Hi,
First, let me say thanks for that “Economic Stimulus Package” you sent me a few months back. It really helped, I guess. I was able to buy half a tank of gas and some groceries. It was nice, but I kind of felt like I was on Welfare or something.
A few days ago I heard somebody (in New York?) asked you for $700B (seven hundred billion dollars). I don’t remember all the details but it was something about “preventing a global financial meltdown.”
True Story: In 1997 I had a high-paying computer job in Las Vegas where the company was flying me all around the country to set up call centers, computer networks, and mainframe data-centers.
It was definitely a high-stress job, as I was on-call 24/7 and never knew where the next phone call would take me. The job was also something of an American dream job: I lived in a 4 bedroom luxury condo, had a really nice car, a prestigious job and a terrific corporate income with all the bennies. It was nothing to blow $500 or so at a casino. I’d often hang out at The Rio until 6am, then show up for work between 8 and 10. I was in a position to call my own shots, and luckily had no “boss” watching over me. I was very good at my job, and my computer/data-communication skills were in high demand.
Around the beginning of my third year with the company I realized I was so busy that I had never taken a vacation, and was beginning to get a little “burned out.” The human resources department offered me a compromise. They would give me every Tuesday off. On Tuesdays I started a routine of driving 200+ miles to La Jolla, Calif. and hanging out on the beach just to get away from Vegas. Sometimes I would drive to Sedona, Arizona to get recharged. My company tech center knew not to call me on Tuesdays… Ever.
Seattle, Washington
In 1851 Seattle (See-at-la), Chief of the Suquamish and other Indian tribes around Washington’s Puget Sound, delivered what is considered to be one of the most beautiful and profound environmental statements ever made. The city of Seattle is named for the Chief, whose speech was in resonse to a proposal treaty under which the Indians were persuaded to sell two million acres of land for $150,000. There are several translations/versions of Chief Seattle’s speech.
The Seattle Speech
