Freedom

Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday.  It is a federal holiday.  Only two other federal holidays are observed in honor of a person…George Washington and  Christopher Columbus.  Columbus Day doesn’t quite seem to fit the mold but so be it.

For over twenty years, I have been attending the Martin Luther King Day observance at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.  Seattle Central Community College, where I was a long-time board member and former board president, has sponsored the event since 1974.  President Reagan made it an official holiday and it was first observed nationally in 1986.  But all 50 states did not recognize it until 2000.  It was a hard-fought battle to create this holiday.  But in Seattle, a city known for its diversity, there was never any question about the impact of Martin Luther King on our society.

Growing up in the 60’s when Reverend King’s star was getting brighter has made me look closer at the importance of this celebration throughout my life.  For me, this has always been about freedom.  Our country was born on this premise and all of us, no matter what race or religion, have experienced freedom, or the lack of it, in some aspect of our lives.

That’s why the Mt. Zion event is always a must-do for me.  It brings thoughts of the freedoms we have in this country to the top of my mind.  There is a formula for the program.  It begins with the playing of Reverend King’s “I have a dream” speech.  Then there is some fantastic music and a chorus that rocks the room.  We hear from and acknowledge many of our elected officials from city, county and state.  And I have to say that those who spoke this year were unusually eloquent and on-target with their comments.

Then come the children with a special presentation of some sort.  This year, it was a dramatic reading inspired by Dr. King’s famous speech.  I tell you, when the bus driver told Rosa Parks she would have to move for the white passenger that just boarded and those kids said “NO!”, you felt it all over your body.

More music and singing and then an inspirational speaker.  This year is was Nate Miles from Spokane and now an executive with Eli Lilly.  He had more valuable messages than you can count and he related his life to every one of them.   He spoke directly to the kids about how to deal with bullies and to all of us about how to help the children who are our future.

He even gave us some trivia.  Did you know that the “I have a dream” speech was not what Dr. King was giving as he began to talk on that well-known day on the mall in DC.  He had given that speech before and now he was talking about ways to get DC politicians to pay attention to jobs for all.  The famous gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was behind Dr. King and, if you listen closely in the background, she says “Martin, tell them about your dream. They want to hear about your dream.”  He changes the speech in the middle and turns it into “I have a dream.”  What a fortunate bit of stage direction that was.

A community college student is then awarded a scholarship in the name of Reverend Samuel McKinney, retired pastor of Mt. Zion and an important community leader.  Reverend McKinney makes the award and finally then leads us all, after joining hands, in a few choruses of “We shall overcome”.

Freedom for all is a goal that is not easily achieved.  This country has been working on it for over 200 years.  We’re still taking tiny steps.  This celebration of the life of a man who wanted equality and freedom should at least make us think about how important each of us are in the process.  I hope you’re reading this tomorrow after taking today off and thinking about where we are all headed and looking for ways you can help.  Everyone can make a difference.

Veterans Day Buzz...Part 2

On Space Race 2012 announcement day, Buzz was “on” and in his element.Television was out at the Needle shortly after 5:00 am.The story got moving overnight and we were getting calls from all over the country throughout the morning.When Buzz arrived, there was quite a stir.We needed stantions to contain the crowds. Buzz wanted to do one-on-one interviews, if possible.He likes to focus on the questions…something many of our spokespeople don’t take enough time doing.

His remarks were interesting and exciting. It’s clear he knows how to gauge an audience.You can see that from the sound bite that most of the media picked up. "It's fitting that this structure, the symbol for the 1962 World's Fair, was put together by private individuals," he said, adding that it's appropriate for the Space Needle to sponsor the contest "because Seattle is the home of Boeing, the number one airplane maker in the world." And, believe me, that got a response from the crowd.

The interviews went smoothly, although a couple of times he caught my eye and mouthed the word “Enough”. We gathered the broadcast media together and I called on them one at a time so each got at least one question answered. There were a couple of questions about the end of the Space Shuttle program where Buzz’s politics were showing. He made it clear that our current administration could be doing a lot more with space exploration but “their focus doesn’t seem to be in the right place.”

He was gracious, engaging and energizing. He travelled with his assistant, her new baby and husband, and the current love of his life, Michelle Sucillon. Michelle was a hoot to be around and she certainly has caught Buzz’s eye. She and I had a lot to talk about because she was a long-time event marketer for Borders, Warner Bros. and CBS. She met Buzz at a signing for his book “Magnificent Desolation” in an LA Borders in 2009. There is much more to that story but you can read it in the Daily News. This is not “Inside Edition”. Michelle did, however, grab the camera from my hand and shoot a photo of Buzz and me as we left the Needle. I’m glad I have it.

