Bonus Paychecks

It seems like all I've been reading about in the WSJ is how much my investments have been going down while all of the folks touching my money are making incomes that make mine feel "Smurf-like". This is spite of the fact that the market is down nearly 50% over the past year and a half. The "average" Merrill Lynch employee made $247K in 2008 while the company lost $41,000,000,000. That's a bunch of zeros to the left of the decimal point. Anyway, John Thain, the Merrill CEO, decided to slip in $4 billion of bonuses before the end of the year just before the new owners, Bank of America, could take control of the firm. Meanwhile, the average Bank of America employee squeaked by on $80K. Needless to say, the folks in Charlotte could care less for the greedy SOB's in New York City.

All of this is being made possible by you, the taxpayer. Our government has pumped over a trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000-more zeros) into the financial system and a bunch of it is going the goombas that screwed it up. They should be taking cuts in their base pay just like the UAW members will soon experience once Congress is done picking their bones.

Here's the skinny from my small business perspective. If you are paid an annual income by your company and you produce more revenue the following year, your income should increase. If you produce less revenue, you should earn less. And, in no uncertain terms should you expect ANY bonus if you still have your job.

The time has come for everyone to get a reality check and getting a few less bucks for poor performance is a good start. Even in New York City.

Two Things That Take Some Time

One would be the time it takes to have a child. The other would be the treatment for "The Big C".

As you most are all aware of by now is that my wife has cancer. She will start a regime of chemotherapy and radiation in the next couple of weeks. Thirty-two years ago we were beginning a family. Both should take less than a year, but her treatments will seem longer.

There are a lot of parallels to experiencing both. You start off with a cell or two, do some magic with the DNA, add a blood supply, and your lives change.

We won't have showers this time, but angels (both on earth and in heaven) will provide us with whatever we need. Our friends and family will pray for us just like they did when our three sons were on the way. Most likely, we will hug each other and cry from time to time when we wish it is next summer.

And, we will hold and comfort each other just like we always have.

Undoing Christmas

I'm a bit of a grouch. I admit it. If it was against the law, I'd be serving time. But, it's not. Therefore, I blog when I'm in "the mood". Like yesterday, it was the dreaded day to undecorate the house.

Last month, I was spared most of the decorating ordeal when the Mrs. commissioned new decor for the tree and fireplace including installation and setup. And, I must admit, the tree and fireplace were stunning! I did help drag out all of the boxes and other decorations which she displayed around the house including her Dickens Village in the dining room. We were now poised for shopping, cleaning, setup for "TheMeekTwins" and numerous runs to the airport which is now 5 miles farther away, but I'll save that for another blog.

That gets us up to December 21st, so let me fast forward to January 4th. If you need the details between those dates check out "TheMeekTwins" and "JuliesPinkLink" blogs.

We're tired! But, whatever goes up must come down. Fortunately, we had the help of Cathy and her hubby, George (pictured) who originally beautifully created and set up our decorations. After they expertly helped pack the delicate stuff and the Anaconda (the garland aptly named by Cathy due to its length and girth) was entombed under the guest bed, we had used enough of their day, so thanked them for this blessing and sent them on their way. But we still had our own miniature version of Gaza City left to clean up. By now, my back, neck, shoulder, and hip were screaming at me. I dared not to ask how my lady felt since she was just six days post-op.

Never to be deterred from finishing, she pressed on and I tried to stay in her draft. I'm not kidding. She is a beast when a task is to be finished and she had set a deadline of today. If I had stopped, I would likely have ended up in a plastic storage container in the closet not to be found until the next Yuletide season. But, we persevered until we were finished.

And I heard her exclaim with the boxes out of sight, "Let's get your buns upstairs and turn out the lights!"

Recovering

The haze in my brain is clearing-slowly. It seems the last I remember was Julie saying, "We need to set up the tree". Everything after that is just a blur.

I was dealing with the everyday issues at work when Julie called me saying that she was going to have some additional tests after her annual mammogram. Shortly afterward, every conversation contained the "C" word. Time Out! I want instant replay!

After further review, the play stands as called. Play ball!

No need to feed you all of the details. That's on Julie's blog: www.juliespinklink.blogspot.com

As for my recovery from the past month I just need a diversion. How about the Pacers and IU basketball (Ha!). No, I am going to fall back to the old standby. Snuggle up with the little lady in front of the fireplace sharing a bottle of Two Buck Chuck while watching a flick. Sweet!

Breast Cancer

Did you ever see the award-winning "Band of Brothers" on HBO a couple of years ago? In one episode the GI's are dug into their foxholes while they are being shelled by the German artillery during the winter in the Battle of the Bulge. There was nothing they could do except pray that one of the shells did not land in their respective foxhole. It was horrific even on the small screen.

