Aaron-Helfand Archives

Remembering Memorial Day – History, Honor, and Humor

Saturday May 26, 2012

Reading Time: 9 minutes

This post was originally published in 2009, but we thought it still a good way to learn about Memorial Day and share some personal stories. Happy Memorial Day Weekend 2012!
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This weekend, more particularly this coming Monday, May 25, 2009, Americans will “celebrate” Memorial Day. I thought today I would spend a few minutes remembering Memorial Day, with some history, honor and humor.

As a youngster I came to know Memorial Day as May 30th, celebrated really as a day to remember those who had given their life in service to our country. It didn’t really matter what day of the week May 30th occurred, it was a Federal holiday, a day off from school and it meant we would proudly display the American Flag on our home and we would attend a parade. After all I grew up in a military town, just outside San Diego, CA, and my father was a retired Naval officer. These parades weren’t always grand, but they were a nice tradition.

If you would like to learn more about the history of Memorial Day there is a very interesting Library of Congress web page with wonderful information. Two historical items of interest:

1. “In 1971, federal law changed the observance of the holiday to the last Monday in May and extended the honor to all soldiers who died in American wars.”
2. “Protocol for flying the American flag on Memorial Day includes raising it quickly to the top of the pole at sunrise, immediately lowering it to half-staff until noon, and displaying it at full staff from noon until sunset.”
Additionally, I came across a History Channel presentation of the history of Taps and the playing of Taps for our fallen military. Here is the YouTube video.

Memorial Day is to be a day to honor those of our armed services who died during an American War or as a result of an American war. But since my father’s passing in 1979, I always like to honor him on days like Memorial Day and Veterans Day. I have talked about my father, Joseph Eagen, in other blog posts. He led a very interesting life, but what defined his adult life was his commitment to the US Navy. On December 30, 1935, at the age of 17 years 11 months, he completed his Navy enlistment application. He needed his mother’s permission to enlist! Ten months later, on October 13, 1936, his enlistment was approved. For the next 17 years he served and was retired due to a service connected disability on June 30, 1953. The photo shown here is one that I have always loved. My father is the tall one on the right. I believe it was taken in China between July 9, 1937 and November 3, 1938, when he served aboard the U.S.S. Augusta. What I love about this photo is the sheer expression of joy in my father’s sparkling eyes and smile. (By the way, the dark mark on his cheek is just a defect in a very old photo.)

Now you are probably wondering how I could ever remember Memorial Day with humor. Well, this story will take you to a day in my life at Cranmore Mountain Lodge, located in Carroll County, Town of Conway, Village of Kearsarge, New Hampshire. The year is 1987. Our country inn was situated on plus or minus seven acres and our property line went up a hill to abut the property line of the Kearsarge Cemetery. This cemetery is very, very old and it is the type of cemetery that people will often visit to do headstone rubbings.

On this Memorial Day 1987 a lady came to the inn. She introduced herself as a member of the Kearsarge Cemetery Association and she wanted to know if we were aware that our two young sons had been visiting the cemetery with her grandson, Eric. I told her I didn’t know they had climbed the hill to the Cemetery and then she asked me if I noticed that my children were running around outside with many little American Flags in their hands. I told her I had noticed that and that is when she told me that Aaron (6.5 years), Dan (3 years)and Eric (4 years) had “raided” the cemetery and removed all of the Memorial Day flags that had been placed to honor the war dead!

As you celebrate Memorial Day take time out of your weekend to remember those who gave their lives for our country. And let me know how you remember Memorial Day.
P.S. I do not know the names of the other two young men in the photo with my father. Should anyone out there in the world wide web recognize them, please let me know.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Aaron with his Disney t-shirt 1983

We all have “aha” moments. Or better yet, we smack our forehead and say to our self “Why didn’t I think of that?” This morning I had one of those moments. I passed by the television which at the time was tuned to MSNBC. A promo ad was playing for MSNBC’s Sunday Morning show Your Business highlighting uBlanket.

It is such a wonderful idea, great gift for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, showers, retirements…the list is endless and it is a functional, cozy memory blanket – a keepsake that tells a story.

I don’t want you to think or assume that uBlanket is our client. They are not (yet), but I love what they do and I think they have a great business model. Plus, I get a kick out of how simple the idea is. Think about it, or better yet, get up from your computer right now and walk over to your clothes closet or dresser (I am assuming you are at home or imagine you are at home). How many of these “memory or souvenir t-shirts or sweatshirts” do you own? I am going to bet dozens to 100s.

