Mondays

“Monday 5 Things”™….. What If? …..

It was a relatively normal, very early, lengthy morning drive for some meetings. I arrived early and decided to stop to get some gum to cleanse my palate after one too many Red Bulls during the trip. Oncoming traffic made it easier to turn right into an old food store rather than left into a cleaner Shell station. Gum in hand, I returned to my car and noticed a man in his car next to me crying. As I backed up, I glanced at him again. A vision of a man broken and in despair; despondent and defeated. I felt compelled to not leave.

“Monday 5 Things”™….. When Ya Gotta Go …..

And on a distinctly lighter note this week, do you think that Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, Nietzsche, Confucius and the other usual philosopher subjects were ever tempted to share their wisdom in the loo? Apparently, the Romans were quite fond of graffiti, but I presume WCs were somewhat different in their time. I also suspect that ink wells and quill pens didn’t travel all that well; plus Sharpies weren’t invented until 1964. This morning’s M5T shares some of my favorite quotes of Loo philosophy.

“Monday 5 Things”™…..Higher Valuations…..

M. Scott Peck wrote that “until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” Recent discussions with some friends about their fears, taking risks, making changes in life and how we value – or more expressly how we undervalue ourselves – led to thoughts on higher valuations. This morning’s M5T considers realizing and affecting a higher value.

“Monday 5 Things”™…..Sam He Is…..

2020 marked the 60th anniversary of ‘Green Eggs and Ham’. I still have a collection of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, books on my bookshelf. With all the negative-rhetoric of late about this most positive-hearted man, I pulled the books off the shelf and re-read them. With no politically correct intent, this morning’s M5T reflects on taking risks by trying something new, through the eyes of Sam.

“Monday 5 Things”TM ….. More Or Less …..

“Monday 5 Things”TM ….. More Or Less ….. A friend asked me, “what’s your answer when people ask, ‘how are you?’”. I answered by saying that it depends on who is asking. Pondering the question and my answer for a few hours, I recalled a conversation I interloped on in a caffeine den. A woman asked her friend how she was doing. She replied, “I’m fine…..more or less.”, and moved onto other innocuous points of conversation. Her lack of elucidation, stuck with me, and is More or Less the reason for today’s M5T.

“Monday 5 Things”™…..Backroads and Lyrics…..

I took the backroads from Watkins Glen up to Syracuse a couple of weeks ago. Well, there actually is nothing but back roads on that journey, but that’s a mere detail. Beautiful vistas of the finger lakes, a surprising number of vineyards, and rolling upper New York state roads made for a most pleasant two-hour drive. Along the way, I enjoyed some Classic Rewind on Sirius XM, and if you know me at all, this involved singing at the top of my lungs to the point of a rather hoarse voice by the time I reached my hotel. Today, M5T shares some of the more notable lyrics that struck my fancy.

"Monday 5 Things"™…..Of Memorial Days…..

Today is a day to give honor to those men and women who gave the ultimate price of their lives, so that we can live free. It’s a day to offer up a prayer of humility and gratitude. A day to really listen to the words of this country’s anthem. A day to take a moment longer to look at the sun reflecting through the back of a flag that has come to mean so much to so many around the world. M5T starts this day with the words of those that have served and sacrificed for this country.

Monday 5 Things™…..Mama Don't Take My Kodachrome Away…..

As I sorted through the three to four thousand images that I took each day at Watkins Glen for the Ferrari Challenge race series last week, I found myself thinking how photography has changed since my days of using Kodachrome. Photographic technology has changed radically with digital imaging – for starters, I wouldn’t have taken that many images with Kodachrome - but the importance of photographs has not. This M5T snapshot from 2017 just seemed like a good start to this week.

Monday 5 Things™…..Practice…..

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” Aristotles 'Nicomachean Ethics". In other words, practice. This morning’s M5T looks at practical practices we can all adopt for fuller, richer lives.

Monday 5 Things™…..Dear Mom…..

This morning’s M5T is for my mom, for your mom, for moms everywhere, and for the reasons we have to be thankful for them, as seen through the eyes and pens of the literary world.

Monday 5 Things™.....Cogitare Iterum…..

Take a moment as you wrap your hands around your favorite bit of ceramic – inhaling the aroma that is like no other – then take that first sip of jitter juice. And pause. Cogitare; Latin for think. Today’s M5T postulates on cogitating, deliberating, pondering, musing, ruminating, mediating, considering, and reflecting. Thinking. On this Monday, before the world comes rudely hurtling in on you, take just a moment to think.

Monday 5 Things™…..Of Bridges Burnt…..

I have always been fascinated by the Vikings; not for their ruthless plundering and pillaging though. Rather, the image of intrepid seafaring Norsemen in their longships traversing unchartered waterways of the new world has captivated me since I was a kid. Even more so when I discovered how the Ostman, when advancing for battle, would often burn the bridges behind them; sometimes even burning the very ships that they sailed into harbors. Leaving only two options - victory or death. Today M5T looks at when burning a bridge can and should be a choice.

Monday 5 Things™…..Flight Paths…..

Rather than cram myself into the Plane Train with far too many fellow travelers, I decided to walk between terminals last week at Hartsfield International. I had forgotten about the beautiful piece of art called “Flight Paths” in the people-mover tunnel between terminal A and B. I stopped in my tracks.

Monday 5 Things ™…..Time…..

As I sat in the Atlanta Sky Club under a bizarre weather delay, I enjoyed a hot cup of black elixir and listened to Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. Enjoying the moment of one of my favorite albums of my youth, I reflected on the past year and shook my head in disbelief that we are already through Q1 of this year.....in the words of that great philosopher, Roger Waters, it’s time to stop waiting for someone or something to show us the way. And this morning’s M5T took form.

Monday 5 Things (TM)…..Re-Thinking About It….. 

“I think. I am. I will.” One of my favorite quotes from Ayn Rand’s novella ‘Anthem”, which is about a society in which freedom, individual rights, values and thinking have been abolished. Today M5T celebrates one of the most precious gifts that we can give ourselves. The gift of thinking.

Monday 5 Things (TM)…..Acoustic Annotations in my Auto, Enroute from Athens….. Again.....Acoustic Annotations in my Auto, Enroute from Athens.....Again…..

A couple of weeks ago I was back up in north Georgia with a client. Over the years I have spent a lot of time working up there and it was a pleasure to drive back to Savannah on backroads. “In the Air Tonight” came on XM, and I turned it up to ear-bleed, speaker damaging levels. A big grin crossed my lips as I recalled many such drives in the past and this M5T in particular from over 6 years ago, and I wanted to share it with you once again.

Monday 5 Things …..Beware the Cov-Ides of March…..

It was a year ago this month that we first started to realize the changes that Covid would make to our lives. Little did we know just how radically our lives would be affected. Given this is the month of Ides, you may want to consider pulling out your copy of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, throw a social distanced toga party and pour copious amounts of wine as the Romans were want to do. With a nod to the Ides, this morning’s M5T takes a lighter look at life during this pandemic.

'Monday 5 Things" with D. Paul Graham..... Child-like Innocence.....

I don’t like a lot of clutter, in my life or in my house. But there are some things that I save – things that have meaning and are from significant moments in life. While preparing year end information for my accountant, I came across one such simple gift from a special moment in life that I shared in M5T 3 years ago. It put such a smile on my face, I wanted to share it with you once again. Enjoy.