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Johnny Rodgers, Forever Young, Fast, and Running Free (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
In the constellation of University of Nebraska football legends, Johnny Rodgers is probably still the brightest star, even though it's been going on 40 years since he last played for the Huskers. So dazzling were his moves and so dominant was his play that this 1972 Heisman Trophy winner , who was the one big play threat on the 1970 and 1971 national championship teams, remains the gold standard for NU playmakers. The fact that he was such a prominent player when NU first reached modern day college football prominence, combined with his being an Omaha product who overcame a tough start in life, puts him in a different category from all the other Husker greats. The style and panache that he brought to the field and off it helps, too. He's also remained one of the most visible and accessible Husker legends.
Johnny Rodgers, Forever Young, Fast, and Running Free (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally published in The Reader (www.thereader.com) as part of my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
"Man, woman and child…the Jet has put 'em in the aisles again."
Viewing again on tape one of Johnny Rodgers' brilliant juking, jiving broken field runs, one has the impression of a jazz artist going off on an improvisational riff and responding note by note, move by move, instant by instant to whatever he's feeling on the field.
Indeed, that is how Rodgers, the quicksilver University of Nebraska All-American and Heisman Trophy winner known as The Jet, describes the way his instinctive playmaking skills expressed themselves in action. Original, spontaneous, unplanned, his dance-like punt returns and darting runs after catches unfolded, like riveting dramatic performances, in the moment. Poetry in motion. All of which makes his revelation that he did this in a kind of spellbound state fascinating.
"I remember times when I'd go into a crowd of players and I'd come out the other side and the first time I'd know anything about what really happened was when I watched it on film," he said. "It was like I was in a trance or guided or something. It was not ever really at a conscious level. I could see it as it's happening, but I didn't remember any of it. In any of the runs, I could not sit back and say all the things I'd just done until I saw them on film. Never. Not even once."
This sense of something larger and more mysterious at work is fitting given Rodgers unlikely life story. In going from ghetto despair and criminal mischief to football stardom and flamboyant high life to wheeler-dealer and ignominious failure to sober businessman and community leader, his life has played out in surreal fashion. For a long time Rodgers seemed to be making his legend up, for better or worse, as he went along.
Once viewed as an incorrigible delinquent, Rodgers grew up poor and fatherless in the Logan Fontenelle projects and, unable to get along with his mother, ran away from home at age 14 to Detroit. He was gone a year.
"You talk about a rude awakening. It was a trip," he said.
He bears scars from bashings and bullets he took in violent clashes. He received probation in his late teens for his part in a Lincoln filling station robbery that nearly derailed his college football career. He served 30 days in jail for driving on a suspended license. Unimaginable — The Jet confined to a cell. His early run-ins with the law and assundry other troubles made him a romantic outlaw figure to some and a ne'er-do-well receiving special treatment to others.
"People were trying to make me out to be college football's bad boy," is how he sums up that tumultuous time.
Embracing his rebel image, the young Rodgers wore shades and black leather and drove fast. Affecting a playboy image, J.R. lived a Player's lifestyle. By the time he signed a big contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, he was indulging in a rich young man's life to the hilt — fur capes, silk dashikis, fancy cars, recreational drugs, expensive wines and fine babes. Hedonism, baby.
Controversy continued dogging him and generating embarrassing headlines, like the time in 1985 he allegedly pulled a gun on a cable television technician or the two times, once in 1987 and again in 1998, when his Heisman was confiscated in disputes over non-payment of bills. Then there were the crass schemes to cash in on his fame.
Rodgers, whose early life could have gone seriously astray if not for strong male figures around him, said, "I really wish I would have had mentors in mid-life like I had coming up so I could have been prepared for a lot of things I found myself getting into and out of, whether good or bad. I really don't have any regrets as far as whatever has happened, one way or the other, because I've grown on both sides. I've learned probably more from my mistakes than from my successes."
It is only in recent years he has settled down into the kind of calm, considered, conservative life of a reborn man who, in conversation, often refers to his Creator and to giving back.
As he was quoted in a 2001 Omaha World-Herald story, "I'm a little boring now. I make people nervous these days because they have to put their drugs away now."
Not that this inveterate risk-taker and spotlight lover still isn't capable of surprises, just that his escapades are less brazen. In the late 1990s he went back to school to finish his degree and added a second degree for good measure. In 1996 he started a sports apparel, bedding and accesories business, JetWear, located in the Business and Technology Center at 24th and Lake, that got him named entrepreneur of the year. He and his wife Jawana own and operate it today. Then, cementing his lofty status as a sports hero, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and named Husker Player of the Century.
These days, Rodgers, looking fit with his shirt-popping muscular physique and jaunty with the gold bling-bling draping his every appendage, seems comfortable in his role as venerable legend. The media seeks his opinions on the state of the Husker Nation in the aftermath of last season's debacle.
However much he plays the role of wizened old football warrior, he is forever seen as the dangerous artful dodger whose unique combo of strength, quickness and intuitiveness let him do the unexpected on the gridiron — leaving people grasping thin air with magical now-you-see-him, now-you-don't moves. In an interview from his office, adorned with images and clippings from his glory days, he spoke like a man still in touch with the electrifying, enigmatic athletic genius that left fans breathless and opponents befuddled. Still every inch the star, he's finally come to terms with himself.
When viewed in the context of a rather rash fellow who follows his instincts, then his punt returns — the plays where he improvised the most, displayed the most creativity and took the greatest chances — make more sense just as some of his reckless off-the-field antics can be better understood if not excused. For better or worse, his let's-wing-it, go-for-broke attitude explains his life inside and outside of athletics.
"When you're a risk taker you do make mistakes because you're going for it all the time," he said. "You don't always make the right move. You can fake yourself right into harm's way or you can shake yourself right through it. But you have to be willing to take a chance. In a lot of ways I should have been more conservative about things but it's just not my nature."
Just like calling a fair catch or lining up behind a wall of blockers was not about to happen when fielding a punt.
"You don't think, you just react. You don't know, you just feel," is how Rodgers describes what it's like for an impulsive person like himself to feed off whatever is happening around him at any given time, including the chaos swirling about when running back a punt in a preternatural daze. "It's not like being in what athletes call a zone. You get yourself ready in a zone so you can think about what you need to do and you can get it done. Being in a trance is a whole other level. It's not a planned thing. You don't know what's going to happen. If you make a plan, you're already wrong because it hasn't happened yet. The plan is, there is no plan."
Because of Rodgers' unusual, innate gifts, then NU head coach Bob Devaney gave him great latitude.
"I had a green light returning punts. I just did whatever came natural," Rodgers said. "I'd call a punt return right and I'd go left in a heartbeat. When I saw everybody going left, I'd change direction. I never would know. I was never ever told to fair catch the football, even in dangerous situations. There were never any rules for me. I was given that freedom. It got to the point where the only thing I could tell my guys is, 'Get that first man and meet me down field' because I didn't know myself what I was going to do."
