• Canada Relations

    ByHeather

    Geography has made us neighbors, history has made us friends, economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies.

    — President Robert F. Kennedy on US / Canada relations.

    The US President’s first foreign trip is highly symbolic. Yesterday President Obama reinforced a long standing tradition and made Canada the destination for his first foreign trip. President Bush’s first foreign trip was to Mexico. US / Canada relations were strained throughout his entire term. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford never visited Canada at all.

    Granted, this trip was more than a pit stop than an extended visit. He arrived in the morning to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, ate through a working lunch, held a joint news conference, met briefly at the airport with the leader of Canada’s opposition party, and was back home in the White House in time for dinner.

    Even though he only had time to pop in for a quick chat, I am glad that my native country is back at the top of the list for our new US President.

  • Go away, I’m looking for truth

    ByHeather

    The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.

    — Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    I actually sent this quote to an internal recruiter once. I had been through several interviews with the company and it seemed that I was progressing towards a job offer. I was excited about the company and it looked to me to be a very good fit.

    And then came that one final interview with one of the partners. Within the first fifteen seconds of our conversation I knew that an offer would not be forthcoming. It was clear that she had already made up her mind before the call even began. When the recruiter called a few days later to say that the firm had decided to not move forward I was deeply puzzled.

  • Aim for the sea…

    ByHeather

    A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are built for.

    — William Shedd (or possibly Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper)

    I taught high school in the early 80’s. I had this quote hanging on my classroom wall in one of those inspirational-type posters with a sailboat setting out to sea. I suppose I was trying to inspire my students to reach for adventure as they launched themselves into the world. I still draw inspiration from these words every time I am faced with the choice of a challenge and an adventure or playing it safe.

  • Don’t make them think

    ByHeather

    If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; But if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.

    — Don Marquis

    I lived in Denver in the late ’80s. At one point I met an acquaintance who invited me to attend his monthly book club. I was in a heavy reading phase and was excited about the prospect of connecting with fellow book lovers. I was encouraged to bring a book and plan on sharing a favorite passage.

    The book I happened to be reading at the time was The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and the passage I picked to read turned out to be pretty heavy.