Taxes

I had an interesting day at work today. One of our franchise owners was the previous pastor of a Church in Washington. He decided to buy a franchise with us. He's a great guy and is building a fine business, growing every month, and takes good care of his employees. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with him and consulting with him. Today we talked about his growing tax burden. He complained about how high it's becoming and how little he gets in return. I think he believed that wealthy business owners somehow escape taxation. What a rude awakening.

I reminded him of the government's view of the economy (according to Ronald Reagan). Their view is summed up in just a few short phrases: "If it moves, tax it; if it keeps moving; regulate; if it stops moving, subsidize it."

I think it was Reagan who said, "Government is like a baby - an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

Lost Creek Hike

This summer I am planning a trip through Lost Creek Wilderness with some friends. The Wilderness area is pretty large and I've never hiked through the entire thing. Tyler and I have hiked in from the North end (Lost Park) and the South (Goose Creek) and I've hiked in from the East side (Wigwam Trail) with Tyler and other friends to go climbing several times but never completed a loop in the interior. It's rugged country as you can see, but very beautiful. This has long been a dream of mine, to see the whole thing. For a report on Lost Creek try this link. It has great photos of someone's trip coming in from Goose Creek. Tyler and I saw a little known valley (of extraordinary beauty) on one of our trips near the shaft house. This link has a great shot of this incredible valley. The only reasonable way to see this valley, is to squeeze through some very large boulders. We will do it from the other end first and try to find the valley of course. http://www.aroundcolorado.com/trip_reports/2004_0612_LostCreek/photo_30.html

More Snow

I get back from Memphis only to wake up to this. This is the camera at Kipling and Morrison Road shot this morning. This isn't too far from our house. It just won't let up. Today's forecast is below and snow is predicted for Monday and Tuesday as well.



Note: The above link is real time. Tomorrow it will be showing current conditions for tomorrow. Just think, now you can always check this road to see what's going on here!

Current Conditions (as of 6:55 AM)	Today's forecast		°F | °C
Short term forecast Flurries 21°F Feels like: 11°F Barometer: 30.2 in Dewpoint: 18° Humidity: 84% Visibility: 2 miles Wind: 9 mph N Sunrise: 7:12 AM Sunset: 5:13 PM Observed at Aurora, Buckley Air Force Base Airport. All times shown are local to Denver.	Today		Hi: 25° Lo: 7°
	Snow Showers
	9 AM		19°
	Flurries
	Noon		23°
	Flurries
	6 PM		17°
	Snow Showers

Airport meeting

My good friend Craig Hanson was in town tonight. I was flying in from Memphis and he was in Denver for meetings. We met at the airport and had a great conversation and visit. Mostly about kids and our favorite sport, basketball. Of course, Craig is pretty excited about his Suns and I like the Nuggets. I kept bragging about how great the Nuggets are, now that we have AI and Melo is back from the NY brawl, only to come home and watch the Nugs lose to Utah.

Going Green

Here are some interesting things I learned this week. The cleaning industry produces 6 billion pounds of chemicals every year, 4.5 billion pounds of paper (much of which I used yesterday, see my blog), and 1 billion pounds of equipment. None of it is re-usable. Once we put the bowl cleaner in the bowl, those chemicals are gone forever, vacuums are thrown into the landfills, and the paper well... you know about the paper. Our 3,000 franchise owners use a lot of chemicals, vacuums, paper, etc.

Today our company embarked on a full scale new initiative, Green Cleaning. I am proud to be a part of it because it means we will meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Someone said, "we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." That's called sustainability. We are committed to converting existing customers to Green Cleaning, and finding new ones to come on board with us.

Sick on the Road

Sometimes, you eat something you shouldn't. This happened last night here in Memphis. I ate the Chili for lunch. About 3:00p in the afternoon during one of the meetings, I started to feel, well a little, shall we say, unsettled. I haven't been that sick in 20 years. I was up until 4:30p in the morning driving the big white bus. You know, when you're traveling it's not fun to be sick. I guess it's never much fun to be sick, but it's especially bad when you're traveling. I just wanted you to know this.

The really sad thing is, while I was laying in bed moaning and groaning, Noelle called me. She was so excited to tell me about her visit to the doctor. She heard the heartbeat for the first time. Wow!! And I'm so sick I can't see straight. I just wanted to express my enthusiasm and love and excitement about it, but couldn't. I was just too sick on the road. I love my daughter and hope she understands.

Denver Nuggets

Once again, we stayed up and watched basketball. Although I think Nancy watched the inside of her eyelids more than the game. The Nuggets beat Houston in OT. AI had 36 points and 9 rebounds. Friday night we beat Cleveland, and now Houston on the road. I enjoyed watching Shane Battier play well with 14 points and 6 assists (even though he's a Rocket). I met Shane last year after a Memphis game because he is our company spokesman. Shane is very strong defensively and gave the Nuggets fits in the game last night.

