Telling It Like It Is

THE ENTERPRISE--"FALLING PRICES AND RISING COSTS"

THE ENTERPRISE

COMMON PROBLEMS--"FALLING PRICES AND RISING COSTS"
Nearly every company I talk to has the same problems. Price increases are finally starting to catch up with commodity cost increase...but not quite. And the impact of those increased costs were borne by suppliers for months while the customers strung out negotiations. Where even a single competitor decided to forgo the price increase in hopes of gaining share, companies across the entire industry sat and waited...or lost share....and profit margin both.

And there is no sign of reduced volatility in energy (oil & gas) or major commodity pricing. And beyond reducing the amount of materials and energy used (which is a very good idea), there is not much else that individual companies can do about this volatility. It is a global economic issue. This means that the pricing/buying/selling model used by most product suppliers and purchasers is obsolete, and as such, will continue to suffer under the lag factor with the inability to quickly pass on large, unpredictable increases.

Unlike the transportation and distribution industries, manufacturers have been largely unable to use rapidly adjustable surcharges. I'm not sure exactly why that is, other than the resistance of large, powerful purchasers. Surcharges pass on both the downside and upside--assuming they are designed correctly. It seems to me that this is an essential change that must be made, if suppliers' financial viability is to be sustained. The damage to many companies is severe, and in some cases, can be "terminal."

Retailers will hate it, because they will have to find a new way to alter pricing in thousands of stores more quickly. But this technology exists too. They can tell you what sold, who bought it, when, where, for how much, and how they paid for it. So, I don't believe they can't adjust prices quickly if they realize they must. Consumers won't like it, nor will anyone foolish enough to agree to a long-term fixed price contract. The illogical swings at the gas pump pricing signs are, in fact, a sign of the times and the world we live in.

Only if the very largest companies change policies/practices to recognize this tectonic shift in global business, can industries at large change from these outdated paradigms. Periodic pricing adjustments, usually annual, are a carryover from an older different era. (Remember when information could only travel at the speed of a horse?) In different time, global competition and geopolitical factors didn't drive massive commodity price swings and supply volatility. Older, batch processing information systems either didn't exist or weren't capable of tracking real time cost and price volatility. Now they are, and it is time to use them--and some common sense--to change the pricing/buying/selling policies before whole industries are crippled or irreparably damaged.

FROM KIPLINGER FORECASTS--"THE REVERSE PARETO EFFECT"
Federal budget red ink will get even worse in five years: Deficits will soar when the oldest baby boomers start drawing on Medicare and Social Security. That’s also when the full effect of Bush’s earlier tax cuts will hit, if lawmakers make them permanent rather than letting them expire in 2011. Neither side will address the real problem: Entitlement spending, which eats up between 1/2 and 2/3 of the budget. The most pressing issue is Medicare, where health care costs are climbing at twice the rate of Social Security payments. And that’s without the new drug benefit. Also climbing: Net interest on the debt...now 8% of the budget

This means that about 70% of the US Federal budget is in those few immutable items, that everyone is afraid to touch! arguing over changes in the remaining 30% can't make a big enough difference in future deficits. It is Pareto's 80/20 rule in reverse. Only major entitlement cuts or higher tax revenue--or both (best case)--can help. But don’t expect Washington to take on that kind of issue in an election year. They have neither the stomach--nor the guts--for that.

Meanwhile, business is muddling along pretty well. Expect to see a healthy rebound as spending by businesses and consumers regains strength in 1Q '06. Consumer spending is about 70% of economic activity and took a big plunge at the end of 2005 after hurricane damage on the Gulf Coast led to an energy price spike. Mild winter weather so far is giving folks some relief on energy costs. Consumers may take a breather, but won't stop buying as long as the overall economy is OK, and housing doesn't do an outright collapse.

Businesses have their new budgets in place, so it is "spending time" again. Many are catching up on postponed spending, and orders are already improving from the low levels of late fall. They want to do it while the economic situation is good, because at the first sign of a slowing or downturn, the spending budgets will get cut hard.

EMPLOYMENT
This is a topic that will take an entire edition and then some. Suffice it to say that volatility is not limited to commodities and global supply/demand. Jobs are coming and going--and the employees in them following suit--more than ever before. It is truly a "Brave New World" we are in. Future editions of THE ENTERPRISE will try to analyze it and discuss how we can adapt to succeed. Stay tuned.

