Wearing shoes.

"The Devil made me do it!"

A comedian, who's name slips my mind at the moment used to say that whenever he got caught doing anything bad. It drew huge laughs. Why is it that when we say something similar in real life, nobody laughs. Blaming others is commonplace in certain circles but, unfortunately it's not a laughing matter. A news story recently highlighted the kindness of a New York police officer in giving an apparently shoeless vagrant an expensive pair of shoes. What a wonderfully caring gesture of generosity. The man was back, sitting on the sidewalk, in front of a shoe store, the same place he was given the shoes, barefoot again. When asked where his new shoes were, he said he hid them because they were worth a lot of money. Then he went on to say that he "wanted a piece of the pie" because his picture was in the media without his permission. Makes a person kind of wonder about the people in this world. Such an honest and sincere gift was answered with such obvious dishonesty and greed.

Who made the police officer so generous, kind and considerate?

Who made the vagrant so selfish and greedy?

Some would say the officer was simply being an enabler.
Some would say the vagrant was simply a victim of an oppressive society.
Some would say it is a clash between good and evil.
Maybe the Devil made them both do it.

The truth of the matter is that the responsibility for the actions of both men lies withing themselves.

The officer offered a gift because he's a special person and chose to share his world with someone who appeared to be in need. No one "made" him do it.
The vagrant took the gift and used it for a different purpose than what it was intended and chose to remain shoeless because it got him the attention he desired. Obviously wearing shoes defeated whatever his goal in life is. No one "made" him do it.

That, to me is a good lesson in life. It's not them or it that makes us do things in most life situations. It's us making choices. It's when we don't like the consequences of our own decisions that we stoop to pointing fingers and blaming others. And yeah, I find myself doing that sometimes. It's part of the human condition But even then, it's "The Devil" that makes me do it.

Let's choose to have a happy day and take comfort in wearing shoes.....................Joe

Gasoline prices and elections

Having voted in several presidential elections I've gotten to see some of the trends that present themselves around election time. Case in point: Gasoline prices!

Do you ever get the feeling we are being played? There is the OPEC thing that's been around since the late 60s or early 70s with certain suppliers controlling the faucet of oil supplies in their petroleum rich areas. Squeezing the hose to bring up the price gets more money into their coffers. Good business sense they call it. Then, on a regular basis we have to deal with unstable governments of oil suppliers and the on again, off again liquid energy spigot. When we import so many gallons upon gallons of oil each day there are so many variables it's mind boggling. The feeling of being played doesn't come from them though. Those elements aren't really predictable are they except that uncertainty is itself guaranteed. What I mean is the gasoline prices at election time.

What was gasoline a year ago per gallon, maybe $3.90? But at that time no one was involved in a battle for the presidency with the cost of gasoline as a huge issue to the average driver. Who exactly controls the prices is simply not open to the public. There are so many doors and dummy corporations we'll probably never know. There are also so many excuses as to why the prices shoot up around traveling holidays and after elections it would be hilarious if it weren't for the huge hole it leaves in our wallets.

I don't know enough to point fingers and place blame, or if it even is a control issue. But, facts present themselves in a way that makes me wonder. I wonder of more is in play here than supply and demand. Is there someone behind the curtain like in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? Oh yeah, I almost forgot last year $3.90, as high as $4.10 around here, now, a few short weeks before the election: $3.20 and probably going down. Just like the last election! Why do you suppose that is?

History class one-O-one

You can't go back to the past.

Over time, children's TV cartoons have evolved to, in part bring down the level of violence. Mighty Mouse was always doing big timer damage to villains, Penelope somebody had a bunch of crooks as her protectors and Wiley Coyote wrought terror upon the helpless desert habitating Road Runner. On the retail side, pop guns, cork shooting rifles, cap loaded revolvers and bows and arrows are so totally avoided so as to not put the tools of violence into little Billy's hands and create anti social behavior. Cartoons most often in recent years have become a horse of a different color. Cute, non violent, complete equality and so obviously non argumentative. Powder puffy, soft, calming colors, low voices, big eyes,  able to show emotions at a single word, apologetic and unconditionally forgiving. All this change coming about because the theory is the old cartoons showing the battle between good and evil confused the little minds of our kids. How's that working for us?

