Happy Spring Days:

Immediately after hitting “send” last month I started tracking happenings or encounters I loved, found ludicrous, annoyed me, couldn’t figure out or pissed me off.  My goal was to share all, but there ended up being w-a-y too many.  Today’s list represents a couple of highlights followed (in some cases) by my comments or opinions...

This one is still hard for me to believe.  On April 24^th I received 16 spam calls.  SIXTEEN!  Even when it’s an obvious spam call, I still occasionally answer.  Why?  Curiosity.  The researcher and salesperson in me wants to see who (or what?) is calling and how the entire process plays out?  I’ve yet to be impressed, learn anything new, or find a better Medicare option.  I really don’t think I get more calls because I occasionally pick up, but I suppose it’s possible.

Yet, here’s my hope: 100% of cell phone owners find spam calls annoying.  That’s right, everyone, regardless of their race, color, creed, political persuasion, background or food preference.  Why can’t our elected representatives get together on this ONE ISSUE and eliminate spam calls once and for all?  It would not be technically (carriers can already do this, methinks) or legislatively hard to do.  Who knows?  After that, there might be something those same elected “leaders” could focus on?! 

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Speaking of politics, here’s my inflated two-cents worth on the recent “noise” about DEI, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

This is marketing at its worst!  Who the heck came up with that description?  When you think about it, DEI is really a combination of The Golden Rule and DWR - Doing What’s Right.

Everyone reading this knows – IF we’re talking college campus, a private-equity bank, manufacturing facility, or local not-for-profit, there’s oodles of data proving the more you mirror the society you serve, the more likely you’ll succeed.  That’s what DEI is; nothing more.  Presumably, leaders of all organizations want to improve performance - a more representative workforce will help.  This entire “discussion” is a mountain out of a molehill!

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This is just weird to me – like most readers, when I meet someone for the first time, I say something like, “Howdy, my name is Sammy Papert, pleased to meet you”.  Nowadays, I bet 40% of the time, the response has been, “Hello Sam.”  Is this a Michigan thing?  Why would anyone call you by something OTHER than what you just said was your name?

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LOVE THIS!

A good friend of a very good friend has an adopted son from Benin.  Let’s call him “Andy”.  He has his green card, has been in this country for close to 20 years, has a great job, a young family and recently decided now was the right time to apply for U.S. citizenship.  Andy completed Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization) and went to his local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office to begin what would normally be a 7 to 12-month process.

Upon reaching the head of the line, Andy handed the agent his documentation, explained his goal and after a cursory review was redirected to a different office within the USCIS.  When he told the next agent his plans, Andy was asked a couple of very basic U.S. geography questions and upon answering them correctly was told to raise his right hand and then immediately sworn in as a U.S. citizen!  Andy received his FULL citizen documentation, status and rights in under one hour!

Who says our government moves slowly?!       

How about those May “flowers”?  What say you? 

All the best,