The Election

Last Tuesday, I sat on the couch next to my son who is 9-years old. He’s returned home each day from over the past couple of weeks with questions about President Obama and Mitt Romney. I discussed the election process with him as best I could, but returned home a few days to catch him looking up electoral maps from past elections. He was excited to show me the map from the 1980 election between Carter and Reagan that was nearly all red.

We started out watching the election coverage on MSNBC which matches up well with my political views. But I wanted my son to experience other takes on the coverage so we switched between CNN, FOX and the BBC as well. FOX was the most entertaining, and we tuned in just in time to watch Karl Rove dispute FOX’s team of pollsters when they called Ohio for Romney. Rove tried to make sense of a situation that wasn’t making any sense to himself or Team Romney.

My son already knew I had voted for Obama. He described how several of his classmates were rooting for Obama, but most were hoping Romney would pull out a win. A few of his friends who attend our church were incredulous when my son told them he supports Obama instead of the candidate who is a member of his church. This gave me an opportunity to explain the difference in how the President of the United States is selected compared to the prophet of our church.

By the time Romney walked out on state to give his gracious concession speech, my son had crawled into bed and fallen asleep. I considered waking him, but with school the next day decided against it. I watched as a visibly exhausted Romney delivered his remarks. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to deliver a message to not only your supporters but the entire nations after failing to achieve what you’ve worked on for seven year. It was the first time I’d felt any compassion the man who vowed to repeal the affordable health care act.

Obama delivered a passionate acceptance speech, but it wasn’t nearly the spectacle of the one he gave in 2008. It will be difficult to top that night in terms of historical significance and overall excitement. The best part of his speech was watching his wife and two daughter escort him onto the stage.

But a year from now, I probably won’t remember much about the election as it pertains to Obama and Romney. That’s because one man stole the show at the DNC and that man is Bill Clinton.

“We are here to nominate a president…and I’ve got one in mind.”

It’s not just the best political speech I’ve ever heard, it’s the best speech I’ve ever heard, period. It was so powerful that it overshadowed everything in its wake including Obama’s nomination acceptance speech. My aunt quipped that Romney was probably thrilled he wasn’t running against Clinton after watching him.

Clinton said when he was working to solve problem for his foundation that he didn’t know if he was working alongside Democrats, Republicans or Independents because everyone was working towards solving problems. The focus was on getting things done.

I hope that level of cooperation will somehow find a way into the hearts those elected to serve our country at the national and state level.

And in 2016, I hope I’m again sitting next to my son watching the election results roll in. But maybe this time we’ll be watching the election of first woman president. And chances are, she’ll have strong ties to Mr. Clinton.

Billy Joel Interview

Once in a while you come across something so good and so fascinating that it grabs hold of you and won’t let go.  That’s what happened when I tuned in to listen to Alec Baldwin interview Billy Joel, and I’m not a big fan of either.

When I was in high school I convinced my best friend to take my girlfriend to the Billy Joel concert at the Salt Palace because I had no desire to listen to three hours of his music. Yet, I knew all the words to his music. If you were scanning the radio during the late 70’s and 80’s his music was impossible to miss.

OK, he had one song I liked a lot: She’s Always a Woman. “She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes…”

So few artists today are made for the long haul. Baldwin asks Joel when he realized he’d become a rock star. Listen to his answer because it’s as the essence of what separates the true musicians from the fleeting stars of today.

Some of Joel’s favorite tunes were not commercially successful, but it didn’t matter. He made Uptown Girl to poke fun at his life, and knew it wasn’t his best work, yet it was in the MTV loop and sold millions.

Shows like the Voice and American Idol have convinced  kids that playing to a TV audience is all it takes. Show up, sing a few songs produced by the hit-makers and sit back while the cash rolls in. And sometimes the cash does roll in and a few albums are sold, but it doesn’t last but the act isn’t built to last. Next season’s Idol winner will be ready in a few months so who cares?

But seriously, your kids and mine aren’t going to be listening to any of those Idol winners, because so few have lasting talent. They didn’t pay their dues. And they’d rather be famous and date professional athletes than make remarkable music.

But musicians like Joel were in it for the music. The music is what resonates. Dance moves come and go, but the music endures.

I was fascinated at how humble Joel was in admitting to the mistakes he made while married and how he still feels he’s not that talented of a piano player.

I know what good piano playing is and I’m not good. My left hand is lame. I am a two-fingered left-hand piano player…I never practiced enough to use all my fingers on my left hand, so I just play octaves, bass notes. My right hand tries to compensate for my left hand being so gimpy, so I overplay on my right hand. My technique is horrible. I can’t read music.