Clothing is changing too. Now that our kids are so much more mature at a much earlier age modesty is considered old fashioned and stifling to imaginations filled with all those mature ideas of dressing up like their older "equals". Walt Disney brought us the Mousketeers for our safe amusement half a century ago. Fun, innocent and entertaining while maintaining an element of modesty and good taste. To the point of using constricting undergarments so as to not overemphasize the bust of blossoming teenagers. Parents could safely allow kids to watch without supervision to explain the stuff about sex. Today's kids are way too smart to give that much fun a second look.

School dances at one time were having all sorts of difficulties because the guys would make themselves sick drinking a bottle of Coke straight down without swallowing or the girls would get caught with too much make up. Gum on the school grounds was considered a huge problem. The more mature, well adjusted and informed teens of today don't even mess with that kid's stuff. They only dress revealingly enough so as to validate their sexual prowess they learned so much about in class, dance as if they were about to pro-create and speak with a four letter word category I never even knew existed.

Cap guns are scarce but paint ball guns and soft air rifles resembling assault rifles and machine guns are sold everywhere.

You can't go back in history. All of those changes were made to help us live in a better, less violent society. How's that working out for us?

Going too far, too fast, not so good.

I love my bicycle. Riding it is one of pure enjoyment for me. Last weekend, although I felt a bit tired, the length of the trip seemed very managable right up to the end. I didn't really feel anything as far as discomfort until Wednesday. I took short rides during the week of perhaps a couple miles to stay in shape. Some discomfort there but nothing I felt was out of the ordinary. This morning however, I rode close to 15 miles and my legs turned to rubber just like they did on my first stage of the around Lake Michigan experience. All sorts of things are running through my mind, rashional or not it's like a steady stream of goofy stuff: Didn't I warm up enough? Did I mess something up big time last weekend? Is this part of the aging process? Am I drinking enough water or sport drinks? Was it too cool in the early morning darkness for my muscles to stretch properly? I think you get the idea. I'm still in the learning process. I don't know everything yet about my personal endurance capabilities. I think there is a good chance I simply over did and I have to ease my way back into riding again. Some challenges have arisen of late and I'm not quite sure if I can put any more miles in this weekend but I know for sure if I do I'll stop to rest way more often and try to tune into my inner self and when it's telling me to back off, rest or stop entirely for the day. The trip will happen. There is no immovable time line here. If I over extend myself it will take even longer. It's much too enjoyable to make stupid mistakes like that. Being a whole lot younger and having way more time available, walking around almost 50 years ago was a huge success. In order for this to succeed I have to remember those advantages are no longer in effect. In their exuberance, "Mature" people can sometimesa forget that. I am living proof. Ouch, I have to go rub my legs with Ben-Gay. Later.............Joe

Getting on with everything

If a person expects to get on with life on a regular basis they just better get used to jumping hurdles. That's been my experience anyway. I'm not saying I always enjoy those pesky hurdles, I'm just saying I have to expect them. Sure as I'm sitting here looking at the screen, in a short time something I hadn't planned on will happen.

Hurdle number one: Ever since Monday past my inbox has been filled with spam and advertising of huge proportions never before seen on my computer thereby slowing down my server to a snail's pace. I am grateful for my security system or I'd be off the air.

Hurdle number two: I jumped on my trusty bicycle, pushed down on the pedal to get it moving and busted the pedal bolt. Luckily I didn't injure myself except for a minor ankle scrape. My goodness, I could be talking in a much higher voice instead. By chance I had a spare pedal and bolt on hand.

Hurdle number three: A well meaning friend saw a loose wire hanging down from the front bumper of my car and attempted to stuff it back up into the light socket. Unfortunately, the wire was live and shorted out my lighting system. One wire at a time I am slowly replacing those that burned up.

Actually, I think you are getting the gist of things. You know what I mean. Life is not necessarily a bowl of cherries nor a bouquet of roses. Even so, cherries can spoil and roses die quickly. We have to be ready and able to tackle hurdles and keep moving along grabbing for all that is good. Which brings me to my continuing opportunity concerning the lack of time to ride that bicycle so I stay in shape to complete my expedition around Lake Michigan. Mornings see me at work early and evenings see me taking care of at home responsibilities late into the evening. Hence even riding back and forth to work has been sporadic at best. Walla! I keep the bike by the door of my shop and when I have a little time I ride back and forth up and down my street. I am beginning to know the sights well enough to recite them verbatim but at least I'm getting some wheel time. Just typing this it appears rather boring but in actuality it is quite exhilarating and somehow makes me feel as though I am a little kid getting away with something. Some people call it making lemonade if you are given lemons. Call it what you will but I am determined to get around that lake. Just bear with me and we'll share the ride.