Here’s the thing. Yes, this is a great idea, but it is not original. You know how I know? As I wrote today to Brett Snowden, Co-founder uBlanket.com:

“about six years ago I was sorting through “stuff” with my younger son and we came across a bag filled with little t-shirts that had belonged to my older son. You know the kind of souvenir t-shirts that you buy babies and children when you are traveling, etc? Well, the older son stopped by the house and the younger son handed him the bag and told him to “do something with these shirts!” About four months later I received a package in the mail, a t-shirt blanket quilt made with the little t-shirts! Aaron and a friend had created the blanket.”

But you see, an idea doesn’t have to be original to be successful. It has to be acted upon. You have to think it through, plan it out, and do it! In this case it really seems that Brett Snowden and John Murch are doing it right. They are doing it green and they are helping the homeless, too. You can follow them on twitter @uBlanket and like them on Facebook.

Let me know what you think? Do you have an idea you have been thinking about? Or did you have an idea that you wished you had developed?

Do you see the Disney T-shirt on Aaron’s Memory blanket?

Reading Time: 7 minutes

A great photo to highlight the importance of story! Joann Eagen, Agnes Eagen, Pat Kimball, and Judy Eagen, Winter 1951

I am writing this blog today because Chris Brogan has challenged his readers to write about the “importance of story in your life.” Chris was talking about Don Miller’s latest book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life and from this came the challenge. Apparently if I am timely enough with this post I might receive a free copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. In an earlier post, February 21, 2010, Chris Brogan encouraged his readers to use social media to “Turn your lens on your family. Tell family stories for future generations.”

For those of you who know me (i.e., my immediate family, team members, relatives, friends, previous co-workers, blog readers), I am most generally known as the storyteller. If you give me a subject I can probably tell you a story from my life that relates to that subject. While many may roll their eyes, get the “hook” or give me the old wind-up signal when I start to tell a story, these are the same people who will ask if the yearly holiday letter is ready to mail or have I posted to the Webconsuls’ blog lately.

When I was assigned to be the Saturday morning blogger for Webconsuls I allowed myself the freedom to write about any topic, it did not have to be technical in any fashion. So you can imagine my blog topics have been all over the map.

My father liked to share stories about his life and I liked listening to him tell a good story. Today I am thinking back to couple of years ago when I shared with my two sons a letter that had been written by my father in 1950.

The day I shared this was Father’s Day 2008 and since my father had passed away in 1979 neither of my sons had the opportunity to know my dad. I decided that I would send a copy of this letter to Aaron and Daniel, so that they might have some insight into their maternal grandfather, Joseph Raymond Eagen. The letter was written to my mother on December 16, 1950, addressed from Hungnam, Korea. My father was aboard the USS Kaskaskia. According to Wikipedia “During December she arrived off Hungnam to service ships engaged in evacuation operations in that area. Throughout the harsh winter months, Kaskaskia continued vital fueling missions between Japan and Korea.” If you choose to read the letter it is here. Just click on each jpg and they will enlarge.

Daddy’s letter, page 2

Daddy’s letter, page 1

Happily both Aaron and Daniel enjoyed reading my dad’s letter. Aaron referred to it as “fascinating” and Daniel called it “amazing, like nothing I ever read before.” A story well received, all brought about because my brother, Michael Eagen, found the letter, created jpgs, emailed me the letter and I was able to email it to my children. Fabulous.

I must tell you that if you read the letter you will know that my dad talks about buying and mailing some special jackets. Daniel wanted to know if I still had the jacket! Well, I don’t, but I do have a great photo of me with my sisters and Pat Kimball. Now you know the story behind the photo at the top of today’s post.We are all wearing our “jackets”. It is Winter 1951.

So this is today’s important story. Enjoy! And, by all means, let me know what you think of it.