Listen to a first few minutes and see if you get hooked like I did.

http://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/#file=%2Faudio%2Fxspf%2F225651%2F;containerClass=wnyc

Muzzle That Phone

Next time you’re speaking with a friend or coworker or spouse or whomever for more than a few minutes try doing this with your phone:

DND

This is my favorite feature of iOS 6. In short, it puts a muzzle on my phone.

Smartphones do a wonderful job of saving emails, text messages, and voicemails. You don’t need to answer every message as it comes in. Unless you’re someone’s lifeline on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the call can wait until the conversation is finished.

In an age where everyone is connected to the internet, it’s refreshing to sit down with someone who isn’t glancing at their phone every twenty seconds.

Whenever someone puts me on call waiting, I hang up immediately. My closest friends don’t even ask me anymore because they know this. It’s rude. So is taking a call or reading a email while we’re talking.

If you’re giving others your time and attention you have every right to demand the same from them.

Two Blocks

I hadn’t pedaled two blocks from home today when I began to wonder why I had decided to bike to work in such chilly weather. I’ve biked to work on a few colder days, but today I felt it through my whole body.

I haven’t pushed my body like this since I was in high school. Some days my body pushes back and I’ve learned it’s best to listen when that happens.

I’d rather bike when the sun is out and the roads are dry, neither of which come to mind when you think of Seattle.

But yet there’s a satisfaction in knowing I didn’t turn back.

My Favorite Sunglasses

Eight years ago I visited a Sunglass Hut looking for the best pair of sunglasses I could buy. I’ve owned models from Vaurnet, Oakley, Ray Ban, and Bolle, and couldn’t say one pair of lenses was better than the other.

I tried on a number of frames, and found a couple I really liked. I couldn’t tell the difference between the lenses so I figured I’d buy the frame that looked best on my face.

The salesperson offered to let me take five or six of my favorites outside in the sun to see if one stood out from the rest. She asked if I’d looked into polarized lenses and handed me a wired framed model from Maui Jim. I thought they looked good. She explained that Maui Jim made excellent lenses but cost about three times more than those models I had in my hand. I had never paid over a $100 for sunglasses let alone over $200. 2012-07-28 18.22.37

I walked outside, put on the Maui Jims and was sold immediately. Everything was so crystal clear and colors were vibrant. I didn’t want to take them off.

That was in 2004, and I’ve worn that same pair of Maui Jims until last week.

They have held up remarkably well over the years, but one too many drops had put a small crack in one lens so I decided to send them to Maui Jim to be repaired.

Their website provided instructions on where to send my glasses and what to expect in terms of cost to repair. So I send them in and a few days later I received an email confirming they had been received and were in the process of being repaired. Frames and lenses are $60/each to repair or replace which is not cheap but far less costly than a new pair.

A couple days later, I received an email saying my sunglasses had been repaired and would arrive within a few days. Today a package arrived and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I opened the box to find the original case I sent them in, a new zippered Maui Jim case, casual cloth case, and a thank you note.

I unzipped the case and to my surprise, Maui Jim replaced my sunglasses with a brand new pair.

Sure, it cost me $120 but that’s about a third of what  new pair would cost. That works out to about a $40/year and goes down each year I wear them. That’s a bargain for one of the few items I wear nearly every day.

*I haven’t recommended a product on my blog for a while, but want my readers to know that I don’t accept products in exchange for a review.

Joyous Chaos

We arrived at Auburn Valley Medical Center at 7 pm.

The nurse attached a heart monitor to Kim’s belly.

The soothing sounds of our baby boy’s heart beat emanated throughout the room. Thump thump…thump thump…thump thump.

Although this is the fifth time for both of us, moments are tense, and I’m still not entirely certain what I should do so I pull a chair close to Kim’s bed and rub her feet.

And suddenly it’s chaos.

We are moved to larger room, machines are rolled out and instruments unveiled. Voices become louder and within minutes people in uniforms are pacing around the room. 

Someone who seems to know what she’s doing yells out, “You can do it!”

“No, I can’t!” Kim replies.

But this isn’t the time for negotiation because he’s coming. He’s coming right now. And the doctor who is stretching gloves over her hands had better show a little hustle.

“If you want to deliver this baby you had better get over here RIGHT NOW!” she implores.

In a flurry of coaching and groaning and maybe some yelling, Kim squeezed my hand and suddenly a baby boy was born just after 9:30 pm.

I stood next to Kim, amazed at what I just witnessed trying like crazy not to let the doctor see the tears of joy streaming down my face.

