Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A Tale of Two Christmas Cards

I love receiving Christmas cards, or if you are so inclined, Holiday cards. It may seem overly quaint but seeing how families grow and change year after year makes me feel like there is still a connection to many of these old acquaintances. At one time or another I might have considered the sender a good friend and though we don't really write, speak, text, tweet, IM, or post on one another's Facebook wall I truly do appreciate not being dropped off their address list and still receiving a card. Of all the Christmas cards I receive my favorite type of card to receive is the card with the written family update.

The family update cards are something I look forward to every year. In my heart I know these cards were not written with the intent to make me feel bad about myself and all of our failings as a family but sometimes I wonder. The most common update is how great the kids are doing though I once read the supposed transcript of a family discussing how they had grown closer to God over the previous year. Nevertheless, whatever the topic, it seems humility is continually in short supply.

What follows is an amalgamation of all the different family update cards we've received over the years and a suspected "truth" update that I suspect might hold a little more veracity.

What a year it's been! Can't believe how quickly 365 days go by. As we find ourselves joyfully preparing for the coming of Christ (Hope to see many of you at Midnight Mass next week) it's worth reflecting on all of our blessing over the year.

What a year it's been! Time really does fly because I can't believe I got this damn old so fast. Can't believe we have to fight with the kids about going to Church on Christmas. The only time they saw the inside of a Church last year was when we dragged them to their nephew's Baptism. You'd think we were asking the to donate a pint of blood which I'm certain they'd rather do than get dressed up and stand in the back of the Church lobby. We're never remotely on time for Christmas Mass and we still have yet to find a seat.

Senior year has arrived for our oldest son _______ (Chipper, Bradley, Donovan) and we're so proud he's handling all the pressure so well. College choices were weighing on our young man so we're delighted to announce he has decided to attend Williams and turned down the offer from the stuffed shirts at Yale. We all felt Williams had the best combination of academics and athletics and as a letter man in three varsity sports ________ (Chipper, Bradley, Donovan) will be able to pursue the glory on the playing field he enjoyed so much during high school.

The most exciting thing to look forward to is _______ (Mike, Jim, Petey) finally leaving the house when/if he graduates this spring. That kid has exhausted us for 19 years and we'll be thrilled if he goes to any college as long as it's one he has to leave this house to attend. I'm not holding out much hope he'll make a full year at any school without being sent home but I'll take any break I can get. We love the kid but we won't miss his proclivity for smelling like a used jock strap, trashing my car, and leaving porn around his room. Teenagers have an all consuming superior attitude and I can't wait for him to go out into the real world and get his ass handed to him. The one thing I will miss when he's gone is his Aderall prescription. Since he stopped taking those puppies in Sophomore year those tiny capsules have become a staple of my every day routine. I don't know how I'll make it through a day at the office without them...

Our daughter _______ (Brittany, Hannah, Annibel) has truly transformed into a beautiful young woman. We were so proud of her as she went away this past summer on an eight week Spanish language immersion course in Costa Rica. But juggling the demands of academics and the temptation of so many attractive suitors is a challenge for a young woman and we are so proud of _______ (Brittany, Hannah, Annibel) for handling it so well. Her fall highlight was the Homecoming semi-formal dance. As that most beautiful creature descending down the stairs to meet her date a tear rolled down my cheek as I couldn't believe how my baby girl had grown. As parents we looked at her with such pride. She is truly one of God's greatest gifts to us.

I think that puberty and ravaging hormones have finally turned my daughter into a lunatic. It hard to believe my own offspring could treat me with such contempt but ______ (Sue, Jane, Mary-Patrick) never fails to amaze. Even more unfathomable is her ability to insult us yet continue to spend our money like it's her own. Between the clothes, iPads and that eight week "spa" to deal with her eating disorder she has almost wiped out my savings. I think the worst part of the year was the Homecoming dance where her outfit looked like something you'd buy on Halloween in the slutty vixen section of the store. As horrifying and inappropriate as her fashion choices were, her date was even less inspiring. The idea of this pierced nose, tattoo covered loser slobbering all over my daughter was unbearable. It left me in a prisoner's dilemma choice. I could pray that she might heed my years of advice regarding prudence or hand her a box of condoms because I didn't want any of that boy's DNA joining our family lineage.