Monday the Nugs get Melo back in the lineup after a 15 game suspension and play Memphis at home. I am especially looking forward to this game.

The Wedding in Cana

SK writes, "Christianity changes water into wine; it denies man the earthly, but gives him the eternal; he must die to the world, but then he becomes spirit. Is not the change of animal-creation to "spirit" the same as changing water into wine?"

Now that the Christmas Holiday is over and Easter is only a couple of months away, I am thinking about what Christ did for me. Christ was wrapped in rags and laid in a manger, but he was buried in a new grave. And in a grave which belonged to another person, which Luther regards as an allusion to the symbol that Christ is dead for us.

Perhaps man's highest achievement is to let God be able to help him. At the end of the day, I would rather be spirit.

Portland and the Pope

When I travel to Portland, OR I listen to Catholic radio. I like the music (lots of acoustic guitar and Michael W. Smith). The sermons are usually pretty good unless they get too theological. The stuff on the Pope and Mary's redemptive power are not things I believe. I still like the station and we share many beliefs in common. I'm reminded of a story told by Bob Dole about John F. Kennedy that perhaps you might enjoy. Kennedy was Catholic of course and running for President. Being Catholic was a concern to most Americans. The story goes something like this:

John F. Kennedy employed humor to dispose of the religious issue in the 1960 campaign. "The reporters are constantly asking me my views of the Pope's infallibility," he declared. "And so I asked my friend Cardinal Spellman what I should say when reporters ask me whether I feel the Pope is infallible." And Cardinal Spellman said, "I don't know what to tell you, Senator. All I know is that he keeps calling me Spillman."

Motherhood is Hard Work

One of the things Nancy reminded me of when raising the kids was how much work it is to be a mother. And she did work hard. She used to get a little peeved when someone would say, "oh, you don't work you're a mother." Being a mother, or at least a good one is hard work. To illustrate this I thought I would tell you a story.

Unhappy at the state of Junior's room, his mother came up with a new rule. Each time she had to pick something up off the floor of his room, Junior would have to pay her a dime. At the end of the week, she added up the chores and demanded ninety cents. Junior paid her and said, "Thanks, Ma. Keep up the good work!"

Now my daughter Noelle is preparing for motherhood. She's pretty clever though. I think she'll make a good Ma.

Guilty but Forgiven

Sometimes I think it's hard for a Christian to forget the feelings of guilt. After all, we are all still sinners. In fact, I think we tend to anguish in it. Instead we should "rest" in God. Today I was reminded of this beautiful quote from Kierkegaard in his Journals. It goes like this:

"A man rests in the forgiveness of sins when the thought of God does not remind him of the sin but that it is forgiven, when the past is not a memory of how much he trespassed but of how much he has been forgiven."

My Favorite Poem

There has been a lot of talk in the news from the Iranian leadership, denying the Holocaust ever took place. Nancy and I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland in '93 and we have vivid memories and photos. However, I thought I would post my favorite poem today. It's close to the authors' Centenary birthday and is very appropriate. It's called Who Am I, and it was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer while he was in prison during World War II. He was a German pastor who objected to the war perpetrated by Hitler and the Nazi's. Because of his strong stance and criticism he was put in prison by the Nazis. He was eventually put to death April 6, 1945 right before the war's end. The poem is taken from Letters and Papers From Prison.

Who am I? The often tell me
I would step from my cell's confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his county-house.

Who am I? They often tell me
I would talk to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I know of myself,
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.

Cold Air and a World Race

The snow didn't really materialize. The cold air did. The high today was supposed to be around 9 degrees and then stay there all weekend. So much for my sunbathing plans. Maybe I need to plan a trip to Phoenix or something and stay with my friends, Craig and Kathy Hanson.

What's more interesting than the weather? Craig and Kathy's son Eric Hanson is my new blogging friend. Eric is on a "World Race" which is a mission to 11 countries in 11 months. They spread the hope of Jesus Christ to mission fields around the world. His latest blog talked about going to a drug rehab center in Mexico. I think he's there now. I'm excited about what he's doing because it will give us (and Eric) a great vision for the needs in other countries. Check out his web site and pray for their efforts and success abroad. Eric's site is listed on the right side of my blog along with the others.

30th Anniversary

30 Years of marriage with me is probably too much, but she's a good sport. When asked what it's like the family joke is "I've lived with this person for 30 long, torturous years." It's been great for me, so you'll have to ask Nancy what she really thinks. Our real anniversary was actually last week. However, because of my travel schedule and other unexpected events, we decided to celebrate this Friday night at Barolos. This is my favorite place to eat. We can't eat there often or we'd have to apply for a loan. But WOW!! The food is really good. Every year the owners take all the employees to Italy for two weeks. They cook with locals, tour the wineries, and focus on the cuisine. When we ask a question about something on the menu (I still can't read Italian), they go into lengthy discussions about the food, the region, and the history. It's lots of fun.