Just Be Yourself

My oldest son began playing basketball this past week, and I had the chance to drive him to practice a couple of times. On the drive, he asked me questions about the rules of basketball and I answered him as best I could. Unlike baseball and football he was fascinated how in basketball, players alternative between offense and defense in the span of a few seconds.

I remember the butterflies I felt in my stomach when I showed up for my first football practice. I was so nervous the night before that I hardly slept.  I sensed that with my son, and as we entered the gym  I patted him on the head and said, “Just be yourself, and you’ll be fine.”

Just be yourself.

In many ways I’m a hypocrite because I often don’t live by those words. In order to fit into my family or church or even social circle, I’ll act in a way that I feel others expect me to act. I learned quickly on my mission that being myself was going result in a lot of trouble, so it didn’t take long to learn exactly what to say to keep others off my back. Each month when I met with my mission president I told him what he wanted to hear, and he left me alone.

It wasn’t until I had served my two years and was meeting with him for the last time that I told him how I really felt. My honestly stunned him, and I can still picture the look on his face as it happened. And it felt good. Man, did it ever feel good.

I think back to that experience in Germany often because it had a great impact on how I would deal with others in similar circumstances. And over the years what I realize is that I’ve avoided getting close to those I don’t feel I can be myself around, and that includes some members of my family.

When I met Kim for the first time I was on a business trip in Las Vegas. Before I flew back to Seattle, we spent the afternoon walking through one of the large fancy malls near town. Having moved away from family and recently gone through a divorce, I was looking for a friend I could be myself around.

That was 15 years ago.

Two nights ago, our neighbor offered to take our children for a few hours so Kim and I could go to dinner. I was too tired to take off my biking shorts and Kim had changed into sweats so we called in take-out from our favorite Thai restaurant. Kim told me how spicy food is sometimes known to start labor which she would welcome anytime as our fifth child could arrive any day now.

When we finished our Chicken Pad Thai we sat in our car in our driveway reminiscing about the last 15 years. Many of the activities and possessions we thought were important back then mean little to us now. We laughed about the time we went to Bellevue Square and bought four pairs of shoes we didn’t need. We couldn’t believe how much we’ve relaxed with each child, learning not to stress out over things that don’t matter. For example, Luca was brought up on classical music exclusively while Kai was raised on Van Halen.

But what I realized is how lucky I am to have met Kim.

I hope one day each of my children meet someone  they can say the same about.

Close The Browser

“We learned about salmon. Then we did some math and some reading and then some other stuff.”

That’s how Anna described her day at school while she sat on my knee. Not often do I slow her down long enough to catch such details.

She flips her head around to show me how she tied and pulled up her hair up into a knot she describes at “totally cool”. It’s impossible not to smile around Anna. She throws herself into everything she does. While the rest of us walk together, Anna dances and twirls and skips ahead of us.

I thought about tuning in to watch the presidential debate this evening. Instead I decided to spend my afternoon running errands with Luca before stopping to speak with a friend on his porch. A good friend is there when you need him and willing to listen. A close friend tells you what you don’t want to hear, but need to. That was the case today.

As the debate was about to start, I decided to take Lincoln to basketball practice. This is second organized practice he’s attended, and he’s still learning the game. I watched him run up and down the court with his close friend not far behind. He’s so serious. I wish I could inject him with a portion of Anna’s carefreeness.

When I returned home, I checked Facebook and Twitter and both were filled with reactions from the debate. That’s when Anna decided she wanted to tell me about her day.

“Pretty soon I’m going to be too big for your knee”, she tells me.

“I’ll just have to use both knees.” I reply.

Sometimes it’s best to close down the browser. Tonight was one one of those times.

Counting Down

As the days counted down towards the birth of our first child, more doubts danced their way into my mind.

I had no point of reference.

My preparation consisted of checking off a list of “must haves” from Babys-R-Us down to the color of the Baby Bjorn.

I had just started feeling like a competent husband, but the title of father felt overwhelming.

That was 11 years ago and I still feel overwhelmed.

Yet, I sit here tonight tapping away at my computer waiting for number five to arrive, and I have no idea where the Baby Bjorn is. I’m certain that within a few minutes I can locate my keys, wallet and a suitable car seat if the contractions become more intense.

At this stage of the game my only job is to keep everyone calm.

I didn’t realize how much joy these four balls of energy would bring to our home. And challenge and squirm and test the quality of my hearing.

Two tired but thrilled parents welcomed our first child into this world. This time around the parents are still tired, but the other four are anything but.

I wonder if number five has any what he’s about to experience.