CHATEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD-1971

I said I might come back to blog on occasions, and I do believe last May 16 was an occasion, as my wife and I hit sixty years of marriage.

We celebrated by going to our youngest daughter's home in Indialantic FL (near Melbourne on the east coast of Florida). My eldest daughter and husband who live outside Toledo OH and my middle daughter from Atlanta joined us for a dual celebration: our anniversary on the Thursday and the graduation from high school of my 18-year old grandson the next day, who incidentally graduated with a 4.0 average for four years from an academic high school where 111 out of a class of 154 had a 3.5 average or better. I have to be a proud grandfather and say that the grandson was one of a select group of valedictorians.

My two sons-in-law, who love to cook, really did it up right. We brought with us a large filet of beef, and then my two sons-in-law went to a local fresh seafood store and bought lobsters, clams, shrimp, crab and scallops, to which they added corn on the cob and sausages, for a real low country boil to augment the steaks. We pigged out happily, as you can imagine.

In addition, I brought with us a bottle of Burgundy I have owned for forty-odd years to be saved for a special occasion. At my wife's and my ages and on such an anniversary, we figured it doesn't get any more "special". I was scared to death that the bottle might have turned to vinegar by this time.

This wine, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, is one of the four premier grand crus (first great growths) ,the original first wines in the French classification of wines. A bottle of this wine today costs between $800-$1000 in its best years. I got a deal on it back in the seventies from a wine merchant with whom I did a fair amount of business and paid under $40.00 for it.

I wish I could tell you that it was the greatest bottle of wine I ever drank---but I can't. But it wasn't vinegar, either.  The cork had started to disintegrate so that the wine had oxidized to some extent, affecting the quality to some degree. It was still good and drinkable, and everyone, kids included, got some. Even if the wine was not at its best, the symbolism was terrific!

A great time was had by all.  Maybe my wife and I can shoot for 70???

AU REVOIR

I have decided to put my blog to temporary, at least, rest. What with the complications of old age, although I have been mercifully spared its worst assaults, I have enough to do with the daily responsibilities of a wife with health problems and maintaining an active schedule of outside activities, especially my church, and keeping my life in order.

I have expressed my opinions for four years on a variety of topics, ranging from personal matters to the state of the world. Frankly, I don’t think I have much more new to add, and I can only be a repetitive old bore.

And, so I ll take a break. I may, from time to time, be inspired to come back to you with something new that’s on my mind. I’ll play that by ear.

Thank you, you few who have read my blog, I appreciate your loyalty. Now I recognize when it’s time to make a graceful exit. Till we meet again!.

THAT'S TEAM---SPELLED U-S!

Now is the time I really get excited about basketball with the NCAA "March Madness" in full swing. And all the more reason this year with our local Fort Myers-based Florida Gulf Coast Eagles flying through the tournament. Whether they can keep it up, who knows? But they have given us locals---and a large part of the basketball nation---reason to celebrate with their verve and audacity.

They are an anachronism in this age of sports egos---a team that refuses to emphasize individual stars and stresses team play. And what play, pure macho, go for it, keep attacking, don't play it safe! Their dunks get the crowd screaming. They have a coach in Andy Enfield whose great inspiration is his confidence in them and allowing them to freewheel as they do.  Of course, they have some exceptional talent: Brett Comer, the point guard, according to Enfield, sees the court and sets things up as well as any N.B.A. point guard. Sherwood Brown is good cream, rising to the top when needed, and the inspirational captain and driving force of their team will.

And all this from a college only founded in 1991 and only eligible for the NCAA this year. What a way to leave your mark. Win or lose next game, they are already winners ---and such fun to have around.

With three Florida teams in the "sweet sixteen", we are excited here. We are especially anxious to see if the Eagles can claw the Gators!

VIVA FRANCISCO!!!

Congratulations on the Papal council making a relatively quick decision to elect Francis I, the first non-European pope in 1200 years.  As a priest and Bishop in Argentina, he was noted for his piety and humilty, often visiting the slums in Argentina's cities and expressing care for the poor. He was also the first Jesuit chosen, quite interesting as the Jesuits have always been the mavericks, fighting the old boy network in Rome on many occasions.  At least the old boy network has broken the mould!

At 76, he does not fulfill the wishes of many Catholics for a younger, more vigorous pope. He has suffered some health problems and only has one lung. As a non-Roman Catholic (we Episcopalians are considered Anglo-Catholics with many similarities in liturgy to the Roman church but doctrinal differences, such as not accepting the infallibility of the pope and with less emphasis on the Virgin Mary), I am skeptical if he will rock the boat and make many changes to the basic tenets of the church; for example, celibacy, allowing priests to marry and ordaining women.  "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished", in the words of the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon, but not likely.

American Catholics are, on the whole, fed up with the whole mess of sex and pedophile scandals and even the celibacy issue. My wife and I had drinks yesterday with a couple from my small hometown in Ohio, daughter and son-in-law of old friends. The husband is from a devout Roman Catholic family, while the daughter was born Episcopal. She has never fought the church and has gone along with raising the children as Catholics and even attending Catholic schools, although she has not converted to Catholicism. This couple went to our Episcopal church with her parents last Sunday, and the daughter's husband was wowed by the eloquence and devotion of our dynamic woman priest. I'm sure he, like many other Catholics, must be wondering about the future with a shortage of male priests, and seeing the power of an extraordinary priest who happens to be a woman must have given him pause.

