Deep Well of Knowledge

Every post should start with a ridiculously cute baby picture. So here is mine. Sarah loves to be pulled around in her big sister's school backpack. When you hear her crying, it is usually because she is trying to fit inside and go for a ride. Ahhhh, the simple pleasures of life!

So it seems I post about once a year now, but I am using my brain what seems to be at least once every six months so I feel strongly that it is time to start writing again. Back in 2008 I sort of ran for president, I proclaimed that John McCain was a patsy and didn't really want to win, and that we needed to band together as conservative, proactive, Christian, patriotic folks. Notice I did not say Republicans.

Ok then, fast forward nearly two years and see where we are. The word "ugg" in my life is a simple expression I use to describe a situation that I find distasteful or a moment where I just don't want to take time to formulate a well thought out response. So, politically, UGG. Here is a quick update since the election back in 2008. I've had a couple of tepid posts since then, but really have been in the "ugg" mode.

September 9,2008: Sarah Grace Matthews is born. I am a daddy again at the age of 47. She is 1.6 years old now and I am 48 and a half. God has such a wonderful sense of humor. I love it when people walk up and ask to hold my granddaughter. I punched an old lady at Cracker Barrell last week. Well, not really, but I think I could have bested her in a punching and running contest. Me? A Grandfather? Not just yet. I am still learning how to be a daddy. God sure knows what he is doing! Which is exactly why he never gave me that flamethrower I wanted as a kid.

November 5, 2008: I decided to take our business, The Solomon Group, on a national basis. This isn't an advertisement for me or my biz, but I want to take action. Take action. That will be the remainder of my first post back from the darkside.

August 17, 2009: I opened our new National Education Center for The Solomon Group. It is a 6,000 square feet masterpiece of luck and perspiration. From this launching pad we intend to help affect change in a positive way.

The view from my office!

September 9, 2009. Sarah turned 1. I was a week away from 48. Wild. Assuming that most people start their success journey by age 18, I have had 30 good years at being an adult and I am taking stock of what has happened during those times.

So, where from here? Not sure. Tomorow our politicians will be forcing the vote on healthcare. Somehow they have taken the position that goods and services have become rights, and I disagree with that. But that is for another time, there isn't much we can do right now.

Frequently I get emails from friends who have gotten so amped up that they just have to send all of their friends their thoughts in the form of an email which clearly states their position, usually on a political subject. I mean, I get between 3 and 10 emails a day from good friends whom I respect and love and am thankful for. However, most of these emails is a bunch of phooey because they are not backe up by actions. It is time for America to take action. Sending emails to people who already believe like you do is NOT taking action. Sorry, but it isn't. We need to take action on every level and eliminate our areas of weakness. Here are some things I am asking myself, you, and the rest of the country to work on. I am not a great leader, and I don't know if anyone would ever believe the way I believe, but I am taking action. We have put it all on the line so that we can make a change. Which side of the line are you on? There is no middle ground in a war.

The Things We Should Work On:

1. Healthcare: It is a good and service, not a right. You want the government to help you? Do YOU help you? Do you take care of yourself? I am guilty of not doing this but it isn't the govs job to jump in and save me from myself. Heal thyself!

2. Social Security. What a ripoff, but it is mandatory so deal with it. Do you take care of your own savings and retirement? Is it a priority? Here is a simple test: Add up how much you spend on internet, cell phone, cable tv, and eating out. Now, add those numbers up. Okay, do you save at least that much into a savings account some where? So, those other things are your priority, not retirement.

3. Debt. We gripe about the government being in debt. Are you out of debt? At least out of "bad debt"? Lets get with it America. Proverbs says "The borrower is a SLAVE to the lender" (the Bible didn't capitalize slave, that was me). Are you a slave to a bad financial situation? Let's fix it. The governement is NOT going to help you, I am quite sure. Let's all get to a point where money is not the biggest object on our plates each day.

4. Charity/Public Giving/Welfare: Let's do this through the church. Lets get serious about sharing with our fellow man, but lets do it through an established framework where we don't feel guilty about every panhandler we pass buy. Let's create some little instruction sheets to put in their hats about where they can access our charitable funds.