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Lately I have been reading a lot on-line about customer service, particularly about social media and customer service. You may have followed a few news stories that covered how someone’s tweets very quickly managed to get the attention of a large company. Then recently Chris Brogan discussed “guest experience design” and he followed up by touching on another new catch phrase “experience facilitators” (you might think “hotel concierge”). All of these discussions really are about marketing: marketing our businesses, marketing ourselves as employees, marketing ideas to our employers, marketing ideas to and for our clients, the list goes on. As I thought about all of this, it occurred to me that I would give you my take on “Guest Experience Design” and it might be fun to look back on some national advertising campaigns and see how effective these have been as “experience facilitators” over the years. This will be a multi-post personal walk down memory lane, because like the Meg Ryan’s character in “You’ve Got Mail” said: “Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”

Disney Resorts and Windows 7
Today I am going to combine two national advertising campaigns: Disney Resorts and Microsoft’s Windows 7. I am a consumer of both and; therefore, an expert of sorts. Have you seen the latest Microsoft Media Campaign? It is “Windows 7 Was My Idea!”

This is a very clever ad campaign, but did you ever think that if Windows 7 is a commercial failure, like Vista was thought to be, Microsoft will have all of us to blame? All of the consumers that submitted suggestions, complaints, ideas, will be doing battle with thst MAC guy! Microsoft is trying to reach the people, the consumers, and thank them for their input on the ultimate guest experience design.

Now you are probably wondering how this campaign ties into Disney Resorts. I like to think that Disney’s Fastpass was my idea. Historically I have been visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, California since 1955. My parents would drive us from San Diego, before Interstate 5 existed, when Orange County was really all orange groves. But there came a time in April 1994 when I visited Disneyland with Dennis (my husband), Aaron and Dan (our sons then 13 and 10) and my mother-in-law (then 82). In those days the Disneyland entrance had a huge sign that said “The Happiest Place on Earth”. As a little girl, as a teen-ager, even as a young adult I never gave those words a second thought, but on April 17, 1994, I knew I was not in the happiest place on earth. The park was so crowded and really congested that one had to wait anywhere from 45-90 minutes to take a ride. In six hours we managed to ride four of the major rides and my children turned to us and said “can we leave now?” When we returned home from our long planned vacation I wrote a letter to the Magic Kingdom. I didn’t yell, scream, or belittle the Disney staff, I didn’t even ask for my money back. I calmly told them my story. I opened with this sentence: “On April 17, 1994, Disneyland was not the happiest place on earth.” I pointed out to them that my mother-in-law was in a wheelchair sitting in the shade of a tree by the Matterhorn, waiting for us to disembark from the Matterhorn, when suddenly a man fell out of the skyway ride and into the shade tree! The day went downhill from there. My overall approach was not to just complain about the crowds, but to offer a solution. I suggested that Disneyland consider controlling the number of tickets sold per day, similar to a National Park (Yosemite) or any concert/special event venue. Then everyone would be able to enjoy that which they had perhaps saved for a lifetime to enjoy. About two weeks later I received a very nice letter from Disneyland. They thanked me for my suggestion and asked me to send them a copy of my receipts for all that we had spent at Disneyland that day. I sent them the receipts, two weeks later I received a gift certificate in the amount of $350 and in 1999 Disney’s virtual queuing Fastpass was introduced. So you see I like to think that the Fastpass was my idea and maybe in some small way my ideas did matter to Disney. I like to think so.

Final thoughts and questions
In today’s world I might have tweeted about my Disney experience in the moment and Disney would probably jumped right on my Tweet. But would they have had the opportunity to think through a resolution that would improve the experience for every potential guest? What do you think? Do you work on your “guest experience design”? Do you facilitate your guests’ experience? Does the design control the guest’s experience or does the guest’s experience control the design?

Daniel, The Beast, and Judy April 17, 1994

Reading Time: 9 minutes

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, November 28, 2009, I finally received eight Google WAVE invitations to distribute! But before I distribute them I thought I would share some of my observations about Google WAVE and some links to interesting articles about it as well.

Thanksgiving has come and gone this year. I hope you had a peaceful holiday. It seems Thanksgiving Day is always a day filled with various conversations that take place as dinner is being prepared and while one is waiting for the next football game to start. This Thanksgiving was no exception at our home, but now I am wondering how many families stopped long enough to engage in a conversation about Google Wave. That’s right. You read correctly. We actually had a brief conversation about Google WAVE. I think it was Aaron who asked the question: “Ok, I waved, is anybody going to wave back?” To this Daniel grinned and said that he, too, had noticed that it doesn’t seem to do a lot of good if you wave and no one waves back. What is with that? We collectively wondered aloud!

