Source: Drake
Tag: Professional
Lit Boy
I’ve reached the half-way mark of Updike, a biography on John Updike written by Adam Begley. I pause to reflect on how I arrived here. “Here” being how did I come to be reading John Updike’s biography. Yes, it was Amazon’s Best Book of the Month for April, 2014. That helped, but that wasn’t it. It was that man in the photograph that is responsible. John VandeZande.
It was an undergraduate elective class titled “Good Books.” It was highly recommended by my senior jock buddies: “Just show up, read a few books and you’re done.” I signed up for the class. I sat in the back of the room. And hoped never to get called on.
He would assign Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Updike, in his biography, would describe them as “textual titans.” At the time, I would describe them as literary unknowns – – DK, a lover of Hardy Boys who then graduated to the genres of Jeffrey Archer (Kane & Abel), James Clavell (Shogun & Tai Pan) and Stephen King – – was being heaved up into the major leagues. I slumped further down in my chair at the back of the room.
He would break the awkwardness of the early classes by reading long passages from the assigned readings. He would sit on the edge of his desk. The book in his right hand. And then immerse himself in the passage. There were no pencils tapping. There was no shifting in chairs. We were gently transported with him on the journey.
He struck the match. And stoked the fire. And I went on a tear. First Hemingway with The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea. Then Faulkner with The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Light in August and Absalom, Absalom!. Followed by John Steinbeck with The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and East of Eden. And then John Updike with Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux and Rabbit Is Rich. And to this day, my serial runs on “Textual Titans” continues. (In Begley’s biography of Updike, Updike explained that: “A real reader,” he explained, “reading to escape his own life thoroughly, tends to have runs on authors.” That had my head spinning.)
Simpatico
I watched from a distance. A short, feisty, scrappy, spit-fire. A Chihuahua.
Place of Birth: The Bronx. With accompanying accent.
Deep skills. A reputation for getting things done, but doing so and leaving a large wake. She didn’t tolerate fools gladly. She was quick to show up colleagues. Result: A bulls-eye on her back.
It was January, 2011. It was a 12-minute interview. I told her that the job was hers sans the wake creation. I would have zero tolerance for air turbulence. I created enough of my own.
I went on to give her the pre-game disclosure. And motivational speech:
You’re playing on the A team now. Out of junior varsity.
We use proper English in our memos and letters.
No slang. Or whatever that is coming out of your mouth.
I need to show up at the right airport. At the right meeting. On time. All the time.
No crying when your feelings get hurt. You want a hug, get a dog.
I had better not find HR in my office on any antics.
You won’t keep up. Just accept it. Continue reading “Simpatico”
Millennials. Listen up.
#2: Writing Effectively. My 10th Grade English teacher underscored this for me YEARS ago. And I see too much today that hurts the eyes.
Source: Pewresearch
Hump Day: 4:02 am and inspired…
Kicking off Hump (Hug?) Day with Dave Matthews Band and “Everyday.” (Lori, music video is dedicated to you). And now to feature some of the most inspiring blog posts of the week by some of my favorite bloggers:
If I had a son who was playing high school football – he’d be lucky to play for Coach Bill Moore – the Westfield, MA High School Football Coach. I was inspired by Coach Moore’s recent post “Jugs”: “It was 1989 when I faced a monster nicknamed Jugs. He was a colossus of a man, six feet six inches tall and 300 pounds of powerful mass and ill content. I watched the film in the week before the game. I knew what was coming. I had faced powerful men before, but nothing like this…”
Leonard Buchholz at DealerPro Training Solutions with his post Want to have a big day today? Get a checkup. “Anyways, I think I have probably heard ‘do a checkup from the neck up’ at least a million times in my career. It is as pure an attitude adjustment technique today as it was when first uttered. I picture a Roman general saying to his troops just before battle “Hey, get in the war man. Do a checkup from the neck up before we rush over that moat” or something like that. That’s how old it is.” Check out his prescriptions. Leonard lands yet more ah-has with this post.