Movie Review

We watched this movie last night.
It is called YOU KILL ME.

I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it because it portrayed the struggle of a man to overcome his being an alcoholic and how the people in his life helped him to become a person he wanted to be.I thought it was great. ]


Watch trailer:http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20onmousedown=


Stars Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni


I say....Must See TV


yall enjoy, Ric

Ole Man Winter

DALLAS – Winter came barreling into town last night with temperatures dropping to 25 in the metroplex, with wind chills chilling to the bone. Some lost power to their homes, some experienced flight delays, and most everyone enjoyed the morning rush ice covering roadways, bridges, parking lots and sidewalks. There was a glaze of ice left everywhere as old man winter left his mark last night.

As I drove into work this morning, there was little traffic, but I could not go over 25 mph without losing control of my truck. The ice was everywhere, not just bridges and overpasses. My truck was covered with ice as I went out to start it up, and when I parked it at work it was still covered in ice. The ice sickles and the ice on the hood were not melted by my hour long drive into work. My truck looked just as frozen when I arrived as when I left.

My friend Melissa says she has a big ole bruise thanks to the ice. That ice is so unforgiving. It was 13 years ago in January when my wife fell on the ice on the sidewalk as she was walking into her office. She suffered a hip injury that even today still gives her problems. I have had all the adventures I hope to have in the ice on either sidewalks or the highways.

The roads looked clear but it was deceiving. I couldn't do over 25 or 30 mph. There is a lot of black ice, I noticed, as I slipped and slid all over the place in my drive to work. My office at Jones Day did not open until noon today, but I tried to get in by 10:00. It was something out there this morning.

Thankfully, the sun will come out tomorrow. It always does in Texas.

Ya'll be safe out there....Ric

Compliments

There is a new study recently out that discusses how long women spend getting ready to go out. It's a figure which will surprise even the most impatient husband - women spend nearly three years of their life getting ready to leave the house.
Men, according to the study, spend months of their lives waiting on their women, from last-minute outfit changes, choosing shoes, twirls in front of the mirror and rummages in the handbag, to the normal showering, shaving, fixing hair and doing makeup, nails, choosing accessories and such. From 50 minutes to get ready for work, to and hour and a half or more, for an evening out is normal.

This got me to thinking.

If you spend that much time getting ready, you surely want someone to notice. Compliments are expected, right? Or are they?

You can’t compliment a girl at work anymore. Someone will take it the wrong way and make a federal case out of it. Just out and about, it is awkward to compliment a stranger.

I always feel good when I receive a compliment, but it also makes me feel good to give a compliment. You cannot give a sincere compliment without feeling great. You focus on someone else and try to make them feel good by saying something very nice to them, and it somehow makes you feel good too. Let’s face it, everyone loves a compliment. It makes us smile. We feel good about ourselves. It’s a lovely thing. Lovely to receive, and feels good to pass em out.

I keep finding myself in positions where I’d really like to compliment someone but am afraid of coming across as creepy and/or a thousand other awful things, and it’s annoying me. What do you think are the rules, if any, of giving compliments?

Nevertheless, at the risk of coming across as a weirdo, I still just go forward and try to be most sincere. I don’t say if I don’t mean it. I try to be brief, and go on to something else right away, or just walk away. It’s not a line used to get a date. It is just a sincere compliment. Nothing more.

And I don’t just compliment pretty girls. I compliment anyone and everyone that does or has done something that impresses me. Do a good job at work and I will tell you so. Make a good pool shot, and I will tell you so. Do anything special, and if I notice, I will congratulate you on it. That is just the way I am.



Have a great weekend....Ric

Inauguration Day

The American Presidential Inauguration Day ceremony, with it's speeches and festivities, has always represented both national renewal and continuity of leadership. It is always intended to honor the incoming leader.

This is my 12th time to witness Inauguration Day. Once again, the events brought to my mind thoughts such as: transition of power, classy, pomp and circumstance and royalty. I am reminded of the great burden of being President. And also the price they pay. Most often, they ride into town on a big white horse. The country is usually proud and happy for them with great words of praise. And then years later, pushed aside with yesterdays newspaper. They almost never live up to expectations, because the expectations are so high and grand.

The celebration today seemed bigger than ever. And rightly so, in one respect. It is the 1st time in the history of our country that the hand on the bible was not the hand of a white man. Certainly a historic day.

Regardless of our vote last Nov., today is a day to enjoy, a day to savor. Our new leader brings words of hope and optimism. And Lord knows we need some of that. Times are hard, the challenges are great, and four years from now, when the oath is repeated, we will know just how these things played out. I for one, do hope, that great and better things do indeed lie ahead for all of us.

God bless our leaders and God bless you and yours.....Ric

You-nique

Know that although in the eternal scheme of things you are small, you are also unique and irreplaceable.

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may be the next Shakespeare or Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.

