Left In Katrina's Wake

Many years ago I worked for a contact lens manufacturer, and we had a factory in Puerto Rico.  The first week I worked there, there was a hurricane that destroyed the roof of the factory and threatened our company's existence.  It was clear that in the global economy I'd better learn more about the things I didn't know that could have an impact on my life.  I had just gotten that job and my company could not re-open production on its most popular product - colored contact lenses - for three months - it almost put our lights out.  Ultimately it lead to our company being bought by Bain - and that became a nightmare in itself, but that's another post.

I learned how deadly a hurricane can be, when hurricane season was, and that its's best to clear out and plan on returning when its all over - no use trying to be a hero in a hurricane - it's bigger than you are, and its the deadly aftermath that winds up killing everyone or ruining one's health.

Years later Hurricane Marilyn was headed to St. Croix, where a friend of the family was living and I advised that he come home.  He could find a place to hide out in Chicago, but he decided to stay down there.  After spending two days in his bathtub, he emerged to a new world and no fresh drinking water - like I said, it's the aftermath that can kill. It took years for the island to bounce back, and some things were never the same.

A few years after that we went to visit this friend in St. Croix, and as luck would have it, a hurricane was hot on our heels back to the States.  I was tracking the storm like Al Roker, I was so worred that we wouldnt get out of there in time.  When we arrived at the half way point in Miami, the airline had the nerve to ask if we would give up our tickets for flights the next day and stay in Miami for free to endure the coming hurricane.  People were running around that airport like chickens with their heads cut off and frantically trying to get on the first thing smoking to get out of the way of the hurricane.  I couldn't wait to get out of there, they had a better shot at asking me to join the Klan!

So when Katrina was on its way to New Orleans, and I was working for a company that had many ties to the Crescent City in the form of its hard working employees, I spent many sleepless hours making  suggestions to them about how to get out, where to go so they could safely wait out the storm.  Many downplayed the danger, but I had seen this movie too many times to take it lightly.  

Ironically, I had planned a trip to New Orleans a few weeks after the storm was expected to hit.  I was anticipating eating a great dinner at Commander's Palace, drinking a genuine hurricane, and getting back to a chicken and waffle restaurant that had the best drumsticks I had ever eaten in my life.

In the wake of this terrible crisis it was clear that my return to New Orleans would be postponed.  After watching hours of TV news that depicted hundreds and hundreds of tragic stories of loss, and the death of over 1,800 people - Katrina seemed like Mother Nature's version of a beat down!

The vast majority of the city was underwater. The levees broke and water flooded the urban area.  People tried to find refuge in the Super Dome, a place I had visited when I went to see the Super Bowl in 2002.  All of those people trying to be rescued, stretching the city's strained resources to the breaking point - it was another indictment of the Presidency of someone who didn't take things seriously.  Better planning would have saved those hundreds of lives. 

We must never forget the lessons of Katrina.  Life is too precious to take for granted, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.  If you have warning of a disaster coming, prepare for the worst, even as you pray for the best.  It's better to live in temporary exile than to be wiped out altogether.

The Cali Rap Game - Part One

How to make sure your child develops a healthy appreciation of history - ask them to tell you the background of their favorite singing group - then stand back and find out what a scholar they are on the subject, right Eryn and Ryann???  I found out the name of every single person Taylor Swift had even THOUGHT about dating - keep that tradition going, girls!

The story of N.W.A. (Niggas With Attitude..) told in the new film, "Straight Outta Compton", gives you a good starting point. I used to read all of the articles back in the day, so I do remember most of it.  

Ice Cube was a street smart poet from a stable family, Dr. Dre was a brother much like the brothers I grew up with who helped put House Music on the map.  He was getting as much DJ work as he could and dreaming of a life on the next level.  Easy E was a brother who made his money the hard way - he was the dopeman. But once he put his organizational and management skills to better use, he made it possible for he and his friends to put out a product that was legal but habit forming - a take down rap that resonated with the whole country.  

You may not be into rap, and even I didn't buy rap that denigrated women or the police, but I loved a good rap song, especially since the background music was usually a hit record that sold millions.  

If you want to learn about the roots of rap from Cali - start here!

This story is one that everyone should see - it's like "A Star is Born" for rap music - everybody was waiting on a break - then they go to the top, some keep soaring in different trajectories, and some just fall back to earth with a thud - but they do rise again.

You'll love the songs, the action, and the maturation of a great group of guys. Like other stars, they got hooked up with someone who didn't know what he was doing, took advantage of them, and wound up leaving them in debt. Talk about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, they escaped that situation and some got involved with the infamous Suge Knight.  They don't pull any punches in telling that story, either - whew!!!!

What's missing is the story of the East Coast West Coast rivalry - that's another movie, so save me an aisle seat. Go get all your money and check out a true summer gem - the music and memories are well worth it.

Who's Using Who?

