Like moths to a flame

Some people just attract attention. Without particularly trying, they can enter a room and other people seem to instinctively know that this is somebody worth paying attention too. This person treats everybody equally – the high-powered executive or the cleaning person – and they both feel that they are being treated with respect, kindness and friendliness. Of course I’ve known this about Sue forever (forever being since she was 15 years old) and it’s one of the many things I love about her and never get tired of witnessing. It happens in restaurants (one day a confused young waiter sheepishly confessed to her “I know you must be somebody famous by the way everybody else greats you, but I just don’t know who you are”). It happens at parties (just the other night a young man – coincidentally our sons EXACT age – was being mesmerized by her story telling and pleaded for the honor of hearing the next one which she initially was reluctant to tell on the basis of his young age - 23). But today was a bit more comical – at my work. As it happens, I messed up and took the wrong vehicle to work – so after bringing Joe & Jamie for a doctor’s appointment, she had to stop by and swap car with van. Our new marketing VP noticed the van pull in and then this woman with two children approaching the front door. He immediately pegged her as a potential purchaser of our fine kitchen cabinetry and leaped into action – greeting her cheerfully at the door, offering hot chocolate to the kids, and attempting to get a quick idea of what she might be interested in. OK – admittedly, this wasn’t the typical case of her “aura” drawing people in, but more a reflection of how desperate the cabinet industry is now-a-days. But despite Mr VP’s initial disappointment at losing the prospect of a sale (he knows how much I make) he continued on chatting happily and pushing the hot chocolate for the kids. Even when she is saying “no” to a man, they can’t resist the desire to be in her presence!

She's a Rainbow

Have you seen her all in gold
Like a queen in days of old
She shoots colors all around
Like a sunset going down
Have you seen the lady fairer
She comes in colors everywhere;
She combs her hair
She's like a rainbow

(Rolling Stones - 1967)

It's not a perfect world!

I learned this Sunday from two sources - a 7 year old Mite-C player at about 6:15am (see - already not a perfect world especially after only 3-1/2hrs sleep) and a girls team coach at around noon.
The title for this post is a direct quote from the coach who tried to explain why I shouldn't have called a penalty on his team for illegally substituting for a player coming off of a penalty. His excuse was based on the odd way the penalty bench is set up in this particular rink (his home rink where his team plays half it games) is not clearly separated from their players bench and therefore is "not a perfect world" (he did not dispute the rule, or dispute the fact that they broke it). It did make me wish I had realized this eternal truth earlier so that I might have used it as words of comfort to the earlier distraught 7 year old. He had been involved in one of those Mite-C collisions (one can't turn, one can't stop = CRASH!). As I knelt next to the crying child, his coach came to help him up and asked the boy "what happened". The from-the-mouths-of babes reply was "that big kid checked me into the God Damned boards!"

To sum it all up....

St. Lucia & Sandals Resorts are great - I recommend them to anyone. But as wonderful a location it was, the best part was remembering how much fun it is to adventure and explore with Sue and how easy it was to be in love with her. Certainly the kids and our daily life in general are adventures of their own sort, and we still love each other - but to be so far away just the two of us removed the mountains of obstacles and have-to's that typically make it hard to see our wonderful forest for all of our mundane trees. Once upon a time, we were able to go hiking, or to the beach, or simply out to eat without fretting about who was babysitting or who had to be picked up when, or if we had it in our budget. So for a whole week it was magically like old times. Although I wasn't perfect way back then, and certainly I have not fixed any flaws since then (the word regress might fit here), it was so easy to be at my best on our vacation. Now the challenge is to retain the feelings of renewal as we navigate the same-old same-old routines. I'll keep trying to live up to the challenge because I know how worth it she is. The proof is still fresh in my mind.