What a terrific time it was to be with such an iconic explorer.  He really did boldly go “where no man had gone before.”  Every time I get fed up with our politicians and the bureaucracy, things like the Space Program and the Space Race bubble up in my mind and I think how incredibly innovative and creative we have been in this country.  We can definitely be world-shakers.  At 81, Buzz Aldrin is a home-grown American with talent, drive, imagination and inspiration.  Being around him makes you feel more alive.  We talked a lot about my military father and an army up-bringing.  “It was important,” he said.  Veterans can relate.

Serving your country is an honor.  For the 25 million veterans in this country, today is a day to thank them.  Buzz Aldrin stands tall in the ranks of veterans out there.  Spending time with him was impressive.  Getting “Buzzed” is a good thing.  In fact, it may be one of the best things that could happen to any of us.  Here’s a salute to all the veterans out there.  This day belongs to you.

Veterans Day Buzz...Part 1

Veterans Day is something like Columbus Day. If you work for the government, go to school or are, like me, actually a veteran, it’s something you observe and maybe get the day off. For everyone else it’s pretty much business as usual. A friend reminded me that it started out as Armistice Day marking the end of World War I when the Germans signed the Armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. This time we can add the eleventh year and I hope it’s lucky.

Recognition for veterans is reason enough for a holiday and I always try to give it some thought. Today, I’m thinking about a special veteran who I was very fortunate to meet recently. He flew combat missions in Korea as a fighter pilot and was decorated for his valor. However, he received a higher calling…a much higher calling…in fact, I can’t think of anyone who has been called higher than Buzz Aldrin, who walked on the moon for our country.

The 21 hours that he and his colleague, Neil Armstrong, spent on the lunar surface in 1969 were a life-changer. And Buzz is quick to point out that since Neil was first out of the Eagle Lander, he shot most of the pictures. So those images that are indelible in our minds, including the American Flag standing out proudly on the landscape are pictures of Buzz Aldrin.

Colonel Aldrin (I only heard him called that one time. He officially changed his name to Buzz some time ago) was here in Seattle to help the Space Needle launch its Space Race 2012 program marking its 50^th Anniversary by sending an average person into space. (We received over one billion media impressions all over the world.) Buzz’s presence caused quite a stir during the two days he was here and I was fortunate to be asked to do some “blocking and tackling” for him when he was besieged by the media.

He was recognized everywhere. When we walked down the street to find a good location for the Associated Press to shoot a photo, “Ride the Ducks” came rolling by with the passengers chanting “Go Buzz Go”. It made him smile and the driver should have received a good tip for recognizing him from a moving vehicle.

When I found out we were having dinner in the Sky City restaurant at the Needle, I set one clear objective. The only menu item left from the World’s Fair is a dessert now called the “Lunar Orbiter”. I simply had to see a person who walked on the moon encounter the steaming ice cream delight. When it was delivered, Buzz’s eyes opened wide and a great grin spread across his face. He loved it and the photo I quickly snapped captures it pretty well.

His dinner conversation was mind-boggling. He’s got a remarkable resume (check it out atwww.buzzaldrin.com ) and his non-stop dialogue flew over the heads of most space enthusiasts and even some astronautical engineers. Being a watch nut, I tried to get him talking about the huge timepiece on his wrist but he was into the intricacies of chronometers and mechanisms so quickly my eyes were whirling around in my head. I finally changed the subject to “Dancing with the Stars”. He said he did it for the “fighter pilots out there.” He had some fun but was glad when it was over.

SEE PART 2...TOO MUCH NEWS TO FIT!!

It's Magic...

As usual, the State of Washington was in dire financial straits.  And so they were taking it out on the education system.  In fact, the School of Communications at the University of Washington was on the chopping block.  UW came to the professional community and asked a group of us to help put together a year-long certificate program to fill the need…and pay for itself.

We were just entering the 1990’s and the tech revolution was nothing more than a gleam in the eyes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  A program was fashioned to fill the gap after undergrad and to help those wanting to make a career of communications be on the cutting edge of the business.

It was then that I was first invited to teach.  My previous experience did not really apply since I had taught recruits in the army how to fire a 105 mm howitzer cannon without losing a body part and I hadn’t thought about teaching in college until the opportunity presented itself.  I liked the idea that we could take a practical view in our classes.  A teacher friend said “Just talk about what you’re doing every day and how you do it.”  So I did.

That’s where we get to point of this essay.  It’s been twenty years since we started that program and the front page of today’s newspaper immediately brought back those memories.  I had followed Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s career since he played in the Big Ten for Michigan State.  The day that he announced he had the HIV virus was a tremendous shock to the sporting world.