I received my invitation to Google WAVE on November 12, 2009, but I have been reading about it since May 28, 2009, when Google announced the WAVE to the world at its I/O developer conference. A follow up post on May 31, 2009, was even more interesting, particularly the comments by Yefim Natis. I was encouraged to sign-up to be a Google WAVE beta tester on July 22, 2009. But I believe I didn’t follow up on that suggestion, as I was busy working on a number of Webconsuls’ projects at the time. So when the big day came, September 30, 2009, I did not get one of the 100,000 original invitations. But that does not mean that I didn’t follow the WAVE’s progress along the way. On October 19, 2009, I enjoyed reading a TIME Magazine piece by Lev Grossman, Google Wave: What’s All the Fuss About?

I think it was shortly thereafter that I began to really think about the WAVE. Some press was good and some press was negative, was the WAVE alternately and literally at its crest and ebb with each passing day? A friend questioned why I was not in a rush to be part of the WAVE. My immediate answer was really twofold and it continues to take shape, even now that I have my invitation and can send invitations to my friends.
Here are my thoughts:

1) I spent about eight years in an IT department where part of my job description included Quality Assurance, either directly or in a supervisory position. Quality Assurance or QA, as it is known in the business, is a very fancy name for being a TESTER. Test the system until you can break it! I believe the average pay for a QA with a few years experience is somewhere between $45,000 and $60,000. Now, let’s multiply $50,000 X 100,000 beta testers for Google WAVE. What you must understand about QA and what Google figured out a long time ago is this: Testing has a way of sucking you in…not unlike a rip current! It is hard to stop, once you start. And many people want to be able to say they were in on the ground floor of this WAVE. Be assured Google is good about listening to your comments (“test defects”), as they are anxious to have a good product. They will make you feel “valuable”, albeit you are an unpaid volunteer.

2) While I love the beauty of the ocean, as a youngster I had many bad experiences with rip currents. Growing up in Southern California the beach becomes part of your life, but it can mean certain death. Therefore, the word WAVE has not always had a pleasant connotation. Let’s think about it: tidal wave (OMG), permanent wave (ugly hairdos), microwave (makes you sterile if you are not careful), brain wave (you hope you have them, but it is bad news if people are looking for them), rogue wave (think The Perfect Storm), wave of nausea (TMI), heat wave, cold wave, seismic wave, good-bye wave (almost always sad).

As I close today, I invite you to read a few more articles:

Why Google Wave Sucks and Why You Will Use It Anyway

Google’s Infinite Strip

And…I want to share with you a YouTube video about the Laguna Beach Greeter (notice it is not the Laguna Beach waver). There was a time when the only road to travel between San Diego and Los Angeles was the Pacific Coast Highway. One of my most vivid childhood memories was riding along PCH with my family and seeing Eiler Larsen, the greeter who welcomed all who traveled through Laguna Beach until 1975. He waved his hand…it was a good WAVE.

As always, let me know what you think and leave a comment if you want an invitation.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

I got up this morning and to tell you the truth I really didn’t know what to post about today. The week has been busy working with clients, Dan is rafting this weekend, Aaron returned from his vacation, our client Jason Ackner stopped in for a visit – it is fun to meet our clients “face to face”, it is nice to receive happy news from Facebook friends (Deb and Dan Fischbein’s oldest son Josh is getting married today and Scott and Elyse (Wolf) Davidson returned to the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company to perform in “Hello Dolly” directed by Andrew Glant Linden with assistant Bev Brennan and receiving rave reviews), we had a terrific rainstorm in Tucson yesterday about 3:00PM, and now it is Saturday morning. I happened to read an article this morning from Time.com which had to do with the President and the First Family taking a vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, specifically Oak Bluffs, and of course I thought back to my one and only trip to Martha’s Vineyard. I think I once sent a postcard from Oak Bluffs. If I didn’t, I should have.

It was 1991. On April 1st Dennis and I decided to take a few days off from the inn and travel to Cape Cod with our good friends, Gerry and Elaine McManus (by the way we still hear from Elaine; however, she and Gerry divorced around 1996 – see their photo below taken by me on this trip). I believe we were trying to celebrate Gerry’s birthday. What we didn’t realize was this: in those days most of Cape Cod is still not really “open for the season”. But off we went and after stopping at the local Chamber of Commerce we actually found a nice hotel on the water called the Ocean Club on Smuggler’s Beach South Yarmouth. By about the third day of our adventure and after seeing two movies, Dances with Wolves and Sleeping with the Enemy, we thought we would take a ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard. Again, we soon learned that you don’t just show up to take a ferry ride. You need to plan this if you intend to take a vehicle with you to Martha’s Vineyard. So there we were at Woods Hole and we decided with our ‘devil may care’ attitude to board one of The Steamship Authority’s ferries that did not carry vehicles and did not have restrooms!