Some of his most famous returns illustrate Rodgers at his extemporaneous best. Take the famous 72-yard touchdown versus Oklahoma in the 1971 Game of the Century.
"It was a right return and I started off right but the whole darn thing happened on the left. On that return my guys didn't get the first man. I had to shake the first man, who was Greg Pruitt. Joe Blahak broke one way and I went the other way, but still he circled all the way back around the field to pick the last guy off my back and that was because we always agreed to meet down field.
"Where most players would be satisfied getting one block and be jogging the rest of the way my guys, like Blahak and (Rich) Glover, were still fighting until the whistle blew. They knew to meet me down field and that attitude really panned out."
Call it a sixth sense or a second set of eyes, but Rodgers possessed an uncanny ability to elude defenders he couldn't possibly see. "I watch myself returning punts on film and I see guys reaching at my head and I'm ducking and you can see clearly that I can't see them, but I can feel them. At the exact right time I make the move. It's an instinct. A spiritual thing. Unconscious."
In a remarkable series of sideline returns against Colorado in 1972, Rodgers executed some fancy arabesques and tightrope maneuvers that defied logic and balance as he repeatedly made sharp cuts, spins and leaps to escape trouble.
On offense, he also enjoyed a degree of freedom. When the Huskers needed a play, he and quarterback Jerry Tagge would collaborate in the huddle. "When push came to shove we called plays ourselves. Tagge would ask, 'What can you do? What can we get?' because I was setting up the guy covering me for something. I'd be running down-and-outs all day long just so I could run the post-and-go or whatever we needed. 'Is he ready yet? Tagge would ask. 'He's ready,' I'd say. I always had the attitude if we were in trouble I want the ball because I could get it done."
He got things done to the tune of setting numerous single season and career school marks for catches, yards receiving, punt returns and total offense. Amazingly, Rodgers isn't sure he could be successful today in NU's highly regimented schemes.
"I was fortunate enough to come along when I did. I don't know if I could make it now," he said. "Coaches don't let you be who you are. They try to coach you to who they are. They're not letting the great ones be great. You can't teach this stuff. If you have to think, you're already too slow. It's reaction. You have to react. You have to be free and open to sense it and feel it."
Precociously talented from an early age, Rodgers first made headlines at age 8 by diving over a human pyramid his Lothrop Grade School tumbling teammates formed with their interlaced bodies in tumbling shows. Despite being much younger and smaller than the youths playing at Kountze Park his athleticism gained him entry into sandlot football and baseball contests there that included such future greats as Gale Sayers, Marlin Briscoe and Ron Boone.
"I was 'too small' to play but they let me play ball with them because I was good enough." He honed his repertoire of fakes playing flag football and, later, tackle with teams sponsored by the Boys Club and Roberts Dairy. By the time he starred at Tech High in football, baseball and basketball, Rodgers had a sense of his own destiny. "I noticed I seemed to be special. I saw these older guys go on and do something nationally and I felt if they could, I could, too. It was almost supposed to happen."
Rodgers wasn't always comfortable with his own prodigious talents. He said early on his gift, as he calls it, was "definitely a burden because I didn't know why I was so good and whether I was chosen or something. I didn't know if I even wanted to have that type of a burden. I was almost upset because I had it. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I really wasn't spiritually grown enough to really appreciate this gift, which it really was." Then there was the fact his prowess caused grief off the field. "My gift was getting me in fights every single weekend…and for no other reason than I was popular, I had notoriety and people were jealous. Girls were telling their guys we were together or whatever. I had people coming down where I lived trying to beat me up. I remember having to crawl out the gall darn window."
Things got so bad during junior high school he took extra precautions walking to and from the home of his grandmother, who'd taken him in after his brash runaway stunt. "I'd walk in the middle of 25th Street so that if anybody came after me I could get away," he said. "And it would never be one on one. It would always be several guys and they could never catch me." If nothing else, being chased helped him develop his broken field moves. One day, Rodgers wasn't so sure he'd make it past the gauntlet facing him. He and his pal Leroy had just left a friend's house when they were surrounded by a gang of boys.
As Rodgers describes it, "I had a dog chain and he had a knife and I said, 'Leroy, you ready?' And he said, 'Yeah, I'm ready.' So, I'm looking around to check out the situation and when I turn back around Leroy is turning the corner up the street. He ran off and left me. So, I started swinging my chain until I got me a little opening and I broke. In those days, when I broke I was going to be alright because I had it covered. Well, those guys started chasing me, except they sent one guy out while the rest of them stayed back jogging." That's when he got a sinking feeling. Not long before the incident he'd watched a Western on television about a lone settler chased by Indians, who sent a series of runners out after the man until they wore him down and caught him.
"I remember thinking, They saw the same movie. I couldn't believe it. They had me scared to death because I saw what happened to that cowboy. Luckily, I escaped down the street and ducked into an alley and dove in a car. I laid down on the floor in back and they went on by," he said, laughing and flashing his best Johnny "The Jet" smile.
Growing up in The Hood then didn't pose quite the same dangers as it does now, but there is no doubt Rodgers narrowly skirted the worst of its ills thanks to the influence of some black men who nurtured and guided him.
"I see how easily I could have went totally in the other direction and what it really took came from my athletic background."
There was George Barber, his gym coach at Lothrop, who got him started in athletics. There was Josh Gibson, his baseball coach at the Boys Club. The older brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, Josh was a legendary baseball coach and "a hard disciplinarian."
Rodgers, a good enough baseball prospect to be drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers, credits Gibson with teaching him to switch hit. His basketball coach at Horace Mann Junior High, Bob Rose, taught him to shoot layups with both hands. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned from Gibson and Rose, Rodgers said, was that "we weren't there just to play the game, we were there to win. Of course, we lost some games but we learned you never quit. You went back and worked harder and got better."
And at the YMCA there was Don Benning, still years away from coaching UNO to an NAIA wrestling title, a man whom Rodgers said "has been like a father to me."
By the time Rodgers emerged as the star of NU's 1970 and 1971 championship teams and as the 1972 Heisman front runner he was befriended by two more key men in his life — the late community activist Charles Washington and high living attorney Robert Fromkin. A friend to many athletes, Washington helped Rodgers out with expenses and other favors.
But, Rodgers said, what he really gleaned from Washington was "a responsibility to help others. I learned a lot from him about helping out the community." According to Rodgers what he got from Fromkin, who represented him after one of his arrests, were free lessons in style.
"Bobby was responsible for me having maybe just a touch of class. He always had an elaborate place and a brand new El Dorado. He would invite me to the fights and to shows. We'd have the whole front row. Then we'd go out to the French Cafe and he'd pick up the whole tab. That was stuff I looked forward to at an early age. That showed me how to do it. How to live right. It added to my flamboyance. The thing he taught me is the only shame you have is to aim low. You've got to aim high. You've got to go for the gusto. It only takes a little bit more to go first class."