Best, John.

THE ENTERPRISE--The Wal-Mart Effect

THE ENTERPRISE

It seems unavoidable to read the news and not find several articles about 3 topics: Iraq/Terrorism, Political partisan bickering/scandals and Wal-Mart. Since the first two have nearly been exhausted and I have precious little to add (for the moment anyway), I am going to do one more edition on Wal-Mart and our society, and the move on in future weeks to Global business, management and other topics.

A NEW BOOK--A MUST READ
This edition of THE ENTERPRISE focuses on a new book on Wal-Mart (another one, you ask?). Yes, but this one is the exception. The author, Charles Fishman, a Contributing Editor for FAST COMPANY gets it right--or as right as anyone can get a subject as big, as complex and as dynamic as Wal-Mart and its effect on our lives, our society and global business.

Rather than start over, I'll insert here what I told Charles after I read the advance copy of the book.

DEC. 27, 2005 Finished The Wal-Mart Effect this AM.
I will write a more complete piece for an edition THE ENTERPRISE in a couple of weeks. Here are the words I jotted down right after I finished reading:
-Fair & balanced
-Perceptive & informed
-Entertaining, well-written
-Frightening in places
-Thought-provoking (often)
--Important--not just to business people, but to all Americans, and possibly to all "citizens of Earth"
I will recommend it strongly to all of my "readership" and friends/contacts.

I can't remember many books, and even fewer non-fiction works that were as interesting, at times compelling and held my attention enough to read 250 pp. within a 24 hour period (and still sleep 8 hours). (I am a fast reader, when I am really interested.) I am also a picky reader, which means I don't read just anything--for anybody--and I often quit reading books after 75-100 pp! Not this one.

I put this is the class of Tom Friedman's The World is Flat (which I still haven't finished completely, but he had me for the 1st half), and Malcolm Gladwell's two recent books, Blink and The Tipping Point. That means they are relevant to what I called my old 13-week radio show: "The Life of Business and the Business of Life."

A TOUGH GRADER
Those who know me, know I read a lot and I have always been a "tough grader." I first talked to Charles Fishman when he interviewed me at length for his FC article a couple of years ago. He did several things that I admired. He quoted me accurately and in context, he wrote what he said he intended to write, and he attempted to portray a balanced view (until his FC editors whacked about 25% of his article--just coincidentally the part that made it "balanced.") Anyway, we stayed in touch and he took a leave from regular duties to research and write this book on the topic of Wal-Mart and its effect on American society and global business.

He did it as well--no, he did it better--than anyone has to date. His writing style is easy to read and entertaining. His content is documented and appears authentic, and his conclusions are mostly right on. That said, I don't agree with all of the conclusions Fishman reaches, nor some of the longer term implications he raised. However, given the number of hack jobs done on Wal-Mart in recent years, this one is a real gem. We exchanged a later set of emails in which he solicited the areas where I disagreed with his book, for whatever reason. There were a few, and when he replied, his reply allowed that my perspectives were probably as right as his. I'm happy to share that exchange with readers who want it, but in the interest of brevity, I'll omit it from here.

Bottom line: IF YOU ARE AT ALL INTERESTED IN WAL-MART, ITS EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE, ON AMERICA AND ON THE WORLD--THIS IS A "MUST READ" BOOK--whether you agree with it or not. You'll find it offers a lot of useful information, stimulates your thinking and actually entertains you as you read it.

JOURNALISTS TOP THE "EXPERTS"
I meant what I said when I compared it to Friedman's FLAT WORLD and to Gladwell's BLINK & TIPPING POINT in that respect. All of these books have an interesting point in common. They are books on the world, business, society and people in organizational settings, and none of them are written by so-called "experts"--not academics, not consultants, and not ghost writers for executives. (You know, like the ones who opined that this new, revolutionary company named Enron was the "second coming," until it imploded in a cloud of fraud and deceit. A lot of "experts" still have crow feathers sticking out of their mouths over that one. I guess Warren Buffet is right. It is best to understand something before you "invest" in it.)

Anyway, I think all four books are well worth reading, and yes, they were all written by smart, insightful journalists. They contain a lot of good information, presented in an easy to read and useful fashion. I recommend them all, and that's more than I can say for most of the business books I've seen lately. THE WAL-MART EFFECT hits the bookstores next week. Go get it. You'll be smarter and more thoughtful because of it. And to Charles Fishman (who gets THE ENTERPRISE)--good work.