The Mrs. and I have commented numerous times how blessed we are to have avoided the numerous things that happen to other people while we escape with a scratch here and bruise there.

Well, one of the shells just landed in our foxhole. She went in for her annual mammogram last week and things did not look normal. After a biopsy it was confirmed that she has breast cancer. We are now in the discovery phase of what her subsequent treatment will be. Fortunately, we have discovered it early which gives her a variety of options for treatment, but I suspect we are going to have another one of those character-building journeys.

Medic!


For updates, check out Julie's blog here.

Big 3 Dilemma

All of the players in the Big 3 crisis are doing their jobs. The execs are spinning a story they hope will convince Congress to come up with enough cash to keep them out of bankruptcy until they need another handout. Mr. Gettelfinger, who by the way is a native Hoosier, is trying his best to preserve what his UAW members have received over the past 60 years, which is too much. And, our dutiful elected officials in D.C. are trying to squeeze anything out of the whole process which will enrich them or their constituents to get themselves re-elected.

I think it is time they "stop" doing their job and "start" doing what the right thing. Do not be so greedy and save the economy from a calamity. Just fix it!

Best Pizza in Indy

Bazbeaux? Nope.
Uno? You have to be kidding me.
Donato's? I wouldn't feed it to my dog.
Dominos? Industrial waste.
Pizza King? Inspiration for the Frisbee.
Pizza Hut? Buy it only if you own the stock.

Who makes the best pizza? It is someplace you probably never heard of, but it's been in Indy for over forty years. They don't advertise. They don't have coupons. They don't deliver. They have a bad location for a pizza place, and they have no parking lot.

Still wondering?

Maria's Pizza.

Absolutely no contenders. Best crust. Best cheese. Best toppings. And, they are located in Fountain Square just northeast of the fountain.

But, the best thing they do is make every pizza just for you. They treat you like a member of the family. They not only care about your business, they care about you. When you order your second pizza, they will know you. Try it. You'll be hooked.

One-way vs. Two-way Streets in Indy

It sounds like the city planners are starting to mess with more changes (Heaven forbid!) in Indianapolis. I guess the nice thing is that it won't cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Changing a few one-way streets into two-way streets will primarily be the cost of re-lining the streets and making the stop signs face both ways (kind of like a moderate politician).

What would we possibly gain by doing such a heinous act? Why not find out? Let's try something different to grow our downtown other than handing out millions of tax subsidies to corporations which pay less than their fair share of the property taxes.

I am not an urban planner, but let me at least reflect on what I do know from living in this city for 58 years. When I was a squirt running around downtown in the '50's, the sidewalks were packed with people. We had a vibrant shopping district that had the finest of everything. It was actually exciting to be downtown even if you didn't have any money. I know because all I had when I left home was enough bus fare to get there and back home.

On the other hand, Indy had a bunch of traffic and interstates did not exist. so, the planners came up with the idea of re-directing a bunch of streets one-way north, south, east and west. It worked. Everyone could get home to the burbs in less than a half hour. Of course, back then Broad Ripple was the north end of the city, Irvington was the east, the Speedway was the west, and Southern Plaza was way, way south of town. Eventually, the interstates were built in the late '70's and things downtown have been gradually dying ever since. People have moved farther and farther from downtown to the point where a very low percentage live or work in Center Township. Hence, our tax base is a mess.

So, what would two-way streets do to help? What I do know is that whenever I visit my oldest son in New York City he shows me unbelievably expensive residences located on two-way streets. When I visit my #2 son in San Francisco, he shows me the same. By the way, they both rent. Neither can afford to buy. But, they love living there. There are shops, restaurants, and entertainment surrounding them in all directions within walking distance.

Furthermore, how many times have you found it necessary to give confusing directions to someone you are trying to meet at St. Elmo's which is on one-way north street Illinois but they are headed south on Capitol, but miss the turn to one-way east on Maryland and need to turn back north on on one-way Delaware to get to...

See what I mean.

Pessimism vs. Optimism vs. Faith

My father was an optimist. He always felt that you could accomplish whatever you wanted to achieve. My father-in-law was a pessimist. He raised a family during the deepest part of the Great Depression and felt until his dying day that the world was in for a day of reckoning. They were both very smart men and they were both right.

Now, we are confronted with one of the most difficult times, economically, of the last 80 years. Things are literally falling apart when it comes to our home values, IRA's, 401K's, and the value of anything we have always thought was going to be the ticket to our financial security.

So, what do you do? I've been watching a lot of CNBC, reading the WSJ, and checking the value of my retirement accounts on the Internet. It's all out of my control and it's like I'm watching a movie reel in slow motion that I can't stop from playing to the end I don't want to watch.

Or, should I just have "faith" that everything is going to be OK?

Maybe, I should.