Screw the War on Christians

This is one of my absolute favorites.  It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

It's the reason for the season.

Bears v. Packers - Food Pantry Football

Well my friends, it's that time again.  What time you ask?  Well, my friend Wendy and I started a little tradition awhile back...Food Pantry Football.  As you may know, this weekend the Bears will be playing the Packers.  To make the game even MORE fun, I, as a Bears fan, commit to donate one non-perishable food item to a local food pantry for every point my team scores.  Wendy will do the same for each point that other team scores.  We encourage you to join in and make that commitment.  As more and more people are in need of assistance, our food pantries are suffering.  This is a fun, easy way to help your community as the holiday season grows near.

Let's hope for a HIGH scoring game, and GO BEARS!!!!

Visiting the Elder & Family

In this post I shared the good news the the Elder was done with his first tour of Afghanistan, and was back home (in Germany) with TSC and Wiggleworm. Well my friends, I'm happy to share even better news - they're back on American soil! They are stationed in the good old U S of A for now. Naturally, I couldn't WAIT to see them...after all, it had been over two and a half years! I practiced an amazing feat of self-restraint and let them settle in a bit before I descended upon them. Early last month I got a chance to spend a few days with my lovely family.

Mommy & Daddy with Wiggleworm

He's grown up SOOO much!

Grape scented bubbles  :)

Will you LOOK at those eyelashes

Grandma Crazy and Wiggleworm

To say that I enjoyed this visit would be a gross understatement.  My little Wiggleworm is, dare I say, the cutest damned kid EVAH...such a joy to be around.  And the Elder & TSC are such awesome parents.  I can't WAIT to go visit them again...and I'm determined to do so as soon as it's feasible with my work & home schedule.  I'd like to get at least one more visit in before the Elder deploys again.  The only consolation to that is TSC and Wiggleworm will remain in the States.  

Again I thank you for all the prayers you sent while he was deployed and they were overseas.  I hope these pictures bring at least a little smile to your face.  :)

The Painting

I know there's a lot going on, and I will speak on much of that later. This is a very personal post.

When I was a child, my family belonged to Grace Lutheran Church in Bensenville, IL.  My mother was VERY involved in the church.  If there was a committee, it seemed she was on it.  Sunday school?  Of COURSE she was a teacher.  It was an integral part of her life.  In fact, when my brother, sister and I all had chicken pox at the same time, I remember the pastor coming over.  Whether that was to talk to her about church business or keep her from killing us, I'll never know.  ;)

When Mom drowned in 1976, it truly sent shock waves throughout the community.  Since she was not only involved in church, but also in girl scouts, boy scouts, the PTA, etc., MANY people knew her.  I vaguely remember there being lines outside of the funeral home.  So many came to pay their respects.

I have a dim memory of someone in the church painting a portrait of Mom not too long after that.  It's a very hazy memory.  I once asked some family members about it, and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about.  I chalked it up to the false memory of an 11 year old child.  We moved shortly after that and joined a different church.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  A bunch of friends who I've reconnected with from my childhood got together to watch football and to celebrate a birthday.  In an attempt to make a long story short, the birthday girl's sister-in-law just happens to be the daughter of the pastor from my childhood.  In talking with her it turns out that not only does the painting exist, it's still hanging in the church.  It also turns out that it's not just my mom in the painting, it's also my brother, my sister (who is also no longer with us) and me.  While the painting belongs to the church, I was able to go down to the church to take some pictures.  To say that was emotional is an understatement.  The painting, in my opinion doesn't quite depict the beauty of my mom, but that's not the point.  That it was "discovered" after several decades - PRICELESS.

My friends - I cannot even begin to express how much this means to me.  A shout out to Vanessa for not only the connection, but for being right beside me when I saw the Bible verse and broke down.

Veterans Day

Thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

A Letter from the CEO

This is a letter written by David Seigel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, to his employees.  I normally don't post something like this in its entirety, but this is good.  It's a rather long read, but it sums up what just ONE business owner is dealing with.  And you know there are likely plenty more out there.

Subject: Message from David Siegel

Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)

From: [David Siegel]

To: [All employees]

 

To All My Valued Employees,As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can't tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn't interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.

 

I started this company over 42 years ago. At that time, I lived in a very modest home. I converted my garage into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. We didn't eat in fancy restaurants or take expensive vacations because every dollar I made went back into this company. I drove an old used car, and often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. Meanwhile, many of my friends got regular jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a nice income, and they spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into this business —-with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford to buy whatever I wanted. Even to this day, every dime I earn goes back into this company. Over the past four years I have had to stop building my dream house, cut back on all of my expenses, and take my kids out of private schools simply to keep this company strong and to keep you employed.

 

Just think about this – most of you arrive at work in the morning and leave that afternoon and the rest of your time is yours to do as you please. But not me- there is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have that freedom. I eat, live, and breathe this company every minute of the day, every day of the week. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. I know many of you work hard and do a great job, but I'm the one who has to sign every check, pay every expense, and make sure that this company continues to succeed. Unfortunately, what most people see is the nice house and the lavish lifestyle. What the press certainly does not want you to see, is the true story of the hard work and sacrifices I've made.

 

Now, the economy is falling apart and people like me who made all the right decisions and invested in themselves are being forced to bail out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed 42 years of my life for. Yes, business ownership has its benefits, but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the costs of running a business have gotten out of control, and let me tell you why: We are being taxed to death and the government thinks we don't pay enough. We pay state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, payroll taxes, workers compensation taxes and unemployment taxes. I even have to hire an entire department to manage all these taxes. The question I have is this: Who is really stimulating the economy? Is it the Government that wants to take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have not, or is it people like me who built a company out of his garage and directly employs over 7000 people and hosts over 3 million people per year with a great vacation?

 

Obviously, our present government believes that taking my money is the right economic stimulus for this country. The fact is, if I deducted 50 percent of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? Who wants to get rewarded only 50 percent of their hard work? Well, that's what happens to me.

 

Here is what most people don't understand and the press and our Government has chosen to ignore — to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Instead of raising my taxes and depositing that money into the Washington black-hole, let me spend it on growing the company, hire more employees, and generate substantial economic growth. My employees will enjoy the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But that is not what our current Government wants you to believe. They want you to believe that it somehow makes sense to take more from those who create wealth and give it to those who do not, and somehow our economy will improve. They don't want you to know that the "1%", as they like to label us, pay more than 31% of all the taxes in this country. Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said, "democracy" will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

 

Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate business, not kill it. However, the power brokers in Washington believe redistributing wealth is the essential driver of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change they want.

 

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

 

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

 

You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

 

Signed, your boss,

David Siegel

 

Any questions? 

I Remember