The Reality of Tomorrow
It’s August 19, 1971. Men armed with machine guns stand guard at Santa Martha Acatitla prison in Mexico City. The warden is expecting a visit from high level government officials. A helicopter comes into view, and everything seems like business as usual. As the chopper lands in the prison yard, inmate Joel David Kaplan is ready. Within […]
As Good As Its Promise
With the 4th of July weekend upon us, I thought it would be fun to share some Independence Day facts you might not know… Button Who? 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Two of them eventually became President (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson). One’s name is now synonymous with “signature” (John Hancock). One even has a beer named […]
Rental Nation
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.” -Andrew Carnegie You’ve probably heard of D.R. Horton. Dubbed “America’s Builder,” the company has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States since 2002 (founded in 1978, it went public in 1992). Operating in 90 markets across 29 states, this multi-billion dollar behemoth ranks 194th on […]
Spending Oneself
It was the fall of ‘66. I was 18. Freshman year in college. My friend Bob and I wanted to bum around Europe the following summer. Our parents said they would agree (reluctantly) if we “made great grades” and saved up at least half the money (they agreed to pay the other half). Bob was […]
Draw Your Widest Circle
On March 13, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a national emergency. Lockdowns followed, and the world seemed to change overnight. Trying to stay safe forced us to “draw a smaller circle.” We limited travel, social interaction, and the things that made life fun and adventurous. Now here we are, fifteen months later. COVID is subsiding. With that in mind and […]
Ten Thousand Relatives
A father was helping his young son learn to fly a kite at the beach. The son complained, “Dad, I’m at the end of the string. The kite won’t go any higher!” The father replied, “Then that’s the perfect height.” Again, the son griped, “But I want to see how high it will go! Let’s […]
Scope Creep
It’s called the Chunnel(short for Channel Tunnel). Completed in 1994 after 6 years of construction, it’s a 31 mile undersea tunnel connecting England to France beneath the English Channel. It boasts the longest underwater section in the world and was built for high speed bullet trains (both commercial and commuter). The English Channel’s average depth is only about […]
A Ghost in the Kitchen
In 2015, Luis Mota opened his first Mexican restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He hoped to have lots of happy customers, so he named the restaurant La Contenta, meaning “the happy” in English. His hard work paid off, the restaurant took off, and he opened a second location in short order. He refused to allow home […]
The New Smart is in the Heart
It’s a frigid, stormy night. The rain is pouring down in sheets, making it difficult to see the road ahead of you. You stop at a light and see three people sitting at a bus stop. One is an elderly woman, shivering uncontrollably, clutching her cane as she coughs into a handkerchief. One is an old friend you haven’t […]
When The Odds Are Not In Your Favor
He was raised in South Africa. He worked in a factory, and many nights slept on a couch in the break room. Recently interviewed, he was asked, “A comfortable couch?” “No,” he admitted, “It was terrible.” When things got really bad, he wore the same clothes for days and went without showering. When asked why, he said, “I wanted my circumstances […]