On the Road Again--Chicago, here I come!

in 24 hours I'll be headed to a few of my favorite places: Chicago. .and, on the way, the homes of my daughters. Many people I know say that they 'like' Chicago. .perhaps it is because of the foresight of the man who deemed it important to restrict the city from selling the land along the shore of Lake Michigan, and instead it is maintained as a park. Residents and tourists can bicycle or run or roller blade from the Indiana St. line to the northern suburbs of Chicago, should they choose. chicago has a reputation for being a model city for social reform, and is considered a bastian of the Democratic party.
It also has the reputation of being the education center for more 'seminarians' than any other place than Rome/the Vatican. There are more than 10 schools of theology in the Chicago area. Perhaps that is another reason why people 'like' Chicago. the percentage of folk who are striving for civility and conflict resolution through the faith traditions are slightly higher there.
I, for one, would hope that is the case, and encourage you to visit there. LM

Living in Tornado Alley

Some people can't imagine the anxiety of living in Kansas during tornado season. For us, we would could not imagine living with the anxiety of earthquakes. We have warning systems and weather forecasting, meteorology specialties with our local TV stations, storm spotters, and most children are taught tornado safety from when they are pre-schoolers.

Most home owners have insurance that will cover the hail and wind damage that goes along with these storms, and usually the damage is somewhat isolated, so that there are many more families and volunteers to help with the clean-up than there are people directly affected. These natural disasters often bring out the best in people and it may be why Midwesterners, many who have come from sturdy, hard-working farm families also realize what 'grace' is when their lives have been spared, even though they might lose much of their belongings. At such times, what rises from the ashes, like a phoenix, is better than what existed before.

In 1991 and again in 1999, tornadoes destroyed significant portions of the Wichita suburb of Haysville, KS. In 1991, the town's mayor quit his full-time job as the manager of a Target store to help the community rebuild. The result was a stronger community with improved pride. That mayor is now a popular country commissioner, and can share what he learned through the experience. A similar story may come from the May 2007 Greensburg KS tornado-- and each community that suffers through spring storms. It is not just a story of the losses, but how people and communities can be transformed through hardship and coming together to learn how to work together, improve their lives and build a new future. A leader who rises to the occasion to bolster people's faith and perseverance will be keys to the story when it is retold to future generations. LM

How valuable is time?

We've all heard about the calculations of a mother's salary, if she were paid for the various tasks she performs. Near Mother's day, I heard a figure over $110K, which even included psychologist/counselor! I thought that was good.. . . however, those of us who work use our employer's calculation of what we are worth, and that seems to usually be calculated on supply and demand; maybe some on amount of technical study and intelligence. It mystifies me, tho, how salespeople can still draw some exceptionally high salaries--rivaling CEO's. .certainly exceeding my non-profit executive salary.

However, when we choose to take time off, and we are paid the same rate of pay for those vacation days, why do so many people tend to try to cram so much in to their personal hours that they would not do likewise at the office.
vacations, for instance. . .more and more people choose to 'fly'. .to save time-- so they can avoid taking too many vacation days for travel time.

Me, even when gas is at an all time high, I plan to drive this vacation, because it is worth it to me spending an extra day and half on the road, enjoying the view of nature --I may even take some less-traveled by-ways, rather than having to experience the aggravation of airport delays, paying high parking fees, waiting in line, dealing with rude and angry people, and security checks peering into the luggage of people who would no more be potential terrorists than Bugs Bunny.. . I'll save that for another blog. LM

My intuition

I'm feeling pretty good about the timing of my decision to buy the Versa. With the price of gas continuing to climb, I should soon be able to save about as much money in 2 or 3 months to make my car payment (in comparison to my previous car).
I would suspect that the new car makers are giving more and more rebates now . LM

To trust or suspect

At work, the need for trust is so essential.
Of course, that also applies to personal relationships, but today I'm reflecting on the relationship of supervisor to employee. It seems to be much a part of intuition to feel that a person can't be trusted. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine what is fact, and what is feeling.

Is it more important in a large organization or small?

When does caution become paranoia?

What can be done to establish trust or confirm its absence?

Why can't this wisdom be built into us like other things we are taught?

How significant a problem is this?

Is it a valid basis for dismissal?
These are things I wonder about.
LM