I came to class that evening prepared to stick to the syllabus but the students just wouldn’t stop talking about it.  Magic’s news conference took a lot of courage.  We knew relatively little about this disease that was only beginning to ravage the world.  It seemed to be a death sentence at the time.  We just knew that we would have to watch him wither away.

Thank goodness that didn’t happen.  Magic is healthy and very much alive twenty years later.  But on that day, the students wanted to know how he could make such a public announcement of his condition.  What would this do to his career?  Would other players even want to be on the court with him?  Would it change the game of basketball?

The practical nature of our classes was embodied in that discussion.  Communicating with the public through the traditional media was still our primary focus.  CNN was a decade old.  Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition were still in their infancy.  But cable television was leading the charge.  Think how the social media would have responded to that announcement, if made today.  In a much more jaded way, I’m sure.

I think Magic did the right thing…for the right reasons.  I said that back then and the students came to the same conclusion.  We used Magic as a case study in communicating for the next two weeks.  It came down to telling the truth and telling it immediately.  In the last couple of years, the number of public figures who have NOT followed that approach is astounding.  You’d think we would learn.  Here’s to a long life for Magic Johnson.  He’s been a role model for all of us.

Remember

To our parents and grandparents who survived the Great Depression of the 1930’s, December 7, 1941 was indelible in their minds.  It was not a holiday.  It was not a celebration.  It marked the first act of  foreign aggression on our soil in over 125 years.  The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor scared them.  They didn’t know what would happen next.  They looked for answers but couldn’t find them.

Sixty years later, on September 11, 2001, we experienced another act of aggression. In many respects, it was more devastating than the December 7 attack.  Our war with Japan was over in 5 years.  The Japanese are now our allies. Last weekend, we marked 10 years since the attacks and there is no clear end in sight for us since what is now indelibly known as 9/11.

The attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and another unknown target in DC were not military actions by a foreign country.  The targets were innocent civilians and our way of life by a faction of a terrorist group that really had no home.  There was no country to call our enemy.  This was a different kind of war than we had ever faced.   And at the end of one of greatest business booms in our history, it helped send us into a downward spiral that continues to pick up speed today.

9/11 has changed our government, our military and our own lives.  Nothing is the same as it was.  The ten years just passed have seen our country question its place as a world power.  We’ve been fighting a war (wars) on different turf with different weapons and a very different kind of military.  Unlike the war against Japan with its battleships and tanks, our special forces and clandestine efforts lead by the Navy Seals and the Army’s Delta Force have become the most effective means of fighting a war where the enemy is so elusive.

Man, all of that makes it sound like we’re headed down a pretty rough patch of road. Well, we are and someone said to me the other day that one person, one vote, may be our only way out of this mess.

The 9/11 attacks galvanized our country, but only for a very short time.  Since then we have become more factionalized than almost any time in our history.  Congress and the White House and the courts are all fighting amongst themselves…and the media, especially the NEW media, is fueling the fire, along with a weird group of presidential contenders, who, at best, have a very disparate view of our world and America's place in it.

The War in the Pacific made us closer.  It created jobs.  It strengthened our economy.  It was a war we knew we could win.  Today, we’re fighting two wars.  Neither of which really have much, if anything, to do with the 9/11 attacks.  We’ve spent over 3 trillion (with a T)dollars on wars and security since those attacks.  Yes, we’re safer when we get on an airplane today.  The new tower, the Freedom Tower, going up near the site of the World Trade Towers attacks is being built to withstand the impact of a 747 aircraft.  There is some comfort in that but this is a big country, with hundreds if not thousands of targets for the faceless terrorists out there, who are nearly impossible to identify. How safe can we really be from this kind of an enemy?

When 9/11 happened, I spent the next 48 hours helping the Space Needle, an icon of the success of the Pacific Northwest, do something it had barely even considered doing in the past…prepare for a possible terrorist attack.  Just think about what our daily routine has become since that day.  We drive, ride, work and play, wishing we had eyes in the back of our heads.

Oh, how our world has changed.  Oh, how we have changed.  My father, who was drafted into the army after December 7, was still alive when 9/11 occurred.  He was a career soldier.  He said to me after the attacks, “From now on, we’ll have to keep looking over our shoulders.  But we just have to deal with it.  We’ll find a way to live our lives.  We have to.”  Ten years later, our world is smaller and our future is more uncertain than ever. Let’s hope we can make a better future from what we’ve learned in the past. Boy, do I miss the 1950’s!

In the presence of greatness..