And how can we not mention the baby! What greater gift in life is there than becoming a parent again at our age. Thirty-one months ago the arrival of little ________ (Deven, Harris, Gavin) reopened an entire world to us and now we have the opportunity to relive so many of life's most joyous moments: Strolling through the park, going to music class, nursing. The possibilities for this child are endless. It's hard to say what talents little ________ (Deven, Harris, Gavin) may have at this point? Reading, music, puzzles? All these activities are things he truly loves. Still, of all the things that make him happy I'll bet it's sleeping every night with his Mommy.

Can't forget the youngest though often times I do. Although he's almost three my wife still treats ______ (Rick, Doug, Peyton Manning Junior) like an infant. Given the infrequency of coitus over the past years I'm still not convinced that little bastard is even mine. There's lots I've forgotten from when the other kids were that young so I can't be certain but I worry this kid is just plain dumb. Crayons up his nose, poop on the walls and he keeps sticking my remote controls in the dog's water dish. I'm a patient man but I'm reaching my breaking point. That kid has been in my bed every night since he was born and I get in trouble for waking him up when I close the front door to leave for work at 4:30 am? Last, the breast feeding has got to stop. For the kid and for all of humanity who has to watch. My wife's boobs are like my hairline. Their visual heyday was in the 90's.

Still it's not all about the kids as my wife and I were able to sneak away for a romantic getaway down in Turks and Caicos. It's so invigorating to break away from the daily routine to rediscover why we fell in love in the first place. I don't want to brag but based on our week there the good folks at the Kama Sutra have asked us to write a new chapter for the soon to be released update. Never forget the woman you fell in love with. It is through our love, fidelity and faith that both of us will find the overwhelming love of Christ this Christmas season.

Another year older and closer to the grave. Hard to believe we're still married given the mutual disdain we hold for one another. To say we're going through the motions would give us too much credit. It's not like we have nothing in common. We both despise our neighbors and love vodka so we definitely have things to talk about. Likewise we did manage to grab some time away from the kids. The problem was that time was spent with our marriage counselor and I can say that I didn't feel better for the experience. It seems we're paying for "safe space" to tell one another how unhappy we are. At least it's "safe." It's not all bad because she still hasn't discovered my second cell phone and third credit card that I use for my mistress and my bookie. Quite frankly those are the two healthiest relationships I've had in years.

Have a joyful and blessed Christmas. You and yours will be in our prayers this season.

Cheers to you! Make certain the beer is cold and never stops running. If you can spare a good thought please pray that the Giants cover against the Eagles next week. If that baby comes in it'll save my ass from financial ruin.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Business Travel


I don’t travel for work all that much and that’s kind of a blessing and a curse. I truly believe that leaving the office and going to other cities is good for the soul. Not only does it allow me to expand my knowledge, it makes me a little less egotistical as I actually consider the possibility that there might be one or two reasons to work some other place than Manhattan (for someone else of course). Still, I like going home most every night and most true road warriors quickly tire of the endless travel their respective professions require. I’ve never slept as well in a hotel as I have in my own bed and I’ve stayed in some swanky places. That doesn’t mean I never leave the office because I do attend a number of business conferences every year sometimes as a customer and sometimes as a potential customers. I’ve been working for over twenty years so despite my lack of constant travel I have racked up the miles over the course of my career and I’ve certainly garnered a few stories and other nuggets of information over the course of these journeys.


Back in the early 1990’s I traveled much more than I do now. That makes sense because when you are young and don’t have kids you’re much more willing to take the show on the road, particularly if you can expense the entire journey. But being young isn’t what made business travel different in the 90s, it was the way companies viewed business conferences. Back then a business conference really was a boondoggle in every sense of the word. A typical business junket included at least two rounds of golf on some fantastic course, expensive wines and the food was over the top. I remember scarfing down plates of shrimp that were larger than baseballs. Bring your wife/girlfriend and the sponsor would have her set up for a few spa treatments while we attended the few presentations that made it seem like we were actually working. It was crazy fun and an absolute waste of corporate resources.


