Passion Leads to Success

Don't start a company unless it's an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it's not an obsession. -- Mark Cuban

Leading from the Heart

If you enjoy the privilege of leading people your words are important but your actions determine whether anyone will willingly follow you! - Marc

Leading from the Heart!

As a leader if you want your team to have a great attitude you had better have a great attitude. The attitude of the team always reflects the attitude of the leadership.   Have a great day! - Marc

Leading from the Heart!

Leaders must paint their vision with a passion. No one can hit a target or achieve a goal they cannot see! - Marc

Today is a good day for a Good Day!

Today is a good day for a Good Day. Expect the best from everyone, give your best in all you do, then sleep well knowing you gave it you all.  - Marc

Leading from the Heart

Leadership is a great privilege but carries with it a great responsibility to those you lead.Engage your brain & your heart in the process. - Marc

The Wooden Bowl

The Wooden Bowl

I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now. 

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. 

The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered 

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and 

failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. 

When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. 

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 

'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work..

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. 

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, 

neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: 

a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life.'

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back sometimes. 

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you 

But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, 

your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

American WWII Cemeteries in Europe

The American War Cemetery and Memorial Netherlands at Margraten (sorry about the ad that runs on this video, just close it when it starts) is one of the 24 overseas American cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. There have been 8,301 soldiers buried in the cemetery and the names of 1,722 missing American soldiers have been memorialized on the Walls of the Missing here in Neatherlands.  70 years after the end of war, all of the graves has been adopted by grateful citizens from throughout the Netherlands. The “Adopt a Grave” program began in 1945. This is but one cemetery across Europe.  It is located at Maastricht, in the Netherlands, where American soldiers who died in "Operation Market Garden" in battles to liberate Holland in the fall/winter of 1944 lie buried.

Every one of the men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries, have been adopted by a Dutch family who mind the grave, decorate it, and keep alive the memory of the soldier they have  adopted. It is even the custom to keep a portrait of "their" American soldier in a place of honor in their home.

The American War Cemetery and Memorial Netherlands at Margraten is one of the 24 overseas American cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. 

Annually,  on "Liberation Day," memorial services are held for "the men who died to  liberate Holland."

When you have a chance visit these cemeteries in Europe and remember your fathers and grandfathers who fought in WWII and the millions of American's who continue to serve our country with honor, protecting our Freedoms!

If you would like to know about the American Battle Monuments Commission click here to go to the American Battle Monuments Commission web site.  Clearly one of the places that represent well spent American tax dollars.


Marc

Today is a good day for a Good Day

Today is a good day for a Good Day, make sure that today you are willing to do what you ask of others, lead from the front!

My Airport Check-In Philosophy

Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. - William Shakespeare

Monday November 10, 2014 is a good day for Good Day

Today is a good day for a Good Day remember that effective leaders take decisive action in critical situations. More opportunities are lost through inaction than by wrong actions.

Today is a good day for a Good Day!

Today is a good day for a Good Day.  Remember, Those who achieve great things are not any smarter or more capable than others. They have simply decided to make use of what's available to them. 

When Should You Worry?

I have found good luck using this chart!

God's Wife

I hope you enjoy this, this came to me from a friend!

Priceless! God's Wife  IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF I especially liked number 5! Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was: 1. A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just Helped him cry.' ********************************************* 2. Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, 'I know all about Adoption, I was adopted..' 'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked another child. 'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!' ************************ ********************* 3. On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first- base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was? 'We're behind 14 to nothing,' he answered with a smile. 'Really,' I said. 'I have to say you don't look very discouraged.' 'Discouraged?', the boy asked with a Puzzled look on his face... 'Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet.' *********************** ********************** 4. Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie S cott. Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.. 'Guess what, Mom,' he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me....'I've been chosen to clap and cheer.' ********************************************* 5. An eye witness account from New York City , on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering thr ough the window, and shivering With cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!' 'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,' was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this tim e, the clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now..' As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her: 'Are you God's wife?' *********************************************

The Story of the Pentagon 9-11 Flag

Defense. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.