Arlo White is the “Voice of the Seattle Sounders FC” and a native of Leicester, England.  He walked up to the microphone in the Rainier Tower Club at a dinner recently and said, “What an exciting week it is for soccer in Seattle.  See, I can say the word!”  It’s hard for Brits to say soccer because they’ve called the game “football” for hundreds of years.  Here we call it soccer because we were already playing our game of football when the round ball showed up.  The rest of the world, except for a few English speaking countries like Australia and some parts of Ireland, calls it football.

There’s more to that story and I could go on but I’m writing this because, earlier this summer, we did indeed experience “an exciting week” of soccer in Seattle.  Manchester United, the darlings of the English Premier League, came to the US for a series of “friendly” matches (read “exhibition”) from coast to coast.  Billed as the world’s largest and most successful sports franchise, United spent more time in Seattle during their US tour than any other city and that’s testament to our own Seattle Sounders, who have the best fan base in this country’s professional sport of Major League Soccer. (Another quick inside note: Americans tend to call the English team ManU but they don’t.  It’s United or the Reds.) 

We were asked to give some help to United’s global sponsor Aon, a leading risk management services firm based in Chicago, as they put together the events surrounding the tour.  In addition to an exciting evening of friend- and fund-raising for the Initiative for Global Development, started by Bill Ruckelshaus and Bill Gates, Sr. (among others) to help stop poverty in the world through economic development, I thought it would be interesting to bring Aon and United together with another great, world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.  Dale loves soccer and his son Jackson keeps him right on the edge of his seat for every Sounders match.

When I proposed the gathering to Dale, he thought it would be fun to bring the team and its coaches to his boathouse and hot shop and give them an inside look at the making of glass art.  It wasn’t easy to get the schedules in synch but it finally came together.  And quite an evening it was.

The best picture of the evening remains only in my mind because I couldn’t get to my iPhone fast enough.  When the team arrived at the boathouse, they were met by Billy O’Neill, the Director of Chihuly Studio and a former soccer coach.  As Billy turned to lead the team through the double doors into the hot shop, he had a look of determination on his face that said, even for just a moment, “I’m leading this team into the stadium in Manchester and we’re the best in the world.”  Ah, fantasy!! Isn’t it great. Sorry I missed the pic, Billy.

It was  interesting to watch the team settle into the rhythm of glass blowing.  These are athletes of the highest order.  One of them told me the main reason they like to come to the US is because they can be themselves in public and have some fun.  Few people, if any, recognize them.  With 350 million fans around the world, they’re mobbed almost anywhere else they go.  But here, you literally need a program to know the players.

United is very proud of its 19 wins of the English Premier League trophy, which can be considered the Super Bowl of soccer.  And they take the trophy everywhere they go.  The trophy itself has two security guards and they have to buy a seat for the trophy when flying.  The case goes in the cargo hold but the trophy flies in the cabin between the two.

After the team entered the boathouse, the trophy made its way in.  Once unpacked and placed on a sturdy pedestal in front of the hot shop furnaces, EVERYONE wanted to have their photo taken with the trophy. Dale and wife Leslie and son Jackson were the last in line.  Once their photos were taken, Dale motioned for everyone to gather round.

“I’ve been trying to decide what would be the best way to show you all the art of glass blowing.  I think I’ve got it now.  What would you think if we made a Premier League Trophy out of glass?”  he asked.  A few heads nodded in bewilderment.  “I think we can make this trophy in glass to take home with you.  What color should it be?”  “RED!” (the team color) was the resounding response in unison and so it began.  As dinner and the evening went on, the trophy began to take shape.  “The handles are the hard part,” Dale said.  “They’re so long.”

It wasn’t finished that evening, mainly because extra care had to be taken when making the crown.  But before the team left Seattle, it was presented to them with great pride.  And, in response, the team announced that they had already begun to expand the trophy case at the stadium in Manchester so that both trophies could be displayed side-by-side for the world to see.  Dale was very happy.

The US tour was great for United and for Aon, who entertained clients and prospects at every stop.  The match with the Sounders (Manchester won 7 to nil) was just as it was explained to me at dinner the night before by one of the United’s.  “Sir Alex (Ferguson, the manager) wants to concentrate on defense during the first half.  He has some players he will try at different positions.   In the second half, he will put the best offensive players in for ten minutes or so because they need to get a workout,” he said. 

