can never go wrong with humor, especially with all of the negative news we hear.

Maybe I can talk to them about social media, but I'm not sure a majority of them use a computer. I'll give you feed back after the even, which is scheduled for June 24.

When to buy a business

There are more buyers of businesses than good businesses to purchase. In a recession that seems somewhat suprising. Consider the number of people who have been laid off from their jobs and the number of buy-outs by corporate America of jobs to entice people to take early retirement in a lump-sum buy-out. This results is a large pool of potential business owners. Why are good businesses difficult to find?

A recession impacts the bottom line of many businesses therefore the owner of that business doesn't want to sell when their bottom line doesn't look so good. The smaller the bottom line the less value exists for the business.

It behooves a potential buyer to use some creative thinking to entice owner's of good businesses who are experiencing a downturn due to the economy to sell. It makes sense to learn from the business owner their needs and their goals. Can something be structured to meet those needs and goals. Remember it is not necessarily the price for a business that is important so much as the amount the seller can actually realize from the sale. Some creative tax planning could result in a larger value realized by the buyer as could a longer payout with increases based on an economic index. The buyer might assume obligations of the seller rather than an actual cash outlay at closing. The buyer could create a joint venture arrangement leaving the seller as a part owner providing provisions for buyouts based on the business meeting certain sales targets at values tied to sales in years prior to the recession.

So there are ways to create a win-win situation without having to wait two to five years for the economy to fully recover. A business owner should not become a slave to their business because of a national/world economic meltdown. If it is a good business which has shown it's viability in good economic times then create a mechanism to reward the owner and allow the buyer to begin building for the future with an existing platform and base for a profitable future.

Are there risks to such an arrangement? Sure! Owning a business has risks, but also there are rewards. You work to create a situation where the risks are mimimized. Creative thinking is the key along with the overall concept of establishing a win/win situation.

What is an exit strategy for business?

Start early planning your exit from your business preferrably three years before you would like to exit.

Financial records kept in good order and up-to-date are essential. They should be void of personal expenses. If you presently are including personal expenses such as non-business related car, phone, utilities, etc. expense they should be eliminated. Begin with phasing out one-third per year until it is completely clean.

Buyers of business understand owning a business is risky. If they see personal expenses included in the business, although it may be a legitimate write-off, it sends a bad message to the buyer. Some of those expenses can be easily identified and are more easily dealt with, i.e. travel, dues and subscriptions, seminar expenses, client entertainment, etc. but they should be well documented.

The larger the business the more critical the financial records reliability becomes. Businesses who have incomes exceeding one-million dollars annually should at least have CPA reviewed financials annually.

The economy today dictates the owners to consider owner financing as a large part of the sale price. One should determine the absolute minimum of cash they will require to sell that would allow them to pay off all liabilities and to have cash, after taxes, to accomplish much of what they want over the next five to ten years. The note payments will provide monthly income, however, in the event there is a default planning needs to be in place to face that issue.

How long are you willing to stay as a part of the company and in what capacity? What compensation would you expect for a long term relationship beyond the initial training and transition?

What is the loyality of your customers, especially the larger customers, and what is the best arrangement to assure they would stay on board with a new owner?

Is your business concentrated with one or two customers? No one customer should consist of more than 25% of your business gross income.

Don't try to sell on your own. Find a qualified investment banker, business broker or merger and acquisition advisor to assist you with pricing, structuring, and marketing of the business.

Christian Community Divided

A pastor friend of mine is embarking on a challenging program to feed the underprivileged children in the neighbor adjoining our church during the summer months and provide activities for them. This covers several blocks, therefore, he will need several volunteers to commit for five days of the week. I suggested he visit one of our mainline neighbor churches just one block away and suggest we would welcome them as a partner to take one of the feeding stations.

His report to me was the pastor said they do not work with other churches. What a revelation! A Christain church that does not work with other churches (I assume he was talking about other churches not of his denomination) for the community good---in serving others. I was reflecting about the healing by Jesus of the Roman soldier's daughter; isn't that an example for us to use to pattern our lives and our churches.

It caused me to wonder why would a pastor say that or better yet why would he/she believe it was best not to work with other churches. Was it because they don't trust other people outside their own church? Could it be they are afraid their working side-by-side with other churches they might see things differently? Or could it mean they want to always be in control?

I think it is likely the later. Control is a powerful thing; reguiring no compromising, no sharing, no attempt to know and understand others, no thinking and always in fear.

