May 18, 1950

It doesn't seem like it was 57 years ago when I arrived in this great big wonderful world, but time sure does have a way of sneeking up on us. 12:35 a.m. and I've received three e-cards, one from my sister Mary and her family, one from Raj, and one from the Web Hosting Forum (thanks guys).

You see, the problem is that if I could have my way I would never celebrate another birthday.....actually, I dont celebrate them. My wife and kids do and I guess I'd be a real jerk if I did not at least pretend to be enjoying the fuss and bother. The strangest part is that I have felt this way since I was old enough to know what a birthday was about....I've just never like them and have on many occasions completely ignored the fact that it was occuring. That's an option when you are single, but not when you are married with young kids.

A pivotal year for sure.........don't know what the next year holds for me, but I'm healthy and feel great. I have so many blessings and I just can't complain about any of the challenges because I know in my heart the good Lord is watching over me and that makes everything else relatively unimportant. Under His watchful care and protection my future is going to be just fine.

Happy Friday everyone!

Update from Philips Arena

I was invited to join Mike Woodson and Bernie Mullen this morning for breakfast and a chat, along with about 15 other Hawks season ticket holders. It was a very nice gathering although I don't think most of us walked away with a stronger sense of where the team is going this summer. We know that Management thinks the team is headed in the right direction and that they want us to continue to support their efforts by renewing our season tickets. I spoke with probably five or six of the attendees after the breakfast and they all said essentially the same thing; i.e.: that they would not renew until after the draft and if it meant losing their seats then that was okay with them. I guess that is where I'm at as well although I have the added strain of figuring out how to justify them from a financial perspective given the past several months. Still, it's great entertainment and with the right team on the floor it could be an exciting year. Go Hawks!

But think about it from a business perspective for a minute. I have a product and at the end of the day it really is entertainment, or at least that is what I think of professional sports. I go to NBA games to be entertained and that "entertainment factor" is raised significantly when my team wins the game. I can deal with losing to better teams as long as my team played with heart, but the "entertainment factor" is dramatically reduced when my team loses over and over again and often through what you could only term as stupidity; i.e.: they play badly, make amateur mistakes and lose close games that should have been won except for these inconsistencies.

So now I want to take that product and market it to the community. How do you convince people to pay thousands of dollars each season to watch a losing team? Mike Woodson may very be a teaching coach, but his win/loss record is horrible and I'm amazed that the has been retained for another year. I can't say that I'm an expert on the game of basketball. I like to watch the game, up close and personal if possible. But I do have a fairly good sense of the value of a product that does not perform in the market and that is certainly the Atlanta Hawks today. I don't know, but I think that I might have made a stronger effort to convince my core customers to hang with me that Mike and Bernie did this morning. We all left with an NBA basketball having had some bacon and eggs (the basketballs were not signed.....I think that would have been a nice touch) and the eggs were a tad runny. I don't think anyone left with a burning desire to go home and write a check and that is what I would have been pushing for were I the sales guy running the show.

On a another note, Patrick D. Gaul, Inc. is fairly close to signing it's first contract as a company. Can't say much about it due to Non-disclosure, but suffice it to say that I'm excited about the opportunity and I think it could be the start of a very nice relationship for my company.

Anyway, more later from the streets of Atlanta.........

Has It Really Been Eight Days?

Gosh, I thought I had posted something over the last week, but obviously not since the last post was 29 April. Oh well, can I please plead an insane schedule and the weekend from hell? It all started on April 28th when I travelled to my sister's home just outside of Atlanta to spend some time with my Mom while my sister and her husband attended their daughter's college graduation ceremony. Their daughter is a late starter, or finisher, depending upon your perspective.......but finish she did and my hat is off to her given she is also a Mom and working part-time. That takes a lot of commitment and Rachel (that's my niece) has demonstrated that she can do just about anything when she sets her mind to the task.

I was relieved on Wednesday, the 2nd of May in the late afternoon by my brother Joe and my sister Mary. Yes, it is true, it takes two to replace me. Of course, my sister Judy would argue that it takes three to replace her and the good Lord knows she is absolutely right.

This past weekend Ellie performed in both the Wizard of Oz (Toto again by popular demand) and Annie where she had three or four roles including playing Rooster, the brother of the evil woman who runs the orphanage. What was her name? Ellie was quite entertaining and had moments of brilliance along with a few seconds of silliness. Oh well, what would be the point of being nine years old if you can not be silly now and again?

After Annie on Saturday morning we rushed to Centennial High so we could support Kate in her year-end ballet recital. I did a bit of parking management, handed out programs, coached some late arrivals and basically did whatever Kate needed me to do. That is what husbands are for from time to time. Joe worked the concession stand and was very helpful. You know, he turned eleven on the 27th of April and is growing so fast........it won't be long before he'll not want to spend time with Dad, but until then I want to cherish all these special times together because it makes me aware of just how special a lad he has become in the past few years.

We then rushed home, showered, and put on our formal attire for the Digital Ball, which was held at the Georgia Congress Center. What an amazing evening! The entertainment was spectacular. I saw so many folks that my headed actually started to spin at one point. Anyway, more of this event in a later post because I really want to do it justice.

Sunday morning was about church and then a short visit with my Mom and by brother Joe before heading for the Buckhead Garden Club's Annual Spring Party. It was a blast (some pictures above for your viewing pleasure)and before you could say "Bob is your Uncle", Monday had arrived and another week is on its way. By the way, I ran into Phil Kent, who I had met at last year's Christmas Party. He is an incredibly interesting chap and has a new book coming out very soon, which you can find on his web site......www.philkent.com. Please do take a look and whatever you do, don't buy it on his site because I'll have it on offer on my site very shortly. Sorry Phil, I need the Amazon Affiliate Points.

Busy, busy, busy. I promise to write a more sane missive tomorrow, but just wanted to update everyone and share some photo's from this past week.

Cheers and Goodnight!