You can't be anything you want

I had to laugh at a comment I heard during a public service announcement yesterday: "In America you can be anything you want to be if you want it bad enough!" They were talking about the arts, music, being a politician and even sports. Anything is within your grasp! Yeah, right! The world, let alone this country is filled to overflowing with people that had high aspirations, worked their butt off and wound up disappointed and broke. I think the thought behind the comment is admirable. No doubt a lot of well meaning folks want to inspire our younger generation and prod them into action regarding their future. I admire that part. The truth of the matter is that we can't all be what we want to be, even through hard work and dedication. More accurately, in my humble opinion we all have the opportunity to be the best that we can be in whatever situation we find ourselves in. I once tried to be an insurance salesman. My intentions were admirable, I wanted everyone to provide for their families in the event of premature death. I worked night and day, studied constantly, talked to 5 or 10 prospects a day and wrote hundreds of policies. I went broke! I really, really wanted to be the best insurance salesman in the world. I simply didn't have the talent for it. A guy I worked with at the same agency worked the same hours I did, studied as much as I did, talked to as many prospects as I did, wrote a few less policies than I did and to this day he is one of the most successful and financially well off insurance salesmen in this part of the country. It takes more than desire, dedication and hard work. I firmly believe each of us has a certain set of unique qualities and in order to succeed we have to match those qualities with what we set out to do.

In the mentoring process I was involved in for over 25 years one of the hurdles so many young men had to overcome was false hope based on blindness to their own abilities and limitations. Being young and ambitious is a wonderful thing. Being full of ambition and using it to attain the impossible is quite another. One of my favorite, all time great athletes is Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers. When he was on the triple A team, West Michigan White Caps he played as a catcher and did rather well. Enough to get noticed and signed by the Tigers. Then they changed his position to third base. I don't know how Brandon felt about changing positions but soon he became Hall of Fame quality as one of the best third basemen I have ever seen. Not just rather well but extraordinary. He's still played catcher from time to time but he is Mr. Baseball at third base. In a way, his position at third base became what he wanted to be in the first place.

I would like to encourage everyone to excel in something. But that something may not be what they dreamt of. Some of us can live out their dream but all of us can live happily by accepting ourselves and being the best we can be at whatever it is we are doing at the time. I'd like you to think about this: Look at the people living in the public eye. Actors, musicians, politicians and sports figures. If you listen to them they are living a dream. Money, prestige, praise and admiration. They have it all, just like the public service announcement I mentioned earlier. If all that was so great, why are so many of them unhappy, take drugs, cheat on their spouses, spend all their money, go broke and constantly do other stupid stuff. Personally, I think I'd rather utilize my unique qualities to the best of my ability, be happy and maintain a sense of integrity.

Yesterday and today

The trappings of life haven't always been like this have they? We've simply gotten used to them. We've changed our perspectives and expectations to accommodate all these new fangled technological contraptions as well as life expectancy and the ease of going about our business each day. When I was very young my folks saw to it that I enjoyed the company and musings of my older uncles after Thanksgiving dinner. Many of my dreams of the future were influenced by their stories of riding horses, hunting for food, warming themselves by campfires, building houses, fighting off wolves or pumas or bears with knives and bare hands and, of course drinking home made rot gut whiskey to keep from freezing when they got stuck someplace in a car in the wintertime. There was a lot of laughter and teasing that went with those stories but the truth was that life grew easier as time went on.

The news keeps us aware of the hardships of our fellow citizens. To be sure the headlines have changed.

On the medical front, vaccines have all but obliterated chicken pox, whooping cough, mumps, small pox and the flu doesn't condor up as much fear as it did only a half century ago. Heart disease is treated with medicines, balloons, stents, transplants and pacemakers. Many diseases that used to kill can now be treated. Yet there is still no cure for the common cold. We live on average years beyond what our recent ancestors did. Elder care is big business now. Aging with dignity is the big news now.

Complaints of only being able to draw unemployment benefits for 96 weeks is all the talk. Whatever will we do? They ask. Social programs may be brought to an end after only four years and that is bringing unheard of hardship to many. There never seems to be enough food for the poor. No matter how much is provided we still read that four out of nine kids goes to bed hungry. We are asked to donate food but only if it is sugar and additive free and a major brand, not the cheap stuff.

The cars we drive only get 31 miles per gallon. The engines only last about 200,ooo miles, they rust out after only about 15 years. The speed limit is too low, the speed limit is too high. We are running out of oil to make fuel. The bus and train services need subsidies because of so few riders. The paved roads aren't quite smooth enough. Gasoline taxes are too high.