Pirate Night at St Lucia Sandals

Fire breathing men, fire eating women, limbo dancers all followed the St Lucian drum semi-circle. Watch and be amazed!

http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/StLucia2008Video#5269611981642218306

OK - I know that THIS is what you really want to hear

by now you are already sick of hearing about how wonderful and perfect our trip was. You realize it couldn't possibly be ALL great. So this should make you feel better.



day 1 - we had to get out of bed at 2:00am and drive to Logan Airport

day 1 - we weren't on the pick up list at the St Lucia airport

day 1 - Sue didn't get her cold towel when we arrived at the resort

day 2 - there was another guitar player at the "Staff/ Guest" talent show

day 2 - they didn't declare a talent show "winner" (and I totally would have won it)

day 3 - the hungover "other" guitar player and his grumpy buddy's joined us on the horseback ride

day 3 - I caught a cold/sore throat

day 4 - I got an earful/mouthfull/nosefull/swimsuitfull of sand&surf while body surfing

day 4 - I lost my "Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" bandanna in the surf (and it was doing such a fine job of preventing the top of my head from getting sunburned up to then)

day 4 - I got kicked out of the ocean by the lifeguards because the waves were too rough (not for me, but the other body surfers must have looked like they were out of their league)

day 5 - an hour & 15 minutes and Mass was not yet finished

day 5 - I got kicked out of the small pool (who knew they treated it at 9:00pm?)

day 5 - a random cloud on the horizon interfered with an otherwise perfect sunset

day 6 - Englishmen in their 60's keep informing us of everything they are certain we don't know

day 6 - another random cloud on the horizon interfered with another otherwise perfect sunset

day 6 - the "Pirate" ship sailing across the sunset didn't actually attack the yacht

day 7 - the 4 mile drive to the snorkling boat took a half hour

day 7 - I wasn't allowed to pretend to be a shark while snorkling

day 8 - we had to leave

day 8 - climbing to 38000ft and decending again is very painful when you have water in your ears (each time)

day 8 - Miami Airport Customs

day 8 - Boston weather 45 degrees & rainy

WOW! Suddenly I realize what a horrible time I must have had (thank goodnes I didn't realize it at the time!)

There now - don't you feel better - knowing the true suffering we had to endure? - after we tried so hard to make you all jealous? - aren't you glad it was us and not you?

All that being said, knowing what I know now..... lets go back tomorrow!!!!!

it was strange to spend a week:

(except for a few rare occasions - which simply served to impress the point)
not really needing a watch
not really needing a wallet
eating whatever you wanted
eating more than you ever wanted
drinking whatever / whenever / wherever you wanted
wondering if I'd get determined enough to get my moneys worth and really drunk (sorry to disappoint you all, but I did whip Sue a pingpong while I have a mild buzz)
being served by genuinely happy friendly wait staff EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME
being greeted by genuinely happy friendly people everywhere we went - both on and off the resort
looking at flowers growing (outdoors) in November
looking at bikini's EVERYWHERE in November (heck, at anytime of year)
realizing that it was impossible to NOT look at bikini's - they were truly unescapable
realizing that the women were not bashful/concerned/offended
and that the men were not learing/creepy/offensive
where each days top priority for many people was to claim the select lounge chairs early enough
choosing to do things on a whim, or nothing at all - and it was all acceptable.
wondering how such a small, poor country produced so many top-rate cover bands
wondering when I became so bad at pool (I used to be ok)
not really worrying about the kids back home
wondering why we didn't do this sooner
realizing that if we did this years ago, we would have had many years of disappointing vacations!
trying to figure out how/how soon we can get back again

a view with a room

Sue wanted a balconey with an ocean view. This was the view.

Thankfully there was a room attached to it! The room was very basic, but with the balcony, view, and entire resort just steps away - who needed more? It had a private outside entrance (where occasionally there was a tiny tree frog sitting on the railing, waiting for us) so it did not feel like a typical plain hotel room.

The sound of the ocean was the constant "white noise" for us to sleep by. Interestingly enough, you could clearly hear the sound of the ocean waves from inside the bathroom too. There was a vent above the tub that vented out to the balcony and chaneled the ocean noises in.

