New Shoes in the Rain

It's Thursday and I hope that wherever you live there have not been adverse weather conditions affecting you and yours.... Yesterday I was in the middle of some yard work when I saw the news flash on my watch--Special Counsel Robert Mueller was to address the media, with the actual subject unknown. After finishing what I needed to complete, I watched some excerpts and analysis and must say, that's how one has the last word.  He spoke directly, factually and definitively.  I'm paraphrasing, but at some point he indicated that this would be the last and only time he would speak publicly about the investigation he led for approximately two years. And then the pundits returned to reading the tea leaves, as they've done for, well, two years. What happens next?  Hard to say, since the Democrats who control the House could easily bring impeachment proceedings against the President, but they would do so knowing full well that the Republicans who control the Senate (wher...

Good Thursday morning to you.... First and foremost, I hope that if you're in one of the areas being hard hit by tornados and other violent weather that you and yours are safe. Here in central Kentucky we've had some pretty drastic swings in temperature and conditions.  The first two mornings of this week we had almost cool mornings followed by very mild days and evenings.  Yesterday, though it was very hot and humid and today seems to be somewhere in between.  As they say in many places, if you don't like today's weather, wait a little while and it will change! My wife and I recently delved into the massive movie selection on Netflix and found several items that we enjoyed, and most of them are very family friendly.  The lone exception was "Olympus has Fallen," a non-stop action picture that outlines what would happen if well-organized terrorists decided to incapacitate the American government by taking over the White House.  "Die Hard" in Was...

Greetings, friends.  Hope you're not in one of the larger parts of the country anticipating some challenging weather over the next few days. Just back from a trip west for a family occasion.  I won't bore you with travel stories, except to say (mostly for those who know me) that I deliberately placed myself in the middle seat on both flights.  You may talk amongst yourselves about this rare occurrence as you like. However, since it's not available here in my home area, I will offer that my wife and I joined our daughter one morning for a spectacular breakfast at a place called Snooze.  Kudos to our vigilant, patient and generous server J'Dinkalige for a wonderful experience. The 24-hour news cycle certainly makes for some interesting and maddening headlines and stories, and our current White House administration appears to adhere to the "all media is good media" mentality.  So that means that there are going to be stories that are of little value except ...

I'm sure you've read, heard or seen the news of the latest school shooting, at the STEM Schools in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a Denver suburb.  One student died, others wounded and some injured seriously. And this comes on the heels of another campus shooting, this one at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on their last day of classes. And America shrugs, knowing that no one in authority will do anything to prevent this from happening again.  And again and again and again. I honestly don't know the answer to this.  I've written in this space that I thought Newtown would be the breaking point.  Then I remember saying the outdoor concert shooting in Las Vegas would prompt some action, or the Pulse nightclub shootings in central Florida.  Or the events at Parkland, Florida. No.  Nothing's been done, and nothing will likely BE done. Bravo to the retailers who have taken matters into their own hands and discontinued certain styles of weapons...

Friends, there's no good way to say this....yesterday I was unexpectedly and suddenly separated from my job. Again. I began this particular venture just over two months ago, with high hopes and confidence in my ability to make a difference.  But in the end, my contribution wasn't enough to override the senior management that entered the situation between my acceptance of this position and my first day on the job. I was told that "senior management" had determined that locations the size of the one I worked for in Lexington could not financially support positions like mine, so the positions were being eliminated. Immediately. Here we go again. So once again I reenter the career search process, the networking, the chasing down of leads of varying quality and validity, the indifference of employers who advertise their openings but yet don't want to invest any time in the candidate contact necessary to responsibly manage the process. But I'll do it, ...