Sometimes I can't hold my tongue! I don't like to see one of my friends get played...

I'm at the Pride Parade, which is frequented by plenty of straight people - but this is a special year with the recent Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage so we're all over the place this year.

So one of the people at my table is a guy I worked with for many years at a hotel.  We've known each other for over 20 years.  During that time this guy has dated a lot of women - never got married. We'll call him Ed.  Ed has been working in hotels since back in the day and he has a very stable position, hospitality has always been his thing.

So, another friend sits down and asks him about his old girlfriend - they just broke up right after Easter.  We'll call her Donna.  He had a nice girl that he was dating, named Monica, but he let that go.  Everything else since then has been a disaster, in my mind - but it's not up to me, so I don't go into that again.

So, anyway - Ed proceeds to announce that Donna is getting married - to some other guy. So, before I can stop myself, or think to have this conversation later - I say "She's getting married too??" Ed stops me and says " Don't say it!" So I shut up and finish drinking my margarita - for a while.

Here's my issue - I find it odd that a few months after Ed drops a girlfriend, or she dumps him - whatever - she winds up engaged.  How does that KEEP happening?  Who gets engaged a few months after breaking up with someone you dated for a year or more?  That may happen once or twice, but that many times - no, that's not a coincidence.  

Either women are seeking you out to make some other man jealous, which is very risky, and childish.  Or, your dating her has raised her profile to the point where men are standing around waiting to catch her on the rebound. They know you won't commit.  Either way - something is rotten in Denmark.

I borught this to his attention many years ago and he dismissed it - but we were kids back then and I thought that it was strange, but it hadn't happened enough for me to quote chapter and verse, so I had to drop it.  

But,  here is my final word - sometimes you think of yourself as the player, but you're really getting played!  

It Should Be Much Worse, Tom Brady

You're getting over like a fat rat in a cheese factory!

Not only does your Patriot's team get caught cheating twice - once taping opposing teams to learn  their signals, but now you're tagged for deflating footballs below league standards to give yourself an advantage when tossing the ball.

It would have been bad enough that the Colts caught you red handed, but you had to compound the whole tragedy by getting snarky with the press when you should have been humble, and when the league investigated the issue, you decided not to cooperate. Tom was given a four game suspension and he's whining like the air was taken out of his fat head!

If I were running the league, Tom Brady and his coach would both be tossed out of the league forever - they don't believe fat meat is greasy, and their antics have reduced the credibility of the most popular sport in the US to that of Rollerderby and the WWF.  How can you possibly take football seriously if the players are allowed to do what they want with abandon?  Every team in the AFC should boycott the Patriots. Just because Brady is a superstar doesn't mean that he is above reproach - this is America, we can find a replacement who will value what he has...

In a few years, Chicago will celebrate, or be obliged to relive, the Black Sox Scandal of 1919 when eight players on my beloved Chicago White Sox were kicked out of baseball as unceremoniously as a pair of rusted cleats.  The Black Sox were accused of fixing the 1919 World Series by cooperating to lose.  They were motivated by greed, and a desire to embarrass their boss, the famous tight wad, Charlie Comiskey.  The first Commissioner of Baseball, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis brooked no nonsense and he banished some of the best players in baseball, including "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, to a lifetime of farm teams and hitting with their non-dominate arm to make sure they weren't discovered trying to play.  How would Tom feel if he could never play football again - not in Canada - NOWHERE!!

Tom Brady should be grateful that this tiny slap on the wrist will end yet another year overshadowed with his team's inability to win fair and square.  I guess if you work for Bill Belichick, if you aren't cheatng, you're not trying to win.  Its the wrong message for American younsters and I hope that parents are teaching their children tonight that Tom Brady is a liar and a cheat, and he can't even own up to it!  

Take several seats, Tom - your whining will garner no sympathy here...

Fast Food Free For All

The other day I saw a video on YOUTUBE that I couldn't believe, maybe you saw it also - a patron at McDonald's climbing over the counter to punch one of the Crewmembers out, reportedly because he was told that the restaurant ran out of fries!

Now, I love McDonald's fries as much as the next person, but this video disturbed me greatly.  First of all, the restaurant was filled with young people. The man climbs over the counter and runs straight to his adversary and they lock up right away.  There are several crewmembers at the restaurant at the time.  They didn't run - they were successful in subduing this guy. There was a manager taking stock of what happened. There was a young lady taking the video, admonishing the manager in duty, and laughing hysterically at the same time - it was very hard to follow the smartphone video,but  the videographer was so busy telling people what their role was and cracking, you can understand her distraction.

A few things, however, were clear:

The Crewmembers didn't seem very alarmed that a man was standing in the counter and pushing the register out of his way, does this happen often at fast food restaurants?

The man got across the counter in time to be photographed, long before someone called the local police, security, or even the owner.  I think that if I were the owner, I'd like to know that my business was being attacked.

