Over the past 5 years I have been trying to figure out why free enterprise and success at that effort have gotten such bad press (if it has to do with the press, well, we can kind of figure out why the message has been negative, but that is an entirely different issue). Well, I ran across the following video that a good friend passed my way and I thought others would appreciate. Let me know your thoughts. Dialog is good, even when it may get a bit contentious. Hope you enjoyed it.

Choosing a President

The Presidential election creeps towards the late summer and early autumn when it will heat up. Right now, not everyone is paying attention but they will as September rolls around. Right now, smoke is serving as substance. Right now, no one is talking to the people about the real issues. Oh, they say words that suggest they are talking about the issues, but the words are only that; words. Who cares if Gov. Romney outsourced jobs other than those who lost theirs because of the need to find a less expensive way to run a business? Would he have preferred to keep everyone hired? Most likely, although I can't speak for him or his motives. Would he have preferred to keep all the manufacturing plants operating? Most likely, but then again, I can't read his mind or know exactly what was going on during those days of decisions back in the 1990's. Can you? What I do know, from my own experiences is, it is tough running a business, whether in the corporate world or in small business. I have been in both worlds. Hiring is tough. Firing is even tougher. But good business people make decisions that they believe, at a particular point in time, with the particular facts and assumptions they have at their finger tips, are what is best for the business and the majority of the employees, and in the case of Corporations, the stockholders, regardless of what some employees and their families believe. It is just not human nature to enjoy firing people. That is not to say that some don't enjoy it; that some see it as some power ride. But most people I know in business, hate having to fire anyone, even the most deserving; and there are times when people really do deserve to get fired. And don't use the word "Fair." The world is not fair. There is nothing that is fair when it comes to making decisions. People make their own fairness or at least they try. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Small business owners know that failure is just around the corner nearly every day. Is it fair? I don't know because fair doesn't enter the equation. The real issues right now, in our world as it now sits, when it comes to picking a President are: * Does a person have experience in business? * Did he make the tough calls? * Did the majority of people, the majority of time, benefit? * Can he transfer that knowledge to the White House, not in running the White House but in understanding how government policy impacts business and the employees of business? * Can he build a consensus within Congress, regardless of party? * Has he shown an ability to leave his comfort zone to meet with people on their turf in their environment, regardless of whether he is comfortable or not and regardless of how the far extremes of his Party view the move? * Is he a leader and not just someone who talks a good game but can't deliver? What does it matter if he is rich and used the loopholes our previous leaders put into place? He'd be stupid if he didn't and the last thing I want is a stupid President. What does it matter what his religion or sexual preferences are as long as he is honorable, believes in some power higher than himself, is humble enough to admit mistakes, and loves those who love him while also loving those who don't? Can he lead us out of this mess? That is the question. I believe our current President has many of those traits listed above. I believe he is honorable. I believe he is trying to do the right thing. The problem is, he is not a leader. He has never led, has never shown a propensity to lead and has not shown that he can build a consensus, in understandably one of the hardest periods to do so. Will he be able to do things differently in the future? Do people actually change? Can he get those who have said repeatedly -- no, to change their tune? I don't think so. Can Gov. Romney do those things? Can he build a consensus? Can he figure out how to have a government that serves the people and our economy while also having programs that help those who need it at a specific time or maybe need it forever? I don't know, but I do know that his history is that of one who makes things happen and mostly for the good.

Chapter One

Thursday, October 23, 2006

Libertyville, IL

Elias Hawk looked out over his back yard from the second floor window, staring without seeing. The caller, nearly ten minutes late, had Elias on edge. Jimmy Donovan and Simon Wells sat in front of Elias’ desk, alternately looking at each other, then over at Elias and then over towards the phone.

“Maybe he’s had second thoughts, or maybe it’s all a hoax. We’ve had our share of those.” Jimmy spoke to no one in particular. He just needed to break the silence.

“Maybe he’s already dead.” Elias’ words spoke what the others feared to say.
Before anyone could respond, though, the ringing phone knifed through the tension, causing all three to flinch and look towards the sound.

