Home Alone

Once again I find myself working at home and already I have learned several critical truths:

1. It is entirely possible for me to eat something every 15 minutes over a ten-hour stretch. Even though my stomach is long past asking for food, going downstairs to get a handful of peanuts or dried fruit always seems like a good idea.

2. Canyoneering and eBay are always more interesting than management strategy.

3. If the phone rings, I have to answer it, even if I know it's either for Rebecca or a computer wanting my opinion.

4. Inc. is a really good magazine.

5. It is better to change into real clothes before 10 a.m. You never know who might come by. Plus, you feel more like you have a real job.

This is going to take some practice and discipline.

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is such an unassuming concept--a day to give thanks. Not self-serving in the least. It carries a little history, back to the pilgrims and all, despite how warped and ignorant our perspective on the events of those days may have become. It's not very commercial, except perhaps for the purveyors of turkeys, cranberries and yams. And most importantly, it's a traditional time to gather family and friends at our home.

I love that we keep our traditions alive. We had about 15 people for the 9 a.m. Turkey Bowl. It turned out to be great football weather and we had a terrific time, although I am just now (at 1:00 a.m. Friday) starting to feel sore. Merritt, Angelica, Sam and I were joined by various friends and neighbors.

Dinner was plentiful and delicious, as always. All the traditional stuff, headlined by a 20 lb. fresh turkey Sam got from his work. The family was joined by two of Lanee's schoolmates (including her roomie); Eric, Maricruz and kids (for the third year in a row); Fred Butterick (second or third year); and Brandon's friend Steve (second year). Once you come to our home for Thanksgiving, you are invited for life. It's especially nice to have some folks take advantage of the offer!

The Olympics featured a new sport this year--bocce ball. And after three hours of games, Fred played his guitar and we sang along to tunes from Billy Joel, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elton John, CCR, Barenaked Ladies, Janis Joplin, The Eagles and more. Spent an hour looking at ads before I decided I didn't really want to shop at 5 a.m. Watched Transformers, which put me to sleep. And in between all of this, watched a little football here and there.

Couldn't really ask for a better day. I love the traditions. And tonight I give thanks for Thanksgiving.

Humanitarianism

Yesterday I volunteered at the Humanitarian Center, spending four hours assembling about 1500 cleaning kits(bleach, bags, soaps, brushes, garbage bags and a nifty mask!). We ran an assembly line, and I don't remember the last time I worked that hard, moving boxes of detergent and bleach and pulling buckets and other forms of manual, menial labor. I was more sore after four hours than from spending all day working my way through a canyon.

But it felt good to be serving. I kept thinking of the people in Bangladesh which were affected by the cyclone. Thousands dead, 270,000 homes destroyed, but over 650,000 homes damaged. I tried to think of how welcome it would be, with stores sold out for miles, to have one of these cleaning buckets delivered to your house. I don't know if ours will be sent there or not, but the center made over 5000 yesterday (a record, by the way, for four shifts) and some day, some where, they will do some good.

So it was a contented soreness, the kind that comes from good work well done. And while I nearly strained my shoulder patting myself on the back, I was compelled to think about how little service I actually do, and I committed to trying to give a little more. It's only cleaning supplies. But spending four hours to assist in helping 1500 people--beats watching a football game.

No Girly Girls Here

Had another daddy/daughter weekend, this time in the North Wash area, about 25 miles south of Hanksville. Angelica, Lanee, Brad McLaws and I drove down late Thursday night and camped at the Leprechaun Canyon trailhead. Very nice to have Brad along, as he always makes for lively and spirited discussion. He sees the world differently from most, but always with a thoughtful and reasoned point of view. Plus, his strong will (some might call it pig-headedness) invites debate at every corner. The drive down passed quickly with social and political discourse mingled with an occasional poem that the girls and I would recite from memory.

As we were heading out Friday morning we ran into Bette Steffen-Weis, a neat lady that I'd canyoneered with previously, and her friend Joan. We all headed toward East Leprechaun, which was great fun and involved a few short raps and plenty of downclimbing, squeezing, shimmying, chimneying and scraping our way down canyon. At the bottom we did a little exploring up Belfast Boulevard, which is the last section of the Main Fork of the Leprechaun, and is extremely tight, dark and a little intimidating. All in all, East Lep was a fun challenge. I was so pleased with my girls, who thought it was the coolest canyon ever and scampered down the chutes and squeezes without a drop of help from me.

We had a little scare when Brad pulled a deadman anchor out of the ground and free-fell about 18 feet. He landed with his butt on the ground, his back (protected by his pack) hitting hard against the rock wall and his head (protected by his helmet) also smacking the wall. Should you wear a helmet? Yes, always. I'm sure Brad's saved him from a cracked skull at best, and possibly something much worse. As it was, he was very sore and cut up a bit. Very fortunate.

Betty was with a group that included Tom Jones, who runs canyoneeringusa.com and who we canyoned with in Escalante in September. Tom came down to say hello and I joined them all around their fire for a few hours. Met a lot of folks whose names and postings I have seen on the canyoneering sites.