Until we learn to work together as a Christian community we will find our task here on earth unfinished. Understanding that Jesus did not come into this world to establish a church; he did not come here for us to just worship him; he came to affirm the truth "the kingdom of heaven is here now." We are to live in the now not in the future or the past, but now----the kingdom is here and we as a Christian community are to join hands and reach out to others in love.

Does Twitter work for business?

I love new challenges. When I first heard about using Twitter from my friend Charlie Fern I was intrigued. I read everything I could get my hands on because for once I had a chance to be involved in a possible revolution rather than dragging up the rear. I then signed up and used the Christmas holidays to experiment and see if I could determine what all of the chatter was about.

I attended a Social Media Club breakfast and heard from a local company representative talking about how they use Twitter and other social media to promote their company and their products.

I saw a tweet from someone in Austin and checked out their bio and learned they were in a business that is closely aligned with my business. I sent a direct message and suggested we meet and talk, which we did. Later that contact referred me to someone he knew that might have a need for my services. I asked what I could do for him, after giving thanks for the referral. He asked if I knew someone who had experience with distressed loans. I did and made the connection and they are meeting next week to discuss. I met with the referral I received today and it may open some great areas of opportunities.

So it works. I have also made contact with others throughout the U.S. involved in ALS groups.

I'm still learning, but what I have seen so far makes me a believer.

Brian McLaren speaking at SSW

Last evening I had the opportunity to hear a talk by one of the great forward thinkers of theology in today's world, Brian McLaren.

Since we were at an Episcopalian Seminary the message was mainly to the Episcopalian crowd although most of it could be applied to any mainline church in America, or probably the world.

One observation was that the Episcopal Church comprises, for the most part, the upper income caucasion members. The growth churches are largely evanglical. Studies seem to indicate that college educated young people are not attracted to the church. They are turned off by the theological debates on what is right and what is wrong, therefore, they find other things to occupy their Sundays.

Furthermore, the emphasis of the mainline church on the church being the key to get you to heaven rather than to shine a light into the world and live out the teachings of Jesus. His point was that Jesus did not come into this world to establish a church; he came into this world to bring the message that the Kingdom of Heaven is here. His message was for us to share that message to everyone. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and you do not have to go to church to get there.

The Episcopal Church should be welcoming with open arms gays and lesbians into the church as a beginning to reach out to everyone. The church should be equipping each of their members to go out into the world to invite others to be a part of this wonderful community of people who are there to share with each other and to help others. It is about welcoming everyone with open arms and it is about living out the teachings of Jesus.

Finally, McLaren believes the hope of peace in the world lies with the teachings of Jesus on how to live. Not that one must believe that Jesus was the son of God or that Jesus is God, but that he was a great and wonderful teacher whose teachings can heal the world. All relegions recognize Jesus as a great teacher and prophet; can't we just go with that and not feel we have to win souls by declaring that Jesus was the son of God. We are all sons and daughters of God. If we take away the theology of Jesus' message and view it as a way of peace here on earth, therefore, to the Kingdom of God, the chance of bringing healing to the world is much greater.

So is the mainline church dead? No, but it is on life support. One way to change is to plant new churches and give them the freedom to try new and different things. Sort of a lab experiment. Those things that are working you can gradually implement them into the mainline church. You have to continue to plant churches to keep from getting stale and to find new and fresh ideas.

Can America survive?

I'm watching the Dow Jones go below 7000 and we seem to be in a panic. Is it because everything had reached a point where things were so overpriced they could no longer sustain themselves. Is our economy driven by the Dow Jones or is it driven by jobs and opportunities? The modest amount we had in a 401K was removed from the stock market over a year ago and placed in a savings account. It was clear to me this bubble was about to burst. I think we haven't seen the worst of it yet. In a free world economy these major corrections are necessary every few years. No one is immune from them. Even Warren Buffet has taken some hugh losses.

The price of everything, including the cost of labor, will decrease. People will have to adjust their standard of living. Maybe we go back to one car with one garage, two bedroom homes, public transportation, brown bag for lunch, no more $8 movies and $5 popcorn, we grow gardens in our backyards or in pots on the patio, we share in our things (lawnmowers, cars, etc.), we swear off of the newest and greatest electronic thing to hit the market, we sell all things we haven't used in six months at a neighborhood garage sale or a church garage sale.