Snow and Spurs

More snow is expected. I just returned from Albuquerque (tons of snow there) and more of the white stuff is in the forecast for Denver. If this is global warming, I need more convincing. It's looks more like we're headed into an ice age. I'm not a scientist though. My father (the scientist) says we are warming up. Right now, I like warm. Too bad the Nuggets aren't warming up.

Nancy and I watched the Denver Nuggets lose to San Antonio tonight. There sure was a lot of grabbing. pushing, and bumping by the Spurs. The Nuggets only got three second half free throw opportunities. No whistle no win, I guess. I'm not liking the Spurs or the NBA much tonight. Maybe when Melo gets back things will be different.

I spent the day with my friend Ed Cook. What a great business he has developed. He has over 300 employees and continues to grow. I went to a BOMA luncheon with him and met a number of his customers. He's very well respected and has certainly made a mark in Albuquerque.

The Funeral and the White House

I returned from Virginia last night having attended Brenda's funeral. Gary said it's a good thing that she is out of pain and suffering. He said, "she is in a better place now in Heaven." He told me how much he appreciated the fact that we attended and were there to support him. I went with Doug Pound and Doreen Hansen. We saw a number of familiar faces including Tom Gandee, Greg Thompson, and David McCall. The service, as well as the viewing Friday night were very nicely done.

After the funeral Doug and I drove to Arlington and had lunch with Curtis Isakson. Curtis is working as a Staffer at the White House for Harriet Meyers. However, she has resigned the position and he's now doing WHIP counts on Immigration and working 12 hour days. He said he's also worked for Carl Rove who calls him "Tall guy." We laughed. It must be interesting working in an office with a bunch of lawyers. Curtis asked about Tyler and Japan and said he really enjoyed his trips to Japan with his Dad. Curtis also said he's found a great Church in the DC area and attends regularly.

The trip was certainly interesting using Doug's GPS as a guide, in fact we managed to get across the Potomac River and see Hwy 210. We hung out at Radio Shack for while after lunch and then I returned home, thankfully without incident. The pilot must have a pretty good GPS.

Grandparents?

When Seth and Noelle arrived in Denver for the Holidays they gave us Christmas ornaments to put on the tree. Mine said "Grandpa" and Nancy's said "Grandma." Yes, it's true. Noelle is due on August 10. We were pretty excited but we couldn't tell anyone because the Holler's had not been given their ornaments. That accounts for the delay some of you have been asking about.

Tyler however was somewhere in Korea skiing, and we told him. He posted it on his blog. The Hollers read his blog from time to time so as you can imagine there was some degree of panic in our household. It worked out okay though.

Nancy and I are thrilled about it and looking forward to spoiling some child without any regard to parental guidance and concern. We will keep you posted on these developments.

Funeral

It looks like I will be attending Brenda's funeral. All I want to do is support my friend Gary Clark. Gary and I became acquainted in 1981 at a ServiceMaster Convention in Chicago. It was there we discovered the similarities of our business operations and many other things in common. Gary and Brenda have been our friends ever since. I taught Gary how to rock climb and he taught Tyler and I how to REALLY fish. We've stayed in their home and they've stayed in ours.

Even though they live across the country, we've managed to stay in touch at least a couple of times a year and visited occasionally. A year and a half ago Nancy and I went to dinner with them in DC during the convention. Brenda seemed in pretty good health then even though she was struggling with cancer. Last night after dinner Cliff called and told me that Brenda had passed away. Nancy and I cried.

Back at work

I'm learning. This is a good thing, but mistakes in my blog have occurred along the way. In a couple of my earlier posts I linked them to articles of interest (the Darrent Williams murder) and even links to the weather. Unfortunately, the weather changes and articles are taken down. I guess I will have to be more careful after this.

I went back to work today after being off since the 20th. I enjoy my work, the people I work with, and the franchise owners I consult with are great, for the most part. Getting back in the groove was a little tough today though. The employee of a good friend called me at work, and told me that my friend's spouse of some 25 years was dying. I knew she had cancer but didn't know how much she had declined. He said they didn't expect her to make it through the day. I am sad that I won't see or talk with her again and sad for my friend who is losing a loved one.

Christian Scriver says that it is good to have business with death - the advantage is ours ("to die is gain"). As a believer in Christ, I have this promise. I trust my friend will be with Christ today. This is much better than Epicurus who says "death cannot get hold of me, because when I am, death is not, and when death is, I am."

Broncos Darrent Williams

Yesterday we watched the Broncos lose to the 49ers. I then got up this morning and found out that the Broncos starting cornerback Darrent Williams had been shot and killed in a drive by shooting. If you want to read the story, click here. You watch a guy on TV every week and kind of get to know him, in a way. It's very sad that these things happen.

This morning Nancy and I are taking the kids back to the airport to fly to Lexington. We had a great time with them and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I can't wait to see them again.