The mortgage lenders charge too much interest!
My landlords are mean and want the payment on time all the time!
Everyone but me is getting paid too much!

Hey wait a minute here. Are these really the headlines? Or are they simply reflections of change. Can you remember:
Lining up at the government food surplus building for cheese, powdered milk, rice and flour?
Driving through five foot snow drifts on un-plowed roads with chains on your tires?
Waiting in line at the bus stop hoping it won't be too full and you'll have to wait fir the next one?
Working two jobs at minimum wage or lower to pay the bills?
Making bread and neck bone soup to feed the family for a few days?
Unemployment lasting 13 to 26 weeks-Period!?
Working under the hood of an old broken down car to keep it running to get to work?
Creating wondrous meals using canned meat?
Coal being dumped through a chute into the basement to fuel the furnace?
The ice man bringing a block of ice to keep the icebox and its food cold for a week?
Walking a mile or more to go to school or go to the grocery store?
Police officers walking the beat?
Everyone going "Downtown" at Christmas time to see the decorated windows?
When you were down and out and the only place left to go for help was your church?
Being all excited about the brand new, six inch round, black and white TV the size of a refrigerator?
No electronic toys, just Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Rag and China Dolls, Etch a Sketch was all the rage, cap guns, coonskin caps, BB guns, chemistry sets?
Real Christmas trees or maybe an aluminum silver tree with a rotating light to change colors and Angel Hair thrown on to diffuse the light?
Everyone sitting in the living room on a cold winters night to stay warm around the wood fired furnace that heated the entire house?
Going outside to the outhouse at all times of the day and night in all kinds of weather?
Getting water from one faucet in the kitchen sink and having to prime the pump when it went dry.
Putting pennies on the train tracks to make huge disks from them?
Heating the frozen water pipes in the basement with rolled up burning newspapers?
Not having enough money for Christmas presents and making something out of what you had?
Being alone and broke, sleeping in the basement of a small unheated building on Thanksgiving and again on Christmas, using newspapers for covers?

I guess not much of this was particularly headline news was it? No particular reason to relive any of it either. But those things did happen to a lot of people. Those people became strong and survived and built the framework for the progress we enjoy today. A reason to be thankful I think. I lived through those things and I believe we will live through what we are faced with today.

Right or wrong accusations

Once again a political figure is being accused (anonymously of course)of an event that happened a long time ago but not reported at the time for some odd reason. I'm not saying it did or did not happen, I'm just wondering why it wasn't reported at the time instead of the women involved accepting money to keep quiet.

Terrible things happen every day and go unreported. Sometimes, it's because it really wasn't as bad as we might think, sometimes it's out of fear, sometimes it's out of a feeling of personal guilt, who really knows except the people involved. On the other hand, in my opinion when it comes to politics we all have reason to question the motives as well as the honesty of the accusers.

Herman Cain is being accused of some sort of sexual harassment that occurred about 15 years ago. Why now? Who is behind this sudden desire to make the record straight? Why was it not such a big deal for 15 years? I wonder just what I'm missing? Kind of like the accusations concerning an appointee for the Supreme Court a while back.

Besides, we had a sitting President that was guilty of sexual discrepencies just a few years ago and aside from a huge amount of lip service nothing ever came of it. Perhaps it was a difference of opinion concerning the definition of sexual harassment. I'm not an expert on the subject I guess.

This whole thing will be aired out in the press I imagine, just like always. We will find out whatever details those in charge want us to know. It will be a matter of perspective as usual. I have determined that this is all just a game pitting one political ideology against another. It really doesn't have anything to do about honesty, only political gain. Right and wrong, true or false are entirely different matters in cases like this.

Pain of unemployment

A television ad designed to promote a pain reliever for arthritis points out that a body at rest, tends to stay at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. I think most of us agree on that premise. From personal experience I would also add that a body in motion, in most cases feels a great deal less pain. Pheromones or something like that. On the subject of pain, extensive research has determined that artificial pain relievers, if used extensively can cause side effects as bad or worse than the original pain. "The cure is worse than the bite." I think the old saying goes.

There are huge numbers of us that are unemployed right now. It can be an extremely painful experience. The government is doing all sorts of things to help make it better. There is a lot of finger pointing as to who is at fault for the prolonged unemployment. According the the news headlines there doesn't seem to be a lot of introspective thought as far as to just what the curative solutions have done to aggravate the situation.