We simplify our lives. This could be a good thing. We could come out much better and with a lot less stress in our lives by making things simple and sharing. Get back to a sense of community and no longer charge ahead as if we must do everything ourselves.

Are we there yet?

To have a recession during a presidential year is not unusual. To have a bank crisis isn't so unusual (remember the 1980's saving and loan crisis). It seems to always to evidence itself in the real estate market most dramatically. The real estate market is driven primarily by the ability to acquire loans and optimism; both of which are lacking at this time. How do we remedy those problems? We make money more available to the banks and we focus on the good news and not the bad. President Obama should give equal billing to good things that are happening in our economy and not just the things that are going wrong and need fixing.

When there are scientific breakthroughs we need to hear about it and celebrate it. When there are inovative ideas being implemented we need to know about it. We need to know about the personal successes of people who have overcome great odds and obstacles. We need to know about great companies and organizations who are doing great and wonderful things.

Let us hear about those who have given of their time, talents and money to help others in need.

I'm a great believer in the Law of Attraction. I believe if we truly believe we can do something and visualize it, write it out, make a dream board, and assure ourselves each day that it is happening then it will happen.

So can we get some positive news? Can we dream of a great country and world where we all are working to help each other? Can we affirm that this is a world of plenty and we have enough?

Let's concentrate on being thankful each day for what we have and not what we do not have. Let us greet each day with optimism and thankfulness; not fear and dispair. Make someone smile each day; reach out!

What will change as a result of the economic meltdown?

I just finished reading an article in this month's Atlantic Monthly discussing the economic recession and the likely results we'll see in America and the world.

It seems we may not be the big players in the international financial markets in the future due to the crash of Wall Street and the lack of credit which has resulted from that event. We have allowed the cost of two wars that were started with no exit plan in place. It was almost like we were suffering from A.D.D. We started in Afghanastan with a stated purpose of taking down the Taliban, but as soon as we scattered them from the cities and towns we directed our attention on Iraq and forgot about Afghanastan.

The people responsible for 9/11 may have been trained in Afghanastan by the Taliban, but they were all from Saudia Arabia. We failed in capturing the leaders of the Taliban; we failed in Iraq by not planning beyond the fall of Hussian.

We have additionally spent billions on Homeland Security and hundreds of billions on the military, not including the longterm costs of the wounded and battle scared soldiers.

These decisions have caused us to borrow far beyond our means and allowed this country to recede into a financial hole that could reasonably cause our country to crumble.

So how does the future look? Without drastic spending cuts and the ending of our occupation of Iraq and Afghanastan we're likely to find our financial markets crashing even further Maybe the stimulus package will work, but I don't have much confidence in it doing anything but driving the value of the dollar lower.

Look for more bankruptcies, more layoffs, more pain. I hope I'm wrong.

Reconnecting with friends

This has been a great week for me. I have been able to connect with friends I haven't seen in a few years and learn about things going on in their lives and hearing about their quests.

My first visit was with a couple whose son grew up with my son and they were pals until my son's death. We were able to visit about their getting acclaimated to new surroundings since they have now moved to Austin. The challenge is finding things to do that they love that will keep them active. We agreed we would work on getting together more and find things to do together.

My second encounter was with and old friend I haven't seen in several years. Her son, Bryan Burroughs, is an author. He has a new book just out that will make the NY Times Best Seller List next week at number 11; the book is The Big Rich. His previous book has been made into a movie that is due out this summer entitled: Public Enemies. I went to Book People Bookstore last evening to hear him discuss the book and visit with he and his mother. I purchased the book, he signed it and we discussed how he might become involved with The Busby Foundation.

I'm excited about the prospects of continuing this renewed friendship.

I have determined there are no accidental meetings in our lives. People who come into our lives are there for a reason; they help form who we are and how we view our purpose in life. I'm determined to continue my quest to reconnect with those whose lives have crossed my path in my life and to thank them.

What would stimulate this economy?

I have been wondering what the big deal is about trying to decide what will make this economy get back on track. What has caused the economy to stall? Lack of spending seems to be the answer. So if businesses were able to sell and the market was allowed to begin moving again we should be able to get back on track.

Let's spend as much as possible on infrastructure projects that are already designed and ready to begin work; build the energy grid; purchase heavy equipment needed for the military and infrastructure projects, build and repair schools and public buildings; build tourist centers in national and state parks, repair and rebuild the Gulf Coast damaged by hurricanes, develop electronic medical records, research on energy efficiency and alternate energy sources. Build public transportation systems, rebuild sewer and water systems that are in critical need.