On the other hand I had other wild experiences early in my career when I worked for companies that did not have the money to waste on lobsters and personalized golf shirts. In fact, back then most of my friends had incredible stories about the training trips we all took back when we started out in the business world. Personally, I started my first job two weeks after I graduated college and I had to drive down to the MacIntosh Inn in King of Prussia, PA to learn how to sell photocopiers to a world still grasping the demise of the ditto machine. I had no idea what to expect and I didn’t know anyone else in the training class. I checked into my double room alone and I probably cried myself to sleep realizing how foolish I was to leave college after only four years. In retrospect I should have stretched that gig out as long as possible! Anyhow, when I opened my eyes in the morning there was some dude in the bed eighteen inches away from me. WTF! I was absolutely stunned having no idea that the company was doubling us up in these $49 nightly rooms. Now as I was processing the situation the guy jumped up out of bed to introduce himself and he was butt naked. For the rest of my life as a professional I will never forget how the first moments of my career started, with me staring at some guy’s package wondering if this strange dude took advantage of me while I was sleeping. The rest of my training week was very similar to the stories my contemporaries told me from their training weeks in their respective professions: meetings and product classes all day and absolute debauchery at night. The three women in my training group were stalked by the fourteen guys like treasures Indian Jones would be searching for. One friend told me the story of how a long term affair started in her training group of pharmaceutical sales people. Two married trainees (but not married to one another) hooked up at their first training off-site and they continued to get together ever few months when the company brought the class back for further product training. She even ended up pregnant from one of their “seminars” which was somewhat difficult to explain to her particular spouse.


Fortunately I found my way into an industry that let us have our own hotel rooms when we were on the road and now enough time has passed that I’ve learned enough about business conference behavior to write a book, or at least a blog post. Today’s conferences are far from the boondoggles of twenty years ago and there are good reasons for that. First, companies are run much more tightly and wasting money on rounds of golf when you’re laying off employees is not considered good corporate behavior. Also, as professionals we all work much harder than we did in the past. If I’m going to leave the office for a few days it better be worth my time. Now the “fun” part of the conference is on the weekend. Sorry, the weekend is my time and if the choice is a round of golf in Scottsdale on Saturday and a late return Sunday night, I’ll grab the Friday night flight and head home. I’ve already had four meals with my fellow attendees and I don’t think they’ll miss me. But it’s more than not being a boondoggle, business conferences are now profit centers for the sponsoring company so expenses are kept to a minimum while generating revenue is the goal. To ring the cash register the conference host company now places the bar in the exhibit hall where sponsors have paid big bucks to have a lame little table where they are desperate to interact with potential customers. This concept really makes sense and it’s a wonder it took so long for conference hosts to realize this. The attendees are the exact group sponsors want to pitch to and here are hundreds of us who make decisions about how our companies spend money. The exhibit hall sponsors staffing these tables are interesting folks. Their companies wrote big checks for them to be at the conference so they better return having made some contacts with potential customers. To lure you to their table they’ll put out swag they hope you’ll find appealing. Unfortunately too many sponsors have the same idea of what kind of toys we’ll find interesting. Here’s a hint, I don’t need any more pens, stuffed animals wearing a shirt with your corporate logo, or another travel mug. Now if you’ve got a cute masseuse manning the massage chair, I might spare you a few minutes of my time. Actually I always walk the aisles in the exhibit halls; I feel like I should make a token effort to see if anything catches my interest. The trick is to avoid making eye contact with any of the sponsors as they’re frantic to get your business card and even more desperate to take you to dinner. If they lock eyes with you might get trapped for the next thirty minutes listening to how their business process will revolutionize the industry. Even worse they’ll probably call you six times the following week suggesting they come visit your office with their regional head of sales. It makes me feel like the sponsor is showing me off to his boss just as a guy shows off his new girlfriend to his ex. “Look who I made friends with!!”


No one is ever going to ask me to organize their conference but I’m certain all these companies would benefit from my years of experience. First let’s talk about my favorite subject, food. There is all kind of food available during the course of the day outside the conference rooms and most of it is fantastic. I love sugar cookies, Arizona Iced Tea, and chicken empanadas. However it just seems all the food should consistently serve one purpose, to keep you awake. When you put out the soft pretzel station in the middle of the day you better spike the coffee because I’m going down. Walking back into a dark conference room for my fourth power point presentation of the day after woofing down three mini burritos is a guaranteed nap. I don’t care if you’ve raised Steve Jobs from the grave and he’s explaining the next great business revolution, my eyes won’t stay open. Still it’s more than the grazing choices during the day, what about the offsite dinner? Over the past ten years I’ve been incredibly fortunate because I usually bring the same co-worker to all the conferences I attend and she is an all star. Everyone asks us to dinner because they know if she’s at their table it’s going to be a fun night and typically I’m just riding her coattails. However, often I’ve been honored to be invited to the executive dinner with the top people from the hosting company. My fellow attendees often ride me pretty hard about abandoning them for dinner at the big boy table but I really appreciate these meals. Because these are senior executives you might think these are very stiff gatherings but you’d be wrong. I’m not saying we’re doing keg stands but usually it’s an interesting group and I actually enjoy hearing about someone else’s business and their goals and challenges. My issue is our host taking us somewhere really far from the conference. On the one hand I’ve been at the same conference center since 7 am so I’m thrilled to get off campus; however it’s the long bus ride that becomes the issue. These days I always travel alone so I don’t have my wife to come to ride with me in the two seater on the bus and I haven’t really had a chance to meet my future dinner companions. Instead it’s random chance whom you’re going to be sitting with for the ride out to dinner and if the ride is over forty minutes and you’re stuck with an introvert as your travel buddy that’s just an exercise in pain. Would it be rude for me to pull out my iPod because we’re both dying out here? On the way home it’s easy, I’ve met these folks and the free flowing wine has loosened all our vocal chords but wow have I suffered on the outbound journey. So you've got three choices: put a traveling bar on the bus, give us all iPads for the long journey or pick a restaurant close to the conference. Any of those three work for me.