When, on the advice of Fromkin, Rodgers surprised the football world by spurning the NFL for the CFL, he found a perfect fit for his garishness in cosmo Montreal and its abundant night life. "I loved Montreal. It was the city of love. There were some great times in Montreal. The French people and I got along great. We were flamboyant together." The dash he exhibited off the field complemented his flash on the field, where Rodgers again dominated. After four banner years, it was time to meet his next challenge. "The only thing left to do was to go to the NFL and prove myself there." He signed with the club that originally drafted him — the San Diego Chargers — and worked like he never had before.
"Because I had so much natural ability I never pushed myself as hard as I really could have. When I got to San Diego I was really determined to go to the next level. I wanted to see just how good I could be. I made sure I was in the best condition I could be in."
He was coming off a monster preseason showing against Kansas City when his dream fell apart. A series of torn muscles and hamstrings severely curtailed his rookie NFL season. He came back ready the next year only to suffer an ugly, career-ending knee injury. "That was it," said Rodgers, who after surgery spent much of the next year in a wheelchair and crutches. For him, the biggest disappointment was "never really getting a chance to showcase what I could do. It hurt me, but I'm not bitter about it. I mean, I could have gone crazy but instead I grew from it."
A perpetual optimist and opportunist, Rodgers has bounced around some since his retirement. For several years he made San Diego his home, starting up a cable TV magazine there that had some success. He returned to Nebraska in the late '80s to help support his son Terry during an injury-shortened NU career. Over the years he's announced several business-community projects that have not come to fruition and some that have. In addition to JetWear, which he hopes to expand, he owns a sports memorabilia business and a promotion arm organizing events like his Husker/Heisman Weekend and public speaking engagements.
Rather than slow down in his mid-50s, he's poised to make a big move.
"I feel like I had a rejuvenation on life at 50 and so I feel I'm just getting started. I think the best is truly still ahead of me. I have only touched on a small part of the potential I have. Because of my history and my visibility I can create a better future for myself, for my family and for my community."
Eying Omaha's riverfront redevelopment, he looks forward to being part of a north Omaha rebirth to match his own. "I think north Omaha's future is so bright you have to wear shades." Burn, Jet, burn.
Related Articles
- You: Oklahoma-Nebraska: The End of a Historic Rivalry (bleacherreport.com)
- Stewart Mandel: Nebraska ready to make right move at right time (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
- Stories That Don't Suck: College Football's Greatest Game And Its Greatest Story [Stories That Don't Suck] (deadspin.com)
- Omaha Native Steve Marantz Looks Back at the City's '68 Racial Divide Through the Prism of Hoops in His New Book, 'The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central' (leoadambiga.wordpress.com)


text: Jeffrey Skinner has been a member of Pyro Gallery in Louisville for six years. His photographs have had solo shows and been part of many group exhibitions in and around Kentucky, and have also appeared in New England Review, Plume, and other literary magazines. Also a writer, Skinner is a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry, and a recipient of an American Academy of Arts & Letters Award. His most recent book of poems, Chance Divine, won the Field Poetry Prize, and was published in 2017 by Oberlin Press.

subset: commoncrawl


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On July 16, 2012, the AICPA submitted a comment letter to the IRS recommending various changes and simplifications to the voluminous and complex regulations regarding the treatment of expenditures incurred in selling, acquiring, producing, or improving tangible assets (T.D. 9564 and REG-168745-03) and the revenue procedures governing the accounting method changes required under the regulations that were issued this year (Rev. Procs. 2012-19 and 2012-20). For previous coverage, see "Regulations Issued on Repair Expenditures," Dec. 27, 2011; "Much-Anticipated Guidance Issued on Accounting Method Changes for Repair Regs.," Mar. 8, 2012.
The comment letter, amounting to a detailed report on the regulations, was prepared by the Repair Regulations Task Force of the AICPA's Tax Methods and Periods Technical Resource Panel, and it expands on recommendations made by the AICPA in an April comment letter and in May testimony at a public hearing. Michelle Koroghlanian, AICPA technical manager—tax, said, "These regulations affect all taxpayers who acquire, produce, or improve tangible property and complying with the rules will put a heavy burden on many taxpayers. We hope the IRS will seriously consider our recommendations for improving the way the regulations operate to reduce the burden, especially for smaller taxpayers."
Administrative burden and complexity
A major critique of the regulations is that they rely too much on facts-and-circumstances tests, which cause the kind of uncertain situations that resulted in conflicts between the IRS and taxpayers that the regulations were intended to prevent. The letter recommended that the IRS should increase the number of bright-line tests and safe harbors, which will lessen the burden of complying with these regulations, especially for small taxpayers.
Another specific solution to reduce the undue administrative burden created by the regulations is the recommendation to make the general asset account election the default rule for buildings so taxpayers would only have to make an election if they did not want that treatment. The AICPA also recommended that the regulations not require taxpayers to determine the economic useful life of any property but instead incorporate a class-life standard throughout the regulations.
Illustrative examples
The AICPA recommended that the final regulations include examples that illustrate the interactions of the various sections of the regulations. The AICPA also recommended that the examples use similar property to illustrate concepts. The current examples involve an industrial linen-cleaning operation and a local restaurant. More helpful illustrations would involve an industrial linen-cleaning operation compared to a local dry cleaner and an industrial food manufacturer compared to a local restaurant.
Materials and supplies
For the treatment of materials and supplies, the AICPA made the following recommendations to improve the regulations and ease the burden on taxpayers:
- Allow labor and overhead costs to be included in costs of materials and supplies under the de minimis rule.
- Treat all materials and supplies with a useful life of not more than 12 months the same, rather than the currently different treatment for incidental and nonincidental items.
- For rotable/temporary spare parts, the current regulations provide three methods; however the default method is not the one most taxpayers use. It was recommended that the method should be changed to the method that is the default method for GAAP. It also should provide a safe harbor allowing the property to be valued the same as in the taxpayer's financial statements.
- When identifying nonincidental materials and supplies used, many taxpayers have hundreds or more of these items on hand and should be able to use a reasonable cost-flow assumption to identify these items.
- The regulations allow taxpayers to elect to capitalize the costs of materials and supplies; however the IRS should clarify how that rule works in the year in which the taxpayer consumes the item.
Acquisition costs under Temp. Regs. Sec. 1.263(a)-2T
Transaction costs. The comment letter recommends that the current rules should be revised to more closely resemble the rules under Regs. Sec. 1.263(a)-5 so that only specific activities performed that are "inherently facilitative" need to be capitalized. The current rules and the example illustrating them require the capitalization of broker's fees even when they are incurred to identify a property to purchase, which, the AICPA argues, is not "inherently facilitative" of the process of ultimately acquiring a specific piece of property.
