Opinion

My sister and I began our lives in Kansas City. We lived in a nice suburban neighborhood where the space between houses could be stepped off; heel-toe, heel-toe and everyone had a chain-link fence surrounding their back yard. This was the 1960’s when a kid’s bike was their favorite mode of transportation. A bicycle represented freedom as we pedaled and glided up and down streets with the wind rushing in our faces and nowhere to be until the street light came on at dusk.

I get the basic economics of the movie theater. They get a few bucks from you to walk in the door and then they really stick you with the captive-audience pricing for Cokes and popcorn, as if you were at an airport or football game. There must be an entire MBA class devoted to this highest expression of capitalism, the creation and maintenance of the captive market.

Every morning I wake up with the understanding that I will encounter problems throughout the day. Some I will predict or know are coming; others I know will blindside me. Accepting the fact that problems will arise is an asset because in viewing them as opportunities helps me. There’s a saying attributed to Alfred A. Montapert, “Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” I really like this thought because it inspires me to be proactive in dealing with tribulations. My frustration is lessened because I know and accept snags and complications happen. It helps me to remain calm, access the situation and then act. Accepting the possibility of problems helps in a couple ways. It takes the sting out problems when they arise. Have you ever been around anyone who gets bent out of shape when issues arise? Whining, complaining and exhibiting frustration are time wasters and energy drainers. These three things do damage as they bring down morale, drain momentum for those trying to work, and it’s just plain ugly behavior.

January is, on average, the coldest month of the year. And that means one thing.

Dear (Your-Name-Here) Foundation: I have a plan. Your part is to help.

“I didn’t know he had it in him.” How many times have you heard this statement after someone earned an achievement? When a young Bruce Springsteen attended school as a boy in Freehold, New Jersey, he felt he didn’t fit inside the box. He said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning a couple years ago, “I was probably one of the smartest kids in my class at the time.