Speaking of cocktail hour, the drinking aspect of business conferences is quite interesting. It is my belief that professionals behave remarkably different than they do at home when it comes to enjoying a few adult beverages. It is too simplistic to say that professionals are unchained animals when they're on the road and away from the spouse and children. I'm not saying that I haven't seen some folks get fairly nutty but I've found that the single folks are the ones who play hardest on the road. Once I was at a conference just south of Ft. Lauderdale which is almost an hour north of South Beach. Don't think for a second the distance deterred these single folks from heading that way and returning to the hotel at 5:30 the next morning. Party on rock stars! Still, most professionals attending a conference are well aware they are on display and representing more than themselves. While they probably drink for six hours straight they usually keep it together within reason (except for the time we all ended up in an Indian casino at 4 am). On the show 30 Rock Alec Baldwin's character, Jack Donaghy, referred to it as "business drunk" implying that if your drinking is part of your job you really can't be held fully responsible for your actions that come from drinking. That seem a fiction to me but people getting "business sick" the next day is 100% reality. The comedy, as always, is the 8 am morning session on day 2 is a ghost town no matter how many Tylenols are in the gift baskets.


I've probably spent too much time discussing food and drink when today's conferences really are about work and profits for the host company. To insure a successful conference sponsoring companies need speakers who draw people to the conference and help turn a profit. I've been fortunate to hear numerous famous speakers over the years and I found very few were actually worth the hype. In fact, speakers I expected the most from often left me wanting and others of who I had low expectations were surprisingly engaging. For example, I thought a renowned orator like President Clinton would knock our socks off describing the Clinton Global Initiative and instead his presentation was disjointed and unfocused. Conversely George W. Bush was extremely quick to answer audience questions and was remarkably witty and self deprecating. Other speakers who were mediocre include Sen. Bob Dole, Bill Belichick, Deepak Chopra and former White House Chief of Staff James Baker. However the dubious distinction for worst keynote speaker has to go to Bill Rancic, winner of season one on Donald Trump's The Apprentice. I had exceedingly low expectations and he didn't even come close to meeting them. Did Trump pay the conference sponsor to give the guy something to do because I can't imagine any one writing a check to this guy tell his "inspiring" story. The best speakers I have ever had the honor of hearing were author Michael Lewis, Hank Paulson, former Navy Seal and author Eric Greitens and Gen. Colin Powell. General Powell’s story is amazing and let's face it, people from both sides of the aisle hold him in extremely high regard. Regardless I really loved hearing the stories from the conference sponsors detailing the requirements for each keynote speaker. I couldn’t get enough of the details explaining that the general only is flown on a G-4 and it is to be fully stocked with Minute Maid orange juice. Tropicana need not apply.


I have a different suggestion for headline speakers though I know it will never work. My idea is to bring academics who are known for their outstanding lectures. I left college over twenty years ago but there were specific professors we absolutely loved for their lectures. They would command the attention of the hall and put on an intellectual show often bringing their lecture to a conclusion most unexpected. These academics teach and lecture as a career so they are comfortable in front of the room, they know their material better than most every one, and they've most likely heard and answered every question attendees can ask of them. Alas, it seems conference hosts will always rely on big names to encourage people to sign up and I can't really blame them. If there are two equal conferences and the keynote for one is Tony Blair and the other is NYU's best corporate finance professor I’m going to choose the former Prime Minister every time.