De minimis rule. The requirement that taxpayers capitalize amounts above an arbitrary ceiling amount that is determined at the end of a tax year in which the expenditures are made is an unmanageable administrative burden for many taxpayers, the letter says. The AICPA recommended instead that taxpayers be permitted to use the same capitalization threshold that they use for financial reporting purposes.
The AICPA also recommended that the ceiling be eliminated completely. Failing that, it suggested that a more flexible standard be applied such as a limitation on the amount of the taxpayer's cost threshold. It also argued that smaller taxpayers without applicable financial statements (AFSs) should be permitted to use the de minimis rule, or alternatively, an AFS should be defined more broadly to include a financial statement that has been reviewed by an independent CPA.
Improvements under Temp. Regs. Sec. 1.263(a)-3T
The AICPA made the following recommendations for clarifying and improving the regulations governing improvements to property.
- Clarify the "directly benefits or incurred by reason of" standard for determining whether "refresh" activities are required to be capitalized. The AICPA recommended a revised example to illustrate this standard.
- Expand the routine-maintenance safe harbor to include building systems such as an HVAC system.
- Clarify the definition of "betterment" by providing clearer definitions of "materiality" and "practicably available." In addition, the IRS should revise its examples to more clearly illustrate whether certain store refreshes must be capitalized.
- Create a safe harbor that taxpayers may use to determine whether there has been a replacement of a major component.
- As part of the major component rules, eliminate the need to identify subcomponents of components. This also requires a restatement of numerous examples, which the comment letter provides.
- Allow taxpayers to elect to capitalize repair expenditures as improvements.
Dispositions/general asset accounts
The letter recommended that the IRS allow taxpayers to elect to treat retirements of structural components of buildings as a disposition of MACRS property rather than making that treatment mandatory. In addition, it recommended the IRS allow taxpayers to determine what the component of a structural component of property is when it is disposing of the property and should clarify how taxpayers should determine the basis of a component of property.
Method change guidance
The suggestions for improvement to the revenue procedures for accounting method changes include that:
- A change in an AFS capitalization policy should not be treated as a change in method of accounting.
- The IRS should loosen the requirement that taxpayers have a written capitalization policy on the first day of their tax year.
- The IRS should clarify that statistical sampling methods other than those permitted in Rev. Proc. 2011-42 may be permitted.
- The IRS should clarify how many Forms 3115 must be filed in various situations involving late general asset account elections and disposition method changes.
—Sally P. Schreiber (firstname.lastname@example.com) is a JofA senior editor.
Additional resources: Tax Treatment of Expenditures Related to Tangible Property (AICPA Tax Division resource page)


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I thought that my inaugural post should be on something near and dear to my heart, and my library. The Chicago Public Library's YOUMedia Lab is now the model that libraries the world over will follow. The MacArthur Foundation and the IMLS will be funding 30 more labs similar to YOUMedia. This is what YOUMedia looks like:
The YOUMedia design is based on the research conducted by Mizuko Ito and others. The research was published in Hanging Out, Messing Around and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media. A version is also available for free from the MacArthur Foundation. It is titled Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Either one of these resources is a must read for anyone interested in digital media labs or transliteracy.
The research indicates three zones that teens, and likely others, live in.
Hanging out is primarily participatory and social. It is marked by the desire to use new media to fit-in and belong.
Messing around is a more intense use of new media and technology. This zone is marked by the desire to explore our vast world, to interact an play with that world.
Geeking out is the final zone. Geeking out is the most intense form of participation with and through technology. Geeking out is where identity is formed.
Libraries are adapting to these zones. Some of us are positioned for the 21st Century. This is our future.


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I currently live in New York, but I'm from Newport Beach, California. I started posting as "lau" on chowhound.com and "R.L." on yelp.com. I originally started posting about primarily Chinese food as I felt like there was a lot of mystery around Chinese food to people who don't know much about it and I thought that posting about Chinese food would be a lot more useful to people than being the 500th person to post about Shake Shack or other mainstream popular restaurants.
I decided to start this blog as I thought it would a better way to get good pictures and posts up for people to see. I hope you enjoy it!


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Any of my readers in either the Americas or Australia will wonder what I am talking about when I get excited about the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)…
But that will be because, according to Wikipedia….
"A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand (by introduction). There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas."
Hedgehogs are lovely, sweet animals, which often turn up in the more countrified or overgrown gardens just as darkness is beginning to fall on a warm summer night, and the bats are coming out to hunt.
It is a well-loved species, which has, however, declined sharply in England over the last ten years, with an overall decrease of at least 25%. Hedgehogs are, in actual fact, disappearing in Britain at a quicker rate than tigers are in their own jungle habitat in southern Asia. The problems for hedgehogs are the usual ones. Gardens are nowadays generally tidier with lots of neat wooden decking, and hardly any patches of weeds and rough grass, full of slugs and juicy snails. More efficient fences have fewer holes in them to allow hedgehogs to range far and wide. The extensive use of insecticide means fewer insects, and a greater possibility of being poisoned. Road casualties are high because the animals' first natural defence is to roll up into a spiny ball. Not too effective on a busy highway.
Recently though, in our wonderfully overgrown garden, we have been visited by two, possibly, three hedgehogs. We think that they are either a mother and two different children, or possibly, a father, a mother and one rather small and cute child. They snuffle about in the leaf litter, and yesterday morning, in the wee small hours, at about three o'clock, it was actually possible to hear their chewing and crunching from inside the house.
This is the mother, we think…
And these individuals are all youngsters, although only their mother could tell them apart, and they may very well be the one and the same little chap photographed on three separate occasions. Spot the catfood…
I think the reason for the arrival of these lovely, sweet little animals is the prolonged spell of great heat and severe dryness that we are currently experiencing here in England. The drought means fewer insects than normal, and the hedgehogs are forced to try their luck closer to man than they might otherwise venture. We have fed our visitors with, for example, wet and meaty cat food, and they certainly appreciate a bowl of water. Traditionally, you are supposed to feed them a bowl of milk with lumps of bread in it, but this is not really a very good idea for a lactose-intolerant insectivore, even one who is willing to consume dog food when times are bad.
In this video, the mother is looking out for suitable scraps from the bird table…
My daughter had to stop filming when the hedgehog was on her shoe!
Here is our video of a cute baby hedgehog eating catfood:
The babies are called "hoglets", and Mummy and Daddy are a "boar" and a "sow".
If you are successful in finding and feeding any hedgehogs, make sure that you send your data to the 2014 Hibernation Survey which lasts until August 31st of this year. The more scientific data we have about hedgehogs, the more can be done to increase their depleted numbers.
To find out more about how you can attract hedgehogs to your garden and what to feed them, take a stroll along Hedgehog Street.


