One of the Richest Men in the World

I an going to make a statement that some of you are not going to believe. I am one of the richest men in the world. Oh, you don't believe me, do you?

I suppose that if you reviewed my latest Statement of Net Worth you would quickly figure out why I am not included in the list of Forbes richest 400. However, when you have finished reading this post, you may well understand why I would make such a claim.

Tonight, Marilyn, my wife, and I were over at my daughters home. My granddaughter is having her 3rd birthday tomorrow. Marilyn was icing my granddaughter's cake. I sat in the kitchen watching my wife mix the icing with food coloring, mix it up and apply each layer of color with the expertise that comes with having made the birthday cakes for our kids for the last thirty or so years. And now she is creating the cakes for the third generation of my family.

Parker, my granddaughter, watched Marilyn, with great interest and asking Marilyn, "Okay, grandma, do we put the animals on the cake yet?"
And Marilyn would answer patiently, "Not just yet."

Finally when the cake was done and ready to put in the fridge until tomorrow morning, everyone admired Marilyn's work.

As moments go, this was not a particularly important one in our lives. But it was a moment that was significant in it's own right. Here we were, my daughter, my son-in-law, Parker, Marilyn and I, sharing a wonderful moment. We were preparing to celebrate the third year of life of a wonder little girl. We were together at a pleasant and happy moment. Without thinking about it, we were celebrating the moment, a good moment, together. The moment was not about any one person. It was about all of us and the love and concern we have for each other.

I don't have a lot of money. Hell, I have never had a lot of money or assets or real estate or any such thing. It probably would have been nice if I had. But I have not been favored that way.

But I have been blessed with wonderful relationships in my life, in my family and with my friends. Watching my kids and my wife and my granddaughter, I was reminded just how rich a man I am in that way. You cannot buy these kinds of relationships even if one had all the money in the world, nor command them to exist just because one could exercise great power over other people.

To have the capacity to love others and to be loved by others; to be a caring considerate person and to be surrounded by caring and considerate people, that is the true wealth in our lives. And I got plenty of that and always have had plenty. So if you include this in my Statement of Net Worth, I would say I am doing pretty well. More money coming in would be very nice, indeed. But what I already have makes me a very fortunate and wealthy man, indeed.

Kindest regards,

Howard Fireman

The Question of the Day, June 15, 2006

If there is a person in your life who is your muse, that is, the person who inspires you to strive to become the best person you were meant to be, who is that person? What is it about your relationship with that person or about the person [himself or herself] that so inspires you?

FYI: Another great find: 29fragiledays.blogspot.com

29fragiledays contains short films on a variety of subjects.

Great weblogs like this one just goes to prove that the blog world is fast becoming one of the best places to be informed and entertained anywhere.

The address of this blog is: 29fragiledays.blogspot.com

Kindest regards,

Howard Fireman
Houston, Texas

FYI: Check out Johnson City Forum

Found another really readable, thought-provoking blog: Johnson City Forum at johnsoncity.blogspot.com.

This blog is a bit contrarian and full of spit and vinegar, but it is certainly good reading on politics and society as well. It has been around for quite awhile, so there is a lot to read. Enjoy.

Kindest regards,

Howard Fireman

FYI: Great Blog out of NZ: Nothing Impossible

Every few days, I surf to find new blogs out there that are good reads. I came across one this morning out of New Zealand. A fellow from Korea has settled into New Zealand and created a blog about two months ago. The address is: http:\\dukeim0617.blogspot.com

His English is excellent and the quality of his writings and his observations and his take on life and other sundry things are insightful and interesting.

I very much recommend your giving his blog a visit.

Kindest regards,

Howard Fireman
Houston, Texas

The Question of the Day, June 13, 2006

If you thought about it, what would be the one thing that people do that irritates you the most? If you respond in a really unproductive way when someone does that particular thing, how could you respond so that you would be better able to deal with it when someone does that?

Sam and Emma: A Love Story in Emails - 13

From: Sam T.
To: Emma Landauer

Date: February 9, 2006

My Dearest Em,

My heart is breaking. I love you so much and I want so much to be able to help you get through this. But I am of little help to you except for being an emotional lifeline you can grab onto, when you feeling desparate and about to drown.

Somehow, you have to reach deep inside yourself and find strength to fight back. Giving in to this woman will only make your problems worse. Over time you will be digging yourself into a deeper and deeper hole and then it will be even more difficult to get yourself out of this situation. If I had the money, I would send it to you so you could just quit the job. I can't and I feel so very badly that I cannot do more for you.

My love, if you can, put feelers out and see if you can get a job somewhere else. Or maybe, contact your parents and see if maybe they can provide you some short term financial help until you can find another clinic to work at. Whatever it is going to take it, do it. Your sanity and your health are going to suffer if you continue to stay there.

Try to find a few moments each day and create a time and place for yourself where it doesn't hurt to be there, like it was for us when you were here. Create that island in time and space for yourself, so that you can recover from the emotional battering you are receiving every day. If that is not something you think will work for you, figure out a strategy to accomplish that that will work for you.

For what it is worth, I think about you every day. I wonder what you are doing and how you are. My love for you is constant and unfailing.

Please be kind to yourself and take care of yourself. I miss you very much.

With the greatest love and affection,

Your Sam

To be continued...

Sam and Emma: A Love Story in Emails - 12

From: Emma Landauer
To : Sam T.

February 8, 2006

My Dearest Sam,

I got the job at the clinic. You know, the one where I got some bad vibes when I visited it. I have not been here very long but already I am getting a really bad feeling about being here. The dentist who owns the place really blows hot and cold. And she is very good at blaming someone else for what goes wrong at the clinic and for chewing out people for things which are not all that important, when she is in a really foul mood. She has been getting on me because I am not working fast enough. I have always been cautious and slow because you know I am so very afraid of making a mistake. So I am beginning to catch a lot of hell.