Best, John

PS: If you like novels, grab anything by Gregory Iles. He is my new "best novelist." No two of his are alike, either--but don't start the last 100pp. if you need to go to bed in less time than you can read that many pages.

THE ENTERPRISE--Year in Review

THE ENTERPRISE

This week's edition returns Economic Week in Review as a bonus feature. Due to a computer glitch between my system and the Vanguard Group, I stopped receiving the reports 3 months ago. The material you read is derived from Vanguard's Economic Week in Review. It may not be included in all future editions of THE ENTERPRISE, but often it provides good perspective on how the overall US economy is doing.

In a late-breaking news item, Maryland appears to be passing a law targeted at large employers and specifically Wal*Mart, requiring that they pay a minimum percentage of payroll in the state for health care insurance. Other than the blatant targeting of Wal*Mart, which I will discuss more in coming weeks as part of a new book I will review (The Wal-Mart Effect, By Charles Fishman, Penguin Press, due out Jan. 23), I can only say one thing about this kind of law.

It reminds me of Ayn Rand's classis book ATLAS SHRUGGED. For those who have not read this classic, I strongly encourage getting a copy and curling up on several wintry nights to read it. It will disturb, perhaps frighten and certainly alarm you. There is similarity to many of today's trends, especially how non-productive special interests seek to subjugate the productive part of society and create an elite (ruling) class that does nothing of value except try to capitalize on the work of others, or stop the productive work of others. 

Consider this: who is John Galt, and how does he plan to "stop the world?" IF you have not read ATLAS SHRUGGED, you should, whether you take it "seriously" or not--it'll make you think.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW
2005 is gone, and a lot happened. If you believe that the best predictor of the near term future is the recent past, a review of what happened is probably useful. The media this week was largely focused on the medical condition of Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon. He is still not coming out of the coma, and there are fears that the severe stroke he suffered has caused massive/irreversible damage. His demise will certainly set back the Middle-Eastern progress enjoyed this year. The other media highlights were the Senate hearings on the appointment of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, filling the last vacancy on a court which will determine many important matters in our country for decades to come. 

--January: The Indian ocean tsunami strikes, reminding us of the incredible power of nature over man, a lesson to be reinforced much closer to home by Hurricane Katrina, later in the year. The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan and transmits images to earth. Man still aspires to see what is among the stars, albeit by remote control.

--February: Iraqis vote in remarkable numbers, and an even more impressive show of courage and the desire for self-government of some kind. Howard Dean is elected head of the Democratic National Committee assuring that the next year or two will be filled with extreme statements and partisan political "grenade throwing."

--March: President Bush nominated John Bolton as US Ambassador to the UN amidst much controversy. The UN remains embroiled in a huge scandal Oil for Food, which further tainted the credibility of the UN. The Terry Schiavo case mesmerizes the media and much of the US, raising issues about when life is worth "living" and who gets to decide what "living" means.

--April: Beloved Pope John Paul II dies at age 84 after 26 years at head of the Catholic Church. After an unusually brief conclave, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a strict traditionalist, is elected Pope Benedict XVI. ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings announces on the air that he has lung cancer; he will die in few short months.

--May: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair wins a 3rd term by the slimmest of margins. Suicide bombings in Iraq grow in frequency. Senators attack John Bolton during his interview process, for his past aggressive behaviors. President Bush continues to struggle under the shadow of Iraq's problems, and an insular group of close advisors.

--June: The proposed European constitution is tabled after it is clear that French voters would reject it. Iranian voters elect a hard-line conservative President likely assuring continued tense relations. Pop icon Michael Jackson is acquitted amidst juror comments as to the likelihood of his actual guilt. China grows in economic power and is building military might as well.

--July: Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement plans, raising concerns about the ability of President Bush to name two justices, given the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist. Terrorist bombers strike London's subways, and suicide bombers also strike in Egypt killing 64. A record Atlantic Hurricane season begins, one that will ultimately lead to 26 named storms, including 13 hurricanes.

--August: Israel withdraws from the Gaza strip, after occupying it since 1967. President Bush uses a recess appointment to install John Bolton as UN Ambassador. Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, sets up outside the Bush ranch in Texas, demanding a meeting with the President. The space shuttle returns safely to Earth, a first since 2003, although astronauts must perform a number of mid-flight repairs to allow that safe return. The Avian flu scare continues to trouble governments around the world.