Elaine and Gerry on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard

When we inquired of the ferry staff how to find the restrooms they advised us that we would need to wait until we arrived in Vineyard Haven. And so we arrived, but the public restroom on the dock was closed for renovations. People on the dock directed us to The Black Dog (a well known restaurant); however, they were not open yet for the season! So we decided to walk into the town, as certainly some establishment would allow us to come in and use their restrooms. No luck. The businesses were either closed or emphatic we could not come in and use their restrooms. We walked further until Gerry said he would not continue on this “forced march”. At that point Gerry and Dennis hailed a passing taxi. The driver stopped asked us where we wanted to go and our response was: “Take us anywhere on this island where we can use a restroom and have a meal.”

Next stop: Oak Bluffs. I remember how friendly the taxi driver was to us. He took us to a great little restaurant, whose name I cannot recall at the moment. (Funny how your brain can recall the name of the restaurant that was not open, but cannot remember the name of the restaurant that was open and treated us so kindly.) Anyway the taxi driver told us he would come back in a couple of hours and pick us up for our return trip to the Vineyard Haven harbor. And sure enough two hours later we were back in the taxi and on our way.

I enjoyed learning more about Oak Bluffs in the Time article. Wonderful interesting history. So today as the First Family prepares to spend a few August days in Oak Bluffs, I will remember fondly my few hours there some 18 years ago!

Reading Time: 8 minutes

So here we are with another one of those 40th anniversary Saturdays. Were you at Woodstock 1969? I am going to save you a lot of reading time. I was not at Woodstock 1969, but you all know I am old enough to have been there. It so happens that Woodstock took place in Bethel, New York, and at that time I lived in San Diego, California. I couldn’t travel to New York; I had to go to work every day for Wells Fargo Bank. But all this aside I would like to take just a few minutes today to honor the memory of Woodstock and, yes, I do have a friend who was at Woodstock and indeed performed at Woodstock!

We all either knew about the music festival or soon learned about it when 500,000 people showed up and the media decided to pay attention, most of us could not really appreciate the magnitude of this festival until the Academy Award Winning documentary “Woodstock”* was released March 26, 1970 (this film has been remastered and re-released in June 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary). Keep in mind the average 20 year old could not easily travel to New York State for a three day festival. There was no way to purchase tickets on-line or even by phone, in fact according to Wikipedia, the “ticket sales were limited to record stores in the greater New York City area, or by mail via a Post Office Box at the Radio City Station Post Office located in Midtown Manhattan.”

Over the years I have often thought back to that weekend. I remember sitting in the clubhouse of my apartment complex in the Hollywood Hills. It was then 1977 and in walked Richie Havens and he sat down next to me and introduced himself. Wow! Who will forget Richie Havens singing “Freedom”? But much later, actually around 2002, I had the pleasure of meeting Dallas Taylor. You might remember Dallas. He was the drummer for Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) and yes, he played at Woodstock. Dallas authored a book Prisoner of Woodstock. As mentioned on Amazon, Taylor provided the backbeat for some of the brightest stars of the Sixties and Seventies, most notably Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, with whom he performed at Woodstock. For more than 25 years Dallas has spent his time helping others find recovery. Last summer, Dennis and I enjoyed seeing Crosby, Stills and Nash on their Summer 2008 tour. It was quite the evening sitting in an open air arena with our oldest son, Aaron, enjoying great music and memories.

Prisoner tells two tales: one of Taylor’s successes and failures in the rock music business, and the other of his struggle with drug addiction.” Dallas has been our friend and client for many years and now with almost 25 years of sobriety Dallas continues to work with the music industry with Music Cares.

I have one more anecdote about Woodstock. I opened this blog by telling you I was not there, but I actually knew someone who was there; however, I also know someone who lived in New York City at the time, was 20 years old, had tickets to Woodstock, started the drive to Bethel and when he got stuck in traffic he decided to turn around and go home! (Of course, this may be an urban legend, but this person is Dennis’ first cousin.)