5. Life/Well Being/ Happiness: Ha! You thought I was going to share the secret of happiness? I can tell you that the people I know who live commited lives of excellence seem to be the happiest. Be excellent, be awesome, be a student of the game. When I meet new employees of The Solomon Group I like to ask them what books they are currently reading. I like to ask them what educational courses they are taking either on their own or through the church. This really rattles people! Behind every door is not necessarily another open door. It is time to wake up America!

We have the greatest country on the planet, but we are in disrepair. It isn't the governements job to fix it, it is your job, my job, our job. We are "the people" mentioned in those early historical documents that posed the questions regarding our freedoms.

May God bless your every step, my you find peace and confidence in knowing that God loved YOU so much that he gave his only begotten Son that He should die for our transgressions. That is an excellent reason to feel special, to feel loved, and to feel like you are part of something really big. And in America, we the people must wake up, right now. We have been given much, and from each of us, much is expected.

I am awake.

Sarah's footprints on my hands, September 9, 2008. A very good day.

Schneegle Gluben

So, my 9 year old has this fascination to say bad words. She can now slowly draw out the word aspirin so as to say a bad word but not get in trouble. She laughs with glee when she hears me utter something in frustration and each time my internal frown grows more weary of myself and lack of verbal control.

Then we came up with "Schneegle Gluben". We decided it was a German word that means "shucksy darn". Shucksy darn? Yep. The dark, forbidden word from deep in the mist of bad word world. We use it now when a bad word wants to pop out and we just cover it up with a loud, German accented, "Schneegle Gluben"!

Maybe it really means something profound. Or not.

If I haven't called you lately it is because the 5 on my phone has been busted. I keep wanting to call the phone carrier but there is a 5 in their service number. Oh well.

What A Year!

Wow, what a year! Sarah Grace was born on September 9th and we are so delighted to be parents again at a somewhat "more mature" age. Katy, Audrey, and I are now recovering somewhat as we adjust to the new normal. Our friends and family here in Austin have been so kind and the outpouring of love and support has been very meaningful.

We've taken Sarah up to school a few times now and we have so many children who come over and love on her. It is so great to be part of such a nice community and we are forever thankful.

I don't have much to add right now but just want to reiterate how blessed and thankful we are to have our friends and family. This has been such an unusual experience and our lives are forever changed.

Summer Almost Over

Uggg. I almost went to the beach today but the natural momentum of my life and my habits kept me from it. Better to goof off in front of a computer than to enjoy all that the beach has to offer. That's what I have to say about it.

Watch this video. It's About Laminin.

This will be a great 8 minute investment of your time. You need to know about Laminin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4

Interview with ME!

I found this online and forgot that I had been interviewed by BMX Webmaster Bryan Teague. Since I am a candidate for public office, I thought some of my former thoughts should be shared as well. For the two of you in my fan club (Katy and Audrey), I humbly submit my thoughts for your perusal:

http://www.ucbmxracing.com/Cash_interview.htm

A Great Speech.

I am still running for President. Scroll around, read about me and my ideas. Also read this piece by PJ who puts it down pretty well. I hope being president will be fun. It is a lot of work to type on this blog once every couple of weeks. Please feel free to forward my blog to your entire address book. People need to read it. Thanks!

Fairness, idealism and other atrocities Commencement advice you're unlikely to hear elsewhere. By P.J. O'Rourke May 4, 2008

Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: "Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!" But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech. Don't moan. I'm not going to "pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next." I'm a member of the 1960s generation. We didn't have any wisdom.We were the moron generation. We were the generation that believed we could stop the Vietnam War by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything -- which they did, for John Belushi.

We believed in free love. Yes, the love was free, but we paid a high price for the sex.My generation spoiled everything for you. It has always been the special prerogative of young people to look and act weird and shock grown-ups. But my generation exhausted the Earth's resources of the weird. Weird clothes -- we wore them. Weird beards -- we grew them. Weird words and phrases -- we said them. So, when it came your turn to be original and look and act weird, all you had left was to tattoo your faces and pierce your tongues. Ouch. That must have hurt. I apologize.

So now, it's my job to give you advice. But I'm thinking: You're finishing 16 years of education, and you've heard all the conventional good advice you can stand.