--September: Chief Justice Rehnquist dies, and judge John Roberts, nominated to fill the Sandra Day O'Connor vacancy is renominated and confirmed as Chief Justice. Hurricane Katrina proves that ignoring the power of nature and hoping disasters won't happen is foolhardy. The local and state officials of New Orleans and Louisiana are ill-prepared to lead during such a crisis. Slow and inept Federal Government/FEMA response enrages victims and astounds the nation, and reflects badly on President Bush, too. The Mississippi River and Gulf ports and chemicals/energy facility damage impacts the entire country.

--October: A Pakistani earthquake kills 70,000, and leaves 3 million homeless. Mud slides bury a Guatemalan village killing tens of thousands. It is the year of tsunami, hurricanes, earthquakes, and natural disasters. President Bush botches the Supreme Court nomination with Harriet Miers (who withdraws in a short time amidst much furor from both parties). Iraqi voters approve a new constitution--proving they want to vote democratically (again).. Gas prices spike to $3+ per gallon.

--November: A new "scandal" is unearthed, involving VP Cheney's Chief of Staff, "Scooter" Libby. Muslim rioting rocks Paris. Suicide bombers hit Jordan. As if natural disasters are not enough, terrorists vicious attacks add to the mayhem. The US economy continues on a strong recovery with millions of new jobs being created in 2005, and in spite of $50+ oil, inflation remains modest. Teaching "intelligent design" in schools is a growing controversy.

--December: Iraqi voters prepare for parliamentory elections, and a better Sunni turnout is hoped for and expected, to balance the Shiite and Kurd dominance or the emerging Iraqi Democracy. A troop reduction is mentioned by the White House, the first definitive statement about slowly withdrawing from Iraq. South Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk is exposed as a fraud.

Throughout the year, Americans have been preoccupied with the meaningless exploits and misadventures of celebrities like Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and others, perhaps as a means of escaping from the harsh realities of the real world. There is little else of social value to the attention devoted to their immoral and often aberrant behavior.

CONCLUSIONS:
The world is more turbulent than ever. Natural disasters and terrorism know no national boundaries. Information travels further and faster than ever--whether it is the truth or a lie. A Federal Democracy may not be the smoothest way to run our country, but it's better than most of the other forms of government for free societies. Political bickering will ebb and flow, and it is probably healthy that it does--as long as it doesn't get out of control--a condition it has approached at times in the recent past. Man still strives to break his earthly bonds, but with only moderate success, but the struggle is a worthy one. 

The lack of positive, inspiring (or even respected) leadership in both major political parties is alarming and frightening, as scandals proliferate. The dearth of positive ideas and realistic programs is absolutely stunning. Everything is a matter of obstruction instead of inclusion. The is no doubt that eadership is needed--everywhere, government and corporate life, local and national--and the best leadership is by example. So our lessons for this week are: 1) "don't mess with Mother Nature" and 2) do your part of being a visible leader by example and action--by doing the right things whether someone is watching or not. It is contagious.

Best, John

THE ENTERPRISE--Wisdom of Sayings

THE ENTERPRISE

Sometimes, the most profound thoughts are summarized in brief quotes that carry immense wisdom. Many of you know I like to accumulate these and often use them as signature lines on my email. I thought a listing of many of my favorites would make a worthwhile edition of THE ENTERPRISE, so here goes.

---This one I heard Lou state on New Years Eve and it has become an instant favorite:
"A person really only needs 4 things in life: Something to do; someone to love; something to hope for; and someone to look up to."
—Lou Holtz

---Many of these reveal a philosophy of life and work--mine. Perhaps that these are my favorites is more revealing than any other measure.

"The musician must make music, and artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to ultimately be at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be."
--Abraham Maslow

"Security is mostly superstition--it does not exist in nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."
--Helen Keller

"I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. It makes planning the day a little difficult." 
--E. B. White

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."  
--Margaret Mead

"The only happy people I know are those who are working well at something they consider important." --Abraham Maslow

"Try not. Do! Or do not. There is no try." 
––Yoda

"My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions." 
--Peter Drucker

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." 
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The more I help others to succeed, the more I succeed."  
--Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's

"Vision without execution is a hallucination." 
—Thomas Edison

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." 
—Albert Einstein

"Leadership is the courage to admit mistakes, the vision to welcome change, the enthusiasm to motivate others, and the confidence to stay out of step when everyone else is marching to the wrong tune."
—E. M. Estes (former Chairman of GM)