And then all of the sudden she changes and she becomes this nice person and she wants me to have dinner with her and spend time with her. So long as I go along with her wishes, she is okay. When I say I can't, it starts all over again. Then it is my clothes... much too youngish for me and she blames it on my living for so long in America. Dresses, not slacks, she says. And she gets on me about my work all over again. I am really being nice if I call her a bitch.

I don't know how to fight back. I give in to her just to get her off my back and almost every night now she demands I spend time with her and her family. The few friends I have here are very angry with me now because I am letting her do this to me. I really hate myself. I have no control over my life and I let people like HER make me feel so bad.

I need the money so I have to have to keep this job for now. I don't go to the gym much anymore because it makes HER mad, so I try to go when I can, but it gets harder to find time to go to the gym.

I am starting to hit myself again. I am getting home late almost every night now and not sleeping well. What have I gotten myself into? The way things are I cannot escape from this. Once again I am stuck in a very bad place. I really hate this and myself.

Please keep writing, my sweet kind Sam. You are always there for me. I can count on that. I do love you so much. I know that you love me and that really helps me when I start beating myself up. Please write me soon.

Love and kisses,

Emma

To be continued....

The Question of the Day, June 13, 2006

If you could pick any one movie as the best movie that has ever been made, which one would you choose? What was it about that movie that made it so great to you?

The Question of the Day, June 12. 2006

If you had to evacuate your home on a minute's notice and could take only one object that was really important and precious to you, what object would you select? And why did you choose that particular object?

News Flash: Dog Blackmails Man

Sometimes we find the best reading on the back of a package of dog treats. I'm not kidding, really. My wife bought our Yorkie a bag of Newman's Own Organics Premium Dog Treats. On the back of the package was this delightful bit of fluff and I wanted to share it with you. So here it is in full.

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The Daily Scoop! 2A

Newman Dog Tells All!!

The literary world is reeling with the news that Paul Newman's dog is shopping a tell-all book on the famous actor and his family.

Insiders say that Newman, in an attempt to squash the book, has tried to dissuade his "best friend" from going ahead with the project by launching a line of delcious pet food and treats.

The dog's agent has not returned Newman's calls.

Several editors who have received the proposal say that the dog writes openly about Newman's persistent disobedience of the house rules, Newman's deep rooted fear of toilet water and, his penchant for wearing mismatched socks.

The dog also reveals that Paul's daughter, Nell, is a mess-making machine in the kitchen and at the breakfast table. "It is all I can do to eat all the scraps that drop to the floor." Along with other eccentricities of the family, Nell's new pet chickens leave the author perplexed. "What kind of affection do they show her? I've never seen a chicken lick her face at 6 AM."

In spite of the vaunted candor of the book, however, the author exercises some discretion. The only reference to the sensitive of subject of age is diplomatic. "Let's just say they are both well over 250 years old."

Due out this summer, Scraps on a Cold Stone Stoop has already started a bidding war for the film rights.

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Well, my dear readers, I hope you enjoyed this find and I hope you come back to visit my blog soon.

Kindest regards,

hfireman

Sam and Emma: A Love Story in Emails - 11

from The Personal Journal of Sam T.

Entry for February 22, 2006

"I got home from work about forty minutes ago. I turned on the computer and got connected to the internet, so I could check my incoming email. Very few emails in today. Mostly spam, which I nuked. "

"After closing out my email account, I went into google. All day long, I had been thinking about Emma and I realized that I could not remember what she looked like. I could not remember her face. How could I have forgotten what her face looked like? She had been gone only a few weeks. And I had no photos of her. For all the times we had been together, we had never taken a picture together or given each other a photograph of ourselves. "

"On a hunch, in the search field, I typed in, "Emma A. Landauer," and ran a search. Her name cropped in 10 or 12 possible websites. I entered several of the websites only to find that they were just listings of dentists in the local area. In the sixth website, I scanned through the document. It was a pdf of a newletter from Rochester University in New York, dated in the mid to late 90's. I didn't find anything on the first 8 or 9 pages. Then the tenth page scrolled into view. That page contained an article about a group trip to Germany that associates at the university took together that year. And there she was, in the back row of the group, smiling at the camera. I couldn't believe it. My heart raced and a thousand memories flooded my brain. And feelings I had surpressed resurfaced in a rush that made me feel dizzy and excited and a little sad too."

"Her image was small and the features of her face weren't sharply defined in the photo. But I immediately knew it was her. I carefully studied her picture. Emma is tall and has blonde curly hair. She is built almost like one of Modigliani's models. And there was her smile... her wonderful smile."

"I stopped for a moment. My heart still raced, but a little slower now. I set the page as a favorite and shut it down. I miss her so very much. I do. I do miss her so very much."

"People come into our lives and touch our souls and sometimes leave us almost without warning. And there we are, left with this gaping void in our life. Emma hasn't been gone all that long and my pain is still very raw and very intense. Seeing her was almost more than I could bear. A photo is not the person. It is a moment captured in time and one cannot reach into the photo and touch the person or speak to the person. And she wasn't smiling at me. It was a different time and different place in her life and it had nothing to do with us together."

"I can't go on. This is just too much for me. I love Emma and I miss her so much. Nothing that I can do can bring her back to this place or change the way things are. Life is what it is. So what do I do now? Jacques Brels once wrote in one of his songs that when we become so numb that we can no longer cry or feel anything, we are no longer living. We just have to live with the pain that we are going to feel in our lives. That is a price we must pay for being alive. I don't have much of a choice, I guess.

What I shall do now is put one foot in front of the other and move forward, and go wherever that will take me. Without Emma... She has such a beautiful smile."

"Sam T."