Perspective

Life lessons from the bowling alley. 

Brotemarkle, Davis and Company proudly fielded two co-ed teams of 5 people each to participate in the Wine Industry Network 2010 Gutterball Classic fundraiser last Saturday. 

First of all, you have to wonder who decided to associate all of those unfavorable words with this game.  …

Growing up in the Sacramento Valley I had plenty of opportunity to experience  fog so thick you couldn’t see the house across the street.  In the Napa Valley, we only experience ribbons of  fog that lace a vineyard together or tuck into a hillside.  I captured the picture above on my …

There is an old saying that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade.  Last year, a new job opportunity resulted in my having to make a fairly significant daily commute. For someone whose previous “commute” was less than four miles and took about ten minutes, this …

Unlike most commuters, I enjoy my drive to the office each day.  It’s no surprise since rather than being stuck in traffic watching motorcyclists zip by my mirror, I get to drive by vineyards, between hills, and some days under hot air balloons.  One of the benefits of life in the Napa Valley is the ever-changing scenery. 

Earlier this week, I was traveling the back …

When I was a child, one of the things that my favorite uncle shared with me was his love of classic movies. Some years later, when I was in college, I happened upon a class in film appreciation and I have been a dedicated movie buff ever since.

The most significant discovery I made during that long-ago film class was the genre of the silent movie. Prior to that time, my …

Our recent rainfall has given me my first exposure to flood warnings in Napa.  I can honestly say I have never lived in a place where you were invited to go build your own sandbags by city officials. Once I got over my initial confusion about where in the world to put sandbags (do they go by the front door, outside my garage, near the windows?), I had a rather frightening read of …

I arrived at the airport parking lot to see the dark clouds moving closer. Before I could exit the car the lightening began to strike all around.  Not being a big fan of flying, I felt my anxiety level rise.   I scurried off to the terminal to get out of the downpour.

I quickly forgot about the threatening weather as I moved …

So I just spent nine days (actually 7 days and two whole travel days) in Puerto Rico.  I attended a two day accounting conference with the North American division of Alliott Group, the international organization we belong to.  Kathi and I stretched it into a nice beach vacation since we had never been to Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rico is a beautiful island with some of the friendliest people anywhere.

After the …

My Scottie dog Ace will be ten years old this summer.  Two years ago I started the process of getting him a puppy for company and to mentor as his eventual successor.  I did this with my late, much beloved Scottie Dandy when Ace came to live with us and it worked very well in a number of ways. 

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 I recently packed  up the SUV and headed to southern California with my family to spend Christmas with my oldest son.  On the morning of Christmas Eve the kids and I headed up the road to the local ski resort.  It was a beautiful day and we couldn’t wait to get onto the snow.  After a …