July 4th, 2009
Michael Jackson died last week, and I decided I would not write about that fact.
But news related to his death is everywhere today. People want to know the exact cause of death, they want to know about custody of his children, they want to know how they can get into the service planned for Tuesday at the Staples Center in L.A.
When someone dies, somewhere there is mourning. There is a loss of what that person brought to the lives of others. There is a perceived loss of what they might have done, what they might have contributed of their life had not ended.
Sometimes those close to the deceased are comforted by the many who show to pay their respects. There are times, however, where we wonder why we hadn’t gathered before the person died to let them know how important they were.
This death will continue to be news in the coming weeks, and little by little the story will burn out until a whole week goes by without any mention, then a month. Those close to Michael, especially his children, will hold their memories daily for a long time to come.
No doubt he had tremendous talent. No doubt he shared it with the world. And the world acknowledged his abilities with every record or ticket purchase made. All through his life as a performer, he received acknowledgement and praise for his work.
But many people in everyday life never hear that praise for their work and their life. When they die, people come to tell those who remain how important the deceased was to them. If we had any sense at all, we would tell each other every day how important we are to one another. Is that such a bad idea? Try it tomorrow. And maybe the day after as well.
June 14th, 2009
We moved to the Atlanta area in 2004. It was a work-related move. Part of what I now refer to as my 6-city tour. Six cities in 25 years. The most extended engagement was 8 years. All the moves were east of the Mississippi. And we have tended to like the south more as we have gotten older. Used to love the snow and cold, now we can’t imagine living in upstate NY, or Sandusky, Ohio. Well, maybe long enough to ride a roller coaster there.
Everyplace I’ve lived has had some good points and bad points. Pros and Cons. In Atlanta, the big one on the con side is traffic.
I live about 12 miles from where I work, and there are many routes I can take to get there. Enough options so I can change my route if there appears to be problems ahead. But it generally takes me as much time as my commute to work in Mobile, Alabama, where I lived 20 miles from work.
The first time I accepted a transfer, my methodical, you-gotta-have-a-plan engineering manager gave me his trusted guide for relocation. One of his standard steps was to choose potential neighborhoods, and when visiting the area take the drive from a house you like to your new workplace. In rush hour. An then do the same thing at the end of the workday.
It’s a good suggestion, and although I never followed it, I still recommend it as a consideration. I recommend it because if you spend four or five years at a location, and your drive is at least 30 minutes, then you will spend up to 1,000 hours commuting in that time.
But, with a family that is also being relocated, how to get the kids to school, soccer, dance and whatever can take precedence over drive time. In fact, that way of deciding has worked well for my family, and my engineer friend didn’t always think about that. If he had any sense at all, he might have, and he might have preserved his family.
Sometimes common sense is not about the numbers and simple logic. Sometimes we solve the wrong problem.