Sit back, take a break, rent the movie or in the meantime I invite you to watch a YouTube video of CSN Woodstock 1969

If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here.

*Roger Ebert once said: “Woodstock is a beautiful, moving, ultimately great film. It seemed to signal the beginning of something. Maybe it signaled the end. Somebody told me the other day that the 1960s has “failed.” Failed at what? They certainly didn’t fail at being the 1960s. Now that the period is described as a far-ago time like “the 1920s” or “the 1930s,” how touching it is in this film to see the full flower of its moment, of its youth and hope. The decade began with the election of John F. Kennedy and ended as the last bedraggled citizens of Woodstock Nation slogged off the muddy field and thumbed a ride into a future that would seem, to many of them, mostly downhill.”

Any thoughts?

Reading Time: 6 minutes

It was the summer of 2000, our son Aaron was working at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge (known at that time as the Cowboy Village Resort) in the Togwotee Pass, on the Continental Divide, just north of Jackson Hole, WY. Dennis and I decided to take a road trip to visit Aaron and we invited our good friends, Arnold and Joyce Glassman, to go with us. I’m sharing this story with you today because it is Saturday and today Arnold and Joyce are coming from California to spend a few days with us. As I await their arrival I thought back to that crazy road trip when I read She’s Come Undone in the back seat of the minivan.

We left California on August 17, 2000. It was a long road trip, 2042 miles round trip. We covered a lot of ground and found ourselves at our final destination, elevation 9658 ft, enjoying views of the Grand Tetons and learning to horseback ride, again. When the trip started, I announced to my fellow travelers that I was going to keep copious notes of our adventures. I got into the rear seat of the minivan, arranged my notebook and pen, and then from my tote bag I retrieved my copy of Wally Lamb’s bestseller She’s Come Undone. Have you read it? It was the Oprah’s Book Club selection for January 1997, and according to Wikipedia “She’s Come Undone explores a feisty but troubled young woman’s journey through her suburban New England existence.” I know it may sound a little dull, but believe me it is the kind of book you just don’t want to put down. The main character, Dolores, was born in 1952, and the story begins when she is about four. Since I was born in 1949 many of the story’s historical references are familiar, particularly the parochial school experiences of the 1960s.

Well, as I said, I don’t have a lot of time today. If you are wondering what happened to my “copious notes”, it so happens I still have them. In fact, just last night I was re-reading them. You might wonder why I never published them. Good question. Answer: Arnold threatened to sue me! I am not sure how serious he was, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

Typical conversation between Arnold (driver) and Dennis (riding shotgun).
Dennis: “We are going to turn right on Rt 12.”
Arnold: “Thanks for telling me, that is 60 miles away!”

Here are your action items for today: plan a trip to the Togwotee Pass or sit back and read She’s Come Undone. Either way you won’t be disappointed.

Arnold, Joyce and Dennis enjoying Bryce Canyon National Park

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Click on photo to enlarge.

This is a photo of a street called “No Name”…just one more highlight from our trip.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Today is July 4th, our federal holiday celebrating 233 years of Independence. While I wish all of you a Happy Fourth of July, I would like to highlight Lady Liberty. Happy 4th of July Lady Liberty!

This July 4th is special for Lady Liberty. For the first time since shortly after September 11, 2001, a limited number of visitors will be allowed to climb the spiral staircase to the crown. Have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty? I will tell you that of all of the majestic places I have visited in our United States, Liberty Island is by far the most awe inspiring, more so than Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite, the Golden Gate Bridge, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, St. Louis Arch, Hoover Dam, Denali, Everglades, Washington, D.C., Arlington National Cemetery. But enough about my travel guide.

I invite any of you who have the opportunity to visit New York City, even those of you who live in New York City, to make time to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. If you are unfamiliar with Ellis Island, it served as a federal immigration station for steamship passengers from 1892 until 1954. But I digress…as you approach Lady Liberty on the ferry you might recall great movie scenes from Titanic, Funny Girl, to name a few…it is amazing.

Beginning this July 4th, 30 people per hour will be allowed to climb up and down the 346-354 (but whose counting) steps to the crown, that is about 250 guests per day. I have never been to the Crown, but my sons have. I believe it was the spring of 1990.

Today I cannot begin to impart all that you can see and learn when you visit both Liberty and Ellis Islands. But you can stay in touch with The Lady, as she does Twitter…and Flickr. She is a social lady!