The Story of the Pentagon 9-11 Flag

09/11/2014 10:09 AM CDT

The Story of the Pentagon 9-11 Flag By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 - Anyone who saw the American flag unfurled at the Pentagon on Sept. 12, 2001, knows how Francis Scott Key felt two centuries ago when he was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner." Soldiers from A Company, 3rd Infantry "The Old Guard" -- gather the giant garrison flag being lowered from the side of the Pentagon, where it had hung beside the impact site of the 9/11 terrorist attack, Oct. 11, 2001. The flag was ceremonially retired. DoD photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The day after the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the scene was still chaotic. Only essential military and civilian workers were required to come to the building. Parking was at Reagan-National Airport, as all U.S. airspace was still closed. As employees got off the Metro train, Pentagon police stood with weapons examining everyone's badge. Those without a Pentagon ID were told to keep traveling on. The conversation in the building was about friends who remained missing. At the site, firefighters were putting out the final embers that were burning in the roof. Then word came that President George W. Bush wanted to see the damage to the Pentagon himself. Garrison flag No one knows who originally came up with the idea for unfurling the flag to the right of the damaged areas on the building, but Army Maj. Gen. Jim Jackson, then the Military District of Washington commander, made it happen. He sent over to nearby Fort Myer, Virginia, for the largest flag they could find. The U.S. Army Band had a garrison flag the largest authorized for the military and sent it over. During Bush's visit to the impact site, 3rd Infantry Regiment soldiers and Arlington, Virginia, firefighters unveiled the flag and draped it over the side of the building. Then they stood and saluted. It was a moment that quickened the heart. The United States had been attacked, the Pentagon had been hit, friends were gone, thousands were killed in New York and Pennsylvania, yet the American flag still flew. That flag signified the unconquerable nature of the American people. Those inside the building already were preparing to take the battle to the attackers and bring them to justice. The flag flew on the side of the building for the next month. Each night, workers illuminated it with floodlights. Members of A Company of the 3rd Infantry Regiment -- "The Old Guard" -- took the flag down Oct. 11. A treasured symbol The flag is soot-stained and ripped at one spot where it rubbed up against the building. It now is in the care of the Army's Center of Military History. It is treasured as the 9/11 generation's Star-Spangled Banner, because they, like Francis Scott Key during the British attack on Baltimore in 1814, looked to the flag for inspiration and comfort. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? (Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @GaramoneDoDNews)

Related Sites: The Defense Department on Facebook The Defense Department on Twitter DoD News on Facebook DoD News on Twitter DoDLive Blog DoD Video News

US Navy History 10 September 1945

1945: USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is commissioned as the lead ship of its class. USS Midway is the largest ship in the world until 1955. USS Midway serves for 47 years during the Vietnam War and as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, USS Midway is decommissioned and is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, Calif.

http://www.midway.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Midway_(CV-41)

My How Times have Changed!

These are all Hollywood Stars from the 40's, 50's and 60's - but did you know . .. these actors, also all served their country and then returned to acting?

If you are under 40 you will likely not recognize many/any of these.  If you are over 40 you will remember a few, if you are over 50 you will remember some, if you are over 60 you will remember most of them, if you are over 70 you remember all of them. 