Simon took the phone from its base and answered, “Simon here” – his soft Oxford accent still present after all these years.

After an extended pause, “Hi, this is, uh . . . this is J. S.”

“J. S., it is good to hear from you. I will put you on the speaker phone so the others with whom I work can hear, if that is all right.” But he did not wait for confirmation. He pushed the speakerphone button and placed the hand phone back in the stand.

“I am here with Elias Hawk and James Donovan, the other two you have chatted with through the chat room.” Simon continued. “Can you hear me OK?”

“Yes.” A quiet but rich male voice responded.

Elias moved toward the speaker. “J. S., this is Elias Hawk. Do you have a name – a real name, I mean – something other than initials?” Elias’ harsh sounding words shot across the line.

Another long silence before the voice finally said, “Jonathan.”

“OK, Jonathan, thank you for calling in. The chat room is a nice place to start, but to move forward, we need direct contact. That is the only way we can help you.

Are you with me?”

“Yes. But I am not as convinced as you seem to be about our . . . situation.”
Elias moved closer to the speaker. “Jonathan, I’ll be direct. We believe you have no idea of how much danger you and your family are in, but trust me, we do know the situation and we do know that you are lucky to still be alive. Look, you have no way of knowing us or whether we are even who we say we are, and we are in the same position with you. So, we are all going on a lot of faith here,” For Elias, faith was not something he had a lot of at this point, but with this contact, he was willing to believe that things could be changing.

“From what you have told us in the chat room, we believe you know some people we have been looking for . . . for nearly eight years, now. And, if they are who we think they are, we also believe you are, as we tried to explain in the chat room, in danger . . . significant danger. As I said, in our opinion, you are lucky to still be walking the face of the earth.”

Elias paused, continuing to stare down at the phone. The voice on the other end remained silent.

“These people, a couple, to be exact, the ones you referred to as the Connellys, they were, as far as you can tell, trying to hide something. Is that correct?”

The speakerphone remained silent, causing the three listeners to lean forward, as if by getting closer the voice would magically come through.

“Yes, I believe they are trying to hide something, but look,” the voice began, “as I said before, this all started when a few of us came to the conclusion that from what each of us knew about the Connellys, things just didn’t seem to add up – what each of us had heard or been told, just didn’t make sense. The timeline was inconsistent. So I decided, just for kicks, to try to check them out.” He paused a second. “Actually, my wife is the one who first became suspicious. So, she started to question them on some of their history. That’s when they became defensive and the relationship just died. That was a few of months ago. But I kept at it . . . kept trying to find out something about them, and that’s when I found you. To be honest, though, I don’t think our situation is anything like you described. But seriously, this all started as kind of a game for us.”

Elias listened and couldn’t help but think about Mo and how it had been her intuition that had kicked in, making her believe that the Woods, who Elias believed to be now calling themselves Connelly, who were hiding something. What is it about women, Elias wondered, that gives them this innate insight concerning people that men have to learn the long and hard way?

“Jonathan,” Elias cut through the discussion, “if you didn’t have some doubt, you wouldn’t have agreed to talk to us, so the best way to deal with this and to find out if there is any connection, is for me to fly out to . . . to, wherever the hell it is that you live and talk face-to-face. Where is it, exactly, that you live.”

Jonathan paused before finally giving them a name. “Cazenovia. Cazenovia, New York. About twenty miles southeast of Syracuse, a half hour drive. But really, I’m not sure you need to come here. After all, as I said, this started as a joke. In fact, as I mentioned in the chat room, the couple moved away and don’t even live here anymore. The only reason I found you is that my wife kept pushing me to see if I could dig up anything on them – just for conversation, I guess.”

“Believe me,” Elias broke in, “if this is what we think it is, then this is no joke. In fact, I believe I need to get there as soon as possible.” Elias’ voice grew more definite – the tension in it stretched across the miles.

“You did tell us that the Connellys moved away about eight weeks ago, right? Just up and disappeared. Well, if that’s the case, and they stay true to form, then you are in danger, imminent danger. I’ve told you the history during our talks in the chat room.”

