Paying for Poor Performance Every year, we read stories of corporate Board of Directors firing a senior executive for unsatisfactory performance and then paying the executive millions of dollars upon his or her departure. Usually, the story talks about a Chief Executive Officer but sometimes it is another executive. Excessive payments to departing executives are […]
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Once upon a time, I thought I would become a nun. I was six years old and had a sweet young teacher in first grade – Sister Ethel. My vocation lasted an hour or so, until I decided being a cowboy would be more fun. We never used the term “cowgirl” back then. Roy Rogers […]
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Pies and Such Our church put out an S.O.S. last week, asking members to please bake more pies for our fair stand. It seems the ones on hand were going like hot cakes – or hot pies – or hot somethings. Everyone who had a piece of pie at our church stand can be extremely […]
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I made my once-or-twice-a-summer overnight visit to Okoboji last week. When I was younger, the visits extended over weeks at a time. My cousin, Margaret Ann, spent the whole summer with her family at their cottage and, since we are close in age (she’ll tell you I’m several months older, but she lies), I was […]
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Sometimes catching something that is highly desired involves creativity, flexibility, and even a clever sense of definition. There is a story about a salesman who wanted a dog and was driving through a rural area. A sign outside a rundown house proclaimed, “dog for sale.” The salesman knocked on the door and was introduced to […]
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Our five offspring have had a tough time with Father’s Day in the past three years since Bing died. They miss him every day, as do I, but the June celebration is a poignant reminder of what a wonderful part of their lives he was. I’ve tried to think of how to make the day […]
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Holidays , Life Lessons , Observations
Every country I have ever lived in or even visited celebrates holidays. Everyone loves holidays; workers have the day off and are usually paid for not working, students do not have to go to class, retailers sell more seasonal goods, and it’s an excuse to get together with friends and family. Sometimes I wonder if […]
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Our six-year-old grandson, Dylan, occasionally calls me on his Aunt Meg’s cell phone as they are walking back to her house from his kindergarten. Those four-block walks can take up to 40 minutes, depending on how many trolls, dragons, and princesses they meet and converse with along the way. I know, because I walked with […]
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