Tax stimulus: No income taxes or alternate taxes on individuals incomes less than $50,000 annually and couples less than $75,000 annually; tax credits for equipment purchases to be written off first year at 150% of cost; tax credits of 175% for employee insurance expenses; lower corporate income taxes to 28%; tax credit of 50% for purchase of a vehicle during 2008.
130% tax credit for charitable donations during 2008.

Accelerate the depreciation schedule for real estate (commercial) to 12 years; Provide 3% interest on loans on real estate, family housing up to 4 units, on amounts up to $400,000 with 30 year amortization;

Purchase up to $350B to buy mortgages and provide the ability to rework the terms of those loans. Holders of loans that rework home loans at least two months in arrears will be provided a tax credit of one-third of the principal amount of the loan.

Military spending gone wild!

I'm concerned we are on the same path the USSR followed when they got bogged down in Afghanastan. The U.S. military budget for 2009 is $623 Billion and rest of the world combined military budget is $500 Billion. China spends $60Billion and Russia $50Billion. Is it necessary to spend ten times the amount of our nearest rivals on a military budget when we are bleeding red at home due to our spending binge.

Is it necessary for us to have a world wide presence of our military? Can't we have a well trained and effecient military with many less personnel if we can get out of these awful wars and direct our attention to better and more effective intelligence and cooperation with the other nations of the world. If some groups want to continue to direct their destructive efforts toward us we can surely have an elite strike force to take care of them without placing thousands of troups in harm's way.

I'm a great believer is quality over quantity.

Imagine what we could do with 50% of the money being spent on military.

Each day is a gift.

My son, Bo, reminded people who crossed his path during the last two years of his life "each day is a gift". He was faced with a certain deteriation of his body and death as he struggled with the terrible disease of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). ALS affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord resulting in degeneration of the muscles throughout the body. Facing certain death hightened Bo's appreciation of each day, no matter much he was deprived of the use of his body. In other words be thankful for every day and all of the things in your life that are good.

Thru the Busby Foundation formed to help families facing this terrrible disease I have met and gotten to know three men over the past couple of weeks who have reached the stage where they cannot use their legs and are dealing with breathing problems. They can't use their bathrooms in their home because they are not handicap equipped. They need help in building a handicap accessible bathroom. We want to help them.

I'm reminded that I don't have to deal with these limitations, but can take a shower without difficulty. I can use the bathroom. Yet these men cannot and the quality of their lives are affected beyond dealing with the disease.

So my problems pale in comparison with the issues these men are facing. I'm reminded, as my son reminded me and others, each day is a gift. I'm privileged we can help these men in the name of my son thru our foundation created by friends, family and business associates.

Post Bush

It is the day after the presidential inauguration. I'm trying to grasp what I saw and heard yesterday in Washington D.C. What an amazing site. People of all colors, sizes, and ages came together to celebrate and witness a watershed event in our country's history.

Unity was the general theme. Moving forward together was the message along with assurances that this is a new day and a new way of governing; reaching out to everyone to join in this journey.

Today I saw President Obama sign an executive order to make the government transparent. No more hiding in secret places.

I'm optimistic we are on the right path and the bickering and bitter politics are behind us.

A call to service may be the most important challenge that stands the best chance of changing the political landscape. I also sense the youth will be inspired to become involved in community service.

Will this solve the financial problems we face? No, but attitude is a large part of our problem. When we finally change our attitude to one of optimism things will begin to change. The media could help by taking news that is positive and giving it the attention rather than the doom and gloom usually the primary focus.

In a year we should see positive changes if we continue to work together. Patience is the key. Oh how I hate practicing patience. Like everyone else in our microwave world I want results now, but that just will not happen.

Reflection on a New Era

Electricity is in the air. Excitement is seen on faces of all colors, shapes and ages. Everyone awaits a great moment in our country's history; the inauguration of a president who represents the blend of America and the hope of our country and the world.

The focus of the country and world is on Washington; out with the old and in with the new. How long will our country patiently wait? How long will the other party wait before they begin an assault on the actions of the new presidency?

This reminds me of the atmosphere after 9/11 for unity and healing. Can that be sustained for long? It seems to me as long as Obama continues to reach out to people regardless of party lines and as long as he understands that healing can only occur after forgiveness; looking ahead and not at the past except for historical reasons, there is a good chance this atmosphere can last.