The line went silent once again. Elias continued. “Jonathan, you have to give me all the information; your full name, your address, and phone number. I can fly out tonight and be there for us to talk face-to-face tomorrow morning.”

“Let’s hold off a bit.” Jonathan broke in. “I can’t meet you this weekend. We have plans. How about Monday?”

“How about I meet you Sunday night?” Elias responded. “No one makes plans for Sunday night.” Elias persisted, almost getting to the point where he would go to this Cazenovia with or without Jonathan’s approval.

“OK, OK. We meet Sunday night, but it will have to be after the children are in bed. Let’s say, eight o’clock.” He paused before saying, “Stoner, my full name is Jonathan Stoner. We live at 550 Oweghena Terrace, in Cazenovia, NY, but I have to say once again, I can’t believe we are in the type of danger you described. After all, they moved away.”

“Believe me, it is every bit as dangerous as I said . . . maybe more because of the length of time they have been gone.” Elias grew more anxious, ready to have the plane fueled and in the air at that instant.

“Listen to me, Jonathan. These people, if they are who we think they are . . . well, let me just say that they are not nice. They do not play games. They do not take prisoners. They kill. Period.”

With that last statement, the phone went silent except for the faint sound of breath, passing haltingly from the other end. Elias could only assume he had finally hit home, that he got Stoner’s attention.

“OK, Sunday night, eight o’clock,” Stoner relented, his voice growing quiet.

“One last thing, Jonathan, make sure you lock all your doors and windows, and don’t open up the door to anyone you don’t know.”

The call ended after Elias and Stoner exchanged phone numbers, and agreed to meet at 8:00 PM on Sunday, October 26.

Upon finishing the call, Elias turned back toward the window.

“Eight weeks, almost nine by the time I get there – too much time,” Elias said as he watched the dark peregrine falcon swoop down toward the field beyond his back yard, zeroing in on it’s prey.

“I should be there now.”

The early days of the 2012 election are upon us. The Democrats already know who their candidate is but the Republicans still have a long way to go. One thing that amazes me is how all Republicans are characterized by the a good portion of the press and by Democrats as heartless people who are all rich, are greedy, don't want people other than Caucasians to succeed and want to end all forms of a safety net for those who are in need of help. I didn't realize I was like that and am such a bad person. Unfortunately, most Republicans I know are anything but what they are characterized as. I'm getting a little tired of it.

I am a Middle American. Not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds about right and that is what I have now named me. The reason I even mention this is that I just finished reading two articles; The Rescue That Missed Main Street by Gretchen Morgenson (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/business/economy/the-feds-rescue-missed-main-street.html) and The Desperation-of-Deprivation Myth by Mark Steyn (http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/275679/desperation-deprivation-myth-mark-steyn).

The first article discussed the bailouts that went to large financial institutions and how all these bailouts seemed to help were large financial institutions and not the people in the street even though the bailout was sold to the common man as something that was necessary to help the common man. Evidenced by our current unemployment rate and low to no growth in our economy, the bailouts failed. One can argue all they want about how much worse it could have been if the money wasn't given to the large financial institutions and the auto industry or that what was really needed was a larger amount of money poured into the bailout. But there is an equally strong argument that can be made for what if that same money had been used to bailout credit card holders and mortgagees? Neither of them are provable. The only thing we do know is that the bailouts have not helped the common man or our economy. Maybe we would have been worse off without the bailouts, but I don't see how much worse it could be.

An argument can also be made for not having given the financial and auto industries anything, so that they would have had to sink or swim, and to swim, they would have had to change their business models and how they do business, neither of which has happened. It is business as usual on my dime.

The second article discusses how all the social programs we keep putting into place (entitlements) seem to have fostered a feeling of entitlement to those who are not willing to work. Why work when you have government money to put food on your table and a roof over your head? What this has done, however, is to make some people brought up under that system, not all but a goodly number, to think they have been screwed because the system hasn't given them more; they still don't have all the things other do who go out and work for it. To offset this slight, some of these people think its OK to loot stores and take what they believe is rightfully theirs, had the government only given them more.