How about if we compare the TV ad for a pain reliever to the cures for unemployment.:

Pain relievers will offer relief so we can start a little at a time to move again and the movement itself will bring more relief so we need less pain reliever which will help our overall health which will help with more movement and so on and so forth. We become as healthy as we can.

Or; Pain relievers will bring us relief and we will continue to rest and sit and rely completely on the pain relievers which will in turn cause more health issues which cause us to move even less and experience even more pain. Our health continuously spirals downward.

We have a the dilemma:

Completely relying on government assistance to survive and waiting for more assistance and becoming more and more bitter and blaming others for not helping.

Or; Accepting our situation and using whatever is available to get ourselves moving in a direction of providing for our own needs through whatever independent means are available, one step upward at a time.

It's only a theory but definitely food for thought. Unemployment can be devastating. There is no pie in the sky, painless answer. But it's amazing what happens when we use our energy constructively.

Snake Oil salesmen

Just because something pops up on your screen when you're using the Internet don't bet on it being legitimate. We all know and understand that right? An ad just flashed across the screen this morning filled with wonderful ways to save money and get cheap financing on homes in "Neraska." Yesterday it was "We have ways you wish need to buys expensive goods less money and save." That one sure got me all ways excited to need.

Long before any of us were born, there were traveling "snake oil" salesmen. They sold alcohol or codeine laced, natural medicines for relief of anything from the miseries to arthritis. In truth, they probably offered some very welcome relief through their numbing affects. At a buck a bottle it was a deal back then. But now, in these days of Nigerian scams running rampant and the news filled with stories of trusted employees getting arrested for embezzlement on an every day basis it makes me wonder. At least a person could probably guess if someone was a snake oil salesman or not. Today with the obscurity of electronic media it's kind of difficult sometimes. And, rest assured if one of us attempts to take advantage of some scheme that promises to get us rich quick we will most certainly be losing way more than a buck.

This all came to a head yesterday when an acquaintance showed me a copy of the email he just received stating he won an Irish sweepstakes lottery he hadn't even entered. It was almost a miracle because he could sure use the cash right now. All he had to do was send $1400 to this special tax account to pay the taxes due and they will transfer the $1,560,000 into his personal account. "Wow! It sounds too good to be true", I said. He said "yeah it does but sometimes things like this just fall into your lap." We had a real serious talk. I am hopeful he doesn't send the $1400. Quite a few words in the email were misspelled by the way. Just in case you were wondering. And, the bank was in Nigeria. Irish sweepstakes my........................Be vigilant.

Not Knowing

"You Don't Want To Know!"

Most of us have heard that statement when we've asked a sensitive question. I used to be impressed by the seeming concern of the person that wanted to save me from an unknown consequence of knowing the answer. They selflessly shielded me from awful, terrible, unspeakable disaster. "If I tell you I'll have to kill you." Is a similar term but is most often used in jest for some laughable situation. I'm beginning to think maybe both terms are just a laughable.

Something strange happens to someone and they die, "What happened?" we ask. "You don't want to know!"

Someone tells a tale of an encounter with aliens. "What did they look like?" we ask. "You don't want to Know!"

Our car breaks down, "How much will it cost to fix it?" we ask. "You don't want to know!"

Your teenage child returns home at 4am. "Where have you been?" we ask. "You really don't want to know!"

Politicians talk about sacrifice. "How much sacrifice?" We ask. Again, "You really, really don't want to know!"

Kind of reminds me of another old adage that I found not to be accurate. "What you don't know can't hurt you." Yeah, right! Where is this little conversation taking us?

"You Don't Want To Know!"....................Joe

Book marketing, Japan's trials

I just recieved an offer to market "Joe's Story: The Book of a Lifetime" from a professional advertising firm. for a mere $2300.00 Joe's Story would be put out there for thousands of people to see. Then, when one of those thousands purchased a copy of Joe's Story the promotional folks would recieve an additional commission. There is, of course no guarantee of sales. Looks kind of good at first. I'm caught up in earning a living and have precious little time to promote and market Joe's Story, as good a book as it is. Such is life. I'd like to get the word out there. Here is the catch 22. Even if I could afford the $2300.00, the commission on each sale comes to $1.46 more than I earn per copy from my publisher. I don't think it's such a good idea after all.