When America works together amazing things can be accomplished. We have the opportunity to forge new ideals by creating energy independence, breakthroughs in medical science, and new concepts in communication.

I'm excited and continue to be inspired by the prospects of a bright future and an erasing of color lines. What a great time to be alive.

We must remember that out of disaster comes new and wonderful things. Old things must die for new things to be born. That is just the way God created this world. Let's get involved and become a part of this new birth.

We've Come a Long Way Baby!

I'm listening to the confirmation hearings of Eric Holder. Listened to Hillary Clinton's hearings earlier this week. Next week Barak Obama will be sworn in as president. How amazing are these times?

On the one-hand we see the fear of our citizens about their financial health, just having passed from the era of fear for our personal safety, and we are about to embark on the era of hope and healing. Can this last?

Fear, whether real or imagined, is a griping emotion. It is also a well known tool used by politicians to create a result they are seeking.

I am optomistic we will come thru this period of difficulty stronger. We'll understand the hazards of operating beyond our means and on borrowed money; we'll understand the dangers of giving full authority to politicians that goes without careful questioning; we'll understand the dangers of pre-emptive military strikes without world support.

I'm hopeful the new president will make the tough calls needed to get this country back on track; trimming the budget, strategic tax reforms, zero budgeting, a workable energy and enviromental plan, and above all to maintain integrity in our government.

Working together we can accomplish anything.

From the Ashes

Last week on Oprah the show was on Spirituality. One of the guests was a favorite of mine, Michael Beckwith, of the Agape church in L.A. Beckwith explained we are created to create and to create new things old things must die. When we are faced with a crisis in our life, our community, country or world we should not resist the crisis or dispair but realize for new things to be created and born old things must die.

I was struck by this notion and recall in my lifetime the number of times when faced with what I preceived as disaster when the crisis ceased new things appeared, usually much greater than the old and completly unexpected.

This view helps me face adversity with a calm and reflective state of mind rather than panic or depression I can expect good things will arise out of the ashes. The bleak state of affairs our nation faces at this time is a good example and a prime time for us to not panic but rather to grow from this experience.

So my goal is to count my blessings: each day to identify the things in my life I can be thankful for and not to focus on the negatives. This is practicing the Law of Attraction: "What you focus on is what you will receive". If I focus on the good things in my life, i.e. family, friends, health, warm water for a shower, food, a comfortable home, a great church family, and a loving dog, then I don't have time to dwell on the fact my business is suffering from the down economy, infact, I'm motivated to do things differently with a positive outlook.

So take a deep breath, give thanks for the things we have in our life that are good, reach out to friends and family and make some smile each day.

Is Tweeter a tool or an obsession to accumulate?

Like so many people I know, I have been experimenting with Tweeter over the past few weeks in an effort to access it's value to me.

At first I found it a new and exciting tool that allowed me to connect with people throughout the world. I then began reading the tweets to see what value I gained from them and examine ways I might interact and provide value. The traffic is essentially broken into the following categories: thank you for following me; what I'm doing now; what I just finished doing; helpful hints on tweetering; promotion of services; idle conversation with specific followers; and reference to websites and blogs. About one-half the categories seem to be of any benefit to me, however, those categories make up about 20% of the traffic.

I have been able to learn of some helpful websites and potential marketing ideas.

I'll continue this adventure for a while, but it seems many tweeters are simply trying to see if they can accumulate the most followers---a game. Although I'm sure that provides them with a sense of accomplishment, I fail to see the value.

I'm all about learning new things, so that part is fun. I'll give an update in 30 days on its value.

Christians and war

Brian McLaren, a christian author, stated in his book, "Everything Must Change": "Churchgoers in the United States often seem to be the first to support and the last to abandon wars of questionable morality."

Why is that? Shouldn't people of faith be the first to caution and resist war? Why do we hear almost no outcry from churches; actually the Christian leaders supported the war publicly.
Were they afraid they would be labeled as not being patriotic?

It seems to me we could create a world of peace if we spent the time and money for peace that we do for war. Our military budget dwarfs that of all other countries, including China and Russia. Imagine the poverty and disease we could eliminate if we directed significant amounts of monies to fight those battles instead of war. The cost of the war in Iraq could have made a significant impact on disease and poverty throughout the world.

