This is a place where I will be updating any analogies I make....as I was recently called by a prospective client, "The King of Analogies":

4/24/09 - In reference to us not having done a traditional marketing analysis before - "it like a condo builder who builds great condos and he has a friend who wants him to build a 2-story custom home, can he do it and do it right? Yes, has he done it before, not exactly.

5/4/09 - In reference to helping our clients get what they want. Our clients want to go to the beach. They want to have fun and play in the sun and water, but that's all they know. What beach should we take them to? Indiana Beach? Lake Michigan? Maui? Bora Bora? The point is, without research, asking questions and planning, you might end up at a beach, but not the one you really wanted. The same goes for web design. You have to love when clients say they want a new website or they want internet marketing, but don't want to pay for the plan...it is a recipe for disaster!

5/26/09 - Set the scene. My wife is showing our 6 year old daughter why she should be thankful for the food we have. She shows her a picture of a poor, starving african child, who is barley alive, crawling to a UN peace tent to get food, nearly dead mind you, with a vulture lurching in the background waiting for the child to die. I say to her, teaching a kid about why they should be thankful for food is like teaching your teenager about sex by showing them a Jenna Jameson Porno....while effective - it is probably a little over the top!

So my family volunteers every Tuesday at the local nursing home. We usually see the same 3 people, Alverda, Jim and Van(Robert). We have been doing this for the last 9 months or so, for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is to teach our children there is more to life than what they see on TV and at school. Second is to remind my wife and I that there is more to life than what we see at work and home. Thirdly, it is the right thing to do, to give back.

Yesterday was like any other; I was busy. 6:30pm rolled around and I knew I had to leave, but I was still at work, hungry and frustrated that the day went by like a quick thunderstorm (loud and fast.) Yet my iphone kept chirping at me...time to go....time to go. So I reluctantly jumped in my truck, got a quick bite to eat and headed down the road. The nursing home we go to is only a 1/2 mile from my office, so while I was late, I thought it was no big deal. After all, I am volunteering right.

I walked into the home to find Vicki and Maggie already there, Kevin didn't come tonight, but Alverda and Van were there to, no Jim. Alverda is 93. She is always really "Good" (inside joke). She walks with her walker, loves to play Bingo and talk with us. She was born in Indiana and has a couple of great neices, but other than that, no family. She remembers us, but has some other memory problems that come with old age...but for the most part seems happy. Van is in a wheelchair and cannot walk. He is 83 years young, but has Parkinsons Disease. He is funny and just a good ole guy. He loves to talk, eat Baby Ruth's and drink Root Beer.

Jim isn't like the others. Jim is totally imobilized. He is in his early 50's if not late 40's. He has an offshoot of Parkinsons that is REALLY bad...so bad that he can really not do much. When we first met Jim, he was able to go fishing with us and actually reel in a fish. I could understand him, a little, when he spoke and he was eating good. Lately, Jim has gone down hill. Last week I brought him a 3 muskateers and he ate it happily, but he stopped eating everything else.

Back to last night. So when I walked in and saw all the gang, minus Jim, I was slighlty relieved. After all, he is harder to talk to, take care of and quite honestly, it is uncomfortable to be around him. So when I walked in, I almost felt happy he wasn't there. I sat by Van and asked how his week was and he said it was good, not much has happened except that Jim died yesterday. I feel like a schmuk. Life isn't about us. It isn't about "feeling" good all the time. It shouldn't be comfortable and happy 100% of the time. I will miss Jim. I will miss taking him fishing, to the library to type on the computer (looking for a BMW to convert to an electric car) helping him wipe the food from his hands and face, making him feel wanted, human. Yes, I will miss him, and I am sorry that he had to go for me to realize that volunteering isn't about me.

Labels: Volunteer

So while not watching TV yesterday, I picked up the Indy Star and began to read. Page 1 was filled with the typical BIG news stories, the main article of world importance this day was about roller coasters and the theme parks in Indiana.....yep, I am serious.

Hmmm, oh well I thought, and kept cruising through the "A'" section to see if anything else this "jolting" was happening anywhere else in the world, when I came across an small article on in the crease of A7. Now in the crease for real because the fold of the paper actually made the news article impossible to read. As luck would have it, my OCD kicked in and I began to straighten out the paper so I could read the article.

When I went to reproduce the article here for you to read, the Indy Star DOESN'T have the article in it's archives....and this was from yesterday? So then I went to the Internet and found a couple articles on the whole thing....mostly saying, yes, it has been hacked.

a mindless - free flowing rant follows:

All that to say this point. WAKE UP PEOPLE. We are literally being put to sleep each day by our jobs, the media and television. We need to see what is really going on with our lives and the lives of others around us. If we don't act now, we might not have the power to watch our nice TV's. The funny thing is, the article goes on to say that basically, we have been hacked, but nothing has been messed with. OF COURSE NOT! We are being lulled to sleep by our TV, our computers and ipods. The best thing they can do is allow us to keep them on and not worry about their little attempts to bring us into the stone age with them.

Labels: Fat Atom Internet Marketing, Inc. Magazine, Todd Muffley