…and when your team has lost eleven straight games, it’s good to know there is shoe therapy.
And grandsons — two of whom are arriving this morning to spend the day. Tomorrow morning, I bury myself in choreography and lesson plans for music theory, and will remain in that state all weekend. Hence, the hating of everything.
But on the bright side, today is filled with playing ball and trucks and maybe going to the store to buy a couple of baseball gloves.
Is it June yet? Need…more…shoes…
Had a great Monday with BFF Kay. We left after lunch and headed to Cleveland for a day of shopping and dinner.
I generally loathe going school-clothes shopping, as I am both impatient and picky: mutually exclusive — and therefore, unfortunate — traits to possess. I want what I want, but I want to get it over with. Lucky for me, Kay is the same way. So off we went to turbo-bargain-hunt. It was a smashing success; awesome in every way.
Possibly the sweetest bargain was the discovery of a $120 leather purse marked down to $48 at Wilson’s Leather. Sweeter yet: they had two of them, so we both got one. Now we can do the whole “we’re twins!” thing. (Kay was less than delighted when I reminded her of this fun fact.) The bag is cool because while it looks dandy and can go anywhere you’d dress up, it also converts to a cute backpack. Score.
So seven shirts/blouses, three skirts, the purse and two pairs of shoes later, it was a good trip with great deals. Dinner was kind of weird, though.
Neither of us had ever been to Buca di Beppo, so we tried out the one in Strongsville. First off, question: Why do they make it look like Italians have to have every inch of available space on a wall covered? Why is that necessarily an Italian trait? I don’t remember restaurants like these in Italy, and Kay, who has been there many times and as recently as a year or two ago, didn’t either. And even if they do exist there, it isn’t likely that it’s the representative norm. Anyway…busy and interesting walls, but that’s not the most memorable part.
You can tell the wait staff are well trained in their opening monologue. As soon as we answered that in fact yes, it was our first time at Buca di Beppo, we were taken on a whirlwind tour by Justin, who showed us the kitchen (complete with a table one can request in order to watch the food being cooked — no thanks) before seating us in the “peach room,” where someone had painted (stenciled) peaches on the walls. Not that you could tell, mind, because every available centimeter of wallspace was covered with vintage-looking photos. Think borderline-Italian version of Cracker Barrel.
The food was actually quite good, but the waiters in our dining room…yikes. Never in all my years of dining out have I ever heard such LOUD TALKING. I mean, these two guys came into the room and you pretty much had to wait until they left. There’s a point where you just know that everything they’re saying has been said a thousand times before, with the same inflection, word choice, and enthusiasm. Such was the case at BdB. It got old reeeeeeally fast. I hope they’re not all that way.
I’m a basically patient person (unlike BFF Kay), but by the time we left, I wanted to pretty much cold-cock the guy. That’s saying something.
Still, it was a beautiful day, and we finished off by stopping at Malley’s Chocolates so we could bring our husbands a fun chocolate treat. We’re awesome, yes.
Today, the Finkmobile goes to the doctor. Thermostat problems. The car has a fever. It’s always something, lemmetellya…
But happy day! One day closer to you-know-what. 
FO
Running at least an hour behind on my morning reading today. How can you jank your neck on a treadmill?? Oy. Regardless, that’s what I did, and I broke down last night and did something I rarely do: I took a narc. The Percocet put me out bigtime, and I didn’t regain consciousness until I heard Rousseau sneeze on the floor beside the bed at 7:00.
*Yaawwwn*
So anyway, to the wisdom. One of my many articles over coffee was about how the Five Guys burger franchise got off the ground. Founder Jerry Murrell said:
Customers initially gawked [in 1986] at the $2.19 price ($4.59 today, adjusted for inflation), but once they tasted the burgers they eventually came around.
“Some people said, ‘I’m not paying that much for a hamburger.’ And then we’d say, ‘OK, don’t pay for it, just take it then.’ And you know, in the 25 years we’ve done that, every single customer’s come back and paid it plus a big tip. And they became customers of ours,” Murrell says. “I think people will pay a little extra for food if it’s worth it.”
That really struck me, and I’ll tell you why.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I have been thinking more and more lately of my *next* career. As many of you know, I’m leaning towards baking in order to supplement my pension when retirement comes. That, and maybe getting on with a university somewhere to supervise student teachers, or work in an office part time…anything but give studio lessons, pal. With regard to baking, I asked myself, “Do I believe in what I’m doing enough to give it away in order to sell it?”
I cover my cakes in buttercream made with real butter. I make my royal icing by hand, and will painstakingly decorate each homemade sugar cookie with it myself. The prices will reflect this formula, for sure. And if someone doesn’t want to pay, say, a dollar and a half for one of my cookies, do I have the confidence to say, “OK, just take it then”? Truth is, as much as folks may not want to believe it, in order to be a success, you have to be in business for more than just money. Scratch that. You don’t have to, but if you’re not, a crucial element is missing, and your customers will undoubtedly, at some point, sense it.
Therefore, your level of passion and the quality of your product — and, quite likely, the success of your endeavor — are inextricably linked. That’s a big bite to chew, because it involves great risk, far beyond the standard dangers of starting your own business. The Five Guys people believed in their product so completely, they were willing to step in front of a proverbial speeding train for it. Will I have that kind of courage? I hope so.
Interesting food for thought on a Sunday morning. And speaking of food, breakfast is ready. Come on over and I’ll give it to you for free.