Dwight Eisenhower said: "It happens that defense is a field in which I have had varied experience over a lifetime, and if I have learned anything, it is that there is no way in which a country can satisfy the craving for absolute security---but it can easily bankrupt itself, morally and economically, in attempting to reach that illusory goal through arms alone."

It is my fervent prayer that President Elect Obama understands this and will use a scaphel to the military budget and the citizens of this country let it be known that war and ramping up for war is a waste of great resources; plus we cannot afford the costs any longer.

PS

I wanted to follow up my last blog with an additional thought. The United States killing of innocent men, women and children because some relegious radicals decided to attack the U.S. is criminal. Assume for a moment the shoe was on the other foot, i.e. we had a dozen or so radicals who decided to attack China or Russia and that country retaliated by sending bombs and rockets into our cities killing innocent citizens. Can this be the thinking of rational people or is it the thinking of power hungry people who think because of who they are and the positions they hold they can do no wrong.

Can we ever heal the wounds of all of the innocent people who have been forever scarred by this horrific decision? Shouldn't the men and women who made these decisions be help accountable?

When we combine these horrific acts with the thousands of military men and women who were killed and wounded carrying out these acts so Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Donald Rumsfield, Condi Rice and their many minions could expand their power it should make us all so angry that we vow to never allow it to happen again. How do we prevent it? We hold all of those in Congress accountable who stood by with their fingers in their ears and claimed they were duped by the intelligence, yet they did not ask the hard questions, in fact, some asked no questions. They took the easy route hidding behind the skirt of Condi Rice and the inept intelligence community. Would you or I be allowed to walk away unscathed if we had acted with such malfeasence?

We should hope Obama will keep his word to allow those he has assembled around him to ask the hard questions; he will use diplomacy and work to repair our relationship with other countries, and govern from the strength of diplomacy and leadership rather than the position of strength.

Bill Moyers Journal

Bill Moyers has two YouTube segments on the issue of the war as seen from our soldier's point of view and the killing of innocent people in war. "Middle East Violence" and "The War as we Saw It".

Thank God for people like Bill Moyers who will tell the truth while the media falls all over itself talking about Senate appointments and Governors who are at the center of a federal investigation.

The flag drapped caskets continue to be hidden from the public to attempt to keep our mind off of the cost of war.

The Bush View

It amazes me how one can look at their history with such rose colored glasses. The one positive claim made is there have been no attacks on American soil since 9/11. Duh! Why should our adversaries need to attack us on our soil when we have sent our men and women to them for slaughter?

When you combine attack of Iraq without the support of our historical allies under the guise there was compelling evidence of weapons of mass destruction, our gross atrocities at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and the cowboy attitude of our leaders we managed to create an entire generation of bitter enemies. Had we finished our work in Afghanistan and spent a fraction of the resources on rebuilding that country and providing them with a taste of freedom and democracy we would have retained our reputation and established a strong ally in the mid-West.

The prevailing view of the Bushes is to have victory in Iraq, yet they are vague about what that means. We had "victory" when the Saddam regime was toppled. Is victory to eliminate all violence? If so, that can only be accomplished thru diplomacy. We can look at Israel and the Palestinians to know that is true.

This conflict may be our ultimate undoing. We can reflect back to the result of Russia's ill-fated attack of Afghanistan and the quagmire they were caught in the was a major contributor to their demise.

Let's bring our European friends as well as the Middle East countries to the table, including Iran and Syria, and work out a plan and resolution. Every moment we waste and every drop of American blood shed is unacceptable.

It's a do over.

2009 starts off with a wimper. The bowl games, for the most part, were boring. I miss the big bowls being all day on New Year's Day. We have three bowls yet to be played and it is January 5. No one seems to be moving about. We seem to be on hold. We are awaiting our new president to be sworn in before any meaningful work can begin with our government.

I'm not motivated to charge ahead. Why? Is it the dreary weather, cedar fever, lack of focus, or a sense of dispair?

Last week I decided, after a friend told me I should investigate Tweeter, to delve into the Tweeter World and see what it is about. I was amazed and stimulated. Maybe Tweetering will be my push toward creativeness for the new year.

My work depends largely on two things: people and money. People seem to be very hesitant to step out into a large venture because of the uncertainity of the future. Money is not readily available due to the squeezing of the financial markets. So I must learn to be patient, but vigilant.

Oh, but patience is not easy and I don't do well when I have to practice it. I see a great opportunity for a New Year's resolution, i.e. be patient.