The manager seemed to be in no rush to rectify the situation, and the guy spent several minutes behind the counter - the video I saw ended before he left on his own or was taken out in handcuffs.

The Crewmembers beat the man handily, but he looked a little out of it. I guess you have to be if you want to climb over the McDonald's counter.

Here are my brief words of wisdom, as a former fast food worker at one of busiest intersections in the Midwest - 79th and Stony Island, back in the day:

You're not there to fight- call security or a manager who has some sense

If someone tries to cross the counter, you need to leave the facility - lock your drawer if you can, but break camp - that person is crazy and you need to be safe - if you're cooking, turn off the stove and depart using the closest exit

CALL THE POLICE, even if it's from your house after you get home !

No amount of money or product is worth your life - don't engage the person, just go

Don't work at a place that doesn't have security - in this day and age, that's a must. It might limit your choices, but it will lengthen your life.

This man didn't have a weapon, but be warned - carrying a concealed weapon is allowed everywhere now, and the next one won't come unprepared 

Several years ago, an entire crew was killed at the Brown's Chicken in Palatine, Illinois - learn from their mistakes, or you may wind up frozen in a meat locker at a $8 an hour job!

Hospitality has changed

In one of my favorite scenes in "Casino", Robert De Niro's character laments the demise of old Las Vegas - the part that was dedicated to making sure the guest was completely comfortable.

It's quite true. Back in the day when I was working at the Park Hyatt and the Palmer House and later at the Marriott, all in Chicago, things were quite different.  In my day a guest made a reservation and the first thing we did was check to see what room they stayed in last time. We tried to put them in the same room.  We tried to make sure we had a list of the things they had in their room previously. While I was working at the Hyatt, my first job was to file the guest info cards so that the Front Desk Manager would be prepared. I got to see what Billie Dee Williams had in his room and which brand of champagne Carol Channing likes to drink.

When I went to the Palmer House, I learned to wake people up in five languages ( French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese) because wake up calls were manual back then and you actually called the room until the guest stopped sounding groggy.  I learned how to order a replacement wedding ring at 3:00 am and I learned how to find out where a guest was without seeming intrusive.  We took our jobs seriously and that meant making sure that even though there were over 2,000 bedrooms at the Palmer House, we cared about each guest completely.  We made them feel that they were at home and taking care to make sure they enjoyed every minute of it. When they checked out, we asked each of them when they were coming back - if they didn't give us a new reservation, we were not doing our job.

Now you check into a hotel and no one knows how to pronounce your name and no one even has the sense to ask - they throw you a key and the room may or may not be clean.  If you need something to eat, the person at the desk probably has never eaten at a place in the area, unless it's McDonald's.  No one takes note of your return, back in my day we had a bed check list to make sure there was no one we had to search for. If we didn't send you out with our driver, the doorman called us to say the guest was returning.  Consequently, none of our guests wound up wandering off into the lake or dead in an overnight brawl. We always had 

Make the NCAA go legit

The time has come for the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) to stop exploiting young people and create a partnership that assures their future and prepares them for the next phase of their lives.

If they aren't going to pay student athletes, they need to agree to give the athlete a full education and guarantee that they will pay for their medical expenses, no matter how long it takes to get them back on their feet.

Right now people think that student athletes have it made.  They get to go to the college of their choice, they get a college degree ad can even get a master's degree if they play their cards right.  That's not really the case.

A student athlete gets to select a college out of those that express interest - not necessarily their choice.  They can attend that school as long as they are viable but that doesn't mean that their scholarship can't be yanked if a better athlete comes along during the time they are in school.  It's constant try-outs and constant measuring up.  

If they don't graduate before they exhaust their eligibility to play - the Cinderella carriage turns back into a pumpkin and there are no glass slippers.  The most they can hope for is a back-up fairy godmother and a chance to play as an undercard or a chance to play in Canada or Europe.

If the athlete gets injured and can't play anymore, it's back to the homestead and building a new dream on your own with a lot of people clucking their tongues and talking about how sad it all is.

The NCAA should be able to guarantee the athlete a degree, so at least they are getting something that will help them move on to the next phase of their lives - whether it's a golden pro baseball, basketball, football, or hockey career here or in a foreign country.  It will mean they will be more selective and there will be no more scandals where athletes pay people to take their SAT's for them, and the student and coach have to leave the school before the school loses credit for its entire season.

If an athlete is injured, the NCAA should be required to return the person to their maximum medical improvement level, just like what happens in workers compensation.  They can afford the insurance, and if they can't they need to get safer anyway.

We all see the fanfare and balloons and parents cheering in the beginning, but it's the friends who see the crying and the ambulances and the rehab and the unceremonious rejection from the dorm when the keycard doesn't work anymore and a kid goes from being Big Man on Campus to persona non grata.

The present NCAA program isn't fair. The NCAA needs to read the 13th Amendment - slavery is over.