It is my hope, as an outsider looking in, that Catholicism can go through a renaissance or epihany with this new pope. Maybe he can look into the future and see the need for the Roman church to become more relevant to its congregations and to our age.

I wish him well in such an endeavor.

AND I'VE GOT THE CORKSCREW!

A QUOTATION FROM everydayhealth.com:

"Scientists have homed in on how resveratrol — a chemical commonly found in red wine and chocolate — works to prevent cell aging, which could eventually lead to the development of synthetic drug treatments for obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other conditions, according to new research published in Science.

Though researchers have been looking at resveratrol for years, this new research, from Harvard Medical School, is considered a breakthrough in understanding the chemical's potential to increase the activity of a protein called SIRT1, which helps fuel the power-producing parts of cells and in turn may fight age-related illnesses like cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. "

Well, friends, why don’t you come to my house for a red wine and chocolate orgy. Who knows, we may live to be 150!

READY, SET, ACTION

I read in the latest news that the President’s approval ratings has gone down 7% since the election. The honeymoon is over, this report asserts, and I’m not really surprised.

I have been a supporter of Barack Obama; not that I agree with everything he does but, to a large extent, I'm supportive of his efforts. But recently I think he has made a mistake---a tactical error, if you will---in his “campaigning” against the Republicans and their stubborn resistance to new taxes. I don’t agree with the Republican stand against taxes in that I feel it is inevitable that we have some increases in tax revenues and/or revision of the tax code as well as the necessity to cut expenses. I simply think the President needs to resist more photo-ops of him being the People’s Prez and spend more time negotiating with both parties to find even a vestige of common ground.

He needs to lend the weight of his office and executive responsibility to pressuring both parties to seek this common ground in the form of bi-partisan commissions to seek answers for health care, social security, tax reform and a host of other entitlement problems needing undivided attention. As President he could insist on such efforts and appoint acceptable candidates from both parties.

Certainly, the Republican Party has not covered itself with glory these last few years and is going through agonizing soul searching to determine their future course of action, preferably away from the kooks and extremists of the far right. But the Democrats cannot sit still and think that the President of their party and the Senate under their narrow control can ultimately “sneak through”, in spite of the House being under Republican control. It simply won't happen. Any way you cut it, we have a divided government in Washington.

It is way overdue, this time to get serious and work in a bipartisan manner. The President can use his good offices to exert pressure in this direction and be the moving force for such change. It is not good enough to plan “pep rallies” in key cities and before captive groups like unions; it is time to be presidential and forget the bully pulpit to appeal to the people but use his power to stir up some political action in the legislature. And he can be the spearhead.

To hell with the ratings, just crack some heads and bend a lot of ears to start some action.


P.S. Since I wrote this, I read he is having lunch with Republican leaders.

THE YAHOO SISTERHOOD

I was taken by surprise to read the announcement that Melissa Mayer, the glamorous new wunderkind  C.E.O. of Yahoo has announced that all workers must now report to a desk in the Yahoo office with no more in-home working to create better solidarity and inspire more creativity.

This seems to me a bold step---backward.  One of the reasons given is that brainstorming is better in a large group participating together. Whatever happened to teleconferences and Skype? Aren't there plenty of means to make your face and views known in a group seesion of creative thinking?

 The increased use of in-home workers makes a lot of sense, especially for working mothers who need to be available at certain key times in their family life with husband and, especially, kids. There are also any number of Mr. Moms around who can benefit from the flexibility of working in your own home in an age of computer/smartphone importance.

I thought the following from The Economist particularly relevant:

"Slapping down the sisters"


"Ms Mayer’s move is not just a bad idea in itself but also a nail in the coffin of the naive notion that women with big jobs help their sisters up the ladder. Her plan will knock out a few rungs. Flexible employers help women run families and jobs simultaneously. Rigid working practices make combining the two impossible or unpleasant. To be fair, as somebody who took two weeks off to have a baby, Ms Mayer is hardly asking others to do what she would not; but then she has dulled the pain of separation from her child by installing a nursery next to her office. Yahoo’s less privileged and less Stakhanovite women may well hoof it to a friendlier organisation.

But this is not just about women. A well-managed company’s workers want to be productive, and managers trust them to decide how and where they will perform best. If that’s not happening, the boss needs to find out why. You can shackle a Yahoo to his desk, but you can’t make him feel the buzz."

In the same article it is noted that the productivity per worker (total sales divided by number of workers) is three times as high at Google than at Yahoo---and Google is a titan in the field of working at home.

Of course, Mrs Mayer has the penthouse atop the Four Seasons Hotel as her home and has built (at her own expense, it should be noted) a nursery next to her office for her baby. Maybe they should convert the office to a gigantic Costco plus-sized office and build day care/nursery facilities there at corporate headquarters!

Somehow I don't think the sisterhood will find this a shrewd move, and Mrs Mayer may have to change her mind one day.