To what, you ask? Hmmm. Give ya three guesses.
Actually, this is the time of year when, at 16 days until I see students again, I really try to kick things into gear for s****l to start.
I don’t know about other teachers, but every year about this time, it feels like I’m starting a new job. Private sector fiends: remember how you felt on your first day of work? A little nervy, maybe a bit apprehensive, or even worried? That’s how I feel every August. Maybe it’s because it’s always a case of “you never know what you’re gonna get.” I could have strong singers, or there could be gaping holes in the ensembles. I teach electives (except for 5th grade music class), so who knows how many will take me, and how many will want to stay after the first day?
What am I complaining about, though? Band directors have been at it for weeks already. [There’s a reason I chose vocal over instrumental.]
I must admit, I have thought more about retirement this summer than any other summer before. Maybe it’s because I have three grandsons whose lives I am going to want to be a part of as they get older and in school. Ball games, concerts…I really want to be there for all that stuff. I’ll just have to plan more carefully.
It will shock many of you to know that I will mark off Wednesday nights in mid-September so I can continue with my cake decorating classes. That means no rehearsals for me on those nights. I have never done that before. It’s always been school first, and, well, everything else last. Not so this year. Choreography can wait.
Speaking of choreography…I’d better start while the Thriller is at class all day. Tap shoes, tap shoes. How I’m beginning to hate you.
But hey, for the moment, it’s the weekend — enjoy your Saturnday!
Interesting: the result of endless acrimony, accusations, hit-backs and one-upsmanship is what?
Gay marriage: no minds are changed.
Gun control: no minds are changed.
Balancing the federal budget: no minds are changed.
Now I’m not saying that scholarly debate is useless. I’m not silly enough to ignore that our government was founded on taking on delicate issues and making decisions — often through debate — that promote the common good. I get that. Indeed, one hears about members of Congress changing their votes on this or that issue pretty regularly (although there is likely *always* something in it for them), and I hope it’s because someone is able to persuade with logic and supporting facts. Still, the hot-button issues in this country feature very few — if any — flip flops in opinion.
Same debate, same logic, same people with the same passion — same result. No minds are changed.
Those who blame partisan politics on either side, in my opinion, are naïve. The Chick-Fil-A thing isn’t about politics. It’s a religious stance that has spilled over into a ridiculous political avalanche, separated generally at party lines. Yes, Dan Cathy is a businessman who is entitled to espouse his personal views. And yes, people are entitled under the law to protest them. The right to dissent is a biggie in our culture; I just wish there was an accompanying listening law. You know, civilized discourse. On BOTH sides.
But…no minds are ever changed.
And fiends, it’s OK that no minds are changed. But at some point, in any argument, reasonable people have to agree to disagree and find a compromise. Or walk away. I will say that the marriage laws in this country are, at the very least, unfair, incongruent with the concept of church-state separation, and at the most serious, completely discriminatory towards taxpaying citizens. All because of several widely, controversially and loosely interpreted (ask any real theologian) passages in the Christian Bible. I won’t go into that today, but I’m reading a really interesting book about it. More on that another time.
Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is we have poverty and unemployment in our own back yards. Kids are failing in school. Our government has come this close to shutting down on several occasions in recent years. Millions of people are uninsured. And Chick-Fil-A dominates the news? THIS is what gets people riled up and ready to take a bold stand in their communities? What about lining up at the local schools with armfuls of supplies? Or how about forming a half-mile-long queue outside the local shelter, food items in hand? It’s embarrassing to me.
All this because of a handful of controversial statements in the Bible. The Bible — which is supposed to be a clear and detailed guide for the life of a Christian. Well if it’s so clear and detailed, why has there been so much debate over the centuries about its meaning? If its clarity is so visible, why don’t we all believe the same way?
But back to my point.
Why are Jews allowed to marry in this country? They don’t even believe that Christ was the son of God, fuh cripesake. Where is the outrage there? Instead, you’re picking on homosexuals, many of whom profess to love God and are faithful to a church? Why aren’t the chicken people flapping their wings about that? Or how about American atheists who marry? Or Buddhists or Muslims? They don’t read or obey the scriptures, and according to many evangelicals, won’t ever set foot in heaven…so why should they be allowed to marry? Are they not an “abomination to God?” What could possibly be worse than a blasphemer?
People pick a pet sin and ride it into the sunset. And please do not ever say to me, “Love the sinner; hate the sin.” What a horrible thing to say to anyone. Any idea how that makes you sound? If “contemptible, pretentious, arrogant, misinformed Pharisee” doesn’t come to mind, I’ll be happy to enlighten you.
Well, I’m out of time and I need to get bizzy today. I know I don’t wax political or religious very often. That’s because I am neither. But I submit that a 10-year-old can see the enormous holes in this thing. And you don’t even have to approve of the gay lifestyle to admit that tax-paying homosexuals in this country are disenfranchised. We wouldn’t deny a marriage license to the nastiest drug dealer on the street with positively no morals, or the person who says “God is a fairy tale and anyone who believes in it is a gullible moron.” Yet we’ll do it to these law-abiding people, many of whom are believers. That’s because people have pet sins. Wrong and wrong, on a dozen different levels.
OK, enough already. Need to get going. Hey, it’s Finkday and payday! That’s a good thing everyone can agree on.
Sincerely,
Matthew 7:5