P.S. If you really want to have some fun, then visit the Ellis Island Foundation and search for your relatives who may have immigrated to the United States through this station.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Happy Father’s Day from Waterville, Maine. As luck would have it, the internet is down today here in Waterville. Who knows why, maybe the non-stop rain. Anyway I asked Judy to send this greeting. Here is a photo of my dad holding me when I was a few hours old. That is my brother Aaron looking on.

This next photo is of me with my dad, Dennis, on the day of my Bar Mitzvah.

Over the years I have listened to Cat Steven’s song “Father and Son.” The words are remarkable and sooner or later I think all fathers and sons can relate. Enjoy this youtube video and Happy Father’s Day.

Dan

If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Exactly one month ago I was on Facebook making a comment to a Webconsuls’ team member. Why I was commenting is not important; however, what I determined in the commenting process was that my team member did not have a US Passport. His exact words were: ‘Last time I left the country I didn’t need a passport, We don’t get out much…’ Don’t get out much? What if you have an emergency? What if you have an unexpected opportunity? The US Passport rules changed effective June 1, 2009. Who needs a US Passport?

The easiest answer to my rhetorical question is every US Citizen should have a US Passport. Effective June 1, 2009, US Citizens now need a Passport (or an enhanced Driver’s License issued by some states) to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 nations in the Caribbean region.

Perhaps you are wondering why I am discussing passports on a Saturday morning. Well, I learned a long time ago that having a passport just makes good sense. In 1981, Dennis had to travel on business to France. Before he left he insisted that Aaron and I get our passports, just in case there were an emergency and we had to travel to France. So 28 years ago this month Aaron and I were issued our first US Passports. (See the photos below).

Now let’s talk about today. Webconsuls has clients in foreign countries and while we have not yet traveled to visit our client in Cambodia or the Bruzzos in Italy, it could happen! Here in Tucson, the owner of La Fuente Restaurant recently asked us to travel to Mexico for an afternoon.

The up shot of my Facebook discussion with my team member is that this week our Tucson neighbor offered us the use of his condo in Rocky Point, Mexico(overlooking the Sea of Cortez). We called our team member and asked him if he wanted to go with us…but alas, no US Passport!

Who needs a US Passport? You tell me….

Reading Time: 10 minutes

Today is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day and this past Monday Americans waited to hear the news of General Motors’ bankruptcy. Yes, the same GM whose industrial power helped our country be on the winning side in WWII. The news of this bankruptcy was startling, even though we have had so many shocking economical events in the past nine months, I feel this news hits a part of us that is not just about the economy, but our life’s memories.

If you read my Saturday post regularly, you know I am not an economist, and I do not have an MBA. I have, although, worked for major US corporations, mainly banks, and in my day was quite proficient in the automobile financing world. But today’s post is not about economics, albeit I am heartsick for all those workers impacted by this latest chapter in the American automobile industry. No, today’s blog is about my memories of GM. And so I say: Good Night GM…Que sera, sera.

For the record, my life’s memories as they relate to automobiles are not just about General Motors’ products. For example, I do remember fondly my mother learning to drive in late 1953. We had what I believe was a very used Plymouth. Then one evening in 1954 I remember my father coming home from work. When he came through the door I ran to him and grilled him, as little ones do, what had he brought us? I expected ice cream, but to my surprise, he smiled and said: “I brought you a new car!” Outside sat a brand new 1954 Plymouth sedan. It was two toned, dark brown and beige. And it was in that car in 1956 that we (our the family of six) traveled from San Diego to Great Falls, Montana, to show off our new baby brother. It was during this trip(I was 6.5 years old) that the magical car radio repeatedly played “Que Sera, Sera,” (the 1957 Academy Award winning song from the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much.)

By the time we reached Montana I had memorized this wonderful song and my father happily had me sing it for his brothers and sisters! Memories.

My days and nights with General Motors began in 1959. My father traded in the 1954 Plymouth and purchased a 1959 Chevrolet Impala. It was two toned (green and white), no accounting for taste. I never cared for the color, but it seemed so fancy. In 1964 my father traded up for the latest Chevrolet Impala, four door, a really big engine, and a pale blue(Purchase price about $3800). He was beside himself. Following the General Motors’ Mantra…my father loved to see the USA in his Chevrolet. In the summer of 1964 our family made another jaunt to Montana and the song of the summer was the “The Girl from Ipanema,” which won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. I believe everyone had a love affair with this car…even Hertz featured this model in their Rent a Car ads in 1964. (I am sure the only reason I saved this ad, which you will see in my Picasa Web Slide show, from my 1965 Hilton Hotel room was because of the Impala.)

