Serve by Design

Our beautiful, aware, and precocious fourth-grade granddaughter, Eloise, can be quite direct at times. The other day on the ride home, during an afterschool conversation in the car with her dad, she let loose a volley of words that our son wasn’t expecting. He had just told her that he was going to call Poppi because he (Moi!) had a window of time to visit before an out-of-town meeting that night. It was the word “meeting” that unsettled her and triggered the comment, “I have never once heard him mention the word meeting!”😲  Image Credit: www.pexels.com Matt surmised that this sounded a lot like what she often hears from both of her parents who work remotely from home much of the time. They will often comment to Eloise and her siblings, “You’re going to have to entertain yourself for a little while this afternoon. I have a meeting for about an hour, and I cannot be disturbed!”   Now, she is hearing for the first time that her beloved Poppi is also a “meetings-type person!” An...

Frequently these days, I am being asked for information on Internet websites to confirm that “I am not a robot!” This requires me to place a check mark in a little box. Since this happens so often now, I only have a faint memory of the first time I was asked to do this. I thought it was silly then and I have not changed my mind now. Just before making my mark,   I still question the absurdity of such an admission and I want to exclaim out loud by responding, “No! But are you?!” Image Credit: clipart-library.com We are both fascinated and frustrated by robotic technology or artificial intelligence, usually known by its abbreviation, AI. Our fascination is with how easily computer programs have become useful, if not necessary, in accomplishing routine daily tasks. The cutting edge technology of AI and chatbot facilitate our searches for cooking recipes or good restaurants, help us to identify sites for home repair instructions, to locate places and find driving directions, to look up...

The Super Bowl is the game that millions of football fans anticipate all season long! This Sunday is “the big game” when the best of the best square off against each other in the warmth of Glendale, Arizona. I must confess that football is not usually on my radar of interest. Unlike many of my family and friends, I have never cared much for the clash of the heads and pads on the gridiron. Rather, I sit out from the viewing audience and the action Sunday after Sunday, Mondays, and Thursdays too, while the football faithful follow their favorite teams and warriors with great delight. Photo Credit: clipart-library.com I’m pretty sure that I am not alone in waiting until the end of the football season and then tuning in to watch the championship game. There are many of us who show up to enjoy creative and costly commercials; eat pizza, hot wings, and other snacks; take in the half-time show; and try to hang on until the end of the final quarter of action to see the award ceremony. It seems...

There have been several high visibility layoffs in the job market recently. I just saw a list of some sixteen companies that have cut back on their work force since the new year (source: mondo.com). Some of these have been large tech companies, but other layoffs have impacted the media, financial, sales, home décor, and hospitality sectors of the economy. The percentages of layoffs range from the lows of 1 to 1.5% all the way up to a staggering 20% of the company work force. This is an unsettling time for global economies. There are growing concerns over inflation and the possibility of recession in 2023. Groot says, "I'm dog-tired!" Families and individuals are facing many struggles these days. Some are unemployed while others are underemployed which forces them to take multiple part-time jobs just to pay the bills. Not only are these people feeling stressed about financial matters and time management, but they yearn for respect, significance, and a renewed purpose for t...

Recently, we had a surprise visit from our son, Marc and our soon to be eighteen-year-old grandson, Ben. It was their second visit in just over a month. Since they live in Texas, it was a rare treat to have them with us at both Thanksgiving, and then again, a shorter two-day visit just after the new year to accompany me to the St. Louis Auto Show. "Giddy Up, Cowboy!" When Ben was here before Christmas, we caught him having a “rocking horse connection” and we laughed at the time. The old horse has complemented our family room, Texas décor, most of Ben’s childhood. I’m sure he can’t recall a time when it was not in its place in front of the French doors. During a second and recent time of connection, we were able to get a photo of him in a state of contemplation while looking at his cell phone. As you would imagine, his long legs were dangling down to the floor for support. In truth, he outgrew the old horse a long time ago!😃 We didn’t know nor did we ask what was on Ben’s min...

For more than twenty years now, the guys of our family have had a tradition of attending the Saint Louis Auto Show. Grandsons have been added as they have come along and on occasion, we have even had a couple of granddaughters join us. Until our favorite near city eatery closed, the day used to begin with a delicious Cajun meal of gumbo, jambalaya, and stuffed crabmeat at the Gumbo Shop (Rock Hill). These days, we have opted for a great sandwich, chips and an Excel bottled beverage (Breese, IL - I have to get my Red Cream soda fix!) at Snarf’s Downtown MX just across from the America’s Center. The Dome plays host to the Show around mid to late January each year. It’s the Keppler way of welcoming in the New Year! Hey! It charges on this side!  The rave of this year’s show was all about the EV – electric vehicle! It was a bit “other worldly” seeing a charging station near each vehicle. And it was great fun looking under the hoods and trunk lids for an actual engine! There were none! ...

For several days this week, gridlock has prevented the United States House of Representatives from electing a Speaker for this august body of legislators. Fourteen ballots had been cast in the effort to move forward, but to no avail. It would be on the fifteenth round that a breakthrough would occur. All week long, strong differences of opinion dominated the discussions. Every effort had failed to get a majority consensus. Finally, in the very early morning hours of Saturday morning,   a Speaker of the House was elected . This level of disagreement is unusual, but not without historic precedence. The longest vote for a Speaker occurred in 1856 when it took two months and 133 rounds of balloting to elect Rep. Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts as Speaker of the House. The Gavel: Symbol of Authority During this present and epic Speaker election of the modern era, many have tuned in to their televisions to watch the actions on C-SPAN live stream. Each round of voting has been proce...