I love the Sounders and I’m proud of them but this match was played at a whole different level of competition.  During the first half when United was playing its defense, we hardly got close to their goal.  And in the second half, when they were playing offense, United scored 5 of their 7 goals during that ten minutes with their best offense.  On at least two occasions, there were two United players standing in front of our goal kicking the ball back and forth with no opposition, as if to say “you take it.”  “ no, you take it.”   “no, you…”  and then they scored.  One of my former DDB colleagues, who is a die-hard Sounders fan, texted me during the match to say, "Ouch! This is painful."

Manchester United could have been the 1929  New York Yankees.   When you’re in the presence of greatness, you can feel it.  Here is a sports franchise that took its current form in 1902 and has grown and prospered with time.  As our Sounders say, it is “the world’s game”.  And the young men from Manchester United represent it well.  They are focused.  They present themselves well. They are professional. They are courteous and well-spoken.  There is a lot to be said for civility…in sport and in life.

Last weekend, the news hit that United had beaten rival Arsenal from London, 8-2, in a Premier League match-up.  That’s a crushing defeat in English soccer terms.  “You feel humiliated when you concede 8 goals,” said the Arsenal manager.  First time they’ve given up that many in 115 years.  The New York Times soccer blogger said, “Sunday’s one-sided result at Old Trafford in the English Premier League was pretty well summed up by my son:  ‘If ManU (see what I mean about Americans and the name) can do this to Arsenal, what are they going to do to the rest of the (Premier League)?’ “  Wow, these guys are something else!

It was a very special experience spending time with Manchester United’s team.  Aon is feeling the strength and benefit of its global sponsorship all around the world.  Sport plays an important role in bringing our world together and so does art.  When two greats come together, the result can be magic.  Dale Chihuly has been a mentor and teacher to many and Manchester United’s players are the highest caliber role models for youth today.  What an “exciting week” it was in Seattle AND we got our photo with the Premier League Trophy!

What's a great restaurant?

We all have our favorite restaurants.  And they come in all flavors…steakhouses, fishhouses, continental, ethnic, even fast food (tell me you don’t have a preference on the McDonald’s menu!).  And then there is New York, where the list of restaurants looks like a phone book and if you can eat it , they serve, somewhere there.

A career filled with world travel affords one the opportunity to experiment with food.  And it gives you a taste for what you like and what you don’t, whether you’re a gourmet, a carnivore, vegetarian or just an eater.  My friends in the restaurant business have always said that a great restaurant has three main qualities…food, atmosphere and service.  Good restaurants hit two of those three but great restaurants make the grand-slam.

 My list of good and great restaurants is quite long, quite eclectic and quite spread out…all over the world, in fact.  Dan’s Restaurant on Sydney Street in London was a qualifier.  The Noon Gun Café on the hill above Cape Town is a winner.  In Beijing, Da Dong Roast Duck is a hit from the minute you walk in the door and see all those ducks just hanging there.  And in Houston, Good Company Barbeque makes my mouth water just thinking about the line and how hungry you are by the time you get to order.

Last week, I read that George Lang, the owner of Café des Artistes, passed away.  Although his restaurant went away almost two years ago, it has left a huge void in my culinary palette.   A client recommended Café des Artistes many years ago and, after my first visit there with Jane, we were hooked.  It had it all.  And George was always there to make you feel even better.

 Café des Artistes was an all-purpose establishment that made the New York madness outside disappear in a flash.  It worked before and after the theater.  It worked for holidays.  We had a magnificent Thanksgiving dinner there.  You could drop in on the weekend for a sandwich or have the special of the day and experiment with something like beef cheeks that would melt in your mouth.  Or you could take your best client there and find Julia Child at “her” table just inside the door, laughing that distinctive laugh while entertaining her friends. (I let Jane identify the soap stars who would walk over from the ABC studios for lunch, although I did recognize Regis and Kelly.)

George made you feel as though you were family.  Everyone we ever referred there, came back happy. He would order for you, if you couldn’t decide.  And, if you didn’t like that, he would bring something else.  “Let’s try a little of all these desserts from the cart,” he once said. And we did.  OOOFFF!  But excellent.

 I distinctly remember the Thursday that we didn’t call first and headed straight to the restaurant from our hotel.  When we found the doors locked, the man at the reception desk in the building said, “Sadly, they had to close.”   We’d lost a sanctuary in the big city, a place that was warm like home.  We were forced to continue our search for the next great restaurant.  It’s out there.  We’ll find it.  But there’s one thing about great restaurants.  Each one stands alone.  They’re one of a kind.  The owner, the chef, the wait staff, the menu, Howard Chandler Christy’s pastel murals of naked beauties prancing through romantic landscapes on the wall, all make dining more than just a meal.  You feel like it’s part of your life.  I can taste mom’s eye-of-round with cheese potatoes right now.  Let’s eat.