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As I have stated recently, some of my favorite photos have been of "Closed" and/or "Abandoned" Diners! I have found quite a few over the years and I would like to share with my readers some of these. In fact I am contemplating possibly having a calendar made with some of these photos in the future.
The Abandoned Luncheonette, aka the Rosedale Diner
Kennilworth, PA
Of course the inspiration for all "Abandoned" Diner photos for me was the Cover photo of Daryl Hall & John Oates 1973 LP record album entitled Abandoned Luncheonette! The photo was of the former Rosedale Diner that operated in Pottstown,PA from around 1950 until the mid 1960's. Here is the shot from their album, which was recorded for Atlantic Records…
Here is my shot which everyone will recognize from my header at the top of my blog page. I shot this in 1982, around 9 years after the album came out.
Right after I started this blog I promised I would expand upon the story I originally wrote in 1991 for Randy Garbin's Roadside Magazine on finding this diner. The piece was part of his "Diner Hunting" section he ran back in the early days of Roadside. I am still planning the update with a lot more background info on the diner including vintage photos from back when it operated. Hopefully I'll find the time in the near future to do this story justice.
Murphy's Diner – Haverhill, Mass.
One of the Abandoned diners I have previously mentioned in 2 posts was Murphy's Diner, see last post and also this link to the earlier one…. https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/murphys-diner-lives-on/. This was one of my earliest "Abandoned" diners. A 1950 vintage Jerry O'Mahony diner.
The Rainbow Vet Diner – Hooksett, NH
This diner was moved from Manchester, NH into the woods just off the Rte. 28 Bypass in Hooksett, NH. This single-ended Sterling Streamliner was obviously there a while before I got to take this shot. There was almost nothing left of it. I photographed it on December 5, 1981. It lasted a few more years but was eventually demolished.
Kingsley's Diner – Mansfield, Mass.
This small Worcester Lunch Car was rotting away in someones back yard when I shot this in August of 1981. Probably long-gone by now.
"Closed" Diner – Webster, Mass.
This is another old Worcester Car that was demolished not long after I shot this photo. I believe the building behind it (kitchen?) still exists but there is another small building where the diner is that was operating as a barbershop. This was right near the Webster – Dudley town line. Barry Henley informed me this was possibly called Ben's Diner when it operated.
Gateway Diner – Phillipsburg, NJ
On my way back from Harrisburg, PA in early 1981, I was travelling along Rte. 22. Right after you crossed the state line from Easton, PA to Phillipsburg, NJ, this was on the west side of the road. I took this shot from the median strip. This diner was one of the first transported to England (circa 1982). It remained in storage for years there but is now in the Netherlands after operating for a short time in Germany. See Roadside Online… http://www.roadsideonline.com/component/content/article/57-diner-finder-updates/6652-gateway-diner-moves-to-the-netherlands
Topper's Diner – Dalton, PA
This diner actually operated somewhere nearby to this location before it was moved here. I do not know what happened, it was set-up on a foundation but the installation was never completed for whatever reasons. It was a good-sized diner that had a large kitchen (factory-built) as well as a large addition behind that section. I shot this July 16, 1984. A very late model O'Mahony diner.
Mac's Diner – Boston, Mass.
Here is one wreck of a diner! My friend Becky Haletky said this old Worcester Lunch Car was actually in operation not long before I shot this in early 1981. Hard to believe! This was located on Columbus Avenue in the South End section of Boston, just off Massachusetts Avenue.
Midway Diner – Shrewsbury, Mass.
This was a "double-diner" made up of Worcester Lunch Car No. 636 on the left and Worcester Lunch Car No. 666 on the far right. No. 636 was originally Park's Diner in Worcester and No. 666 was McDermott's (Al Mac?) Warren Diner in Warren, RI first. I believe 666 had a fire and Worcester Lunch Car brought it back to the factory and fixed it back up to become a diningroom to 636 when it was moved from Worcester to Shrewsbury. These diners were separated within a couple of years of when I took this photo in 1981. 636 is currently in Vermont and 666 is in Andover, Mass. They are both in private hands and not operating.
(I'm not sure about this one) Diner? – Liverpool, PA
On a road trip down Rte. 11 (from Scranton to Harrisburg, PA) in March of 1990, we came across this little building. With its rounded corner posts and metal window frames, not to mention its oversized (almost cove style) overhang, I had to believe this was built by a diner manufacturer. Do not know anything about this other than it was filled with trash and other junk.
Monarch Diner – North Berwick, Maine
This was the former Monarch Diner that operated in Dover, NH. It was part of the chain run by the DeCola brothers based in Waltham, Mass. This diner was moved out of Dover to downtown North Berwick where it operated for a number of years under different owners (& different names) before being put into storage here, It currently is in another storage yard in Salisbury, Mass. (where the Miss Newport/Miss Mendon was being stored).
Depot Diner – Booth Bay, Maine
This little Worcester Lunch Car had originally operated in downtown Booth Bay prior to being moved to the Booth Bay Narrow Gauge Railroad site where it operated as a concession stand. In fact I knew of this diner's existence by viewing an old slide that Dick Gutman had shot when it was still operating. Denise and I were spending a weekend in Booth Bay in 1992 when I tried to see if I could locate it. I realized the likely spot was the Narrow Gauge Railroad. When we went in we saw a small building that said it was the Depot Diner but it was built on-site. So I thought the diner was gone. We made it up to the back of the place where they had a large building housing a vintage car collection. I spoke with the older gentleman who was manning the info desk there and mentioned the old diner. He confirmed that the small building out front had replaced the diner. I asked if it was torn down and he said… oh no, they dragged it up into the woods adjacent to where we were and pointed in the direction of where it was. I ran back to my car and grabbed my camera and trekked into the woods to take some photos.
Glenwood Diner – Auburn, Mass.
This monitor-roofed Worcester Lunch Car was located at the Auburn – Worcester town line on Rte. 12. It was previously located on Rte. 20 in Shrewsbury. The Edgemere Diner took its place there. I photographed it on September 26, 1981 and by sometime in 1982, it was gone.
Abandoned Silk City diner – Berlin, NY
This was located in a field off Rte. 22 in Berlin, NY. I photographed it a couple of times, the first being on July 20, 1983. As far as I know, it was still there in 1992.
Miss Jersey City Diner – Jersey City, NJ
This was closed and vandalized across from a large public housing project in Jersey City, photo was taken November, 1984. It is a rare model Silk City diner. I know of only 2 others, the West Shore Diner in Lemoyne, PA and another diner that operated as Gordy's Diner in Casselton, ND. (Gordy's is currently in storage somewhere in Montana). I assume the Miss Jersey City has gone to "Diner Heaven".
Kenny's Diner – Haverhill, Mass.
This Worcester Lunch Car has been closed more than it has been open since the early 1980's. I first photographed it in 1981. It has operated breifly as Alley Oop's Diner in the mid-to-late 1980's and as the Lindsay Rose Diner in the early 1990's.