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you will do. Attitude determines how well you do it." 
—Lou Holtz

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
—Peter Drucker (and others)\

"The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer."
—Theodore Levitt

"Leadership is about calling people to do things beyond themselves."
—David Gergen

"Leadership is the ability to take people to places they would be afraid to go alone."
—Robert Galvin

"The block of granite that is an obstacle in the path of the weak becomes a stepping stone in the path of the strong." 
--Thomas Carlyle

"A hug is a perfect gift. One size fits all and no one minds if you exchange it."
--from a Brush Dance greeting card

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
—Albert Einstein

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you; it's what you think you know that ain't so."
—Will Rogers

"Nothing so focuses the mind as the prospect of being hanged."
—Mark Twain (and others)

"I keep six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who."
—Rudyard Kipling

"The truth has a million faces, but there is only one truth."
—Herman Hesse

"Beautiful is what we see. More beautiful is what we understand. Most beautiful is what we do not comprehend."
—Nicolaus Steno, 1673

"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut."
—Will Rogers

"If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z. X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut." —Albert Einstein

"If you don't go where you don't go, you won't know what you don't know"
—Steve Goubeaux

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. And dance like no one is watching."
—source unknown

"This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew."
—Goethe

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."
—C. G. Jung

"The three most important questions all winners ask themselves:
1. What do I want? 2. How am I going to get it? 3. When am I going to do something about it?"
--Mark Gibson in "Going For It!"

A few of mine that I think are original:

"There is nothing more exciting, more exhilarating, and more habit-forming than being an integral part of a winning team--one that has fought the battles of competition, together--and emerged victorious, together." —John Mariotti

"In theory there is very little difference between theory and practice; in practice there is a lot of difference." —John Mariotti

"Think Big. Try small. Then adjust and go like hell."
—John Mariotti

"Don't doubt in the dark what you saw in the light."
—John Mariotti (borrowed from an forgotten source)

"How often do we climb the ladder of success without checking to see if it's leaning against the right wall?"
—John Mariotti (derived from a Stephen Covey statement)

FINALLY... novelist Dean Koontz writes some scary, some weird and some inspirational novels. The following is taken from one of his strangest, yet best--One Door Away From Heaven

"What is behind the door that is 'One Door Away From Heaven'?"
"If your heart is closed, then you will find behind that door nothing to light your way. But if your heart is open, you will find behind that door people who, like you, are searching, and you will find the right door together with them. None of us can ever save himself; we are the instruments of one another’s salvation, and only by the hope that we give to others do we lift ourselves out of the darkness and into the light."
—From the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz

I hope some of these simple bits of wisdom resonate with you as they have with me.

Best, John

THE ENTERPRISE--New Year Forecasts

THE ENTERPRISE

This is the first 2006 edition, which will be sent after New Year's Day. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

First, from Kiplinger Forecasts, a few predictions and my reaction to them:
1) US Troops will start coming home.
--- I agree, and predicted that certainly before the mid-term elections, the pressure to withdraw troops will be almost untenable. If the Iraqi are ever going to take control of their country, the time is now, following the clear indication (by great election turnouts) that the people want their emerging democracy to work.

2) The housing market will cool.
---This was also a prediction, not only of mine, but of nearly everyone else, too. I only hope it slows gradually and doesn't sink too far. A huge portion of the US economy's growth has been fueled by both jobs and capital availability created by housing, mortgage refinancing, etc. Winter heating costs will consume more of consumer's dollars, even if gasoline prices don't spike up again. Oil seems to have settled down a bit, which is good for all market sectors.

3) Consumer spending will slow.
---After a fairly strong Christmas, this too is pretty much a given. Inflation is lurking out there and new Fed Director Ben Bernanke is a vigilant inflation fighter. And don't expect interest rates to slow or reverse anytime soon, at least until reaching the 5% level. There is more turmoil in China than has been publicly reported here, and China is facing pricing pressures of its own. A little upward pricing on Chinese goods will also ripple through the US economy, hitting corporate profits worse than consumer spending

4) Forecasts are for stocks to climb.
---I'm not so confident on this one. There is money looking for places to go and the inversion of the long and short term bond rates have scared bond investors. The expected housing slowdown dampened real estate investment, so perhaps stocks ARE the only place to go, but they are far from a sure thing. Corporate profits will be good, but not great, as pricing catches up partially with commodity cost increases. Upsets will occur that shake the market's confidence, not the least of which are the travails of the US auto and airline companies.