• Stewart Hayden, US Marines and OSS, Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia.
• James Stewart, US Army Air Corps, Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.
• Ernest Borgnine, US Navy, Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer USS Lamberton. 
• Ed McMahon, US Marines, Fighter Pilot (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)
• Telly Savalas, US Army.
• Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps, B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer
• Steve Forrest, US Army, Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
• Jonathan Winters, USMC, Battleship USS Wisconsin and Carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa.
• Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of USS Bunker Hill
• Kirk Douglas, US Navy, Sub-chaser in the Pacific, Wounded in action and medically discharged.
• Robert Mitchum, US Army.
• Dale Robertson, US Army, Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton, Wounded twice, Battlefield Commission.
• Henry Fonda, US Navy, Destroyer USS Satterlee.
• John Carroll, US Army Air Corps, Pilot in North Africa, Broke his back in a crash.
• Lee Marvin US Marines, Sniper, Wounded in action on Saipan, Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.
• Art Carney, US Army, Wounded on Normandy beach, D-Day, Limped for the rest of his life.
• Wayne Morris, US Navy fighter pilot, USS Essex, Downed seven Japanese fighters.
• Rod Steiger, US Navy, was aboard one of the ships that launched the Doolittle Raid.
• Tony Curtis, US Navy, Sub tender USS Proteus, In Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan.
• Larry Storch, US Navy, Sub tender USS Proteus with Tony Curtis.
• Forrest Tucker, US Army, Enlisted as a private, rose to Lieutenant.
• Robert Montgomery, US Navy.
• George Kennedy, US Army, Enlisted after Pearl Harbor, stayed in sixteen years.
• Mickey Rooney, US Army under Patton, Bronze Star.
• Denver Pyle, US Navy, Wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal, Medically discharged.
• Burgess Meredith, US Army Air Corps.
• De Forest Kelley, US Army Air Corps.
• Robert Stack, US Navy, Gunnery Officer.
• Neville Brand, US Army, Europe, Was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
• Tyrone Power, US Marines, Transport pilot in the Pacific Theater.
• Charlton Heston, US Army Air Corps, Radio operator and aerial gunner on a B-25, Aleutians.
• Danny Aiello, US Army, Lied about his age to enlist at 16, Served three years.
• James Arness, US Army, as an infantryman, he was severely wounded at Anzio, Italy.
• Efram Zimbalist, Jr., US Army, Purple Heart for a severe wound received at Huertgen Forest.
• Mickey Spillane, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot, and later Instructor Pilot.
• Rod Serling, US Army, 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific, He jumped at Tagaytay in the Philippines and was later wounded in Manila.
• Gene Autry, US Army Air Corps, Crewmember on transports that ferried supplies over "The Hump" in the China-Burma-India Theater.
• William Holden, US Army Air Corps.
• Alan Hale Jr., US Coast Guard.
• Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy, Battle of Okinawa.
• > Russell Johnson, US Army Air Corps, B-24 crewmember who was awarded Purple Heart when his aircraft was shot down by the Japanese in the Philippines.
• William Conrad, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot.
• Jack Klugman, US Army.
• Frank Sutton, US Army, Took part in 14 assault landings, including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan, and Corregidor.
• Jackie Coogan, US Army Air Corps, Volunteered for gliders and flew troops and materials into Burma behind enemy lines.
• Tom Bosley, US Navy.
• Claude Akins, US Army, Signal Corps, Burma and the Philippines.
• Chuck Connors, US Army, Tank-warfare instructor.
• Harry Carey Jr., US Navy.
• Mel Brooks, US Army, Combat Engineer, Saw action in the Battle of the Bulge.
• Robert Altman, US Army Air Corps, B-24 Co-Pilot.
• Pat Hingle, US Navy, Destroyer USS Marshall
• Fred Gwynne, US Navy, Radioman.
• Karl Malden, US Army Air Corps, 8th Air Force, NCO.
• Earl Holliman, US Navy, Lied about his age to enlist, Discharged after a year when they Navy found out.
• Rock Hudson, US Navy, Aircraft mechanic, the Philippines.
• Harvey Korman, US Navy.
• Aldo Ray, US Navy, UDT frogman, Okinawa.
• Don Knotts, US Army, Pacific Theater.
• Don Rickles, US Navy aboard USS Cyrene.
• Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy, Served aboard an LST in the Battle of Okinawa.
• Robert Stack, US Navy, Gunnery Instructor.
• Soupy Sales, US Navy, Served on USS Randall in the South Pacific.
• Lee Van Cleef, US Navy, Served aboard a sub chaser then a minesweeper.
• Clifton James, US Army, South Pacific, Was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
• Ted Knight, US Army, Combat Engineers.
• Jack Warden, US Navy, 1938-1942, then US Army, 1942-1945, 101st Airborne Division.
• Don Adams, US Marines, Wounded on Guadalcanal, and then served as a Drill Instructor.
• James Gregory, US Navy and US Marines.
• Brian Keith, US Marines, Radioman/Gunner in Dauntless dive-bombers.
• Fess Parker, US Navy and US Marines, Booted from pilot training for being too tall, joined Marines as a radio operator.
• Charles Durning, US Army, Landed at Normandy on D-Day, Shot multiple times, Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, Survived Malmedy Massacre.
• Raymond Burr, US Navy, Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.
• Hugh O'Brian, US Marines.
• Robert Ryan, US Marines.
• Eddie Albert, US Coast Guard, Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of Tarawa.
• Cark Gable, US Army Air Corps, B-17 gunner over Europe.
• Charles Bronson, US Army Air Corps, B-29 gunner, wounded in action.
• Peter Graves, US Army Air Corps.
• Buddy Hackett, US Army anti-aircraft gunner.
• Victor Mature, US Coast Guard.
• Jack Palance, US Army Air Corps, Severely injured bailing out of a burning B-24 bomber.
• Robert Preston, US Army Air Corps, Intelligence Officer
• Cesar Romero, US Coast Guard, Participated in the invasions of Tinian and Saipan on the assault transport USS Cavalier.
• Norman Fell, US Army Air Corps, Tail Gunner, Pacific Theater.
• Jason Robards, US Navy, was aboard heavy cruiser USS Northampton when it was sunk off Guadalcanal, also served on the USS Nashville during the invasion of the Philippines, surviving a kamikaze hit that caused 223 casualties.
• Steve Reeves, US Army, Philippines.
• Dennis Weaver, US Navy, Pilot.
• Robert Taylor, US Navy, Instructor Pilot.
• Randolph Scott, tried to enlist in the Marines but was rejected due to injuries sustained in US Army, World War 1.
• Ronald Reagan, US Army, was a 2nd Lt. in the Cavalry Reserves before the war, His poor eyesight kept him from being sent overseas with his unit when war came so he transferred to the Army Air Corps Public Relations Unit where he served for the duration.
• John Wayne, declared "4F medically unfit" due to pre-existing injuries, he nonetheless attempted to volunteer three times (Army, Navy and Film Corps) so he gets honorable mention.
• And of course, we have Audie Murphy, America's most-decorated soldier, who became a Hollywood star because of his US Army service that included his being awarded the Medal of Honor.