Bob's Diner – Ashland, Mass.
Bob's Diner had operated in East Bridgewater, Mass. from 1933 (original name – Brady's Diner) until 1978 when it was moved to this storage site in Ashland. It was rehabbed in the late 1980's by Tim Hanna of Ken's Steak House. He operated it for a couple of years as Timmy's Diner. Currently in storage. Worcester Lunch Car No. 711.
Hodgins Diner – York Beach, Maine
This was one of the oldest Worcester Lunch Cars in existence according to Richard Gutman's "Worcester Lunch Car Company" book. It basically rotted away. Luckily, Dave Waller salvaged some key pieces from this before it totally collapsed. In all my years going up to York, I never recall this open for business.
Ray's Diner – Fitchburg, Mass.
This 1950's vintage Fodero diner was sitting in a farmyard when I photographed it on August 4, 1994. It formerly operated at a site on River Street in Fitchburg. I was told it had become either a lounge or nightclub, (hence, the remnants of black paint on the stainless steel skin) before being moved here sometime in the 1960's. There was little or no back wall or interior and it was being used to store lumber and various junk.
Steve's Diner – Clinton, Mass.
This old Worcester Lunch Car had the remnants of 2 signs on the roof. The one on the top layer said Steve's Diner and the bottom layer said Turini's Diner. I believe Lou Turini of Lou's Diner (also of Clinton) had operated out of this diner before moving to the current one that has his name. This photo was also shot in 1981 and the diner was gone within a couple of years. A small park is now on this location.
Vree's Sterling Diner – Saugus, MA
This was a modified Sterling Diner (non-streamlined) that was located on the Lynn Marsh Road (Rte. 107) near the Lynn / Saugus townline. It had larger windows installed sometime in the 1960's and the end-roof overhangs were chopped off. The addition on the right had more counter seating as well as booth service. It had not been open for business since 1970 or so. This photo was shot within a year of its demolition (2004). If you look at the 3 windows on the extreme left, you can see that they are pretty well distorted due to walls bowing out causing the roof to collapse.


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Gotta say, Blake Snyder both ruined and enhanced movie watching for me! I've lost track of the number of times I've looked at my watch and noted, "Yup. 'All is Lost' moment coming right on time!" or "OK, this character's going to die."
Writing by numbers according to canonical archetypes and Hero's Journey beat sheets may (arguably) be okay until a writer learns the craft, but sooner or later the training wheel gotta come off.
I decline to pedestalise the late Mr. Snyder,
I once eliminated a prospective developmental editor from consideration after she waxed rhapsodic about Save the Cat
My real talent lies in daydreaming...now if only the stories would flow seamlessly from my head to my hands.
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Photo Courtesy of Dreamstime. Article by Jamie Beckman, contributor to Budget Travel.
Even the most meticulously planned trip is subject to snafus, but with a little insider know-how, you can avoid making the common mistakes that can derail a vacation. Stick to the guidelines below, and you're more likely to have a trip that's memorable not for lost luggage and rushed sightseeing, but for the thrill of discovering a new place and savoring it.
Not booking enough connection time between flights
Leaving a window of at least an hour and a half between connecting flights will significantly drop your chances of missing your flight or having your luggage lost, says Sally Watkins, travel agent at Century Travel and Cruises in Austin, Texas. Having only 45 minutes to connect between flights might seem doable -- not to mention the siren call of less lag time spent hanging out at a dismal food court -- but it's often not enough, especially in large airports where the gates could be far apart. Don't rely on airlines to do the math for you, either: "Flights can't be booked unless it is a legitimate change time according to that airport, and usually if it's the minimum change time and airlines let you book that, they will make it work," Watkins says.
Not applying for your passport early enough
Routine passport processing takes about four to six weeks, so as soon as you start planning for your trip, apply for a passport if you need one, or make sure the one you already have hasn't expired. Plus, in certain countries you need at least six months' worth of validity remaining to enter, says Elizabeth Finan, spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. (Go to travel.state.gov for more information.) If your trip is coming up quicker than that, you can shell out $60 to cut the processing time to two to three weeks, but if you're planning to board a plane in less than two weeks, make an appointment at your local passport agency by calling 877/487-2778. The $60 fee still applies. If you've traveled so much you've practically worn out your passport, flip through it as a precaution: "Frequent travelers should make sure that they have enough pages in their passports," says Finan. "For example, South African law requires travelers to have one fully blank visa page in the passport; without the requisite number of pages, you may be refused entry." No one wants that.
Underestimating the location of your hotel from the city center
When you're visiting a city, ponying up for a more expensive hotel that's in the middle of the action can be a better financial decision in the long run than staying out in the suburbs and spending money and time on transportation. Use time you save to explore -- or just recharge in your hotel room. "Particularly if it's a European city in the month of July and it's hot... you're going to want to go back in the late afternoon and put your feet up before you go to dinner," Watkins says. "That's not easy to do if your hotel is a 30-minute bus ride away." Plus, if it's a family vacation, toting kids on unfamiliar trains or taxis with few breaks will increase the possibility that you'll have a frustrating visit. "Value is more important than what's the cheapest," Watkins says.
Trying to do too much in one trip
Allot a minimum of three days for visiting major cities like Rome, London, and Paris, and you'll end up with a richer vacation that includes time for simple pleasures like people-watching or relaxing in sidewalk cafés, says Watkins. "A lot of people say, 'I just want to do just one night in whatever and one night in so-and-so.' Slow down! By the time you either load all the bags into the car, drive, and park, or you schlep all the bags onto a train, you don't have that much of a day left," says Watkins. The same goes for multiple activities. Make time for wandering around. In Rome, for example, planning to see the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and the Forum in the same day is overkill, Watkins says. Really seeing the city via strolls and serendipity can be invaluable.
Not being honest about your interests, likes, and dislikes
There's no shame in wanting to leisurely sit in cafés in Paris instead of hoofing it to every monument -- or preferring to check out Mayan ruins in Tulum instead of lying in a hammock. Before you plan vacation activities that others insist you'll enjoy, sit down and think hard about what you want your trip to be, then follow your own itinerary. "Many people plan the trip they think they ought to want, rather than the trip they actually want," says Edward Hasbrouck, author of The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World. "If you rarely set foot in a museum, why plan a trip with museum after museum? A lack of self-awareness can lead to, among other things, relying on recommendations from people with very different tastes." Your trip, your experience.
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Romney Campaign, Spoiled Billionaire Donors Actually Believed They Would WinPosted: November 8, 2012 Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, racism, U.S. Politics, War on Women | Tags: African American voters, Andrew Cohen, Banksters, GOTV, Instagram, John Sununu, Kevin Roose, Nate Silver, occupy Wall Street, Peter Brandt II, Politico, private equity, race baiting, spoiled billionaires, turnout models, voter enthusiasm, voter suppression, Wall Street 59 Comments
I've been reading some of post-election articles in which the Village pundits try to explain why Mitt Romney lost the election. Apparently Romney and his campaign staff really did think they were going to win. They were even planning an 8-minute fireworks display over Boston Harbor after Romney won!