So, let me offer some relief:

1. Go out and make a bunch of money! Here we are living in the world's most prosperous country, surrounded by all the comforts, conveniences and security that money can provide. Yet no American political, intellectual or cultural leader ever says to young people, "Go out and make a bunch of money." Instead, they tell you that money can't buy happiness. Maybe, but money can rent it.There's nothing the matter with honest moneymaking. Wealth is not a pizza, where if I have too many slices you have to eat the Domino's box. In a free society, with the rule of law and property rights, no one loses when someone else gets rich.

2. Don't be an idealist! Don't chain yourself to a redwood tree. Instead, be a corporate lawyer and make $500,000 a year. No matter how much you cheat the IRS, you'll still end up paying $100,000 in property, sales and excise taxes. That's $100,000 to schools, sewers, roads, firefighters and police. You'll be doing good for society. Does chaining yourself to a redwood tree do society $100,000 worth of good?

Idealists are also bullies. The idealist says, "I care more about the redwood trees than you do. I care so much I can't eat. I can't sleep. It broke up my marriage. And because I care more than you do, I'm a better person. And because I'm the better person, I have the right to boss you around."Get a pair of bolt cutters and liberate that tree.Who does more for the redwoods and society anyway -- the guy chained to a tree or the guy who founds the "Green Travel Redwood Tree-Hug Tour Company" and makes a million by turning redwoods into a tourist destination, a valuable resource that people will pay just to go look at?So make your contribution by getting rich. Don't be an idealist.

3. Get politically uninvolved! All politics stink. Even democracy stinks. Imagine if our clothes were selected by the majority of shoppers, which would be teenage girls. I'd be standing here with my bellybutton exposed. Imagine deciding the dinner menu by family secret ballot. I've got three kids and three dogs in my family. We'd be eating Froot Loops and rotten meat.But let me make a distinction between politics and politicians. Some people are under the misapprehension that all politicians stink. Impeach George W. Bush, and everything will be fine. Nab Ted Kennedy on a DUI, and the nation's problems will be solved. But the problem isn't politicians -- it's politics. Politics won't allow for the truth. And we can't blame the politicians for that. Imagine what even a little truth would sound like on today's campaign trail: "No, I can't fix public education. The problem isn't the teachers unions or a lack of funding for salaries, vouchers or more computer equipment The problem is your kids!"

4. Forget about fairness. We all get confused about the contradictory messages that life and politics send.Life sends the message, "I'd better not be poor. I'd better get rich. I'd better make more money than other people." Meanwhile, politics sends us the message, "Some people make more money than others. Some are rich while others are poor. We'd better close that 'income disparity gap.' It's not fair!"Well, I am here to advocate for unfairness. I've got a 10-year-old at home. She's always saying, "That's not fair." When she says this, I say, "Honey, you're cute. That's not fair. Your family is pretty well off. That's not fair. You were born in America. That's not fair. Darling, you had better pray to God that things don't start getting fair for you." What we need is more income, even if it means a bigger income disparity gap

5. Be a religious extremist! So, avoid politics if you can. But if you absolutely cannot resist, read the Bible for political advice -- even if you're a Buddhist, atheist or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those people who believes that God is involved in politics. On the contrary. Observe politics in this country. Observe politics around the world. Observe politics through history. Does it look like God's involved? The Bible is very clear about one thing: Using politics to create fairness is a sin. Observe the Tenth Commandment. The first nine commandments concern theological principles and social law: Thou shalt not make graven images, steal, kill, et cetera. Fair enough. But then there's the tenth: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."Here are God's basic rules about how we should live, a brief list of sacred obligations and solemn moral precepts. And, right at the end of it we read, "Don't envy your buddy because he has an ox or a donkey." Why did that make the top 10? Why would God, with just 10 things to tell Moses, include jealousy about livestock?Well, think about how important this commandment is to a community, to a nation, to a democracy. If you want a mule, if you want a pot roast, if you want a cleaning lady, don't whine about what the people across the street have. Get rich and get your own.Now, one last thing:

6. Don't listen to your elders! After all, if the old person standing up here actually knew anything worth telling, he'd be charging you for it.

P.J. O'Rourke, a correspondent for the Weekly Standard and the Atlantic, is the author, most recently, of "On The Wealth of Nations." A longer version of this article appears in Change magazine, which reports on trends and issues in higher education.

I approve of this message. Cash.