The summer of 1967 my parents drove me to college in this ’64 Impala. I wore some flowers in my hair and they dutifully dropped me at the University of San Fransisco and tried to avoid getting lost in Haight/Ashbury on their way out of town!

Here are some car facts about me:
1. Since 1968 through today I have owned 13 vehicles. 41 years…13 vehicles. Two(2) were General Motors products, three (3) were Chrysler products and eight(8) were foreign models.
2. What I love best about my General Motors vehicles is this: In 1980 we brought our new born Aaron home from the hospital in the 1979 Buick Regal and in 1984 we brought Daniel home from the hospital in our 1984 Chevrolet S10 Blazer.
3. In 1997, Dennis and I drove across country with Aaron and Daniel in our 1994 Dodge Caravan…more memories.

My friends know this about me. I am not a car person. I do not care about cars, I hate worrying about vehicle upkeep, I would love to have all of the money I have spent over the past 41 years buying, renting, leasing, insuring, and repairing vehicles. I would happily live in Manhattan, Chicago, or San Francisco and take mass transit. But I will never trade the memories of being brave enough to ride with my mother when she was learning to drive and I was only four, or my father settling in the driver’s seat for a Sunday drive in the country, or road trips to Montana, Las Vegas, Denali, Howe’s Cavern, the Bronx, Washington, D. C…and let’s not forget front bench seats, no seat belts, no A/C, crossing the desert with a canvas radiator bag.

So today, que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. But for some reason I cannot bear to say good-bye to GM. I will remember the great ads, Dinah Shore, and my favorite from 2002.

If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here.

I will say good-night to GM, savor my memories and wait and hope the reinvention is successful.

P.S. Let me hear about your GM memories and enjoy my YouTube video selections and Picasa Web Album.
P. P. S. A good friend just read this blog and he reminded me that in 1960 my father purchased a used 1940 Cadillac mourning car. It had jump seats and held about 10-12 people. It was the real fore-runner in our family for a mini-van. Go to this blog post to read about my dad and see a photo of this crazy car.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

At noon Friday, March 27, 2009, Ticketmaster started selling Phish concert tickets for their August 7 and 8 performances at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. I am told this Amphitheatre holds 20,000 guests. However, I was on Ticketmaster at the appointed time and I was not able to buy tickets to this event. It was sold out within seconds. WANTED: 2 PHISH Tickets, The GORGE, August 7 and /or 8, 2009!

The tickets I am trying to buy have a face value of $49.50 each. So for a two people to enjoy a two day concert, the total ticket price should be $198. Current bids on EBay are up to $700! And if you really want to be shocked, go to eBay’s latest auction venue StubHub. Do a search for Phish George WA. Unbelievable. So much for technology. Keep in mind Phish cautions all fans as follows: “We urge you not to purchase tickets through brokers or “scalpers.” These tickets may be counterfeit in which case you will not only be overcharged but will also likely be denied entry into the show.”

You should know the tickets I am trying purchase are for my oldest son, Aaron. Aaron has been a Phish fan for more years than I know and this week he asked if I would try to purchase tickets for him using my Ticketmaster account. The plan was Aaron would be on one computer, I would be on another and two or three of Aaron’s friends (in other states) would try from their computers. At the appointed time we were all ready…and 5-10 minutes later we all received Ticketmaster’s equivalent to the blue screen of death: “Sorry, no exact matches were found, but other tickets may still be available.”

The annoying thing about this screen message is that Ticketmaster seems to want to deliver a hopeful message. They give you about 4-5 reasons why your purchase attempt may have failed, encouraging you to try again.

Today is Saturday and it occurs to me that life may have been a lot easier when technology didn’t provide false hope. So I will share two photos with you. Aaron listening to some tunes circa 1982 and Aaron showing off his first fish (Phish) 1984, Nome, Alaska.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about buying tickets through Ticketmaster. And, if by chance, you were lucky and got Phish tickets through Ticketmaster and find you can’t use them…leave a comment and I will get back to you.

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Category: Aaron-Helfand

Remembering Memorial Day – History, Honor, and Humor