5) Aging boomers have a lot of money to spend as the first of them turn 60.
---I suspect that while this is absolutely true, the concerns about retirement planning, health care, the looming Federal deficit and so forth will keep the lid on some of the conspicuous consumption. Congress can't figure out how to agree on the simplest of things, so don't expect them to tackle the toughies--entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare. If only they'd get real (and President Bush would ever find and then wield his veto pen), they could rein in some of the irresponsible spending of the past few years.

Last, my "risky prediction" of 2006: Don't be surprised if VP Dick Cheney's health problems flare up and he resigns. The pressure on him has been enormous and he has been working a pretty demanding stump speech schedule lately. That takes its toll on a not-so-good ticker. Who will be named to succeed him? That is the big question, since whoever it is, steps into the 2008 Presidential front-runner spot automatically. Who it won't be is Rudy Guiliani or John McCain, two of the most popular, but politically dicey picks. Doin't bet against Condoleeza Rice? Maybe, even if she doesn't want the job. Then again, maybe Cheney's health will hang in there and it will be up to the GOP to pick a candidate.

Two notes to close on: Kiplinger predicts (as did my 2002 novel, THE SILENCE, that computer security problems will worsen in 2006. The networks that make computers, Wi-Fi and cell phones so interactive are also playgrounds for hackers, viruses, phishers, and thieves. Change your passwords, use something a bit mroe complex (no birthdays and initials please), and watch carefully. Report any attempts to the legitimate keepers of those sites. I get a phishing try on a bogus PayPal hit every week or two, and an eBay try at least once a month or more. DON"T CLICK ON THEM! THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO. Forward them to either spoof@--------- or fraud@-------- using the known URL of the legitimate originator.

Since it is winter time in much of the US, the following article from a Dec. edition of the WSJ made me grin--I hope it makes you smile too. Perhaps this resonates with me because I grew up in snowy IL, lived in TN for 11 years (where the slightest hint of snow triggered school closings and a run on the grocery stores) and I am now back in cold, snowy OH. What's it like where you live? Snow days were FUN, sometimes, weren't they?

Happy New Year
John

------You Call This a Snow Day?
By SUSAN M. CASS
©The Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2005; Page A12

GREAT FALLS, Va. -- What's the deal with snow days in the South? As a fairly new Virginian, moving here last year from Boston, I have been amazed at the locals' reaction to small amounts of snow.

On Friday, our 8-year-old daughter Daniella came bounding into our room at 6:30 a.m., announcing that it was snowing and asking if school was canceled. A quick look out the window revealed about two inches of snow on the ground, with light flurries in the air, so I quickly dashed her hopes. Nice try, I said, but you're going to school. Silly me! When I checked the Web site, I was shocked. The county had closed all the schools for the day. I wondered if maybe they knew something I didn't about a looming blizzard, but as the sun rose on a glorious, cool day, and the snow started melting, I was left with the question: This is a snow day?

A few days earlier, the county had delayed school for two hours because it was too cold for the kids to stand at the bus stop. It was around 30 degrees. Above zero. In December. Please don't get me wrong: I think it's admirable that the county "really cares about kids' safety," as our daughter -- grinning and reaching for her DVD remote -- put it. But with these standards, kids in the Northeast would all be home schooled!

I recall a week in early February 1978, when I was a young girl growing up in Rhode Island, when we were blessed with 48 inches of snow over a three-day period. As a child of 52 inches, quickly sinking up to my eyeballs in snow was quite a memorable experience.

The whole state shut down for two weeks. There were no cars on the road -- just neighbors walking in the streets, pulling their children on sleds behind them, or hauling prized staples of milk, bread, toilet paper and batteries. Neighbors pitched in to help shovel out driveways and sidewalks for the elderly. Others opened their homes to total strangers who were stranded by the blizzard.

Two weeks with no school -- but also no electricity for television. There were no Gameboys then or portable CD players, or iPods, for that matter. No cell phones or Internet. Kids had the choice of reading, playing out in the snow, or spending time with their families.

Now that was a snow day!
Mrs. Cass is executive vice president of Cass & Associates, a legal consultancy in Great Falls, Va.