While the rest of us were absorbing Nate Silver's predictions and his logical, math-based explanations of the polls, Republicans were making fun of Silver and convincing themselves that Romney voters were more enthusiastic than Obama voters, that polls were sampling the wrong kinds of voters, and that some magical "Romney wave" would sweep them into power.
At the same time, they didn't understand that their constant race-baiting, their campaign to suppress Democratic voters, and their war on women's reproductive rights might arouse some anger among the groups they disrespected–anger that could turn into a steely determination to get out and vote no matter how difficult it turned out to be.
In Politico's summing up, "Romneyworld reckoning begins," I read these striking paragraphs:
Multiple Romney sources buzzed about one number in particular: 15 percent. According to exit polls, that's the share of African-Americans who voted in Ohio this year. In 2008, the black percentage of the electorate was 11 percent. In Virginia and Florida, exit polls showed the same share of African-Americans turned out as four years ago, something that GOP turnout models did not anticipate.
"We didn't think they'd turn out more of their base vote than they did in 2008, but they smoked us," said one Romney operative. "It's unbelievable that that they turned out more from the African-American community than in 2008. Somehow they got 'em to vote."
Gee, maybe African Americans aren't as dumb, lazy, and shiftless as John Sununu thinks! Maybe they didn't appreciate Mitt Romney's repeated dog whistles and his disrespect toward President Obama.
Andrew Cohen at the Atlantic thinks the voter suppression campaign is the main reason Romney lost. Cohen writes:
May I suggest instead a simple, elegant overriding theory on why we won't have a Romney Administration in 2013? No serious political party in America — no legitimate party in any viable democracy — can win an election by suppressing votes. So long as the Republican Party endorses (and enacts) voting laws designed to make it harder for registered voters to vote, so long as Republican officials like Ohio's Jon Husted contort themselves to interpret those laws in a restrictive fashion, the Republicans will continue to play a loser's game.
That's my theory, anyway, and I'm sticking to it. Having covered for the past two years the voting rights front in this epic election cycle, I have come to believe that the Republicans will begin to win presidential elections again only when they start competing for votes with the substance of their ideas.
At Balloon Juice, Dennis G. reacted to the same section of the Politico article that struck me as so stupid; and he offers anecdotal evidence to support voter suppression reaction argument:
Here is the thing that Team Mitt and Team Wingnut failed to understand: that when you insult folks and dismiss them, they tend to get mad and they tend to want to kick your ass.
Mitt and the Wingnuts have run a four-year campaign that is only a blond hair's width away from calling the President a nigger every single day. They are focused like a laser beam on promoting white rage and using every dog whistle they can think of to get the message across. White folks heard them and so did people of color. Team Mitt is surprised that African-American turnout increased over 2008, but that is only because they are incapable of thinking of these folks as people.
As I knocked on door after door in a black neighborhood in Columbus, it was clear that folks heard the Mitt/wingnut code-talking and that it pissed them off. They heard the endless disrespect of the President and the general contempt for anybody who is not white that has become the core message of the modern conservative movement. They heard it and they decided to kick Mitt's ass in the voting booth.
Hey, I'm an old white woman and I was so angered by the race baiting that I was determined to vote against the guy who did it and encouraged it!
Take a look at what happened in Philadelphia:
In a city where President Obama received more than 85 percent of the votes, in some places he received almost every one. In 13 Philadelphia wards, Obama received 99 percent of the vote or more.
Those wards, many with large African American populations, also swung heavily for Obama over John McCain in 2008. But the difficult economy seemed destined to dampen that enthusiasm four years later.
Not to worry. Ward leaders and voters said they were just as motivated this time.
"In this election, you had to point out to the people what was at stake. And in many cases, they felt that the Romney doctrine was not going to favor the working man," said Edgar "Sonny" Campbell.
No kidding. But I'd be shocked if a lot of the motivation didn't come from the poorly disguised racism emanating from Romney and Ryan and their surrogates.
And now let's turn to those whiny billionaires who thought they could buy the White House and failed miserably. Kevin Roose writes at New York Magazine about a conversation he overheard:
Two months ago, in a dimly lit corner banquette at an exclusive club in the meatpacking district, two well-known billionaires sat down — at a table well within earshot of mine — to have a good bitch about the state of the union.
"The last four years have been a disaster," said one man, a hedge fund manager who supported President Obama's 2008 campaign but decided to sit this election out. The primary reason for his disillusionment, he said, was that the country under Obama had grown hostile to wealth, and to those who had accumulated vast amounts of it.
"People work their asses off to get where they are, and they get punished," he said. "I wanted to fly my friend to Davos this year, and people were like, you're not going to fly the jet to Davos, are you? How will that look to the Occupy people? I'm like, what the fuck are you talking about? I worked hard for this!"
"It's a scary reality," said the other billionaire, once a prominent Democratic donor.
Of course President Obama was extremely friendly to Wall Street during his first term, and the banksters did extremely well while most Americans bore the brunt of the Great Recession that Wall Street caused. But the banksters' tender feelings were hurt when the President referred to them as "fat cats" and held them responsible for hurting middle- and working-class people.
According to Roose,
Wall Street turned very quickly against Obama, and it made a massive bet that they could put a private equity guy in the White House. The bet turned out to be risky and unhedged — the equivalent of wagering a billion dollars on an exotic derivative that would either triple in value or become totally worthless, with no possible results in the middle….
Backing Romney was a tactical decision, but it was also a psychological one. Under a Romney administration, these donors believed, no longer would they need to hang their heads, hide their jets, and apologize for their success. The social order would be restored, and they could walk proud once more.
What could be more pathetic? These Wall Street titans gambled billions on Romney and got absolutely nothing back. In fact they've now lost their leverage over Obama, leaving him free to be even more dismissive of their concerns. Bwaaaaahahahahahahaha!!
Do you ever wonder what effect these self-pitying and self-involved billionaires have on their ultra-privileged offspring? One of them, Peter Brandt II, put on quite a display on election night. The Grio reports that Brandt,
the 18-year-old son of billionaire publisher Peter Brant Sr. and former Victoria's Secret supermodel Stephanie Seymour [reacted to Obama's reelection by threatening to kill President Obama].
In a series of text messages to his friend Andrew Warren, which were reprinted by Jezebel, Warren whined about how a second Obama term would make him "poor." Brant II then claimed, "I have a contingency plan. Kill Obama hahaha."
Brandt was so proud of his "joke," that he posted the entire text exchange on Instagram.