The point of all of this ranting on my part is to show that both the left who think we need to give more to society paid for by government and the "rich," whoever they are, and the right, who believe financial institutions, large corporations and the like deserve to be protected so that they can provide jobs and money to the "working class," have been wrong.

The problem is that the common man, or the Middle American as I have just named myself, have no organized voting block. We have no voice. We have no one looking out for us and we are caught in the middle of having too much and a work ethic that seems to drive us to take care of ourselves and our families, and not enough to cause pain to those who are controlled by the money men to get any consideration other than to be told that what each side is doing, they are doing it for us. But the "for us" never seems to happen.

It is about time we stood up for ourselves, not as TEA Party members (I'm still trying to figure that one out) but as citizens who understand that bailouts don't work, banks don't give money if they are not incentivized to do so, Congressmen and Women are more concerned with saving their "job" (when did being a Congressman or Senator become a life-long job?) and some people believe they are "owed" something without giving something to get it (like money or sweat).

While I have always thought that I have checked out political candidates so that I knew which were best for our country (I'm not saying any one of them is anti-American or not as loyal to our country as I am -- only who is going to do the best work for the country), I am going to be even more scrutinizing in all future elections. And, more participative in getting the right people in office -- those who will watch out for all us Middle-Americans.

I ran into an old girlfriend at my class reunion last month (actually ran into a couple of old girlfriends -- small school and we tended have shorter relationships than what is now the case). The last time I had seen her was about 10 years after high school when I called on her then husband at his store. I was a salesman for products that he sold in his store. After calling on him for some time, I stopped in once and the old girlfriend appeared. She saw my business card and had to come out from the back of the store to talk to me. Now, speed ahead a few decades and the next time we meet is at the reunion. She is now divorced and bitter about it, or at least that's what the body language and voice inflection told me. Since I didn't ask her probing questions about the divorce and how it all came about, it did get me wondering how she got where she is now -- the choices she made and why, and what were the alternatives? But she also made me think about my own decisions along the way when she asked me at the reunion if I ever did anything with my singing. You see, at one time, I kind of envisioned heading off to become an entertainer, most likely a singer. But that is not the path I ultimately took -- for many reasons, but it's now interesting to think back on those reasons and to wonder. Not to wish I had done something different or to bemoan the path I took, but just to wonder.

I returned to my old hometown for my high school class reunion the other day. I had not seen some of the people in years -- and I mean years, some I had not seen since we graduated. Others I had run into since leaving the town, but even for those, it still had been years. I had not returned for other reunions for a couple of reasons; timing for one, as they were held over major holiday weekends and we had other plans, and also because I couldn't fathom the point of returning. Who would I see? Would it just be losers who had nothing else to do that weekend? Would the "cool" ones return or would they too blow it off?

But something motivated me this time. Maybe it was age, maybe it was curiosity or maybe it was just that now that I am back to writing, I find people and the trail that takes them from where they were to where they are now, fascinating. I am intrigued about the mind -- what makes people do the things they do, especially those that seem to have had some disconnect with "normal." What made people make the decisions they did to take one path over another? How much did fate play in the path taken versus conscious decision-making?

In truth, I am glad I went back. It was good to see those that I had grown up with, with whom I experienced so much. The reunion did not produce, however, any deep understanding or revelation of mankind -- there wasn't enough time to talk to each person and find out much more than their married names, the number of children they have, where they live now and what they are now doing. It is not that people were guarded -- there just wasn't time for deep discussion.

I am still intrigued by those with whom I reacquainted and maybe even more intrigued by those that weren't there. Why did they decide not to come back? Are they hiding something? Did something occur in their life after high school that they just don't want to share?

As a writer, it doesn't really matter because I believe that after some time has passed, I will write about one or two of those former classmates -- whether they were there or not, because my mind will eventually think enough about a couple of them that I will invent their lives after school. And knowing me, they would be surprised by what happened to them and the mystery they created.