Look at you. You have a special gift. There is that thing that you get, that others don’t. Math or music or designing. Art or maybe Sales. Maybe you have a heart that beats for fairness. It is something different for everyone. But you have been equipped with a talent that is unique. Someone probably noticed it in you when you were growing up, your hidden strength. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do?
Take a good look at your successes and your affections. This is where you will find it. Say hello to your “you-nique-ness.”

We have each been given something special. Don't worry about the skills you don't have. Don’t covet others strengths. Just enjoy that which is uniquely you. Go to your place. Unleash your abilities. We need you. And I am betting you will find an uncommon joy.
Why are you trying to fit in, when you were born to stand out?

Wishing you the best, Ric

Need Some Advice?

No man is an island. There will be times when we don’t know what to do. We know we need help. But we seldom seek help. We usually keep our problems to ourselves.
Men especially, but also people in general, are much to proud, macho, invincible and reluctant to appear vulnerable or weak.

Many are brought up in an unrealistic environment. We are led to believe that strength is good. We are supposed to be successful at everything and failure or weakness are not allowed. To be honest I don't know at what age most of us imbedded these beliefs.
Men may have a harder time with seeking advice than women do. The pressures that are created for the male start at a very early age. Playing at home with siblings or friends, then at school, our male world continues to develop until we arrive to the business world. By then we are hardened as "most males should be", and the business world continues to prolong the myth of the male toughness to never show weakness or emotions. We like to be in control.

How then do we seek advice or help if needed? Very simply we don't. We don't utilize the support system around us.

It is about time that we become more human, that we recognize not only our weaknesses, but that seeking help is not a shame. If we stop putting ourselves in this difficult position we may discover that being vulnerable is part of being human, and that seeking help is not a shame.

We go to the doctor when we need medicine. We go to the plumber when the water is leaking everywhere. We go to the lawyer when we are facing tough legal issues. We should look at more everyday issues the same way. Talk to someone who has been there, one who has gone through the same thing. More than likely they will be glad to help and you can have saved yourself more and bigger problems.

I will occasionally have someone come to me with a question or a problem. If you really believe I have some unique insight, and you’d like to probe my brain on a particular topic, then please do seek me out. I love focused discussions with specific intent. I love investing time with people who’ve thought long and hard about a topic or problem. I love it when you’ve at least attempted a point of view. That is when engagement becomes meaningful. That is when I’m motivated to interact and help.

But go to someone you trust. And then when they give you advice, take it.

I am amazed at the number of people that, no. 1, don’t seek advice at all, and no.2, those that ask for specific advice from someone they trust, and then reject it or fail to follow through and do what was advised. I see it in our pool matches each week. Some players don't need or want any advice, they are good. And then, some ask for advice, then decide not to take it. But whether it is something as small as a game of pool or something more important, it is ok to ask for help. It is OK! The best minds do it all the time. My kids, not so much. But the smart and successful are always asking for advice, the more advice the better.

Don’t take any wooden nickels and don’t put all your eggs in one basket……Ric

Goodbye George Bush

I will miss George Bush. The people of America will miss him too.

I don’t know the man. I don't know fully why I will miss him-I'm still trying to work it out. It might take me some time, some considerable time, perhaps. The American public - friends and enemies-will miss George Bush, their president, in ways that they do not yet know and in ways that they do not yet understand. And it will take them years to realize this and, or, to admit it to themselves.

He took us to war. Yes, he did. Back then, how we wanted the war.
I feel safe with Bush. I don’t know I will feel the same after he is gone.

The people of America do not like or want George Bush any longer, they tell the pollsters. Not as their president, not as a friend, not as anything much. Not even as an enemy? But back then, they wanted him! How they wanted him. Go hear the names they call men who do not defend their own.

Along came Iraq. It was the war his people wanted. He gave it to them. Try and deny that. Things did not go according to plan, and the world has changed forever. But he would not let up on taking down the bad guys. Not ever.

Bush was just one of us. An ordinary guy. Sort of, in spite of his wealth. The intellects called him stupid....his regular slips of the tongue, fudged sentences, point-blank statements that sent shutters through anyone that ever even had an English college course. No other leader talked like him. Plain, succinct. The language of the man! To watch him work the crowd during election campaigns was to marvel at where he got his joviality-and utter professionalism-from. Didn't he always always show how much he cared and how much he enjoyed being out with the people?

He was the friendly guy in the corner with the ready, funny joke, great sense of humor, the trait of appreciating the humorous, always ready to buy you a drink, always first to ask if you needed one, even if he had to tell you how he had given it up.

I always appreciated his problems and how he was trying to deal with them despite the appalling odds. I found him interesting, he didn’t seem to care what the talk shows were saying about him. There was a fierce intelligence blazing away, well hidden. A great confidence.

How do I explain, on the eve of his departure, that I liked George Bush? Why should I, who is going to understand? He is a man who will be one of the most studied in American history. His place there is assured. And not for the easy reasons. He was America for what America was. Time to bring down the final curtain. Good bye, Mr. President, I for one, will miss you. I do know that much…I’m sure all the reasons will come to the top in time.





Have a good day....Ric

Happy New Year

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.
Remember - Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.
with love.....DRJ