"Trust in God" vs "Prepare for the day of Reckoning"

Through careful planning I managed to save up the the necessary final payment for our trip just before the economy nosedived. I then hemmed and hawed about whether to use up my vacation days while we were only working 4 day weeks. If I used them up to get 5 days pay, I would have none left by the time we went - meaning taking an unpaid vacation. If I DIDN'T use them up and the company went under before we left, I would never get to collect them and would have blown that money. Unfortunately for many - but thankfully for me - when they layed off 75% of the workforce, the rest of us got to work 40 hr weeks again (2 weeks before my vacation departure date). I fought off the "smart/safe" logic that said if we cancelled our trip and got our money back, we would be able to catch up on all overdue bills and have a small reserve. I half-kidded about wondering if I would have a job to come back to when we came back.


Well, I had faith and trusted that I would get to collect my vacation pay after my vacation, and that we "deserved" this trip and owed it to ourselves - no matter what happened. God would provide for us. "No pressure, no worries" as they love to say often on St. Lucia. So I put work out of my mind for a whole wonderful week.


Yesterday I trustingly drove to my job and was thankful to see that indeed I did still have one.

Phhhewwww!!! Thank You God!



















Today my boss informed all of us who still remained that our wages were being reduced by 10% until business improved.

we're BACK!

despite the fact that the very first sign you see when you walk off the tarmack and into the St Lucia airport states "If you wish to cancel your return flight, call 800-xxx-xxxx".

I am assuming that you all realize that we went to St. Lucia, W.I. (windward islands) for a week. Sandals Resort - Luxury Included Vacations (all-inclusive/all adult - you really must try it). Yes, we voted - and then skipped the country!

I will post more eloquent thoughts as we get re-acclimated to the real world again, but for starters here is a favorite photo that captures the experience quite well (being all-inclusive means that I was a major gluton for the first few days but I eventually mastered moderation!)

I title this shot "first breakfast in paradise".

BTW - Although Suzie's weight watcher "goal" was to "maintain", mine was to gain 5 pounds. I don't know yet how she did, but let me assure you - I succeeded!

(for the full photo album go here http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/StLucia2008#

Please vote FOR somebody

My friend CRM sent a multi-forwarded "letter" explaining to us why we should not vote for Obama. I found this rather funny coming from (not originating from) a guy who hasn't voted in 30 years. If he DID vote, I assume it would be against Obama

Here's what I believe. there is NOBODY who goes into that job truly prepared for it. There is no way for one person to get all the experience needed ahead of time. It is an "On The Job Training" position. Therefore, like most creative jobs - you need to pick somebody who has a vision of what the future should look like, enthusiasm to pursue it, and an ability to sway people to cooperate with him/her to get there.
(as a comparison, I look at my Youth Ministry friends. All want good programs, but some actually envision what it looks like before they take the position. They are more likely to succeed.)
ALL politicians will make mistakes, or compromise on something they would prefer NOT to compromise on. Some will vote against a bill - not because of the particular issue, but because of all the attached strings. I don't think that being in the military automatically makes one better qualified to be commander-in-chief. It might give one an edge regarding on-going strategy of remaining in a conflict, but might limit ones views on how to get OUT of one or AVOID the next.

Obama has excited people - McCain has not.
Even the big money republicans who have the most to gain by a McCain victory, are reluctant to donate as much money to his campaign. Basically - Republican Bigwigs decided early on that McCain was a risky investment. If he can't win support from his own people, how can he negotiate successfully with Congress or foriegn governments for support of his ideas. Obama has proven the ability to convince people to believe he can & will succeed. This is an ability you can't teach a person. He can learn the details and methods as he goes. McCain cannot learn to be persuasive, no matter how experienced he might be at the details.

In short - I believe that Obama will listen more open-mindedly to a wider range of opinions, and make choices that will benefit a wider cross-section of Americans. I believe he has a vision of how America & Americans can be better, stronger, respected that is more closely in tune with my own. Although I admire McCains personal strength and loyalty to his country, he has not convinced me that he has a vision that drives him.

People who have a "Vision" can see what the end result should be. They might not know yet how to get there, but given a chance, they are more likely to figure it out. They are more likely to persuade others to cooperate with them in figuring it out.

I believe that I (and most people I know - average Americans) will be better off with Obama as President. Four years from now I might change my mind, but today - I'm voting for Obama.

If you believe in McCain, by all means -and with my blessing - vote FOR him.
But this "voting against somebody" idea is counter-productive.