Clearly times have changed!  

An "Oh Sh*t!" Moment for the US Navy in 1923

The Honda Point Disaster

The Honda Point Disaster was the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships. On the evening of September 8, 1923, seven destroyers, while traveling at 20 knots (37 km/h), ran aground at Honda Point, a few miles from the northern side of the Santa Barbara Channel off Point Arguello on the coast in Santa Barbara County, California. Two other ships grounded, but were able to maneuver free of the rocks. Twenty-three sailors died in the disaster.

The fourteen ships of Destroyer Squadron 11 (DESRON 11) made their way south from San Francisco Bay to San Diego Bay in the late summer of 1923. The squadron was led by Commodore Edward H. Watson, on the flagship destroyer USS Delphy. All were Clemson-class destroyers, less than five years old. The ships turned east to course 095, supposedly heading into the Santa Barbara Channel, at 21:00. The ships were navigating by dead reckoning, estimating their positions by their headings and speeds, as measured by propeller revolutions per minute. At that time radio navigation aids were new and not completely trusted. The USS Delphy was equipped with a radio navigation receiver, but her navigator and captain ignored its indicated bearings, believing them to be erroneous. No effort was made to take soundings of water depth. These operations were not performed because of the necessity to slow the ships down to take measurements. The ships were performing an exercise that simulated wartime conditions, hence the decision was made not to slow down. In this case, the dead reckoning was wrong, and the mistakes were fatal. Despite the heavy fog, Commodore Watson ordered all ships to travel in close formation and, turning too soon, went aground. Six others followed and sank. Two ships whose captains disobeyed the close-formation order survived, although they also hit the rocks.

Earlier the same day, the mail steamship SS Cuba ran aground nearby. Some attributed these incidents in the Santa Barbara Channel to unusual currents caused by the great Tokyo earthquake of the previous week.

Great Places To Eat! - Lake Charles, La

Last month I traveled to Lake Charles to interview an engineer for a job at L&W.  He lived in Lake Charles so he set up a lunch meeting for us at Pujo St. Cafe, in downtown Lake Charles.

Now in my 40+ years of running the roads between New Orleans, Lafayette, and Houston I have traveled through Lake Charles at least 100 times and never ventured into the downtown area.  What a pleasant surprise I found in downtown Lake Charles at the Pujo St. Cafe.  The food, atmosphere, and service at Pujo's is worth the drive.  If you are passing through anyway and its around lunch or dinner, skip the fast food places on I-10 and venture downtown for a great experience.

Pujo St.
901 Ryan Street
Lake Charles, La. 70601
www.pujostreet.com


Marc

The USS Indianapolis - Sunk after delivering the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombs, July 1945

In late July of 1945, the Japanese Submarine, I-58, sank USS Indianapolis (CA 35), northeast of Leyte.  316 of her crew of 1199 survived. The USS Indianapolis, was on her way on a super secret mission, a high speed transit from California to Tinian Island to deliver atomic bomb parts.  

Tinian Island is part of the Marinas Island chain and was the launching point of both atomic bombs that essentially brought the end of World War II.  Due to the secrecy of the Indianapolis' mission she was operating on strict radio silence, consequently the loss of the Indianapolis went unnoticed until survivors were seen from a passing aircraft on August 2, 1945

I first learned of the Indianapolis and its mission from the movie Jaws.  Mr. Quinn, the shark hunter tells the story one night on the Orca, while hunting for the big shark!  From that I found the book Abandon Ship, a very painful but poignant story about the Indianapolis tragedy. 

Please remember our veterans and their contribution to the wonderful world we live in today.  Where would the World be, without the unselfish commitment of United States of America? And all we have ever asked in return is a simple thanks and a place to bury our dead!