Alexander Rothbard

Like my grandfather, I am also in sales and feel a special connection to the man who would bring Marlboro out west.  He to me was always confident, he was a man who could sell anything.   He was also a friend of many business men in the Denver area.   I looked up to my grandfather as a hero.  But all heroes have to start somewhere.  This note written by my grandfather illustrates that the first steps are always the toughest.   I have been at that frustration point, where all I saw was failure.  It is comforting to know that a man loved by many had to start somewhere as well.     


 I will have this article in two parts, one part today, and the other part will be published tomorrow, enjoy:

"I Remember the Sale"

By: Alexander Rothbard 

The sale I'll never forget happened a long time ago.  It was my third day as a Philip Morris salesman.  The first two days were a training period, third day I was on my own.  


The assignment slip gave a list of the streets (in a strange city, I asked a million questions as to how to reach my destination.   During the first subway ride I kept thinking and planning how I was really going to sell Philip Morris.


I analyzed my approach, presentation and closing but still no sale.  About 2:00 in the afternoon I hit low ebb--all the enthusiasm gone, my hopes and dreams shattered.    All I could see was failure.  The next stop was a tobacco shop.  I must have looked at the store for 10 minutes, actually fearing another refusal.  Well it had to be and I was desperate.  I walked in and gave no introduction other than I was from the Philip Morris Company.  (Continued Tomorrow)


Poetry Link: Grandfather

Yin and Yang Contemplate

From Greg's Journal of Found Things

The Fumble Heard Around the AFC
the Story of the 1987 AFC Championship

We humans like to take one event from the whole set and make that the truth. We can not tell a likely event from one event, or one piece of data. We need a large sample size to make a statistical likely-hood.

Ernest Byner of the Cleveland Browns statistically never fumbled; but one day in 1987 he fumbled on the 3 yard line redefining his identity forever.

"Browns running back Earnest Byner took a handoff and appeared to be on his way to score the game-tying touchdown. But he was stripped of the ball by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille, and fumbled at the 3-yard line. The Broncos recovered the ball, gave the Browns an intentional safety, and went on to win 38-33. While Byner took a lot of heat from Browns fans and the media for his fumble, what is often overlooked is that he was one of the main reasons Cleveland came so close to winning the game. He had a superb performance with 67 rushing yards, 7 receptions for 120 yards, and 2 touchdowns." Wikepedia Article the Fumble.


If you see one bright red swan, you are not likely to give up a theory that says that all swans are white, you will instead go looking for the person who painted it." Smolin, Lee Trouble with Physics (297)

Wednesday: Going Deeper, Who's the Ape?

We the Zoo Keepers standing in front of the Chimp Cage. The chimps are kept safely from us caged behind titatnium bars. One chimp, Geraldo attempts to hide a banana from the rest of the apes. He goes to the hanging tire and places the banana inside the tube. He grins with triumph. But we know its a matter of time before Harry, Geraldo's arch rival, finds the hidden fruit. We stare in anticipation. Geraldo is affraid that we will give his hiding place away, and growls towards our direction, showing all his teeth. We stare back pointing and grunting. Geraldo growls back in Protest.

Blue Berry Girl: A Poem by Neil Gaiman

I watched last night, before me,
a duckling become an elegant swan.
She stood upright in her sack cloth dress,
Her voice tightened amongst cat calls,
Salivating critics licked their chops,
Thinking, "Oh -Yeah?!
Another: klutzy, untalented, tone deaf, chump!
She opened her mouth in triumph,
her voice flew out fluttering.
With gossamer wings,
wiping tears that appeared in front of my eyes,
Wings wrapped around me and
Whipped the dirt from my frame,
I had seen an ugly duckling,
but now I saw beauty take flight.

Poem by Gregorio Roth

Sometimes it is good to show revision of my writing, the first draft appeared on Polycarp 55 yesterday. Check out the inspiration here: Britains Got Talent.

Enjoy the Tune

Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory tells it like it is... an apology to the first BLACK PRESIDENT!

Life as a Frog!

The squish of mud between your toes; how would you live your life as a frog?

I died, last month. Wow what an ordeal, I thought I would be talking to St. Peter! But... I entered a great hall and Vishnu the great Hindu deities sat on a giant throne, (it was actually a toilet) he beamed a blueish grin. (He had been sucking a blow-pop.)
Vishnu said: "You have been a bad bad monkey. Now I pronounce your new incarnation to be that of a frog."
"Ribbit!" was the only word I could muster, so many other words were in my head, but all I could say was "Ribbit!"

Turtles Naked Answer to a Prayer

Turtle sat curled up in his shell, shivering. He knew it wasn't supposed to be 32 degrees in Lakeland Florida. He could not remember it ever being this cold.
He thought to himself, "Man, any way to get it warmer."

He prayed to God, "Please LORD I am only a little turtle but make it so I wont shiver anymore!"

The LORD answered his prayers: a huge thunderbolt electrified the air and hit the shell, alighting it on fire.

Turtle was kindled by the flame and ran right out of his shell... shivering in the cold January Florida air.

(Moral: Be careful what you pray for, and never pray for patience).