Welcome to SmartsMatter

“What I lack in smarts, I make up for in work…and given how hard I have to work, I must not be that smart!”–Greg hague

Perfectly Imprefect

Many years ago my son, Brian, was excited to buy his first new car. He did weeks of research before deciding on a top of the line

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Our Strongest Emotion

Cows kill more people than sharks. Surprised?  So was I. But it’s true. More people are trampled or kicked to death every year by cows. So why

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Impossible Situations

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

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Share Your Corn

Many years ago there was a Nebraska farmer who was known for growing the best corn in the county. In fact, he entered his corn in

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Ivy League Motivation

Last week my family and I took a much-needed vacation to one of the favorite places from my youth…Walloon Lake, Michigan. One of my favorite

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Building A Ferrari

Last weekend Teresa and I were at our vacation home in Sedona. Somehow we got onto the subject of purses and out of curiosity I asked

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Put Her In Hot Water

Sara was a good student at Florida State with a dream of becoming an attorney…until she took the dreaded LSAT to determine her aptitude for law

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A Great Truth

As a boy, his father taught him how to train dogs to “stay on the scent” of a rabbit. In the morning he would set out

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Point Magnifiers

I was lenient on many things as my three sons were growing up, but grades weren’t one of them. A’s were expected, B’s were average, and

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Perfect Friendships

It’s 3 AM when Kate is awakened by a loud knock at her door. She quickly throws on a robe and stumbles downstairs. With dreary eyes she

Read More »

A Very Quiet Place

At the age of 12 I had become an incessant chatterbox, often to the irritation of my dad, Chubby. One Sunday afternoon I was in Dad’s

Read More »

Perfectly Imprefect

Many years ago my son, Brian, was excited to buy his first new car. He did weeks of research before deciding on a top of the line

Read More »

Our Strongest Emotion

Cows kill more people than sharks. Surprised?  So was I. But it’s true. More people are trampled or kicked to death every year by cows. So why

Read More »

Impossible Situations

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

Read More »

Share Your Corn

Many years ago there was a Nebraska farmer who was known for growing the best corn in the county. In fact, he entered his corn in

Read More »

Ivy League Motivation

Last week my family and I took a much-needed vacation to one of the favorite places from my youth…Walloon Lake, Michigan. One of my favorite

Read More »

Building A Ferrari

Last weekend Teresa and I were at our vacation home in Sedona. Somehow we got onto the subject of purses and out of curiosity I asked

Read More »

Put Her In Hot Water

Sara was a good student at Florida State with a dream of becoming an attorney…until she took the dreaded LSAT to determine her aptitude for law

Read More »

A Great Truth

As a boy, his father taught him how to train dogs to “stay on the scent” of a rabbit. In the morning he would set out

Read More »

Point Magnifiers

I was lenient on many things as my three sons were growing up, but grades weren’t one of them. A’s were expected, B’s were average, and

Read More »

Perfect Friendships

It’s 3 AM when Kate is awakened by a loud knock at her door. She quickly throws on a robe and stumbles downstairs. With dreary eyes she

Read More »

A Very Quiet Place

At the age of 12 I had become an incessant chatterbox, often to the irritation of my dad, Chubby. One Sunday afternoon I was in Dad’s

Read More »