Saturday we did Constrychnine, which has several big raps, including one down a fluted chamber which is really cool. We got a late start and made it out of the canyon just as it was turning dark. It was great to have Brad along because it turns out he's really good with a topographical map and after a couple of debates along the way I just turned all the route-finding over to him and he was totally studly.

Had dinner at Blondie's in Hanksville (don't ever eat there!) and made it home late. It was so much fun being with my girls. They are always good-natured, work hard, never complain and truly enjoy being in these canyons every bit as much as me. I take great pleasure in watching them climb and rappel and squeeze though these narrow walls as we enthusiastically explore new terrain.

It's no longer Clear (Play)

Today was my last day as CEO of ClearPlay. For many reasons it was time to leave, including my general career wanderlust--I usually get bored doing anything after about a year, and it has been over six years in the same job. So I turned the reins over to Matt and Lee and today I informed the troops. They were surprised but I didn't leave much time for sentimentality, as I made the announcement, spoke my peace, made the rounds shaking hands and saying thanks and then walked out the door. I will continue to serve on the board of directors and will help with business development relationships I have cultivated over the years, but I have cleaned out my office and am officially moving on.

So new vistas. I am going to start working with Keith McFarland (www.mcfarlandstrategy.com), conducting three-day strategic planning sessions with mid-sized companies (typically sales between $20 - $500 million). I attended a session last week and really enjoyed it. I like and respect Keith and think his method is much more relevant for today's business than traditional strategic planning, which is slow, cumbersome and elitist. Keith has a book coming out in January and has been quite tied up with its release, so unfortunately my gigs won't start until March. So in the meantime I will prepare myself plus look for some short-term consulting projects.

It means a little more travel than I am used to, but also a lot more days off. If all works out as planned, it will be a nice lifestyle and give me time to develop a few other ideas as well. If it doesn't work out, I will sell pencils on the sidewalk, or perhaps buy a monkey and teach it to dance to my accordion (which I will also have to buy, and then learn to play).

Ramblin' Man

Back home from a busy week of traveling. Monday and Tuesday I was in Colorado Springs staying at the legendary Broadmoor Hotel, a perennial Mobil 5-Star resort (of about 35 in the U.S.). I was attending a conference there and the hotel and amenities were included, including my upgrade to a suite, which was way too much room for me. But the highlight may have been the food, and for two days I dined on $120 dinners and gourmet breakfasts and I basically ate everything that was placed in front of me, plus some stuff that I had to reach for.

Wednesday I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan, which felt a little like going to my ancestral homeland--Dad Farley grew up in the Upper Peninsula, Grandpa worked at the Ford plant there and a few generations back hail from Holland, MI. I spent three days doing a management strategy session with a company called FlexFab that makes silicone hoses. I'm always fascinated to see how much money is made on the boringest products. It was a rewarding session, but made for long days, which started at 7:30a and finished around 11 p.m.

Several other travel highlights:
1. I ate at PB&J's in the St. Louis Airport. Yes, they serve peanut butter sandwiches, in various versions. I had mine on whole wheat bread with bananas and honey. They gave it to me in a brown lunch bag, which was perfect.
2. At the Wayne County Airport in Detroit I got a muffin from Starbucks and the young, African-American girl behind the counter was so nice and friendly that I told her she made my day. Couldn't have been more than 19, but smiled at everyone and asked how their days were. Really cool to see that, and to realize that it can be done.
3. Sat next to a woman on a flight who was a semi-professional pool player. She gave me some good pointers, and now I'm eager to play. Sometimes I do wish I had a table again, but that would require an addition to the house. Seems complicated.

An Extra Hour

Woke up at 5:45 this morning and couldn't sleep because my body, unaware of Daylight Savings Time, said it was 6:45 and time to get up. Jazz was the same, wandering into the bedroom about 5:30 and wondering where everyone was and the cause for such laziness. So we both went downstairs and I let her out and she came back confused because the paper wasn't there, which is something I could hardly explain to humans, much less a dog.

Not yet hungry and with no paper to read, I stood and pondered for a moment what to do with this extra hour I had been granted, and found myself contemplating the gift of time we have all been given. We all enter this world with two great endowments--time and the choice of how to use it. Yes, some are given more time than others, and some have more choices. But the quality of our lives can be measured by our stewardship over these gifts.

Looking back on the past 50 years, I realize that I have not fully appreciated this gift of time. I'm not suggesting that I should have squeezed more activity into my waking hours, although in many cases, that is true. (I have always loved the Irish adage: When God made time, he made plenty of it.) No, I don't mind letting time drift by occasionally, unencumbered by activity or production. But I'd like to bask in that leisure, living fully in the moment, completely connected to my environment, or even my mental state. I'd like to improve the quality of my time.

I also wish I had prioritized my time a little better. Some things could have been left undone. For many years I think I allocated way too much to being successful and making money, at the expense of things more dear, because that is what is expected of people who have those capabilities. But regret is probably our most wasteful indulgence, and so instead of wallowing in past failures, I will try to look ahead, not knowing how much time I have left, and thoughtfully consider this extraordinary gift and how I plan to use it.

I will start with the rest of my extra hour.