Regardless of the speaker's bio, every presentation has similar characteristics. For example, whatever the topic each presenter needs to know they've got about 4 minutes to keep our attention. If we're not interested after four minutes we'll stay, but our heads will be pointed downwards so we're can stare at our iPads. We might work, play Angry Birds on mute, or even blog, but we're done listening so don't waste time when you get up there. Start that presentation with a bang! Of course one way to do that is with the audio music that plays while you approach the stage. I've always enjoyed listening to the music professional baseball players choose for themselves to be played when they step in the batter's box; it opens a window into their personality. From their musical selections I've concluded that Derek Jeter remains contemporary and hip, Nick Swisher is a redneck, and Mark Texiera is into being a parent playing his daughter's favorite Miley Cyrus song. Conference presenters should be able to choose their introducing music as well. If I heard the 1974 classic Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas while the new head of business development walked to the podium, I'd be listening as the choice would be so random. Then it would be the presenter’s job to explain the song choice in the first few minutes or we're back on our crackberries.


Recently I turned down an invitation to a conference I've attended in the past and historically enjoyed. In this case I was not a customer of the sponsoring company and I was beginning to feel like a free loader enjoying their largess. I guess that means no gift bag with local salsa and company logo golf balls. So it looks like I can call it a year for my business travel. Just as well. I’m always fearfully I’ll end back in a double room in King of Prussia PA and that was an experience I have no interest in repeating.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Springsteen

Look I know Bruce is not the global star we make him out to be in the tristate area. I'm not as naive as you might think I am and I get it that even around here fewer and fewer people are buying his CDs (though I don't know a single person who actually purchases music any other way than online) and exploring the lyrics. However if you are one of these fans like me, you grew up with Bruce and marveled at his story telling talents and lyrical prowess. Today we find ourselves a lot older and Bruce is 62. For the past 15 years his albums have taken on difficult subjects and he writes more and more about the challenges in life. So my first question is did Bruce become a pessimist? Bruce wrote Born to Run when he was 25. It's been almost 40 years and we've all changed in ways too numerous to even contemplate, and part of growing up and older is facing more challenges from life. Everyone understands these facts of life. Still, is Bruce, and tramps like us, are we all still born to run?


Some people always screw up what Bruce is singing about. The height of not paying attention was when President Reagan's 1984 campaign was using Born in the USA as a campaign song. Sure the refrain sounds patriotic when it stands alone, but the song is about Vietnam veterans struggling in America. In the context of the rest of the song the refrain is more like a cry of "What the heck? I was born here, served my country, and I still can't catch a goddamn break!" I've heard Born in the USA performed by Bruce alone on a 12 string guitar numerous times and the pain he attempts to convey is palpable when he performs it in this manner. I often wonder if he regretted going with the full band, rock n' roll version on the album because the message of the song was missed by more than half the country. Certainly Reagan's campaign manager didn't bother to read the lyrics, nor did he know that Bruce was a lifelong liberal Democrat who subsequently asked the campaign to stop using his song.


Going back to my original question, let's look at the last three studio albums: Wrecking Ball, Working on a Dream, and Magic. Again, not really three albums a casual Bruce fan is all that familiar with. The title track of Magic wasn't about the mystery of the unknown or the sense of wonder a magician brings to an audience. Instead the "magic" that Bruce sings about are the illusions that shroud the truth. At the time much of the illusions he was referencing were the policies of the Bush administration that lead the country to an Iraqi invasion. Clearly Bruce did not believe the rationales President Bush gave for going to war. Much of the album touched on these subjects including veterans from the Iraq war coming home and facing challenges reacclimating to the regular life. The track Last to Die (for a mistake) makes it pretty clear where Bruce stands. While other tracks aren't so dire the overall tone is not uplifting. I think we'll throw this album in the pessimistic bucket.


The next album really isn't difficult to characterize at all. The title Working on a Dream really sums up the album. Here is a person in his late 50s (at the time) and he remains an optimist who sees so many possibilities in front of him regardless of age. Plenty of tracks celebrating his marriage and family. In Kingdom of Days he writes "I look to you and you're mine for always/ we laugh beneath the covers as we count the wrinkles and the grays." This Life highlights "This life, and all the rest. With you I have been blessed." Of course other tracks reflect feelings about morbid subjects but I don't think anyone would characterize this album as anything other than optimistic.


