Portland Oregon Rose City Blog

As children we were taught or learned among many things, two principals of American life. Americans love a winner and if you try hard you can succeed.

We admire young athletes as they try their best to come out on top. We all know of course that there can only be one winner yet we encourage all to do their best and we console the winner with admiration for their well fought battle and encourage them with a " You'll get um next time ".

If we could look into the future of those young athletes we would see something totally different. Take for example NBA Basketball, those young athletes have developed into finely tuned agile sports figures. Yet as talented as they have become they now can not seem to take a shot without falling down. Why? Because they have learned that they may be awarded a second opportunity to score if they should not complete their shot and if the referee believes they were fouled.

No longer can we admire the pure competitive battle of our young sports figures where the best can compete against the best without the dynamic of the end justifying the means rearing it's ugly head. Our young sports hero's have learned that, cheating is okay as long as you win.

It is not just in sports that we see this. We see this attitude applied to every day life situations all around us. From the car in front of you who cuts you off to make their exit. To the political arena where we see a George Bush and or John McCain making statements one day and then literally a few hours later stating " I never said that ".

We see Senator Clinton tell her story on several occasions of ducking from bullets. Yet the video of the event disproved that story. Time and time again we see or hear of people that we had previously admired only to have that image dashed as their stories of lies begin to unfold all for the end justifying the means.

Folks the End does not justify the means. As a nation we are not getting betterand we will not be the leaders of the free world and admired by many if we continue on this path of deception. Instead we will be known as a nation of liars as we demonstrate daily our willingness to lie for the belief that the end justifies the means.

The former watchdogs of our society, News Organizations are almost useless. They used to report the news and now they have become opinion givers. The competition in their business has gone from one of reporting the news to one of supplying opinions to those unwilling to take the time to formulate their own opinions from the facts given. That of course would take to much time for we are a nation of sound bites.  

News organizations of course are just businesses that are trying to succeed. So if the people are just waiting to be told what to think then why not tell them something that will help the profit of the company?  Why is it when a politician or others are caught in an out and out lie the news entity can only ask why is the story different from the apparent facts? Choosing to stop short of calling the perpetrator an out and out liarand instead leaving the sentence unfinished.

Sadder yet, when news organizations call on their so called Political analysis teams to discuss the merits of a headline, they choose people with diametrically opposed opinions that read from statements written prior to the debate. Calling on an old ploy of politicians, one of offering analysis of a two hour speech with in moments of its completion.

All you need to do is tell them the headline and provide a quick couple of sound bites. They will debate their side vigorously for they are following the same rules. That of the ends justify the means. Win at any cost. As long as we win we are profitable who cares. Meanwhile the entire fabric of our society is in the spin cycle with the flush cycle just moments away.

As Real Estate agent's it is a world of inconsistencies. We live our lives on the straight and narrow while we are surrounded by lies and liars that we then hold up as our champions.

I submit to you. The end does not justify the means.

10. Entering and exiting bedrooms is done by crawling over the bed.

 9. The closest thing you have to a Master Bath is the Cats litter box.

 8. Family gatherings of more than 5 people have to be held on the Patio.

 7. Your outdoor recliner can not be extended to a full recline.

 6. Your friends would rather meet at the Bus Station than at your house.

 5. The Children bump their heads while climbing into their bunk beads at night.

 4. Your tired of walking the 6 blocks home from your parking spot.

 3. You owe less money on your current home than you do on your old car.

 2. Interest rates remain the lowest they have been in decades.

 1. Relators(r) are buying everything they can.

Hot Choclate

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. 
 
When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups. 
 
Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Enjoy your hot chocolate.

This story Found on the internet somewhere and retold by : 

The week leading up to Christmas was a very busy real estate week for me helping one of my buyers with the negotiation of a repair addendum on a property that they had offered to purchase. That and welcoming the new clients who had signed up on my Buyer's Web Site at www.househuntportland.com .

So much like every year it seems as if I was once again doing my Christmas shopping during the last few days. This year though I noticed something was a little different than years past. There appeared to be a lot less crowds. Traffic seemed to be down and I had no problem at all in selecting the gifts in any of the stores that I shopped at.

Where were the crowds? Had they all gotten smarter this year and shopped early? Or had they all done there shopping on the Internet? Or had they simply not shopped at all?

Well it seems as if it could have been a combination of all those things and more. For a few days after Christmas my wife mentioned to me that she would like to have a pair of warm boots that she had seen a friend wear. You know the type, the soft leather Boots with sheeps wool interiors.

So I set off to the Lloyd Center mall where there are a virtual cornecopia of shoe stores to find the Boots for my Wife.

To my surprise I was met with the Largest crowd of people I had seen in Weeks.

Looking down from the third floor next to the Food Court and Cinemas.

Now Looking up from the Ice Rink to the Balconies above loaded with people.

The Concourses were absolutely filled with after Christmas Shoppers. All of the Stores were just amazed. Perhaps all of the after Christmas Sales advertisements the Stores had done prior to Christmas had kept the shoppers away prefering to wait a couple of days for the bargains.

I did save $15. on my Wifes Boots and I had a great time mingling with the shoppers.

Have a Fabulous 2008 everyone.

Each and Every year I look forward to Christmas. I also know that it is once again time for Safeway to unleash it's Holiday sale on Prime Rib.

The standing Rib Roast is my favorite for Christmas as I am generally all Turkey'ed out by this time of year. For the past several years Safeway has chosen this time of year to have there prime rib and Standing rib roasts on sale.

This year they are available for $3.97 a pound which is about a $6.00 a pound savings over there normal price as I recall.

The Butchers recommendation is to plan for at least one pound for person. That will only be one serving each. I have eight people to serve for and a few small children. So this Roast is 12 and one third pounds.

The Bones have already been cut loose from the roast. I usually lay in a few cloves of chopped garlic, Italian Herbs and a bit of Brandy between the Bones and the roast before cooking. The alcohol in the brandy of course burns off while cooking but leaves a very good taste to the meat.

Happy Holidays.