Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter

We have both ends this Easter - joy and sadness. We will have the joy of being with Anna and watching her hunt eggs. She now loves life and enjoys every minute of it passing that joy onto us. We also get to spend the day with our daughter and son-in-law, my mom, and my brothers' and sister's families.

On the other hand, our son and daughter-in-law and my niece and nephew in college won't be with us. That makes me sad. I hate it when someone is missing from the crowd. You'd think with the big crowd we have it would be hard to miss anyone, but there will be a little piece of my heart that will shed a tear today. Guess it's selfish - me missing them. But, I am sure they will be missing us, too.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Colin Powell

We were given tickets to hear Colin Powell speak tonight. I've always admired him, but now even more. He was a fantastic public speaker. He is a brilliant man. It was a wonderful experience.

His message was what my Dad taught us. A good leader takes care of his followers and good followers take care of their leader. Everyone has a purpose. The janitor who cleaned his office had the job of getting it ready for the world the next day. And, you let him know his job is important and that he does a good job.

He told a great story about how he sneaked out of his office when he was Secretary of State and went to the basement where the garage is. There were more cars than spaces, so they had to park triple. The last had to wait to get out. He said the workers were mainly immigrants who were paid not much more than minimum. After chatting with them, he asked how they decided who was in the front and who got the back. Finally a brave soul told him. Those who rolled down the window and said good morning got the front. Those who wouldn't even give them a look got the back. My Dad always told us you treat everyone the same. The janitor is as important as the president/boss.

I am so happy we went. Off to write a thank you to my niece who gave us the tickets.