I have always admired much of the Japanese culture. Their sense of determination and engenuity has brought them up to being the third largest economy in the world. And to think there are 128 million people crammed onto such a small area. What a terrible experience it must be following the earthquake and the resulting Tsunami. The devastation is unfathomable to me. I remember the awful mess when New Orleans was flooded and almost wiped off the map. I also remember the civil turmoil and subsequent raping and looting there too. Yesterday, watching the media coverage in Japan I found it interesting and inspiring that, so far in all of Japan there has not been a single account of rape or looting. The lines waiting for the meager food and water rations were quiet and orderly. I wonder if there is a lesson to be learned here. I pray for all of them.

Spring is arriving more and more each day around here. Phew! .................Have a good one.

P.S. Spell check is not working, please excuse any errors.

Entrepreneur lessons and advice

Being an entrepreneur isn't easy. Nine out of ten new entrepreneurs go out of business in the first three years and half of those go out of business in the next two years. I am an entrepreneur, I started my business in 1960. I almost went out of business a half dozen times since then. Some say that I should have. It took a great deal of personal commitment to keep the doors open. I'm not special, I'm just like thousands of other entrepreneurs that do whatever it takes to get the job done.

When you are the foundation of a business it is a huge responsibility and requires a do or die attitude. In one particular year several of my customers went bankrupt, taking with them a quarter of a million dollars of the fruits of my labor. I remember well what the president of one of the largest corporations said to me when he handed me the bankruptcy forms, "Don't take it personal, it's just business." I had to go home and tell my family that everything we had worked for in the past is gone and everything for the next 19 years is already taken. You can bet your bottom dollar I took it personal.

I consider myself honored to be among the small group of successful entrepreneurs. I thank the people in my life that told me that if I was to succeed I'd have to get used to sacrifice. They weren't lying! When the accountants said it couldn't be done, I found a way. When my competitors said they'd beat me into the ground and run me out of business, I survived on my terms. The cost? When many of my friends were taking vacations I worked, I went 33 years without a real vacation. When a lot of my friends were working forty hour weeks with paid sick days and benefits, I worked eighty to ninety hours a week with no sick days and no benefits.

The rewards? My company is still growing and has survived the economic downturn. I look forward to going to work every day. I am a happy dude. Dozens of people have had a job and supported their families while working for my company. Our efforts have helped support the community for many years. It hasn't been easy.

So I offer this advice to present or hopeful entrepreneurs. Go for it! Be prepared for the long hours and hardships and don't give up. It is up to you to make it happen!.............Good luck!

Lesson learned from a kid

The annual Silver Treasure Riddle game becomes 30 this year on November 2nd 2010. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the beginning. Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in some way. I've seen three generations of treasure seekers walk through my door. All of these people have had an opportunity to have a lot of free fun and learn a little more about carbon monoxide poisoning. It's been a lot of fun for me too. I also learned a couple of life lessons along the way. Some of them rather humbling.

I ride a bicycle, a lot. I can be seen all times of the daylight hours riding around somewhere in the Greater Grand Rapids Michigan area. Mostly I am simply another anonymous biker amongst hundreds, once in a while someone recognizes me and says hi. Around here I am also known as the Wyoming Riddler, a name placed on me back in the early 1980's by one of the newspaper reporters that have covered this game over the years. At first I kind of shied away from it. It sounded a little corny, but after a year or two I began to savor the notoriety. Yeah, I'm the Riddler. Felt sort of good. Then it began to go to my head a little too much. I began to feel important instead of being just one of the crowd. Then I learned a lesson from a small child that brought me back to reality.

I was riding along a busy 4 lane street and came to a stop at a red light. A car with heavily tinted windows stopped alongside and the rear window was rolled down about 4 inches. Little fingers folded around the top edge and a set of eyes looks intently at me. The front window rolled down and the woman in the seat asked me if I could pull over and sign an autograph, her daughter had recognized me and I was a favorite TV star of hers. I nodded yes and pointed to a parking lot across the intersection, we met there after the light changed. The woman handed me a small note pad and with my chest stuck out and head held high I wrote, "Have a wonderful day, The Wyoming Riddler" and proudly handed it back to the woman. She read the autograph with a puzzled look on her face. After a moment of apparent confusion she asked, "Why did you write Wyoming Riddler" we thought you were the cook on TV called Mr. Food? It took me a moment to recover and admit that I wasn't and rode off in complete embarrassment. My head deflated as I continued my ride home. Lesson learned!

So here I am, working on the final details of the 30th annual treasure hunt. A little humble in my memories at being able to meet so many wonderful people over the years. Thankfully I've learned that it has little to do with me but more to do with a free game and the coverage of the local and national news media. It's a lot easier to buy hats for a smaller head too............Joe