So assuming the score is tied, one optimistic album against one pessimistic album, how does Bruce's current effort break the tie? Optimism and pessimism battle one another all throughout the course of Wrecking Ball. The pessimism isn't hard to understand. The most important member of the E Street band and one of Springsteen's best friends died eight months prior to the album's release. The phrase "hard times come" is a lyric in numerous songs and so many of the tracks reflect on all the difficulties in life. Just look at the titles of some of the tracks like Shackled and Drawn, The Depression, Rocky Ground, and Death to my Hometown. That's just a sample and the subject across these tracks is pretty consistent: hard times indeed. In Rocky Ground Bruce writes, "You try to sleep, you toss and turn the bottom's dropping out/where you once had faith now there's only doubt/you pray for guidance only silence now meets your prayers/ the morning breaks you awake but no one's there." Or off the title track he sings in Wrecking Ball about "all our youth and beauty being given to the dust," and our "best hopes and desires are scattered to the wind." Those are pretty nasty places to find yourself. So why isn't this a slam dunk pessimistic album? Actually it isn't because if there is one consistent theme from Springsteen (especially since The Rising) it's this: Rise up!


The Rising kept that theme all throughout the album that was an emotional answer to a terrible time in American history and the Rise Up! theme rings through on this album as well. The track Rocky Ground covers hard places we can be in life but all throughout the song Bruce keeps singing "There's a new day coming" and that day is to be viewed a chance for redemption, a chance to break from all our past misery and hard times. Again the title track, Wrecking Ball captures both pessimism and optimism and in turn boldly gives all those hard times the finger and says, "Bring it on!" I don't know if I want to tempt the fates and turn to life and say, “Give me your best shot!” but I love that Bruce does. Maybe it's the 20 year age gap between us that makes Bruce a lot less intimidated by life than I am. Look at him, he's 62, second marriage, just lost Clarence, his youth and beauty are diminishing and he stares ahead and says "Fuck it, bring it." That's brave, and inspiring and above all else, optimistic.


So are tramps like us still born to run? I still don't know the answer but I'm glad the question remains? It would be much more depressing if the answer was a definite negative. Strangely I'm not head over heels over the actual song Born to Run but I certainly respect its extremely exalted status in rock history. Nevertheless if you've been to a Springsteen concert in the last five years you already know that nothing has changed. We all jump out of our seats, sing "au-oh, au-oh" during Out in the Street, and "whooo-oohoo" with Badlands. I think that's the ultimate appeal of the shows. It isn't that it transports us to the 1980's when we were wide-eye kids who were ready to take on the world. Instead it takes us as we are right now and reminds us we can still bring it.


And that's the real dichotomy and I believe it's calculated. Bruce concerts are meant to be uplifting and optimist. You won't get people to spend $120 a ticket if they show up and you bum them out. Concert Bruce is “Rise up! Are you alive out there!?!” and big horns in 10th Avenue Freeze Out. That is what brings people back night after night and year after year. The new albums, the struggles and the pessimism, that's for the artist. The fanatical among us will purchase, listen and maybe even blog about Bruce's most recent effort. But the casual fan will hear the first single and only remember the refrain (In the latest CD the refrain would be We Take Care of our Own - very upbeat).


So that's it. Bruce is a little like Seinfeld's two face girlfriend. Under the proper lighting she was hotsy-totsy, yet in different places, hotsy-notsy. Bruce in concert is good time party Bruce who loves investment bankers who can afford his ticket prices for 4 nights in a row. On his albums he is pensive Bruce and takes a more dour stance and writes about life’s struggles. Where do we fit? Despite getting older we survived our hard times and guess what? We're still getting together, we still know how to scream, and singing at the top of our lungs still brings us joy today.

Still the question remains, are we still born to run? While the simple answer is yes the reality is much more complicated. Bruce was 25 years old when he wrote those words and 25 year olds believe they are entitled to do everything they were "born to" do forever. I think the passing of time has demonstrated that now we've got to survive and endure if we want to be able to keep doing something we were "born to" do. In this case we've got to make it through all those hard times and challenges if we want to keep running. That's the overall optimistic message on this CD. Land of Hope and Dreams has become a concert mainstay for 12 years but finally appears on this CD as a studio track. Here dreams will not be thwarted, and faith will be rewarded but even that is too polyanna. As Wrecking Ball commands, "Hold tight to your anger, hold tight to your anger, don't fall to your fears." If we want to keep running in 2012 and beyond it's going to take all of it: faith, dreams, anger and keeping our fears at bay. Regardless, it ought to be a hell of a ride.