For me the
holiday season was always the most rewarding time of the year as a child
interested in hunting. I had every issue of deer and deer hunting
magazine to fill in during the non-holiday months. But hearing and
seeing hunting as a kid can never be replaced..those memories will stick
with you the rest of your years. During Christmas and Thanksgiving, we
started a tradition. My Grandfather, God rest his soul, used to sit down
after the meal and tell us of all the deer hunting stories he remembered
growing up. For me their was no better story teller that lived.
I learned from him that the Hatch Valley
once had a volcano erruption and the hot lave might be what made the
chile taste so good. One thing was for certain, the best chile is
planted and harvested in southern New Mexico.
James Douglas Muir Leno was born April 28, 1950, in New
Rochelle, New York. His Italian father Angelo sold insurance and his
Scottish mother Cathryn was a housewife.
straight
from the source
It's no secret that Jay Leno beat out David Letterman when it
was time for NBC to replace the retiring Johnny Carson in 1992. But, did
you know since the six foot tall comedian started hosting "The Tonight
Show" that he rarely takes a day off? One of his many cars can most
always be seen parked in his reserved "#1" parking place at the NBC
Studio in Burbank. And, on top of doing the show, Jay Leno still manages
to perform more than 150 standup comedy gigs a year. I quickly came to a startling conclusion: people
will sing along to anything. The content of the song doesn't matter.
Politics simply don't enter into it. People are really singing along to
the melody, or the bass line or something. What the words actually mean
is immaterial.
If your firm were a car what would it be? Strong and tough
like a
buy truck
auto accessories? Sleek and
fast like a Ferrari? Sophisticated and state-of-the-art like a Mercedes
S-Class? How about an ice cream flavor? A beverage? A movie genre? All
of these exercises not only make for a lively discussion, but work to
help define your firm personality. Once that emerges, look for ways to
incorporate it in your firm's daily business- from answering the phones
to your letterhead. To digress a bit, I need to tell you that Sgt. Grace lied. First,
the language I was assigned to study was Vietnamese. Second, after going
through the 101st Airborne Division's jungle combat school in Phan Rang,
I was assigned to the 1st Brigade, a reactionary unit. I joined them in
Dak To, and early the next morning was flown out to join an artillery
battery in what was called "Operation Eagle Bait". Didn't take long to
find out we were the bait, and Charlie was the eagle. The objective was
to tempt the Viet Cong into attacking us, then bring in an assault wave
of Huey's loaded with infantry, and wipe the enemy out. What I quickly
discovered is that there is nothing in the world comparable to the first
night you are brought out of a deep sleep by M-60 machine gun fire. A couple of
guys that had graduated from high school with me picked me up at the end
of my afternoon shift, and we went drinking in Lorain. We ended up in
Hannah's Bar on North Broadway just a couple of blocks south of Lake
Erie. Visit the NTX web site to learn of classic auto shows and
swap meets that are held periodically in the parking lot. Reservations
are now being taken for the first annual New Year's Eve party to happen
December 31, 2009.