Here's a little more of Brandt's brand [pun intended] of humor, including this delightful tweet:
Harry & Peter Brant@HarryPeterBrant
H:yay Obama and all, but am i the only person who is DYING for Hill DOG to run in 2016! that stylish mullet needs to be in the oval office.
7 Nov 12
Thank goodness the assholes lost this time.


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It's no secret that security has been a tripping point for enterprises considering cloud storage, but OwnCloud on Tuesday took a fresh step toward alleviating such concerns with the addition of a new encryption framework.
OwnCloud's file, sync and share service offers an open-source and self-hosted alternative to platforms such as Box and Dropbox that's designed specifically to allow companies to retain control of their data.
Now, Encryption 2.0 gives users the ability to manage their own encryption keys in their enterprise key store. It also allows them to adopt the encryption standard of their choice and write a server app to meet their company's unique encryption requirements.
The technology takes a modular approach, so if an IT organization is using industry-standard AES 256 encryption keys and a vulnerability is found in the algorithm, for example, it can simply swap out that algorithm and key set and switch to a completely different one.
OwnCloud's new encryption technology can be delivered as an app for quick integration into an enterprise's existing infrastructure, OwnCloud said. It's now available in OwnCloud 8.1 server; OwnCloud 8.1 will be available for Enterprise and Standard subscriptions in 30 days.
File-sharing services have been competing in an increasingly heated race in recent months woo enterprise users with new security-minded features. Last month, for instance, Box introduced a new governance tool designed to help companies manage sensitive data. Dropbox, meanwhile, announced that Dropbox for Business users will soon get enterprise mobile management (EMM) capabilities.


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Quote: "You have the potential – no, you have the responsibility – to be a mentor and be mentored!" – John Wooden
One afternoon at a business conference, I learned some important leadership insights from the game of basketball as taught by an excellent speaker at the conference. Prior to the speaker's presentation, I had never really thought about the fact that a basketball player really only has the ball in his hands for two to three minutes in a 40 minute game. So then, what does a player do with the other 37 to 38 minutes of the game? For great basketball coaches, the answer to this question is quite potentially the real difference between their team winning and losing; therefore, they effectively prepare their players for playing well the other 37 to 38 minutes when they don't have the ball. The speaker emphasized that this insight is so crucial because the real game of basketball is actually played away from the ball and great coaches instinctively know that if you take care of the little things away from the ball, the big things with the ball will take care of themselves…provided of course that the little things do in fact lead to the big things. For instance, learning how to thank your team mate for passing you the ball after you make a score is a little thing "away from the ball" that leads to big things "with the ball" – more scoring opportunities because of the small expression of genuine gratitude and humility with your team mates.
I recently read a quote from Michael Jordan at www.twitter.com/air_jordan which stated, "Years of practice amounted to years of achievement." Obviously, Michael Jordan is recognizing the importance that practice played in direct relationship to his achievements on the court. And I think his statement also clearly affirms the leadership principle that the big things in our life will not happen without us first taking care of the little things that lead to the big things. So what are some of the little things in life that we must focus upon and diligently practice in order to properly position and equip ourselves for the big things in life?
I have learned from my Senior Pastor as well as from real life personal application that we can learn life lessons in one of two ways: revelation (mentors and wisdom) or tribulation (mistakes and pain). Personally, I've tried both ways and I so much prefer the revelation way that I now spend many hours seeking revelation wisdom from wise qualified mentors who can teach me the little things away from the ball that will prepare me for the big things with the ball. The great apostle Paul clearly understood this wisdom principle when he encouraged his disciples to diligently observe him, learn from him, and do like him as a qualified wise mentor of faith who imitated his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact, through his secure personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Paul confidently states in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." Wow, this is real life mentorship at its best! Therefore, with a spirit of wisdom and humility, may we be like Paul – qualified wise mentors of faith and revelation who freely give others life lessons that we have freely received from the Lord and other qualified wise mentors of faith.
The Make It Happen Training And Development Value: "Make It Happen" People Invest And Participate In Training And Development!
Have a blessed "Make It Happen" day!
Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team
The Make It Happen Moment ® Life Coach Copyright 2009, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Life Coach, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.
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- Mentor Matters (apreachaskid.wordpress.com)


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Light-Dark Enigma
The Cassini spacecraft captures a far-off view of the two-toned surface of Saturn's moon Iapetus.
Scientists continue to investigate the nature of this moon's surface. See The Other Side of Iapetus to learn more.
This view looks toward the Saturn-facing side of Iapetus (1,471 kilometers, or 914 miles across). North on Iapetus is up and rotated 45 degrees to the left. Scale in the original image was 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of three and contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 24, 2009. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Iapetus and at a Sun-Iapetus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 12 degrees.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute


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Many CEOs and business owners will agree that the benefits of ownership far outweigh the struggles and daily challenges. While entrepreneurship is still one of the best ways to fulfill the American dream, only a small percentage of companies are truly "great to own."
Is your company valuable to someone else?
Creating value in a company is still considered by many to be one of the great ways to create wealth, create jobs and realize the American dream. However, many businesses are not sellable for a value that would motivate the owner to sell and others are not sellable at any price. Are you creating a company that will realize its full sales value without you? Is your hard work focused in areas the marketplace will value most and reward with you with a premium valuation? Do you have a clear strategy to not only create but maximize company value?
Does your company provide unique benefits for founders and owners?
You have sacrificed a great deal to build your company, is it reciprocating in the most creative, effective and important financial areas? Beyond a nice company car and expense account, is your company taking advantage of available planning opportunities to create a tax efficient liquid asset base, helping to protect your assets, protecting your family and partners? Have you taken the time to insure your company is providing for you as well as you do for it?
Does the company creating tax efficiency?
Business ownership is one of the great tax planning vehicles available today. Beyond expense reimbursement and the benefits mentioned above, are you structured properly to maximize tax efficiency at the time of an eventual exit from your business? Has your company taken the steps to ensure maximum efficiency of annual distributions and provide downside market protection on investment assets? The tools and mechanisms exist to allow your company to create greater tax efficiency for a higher tax environment in 2013.
Is the company vulnerability free?
Are your officers and directors properly protected personally from frivolous lawsuits? Does the company and your partners have the immediate liquidity to acquire the shares from a deceased or disabled partner? Are important personal assets creditor proof? Once your organization is past the survival stage and moves into maturity, these are important questions that will protect your most valuable asset and allow you to sleep easier at night.
Do you have a great culture?
You probably spend more time with your company then anywhere else, and creating a great culture may be the most important ingredient for a company that is great to own. Entrepreneurs talk a lot about culture, yet it is rare to experience a great corporate environment. While compensation and benefits are a component of great culture, it is often the little things, the creative policies and flexibility that create a great corporate culture.
Your business impacts every other aspect of your life. Having a company that is great to own will likely make the other areas of your life more rewarding and enjoyable and will enable you to realize full value for your business when you eventually decide to exit your business.
Question Photo via Shutterstock