Alan C. Fox's Blog, page 34

Today I drove 77 miles North from Los Angeles to attend the first 100th birthday party I have ever been invited to. I stopped at a drug store to buy a card for Bill, the birthday boy. Finding no greeting cards for a 100th birthday, I bought two cards congratulating him on his 50th birthday. The cards were funny and turned out to be a hit.

I have been a guest at Bill’s birthday parties for more than twenty years. At first there was a dinner at the home of one of his two daughters, but in rec...

When I was a kid I earned comic book money by pulling dandelions out of the lawn in our back yard. My mother paid me one cent for each dandelion. A comic book cost ten cents. So every week I would try to find twenty or thirty dandelions to yank out. I liked comic books. One time I wanted to make a lot of money, and I remember talking to my mom in the back yard on a hot Sunday afternoon for more than three hours while I pulled out 600 dandelions. I think that was the day my mom stopped payin...

The first month of the New Year is fading, and with it, perhaps, our New Year’s Resolutions. It is so alluring – New Year, Fresh Start. “This year I’m going to lose those 20 pounds, earn or save more money, and make new friends or get along better with those I already know.”





I think of a New Year’s Resolution as a charming rainbow which begins in our hearts and ends over the horizon. Such rainbows are enchanting to create, and delightful to enjoy, with our very own pot of gold waiting for...

At age 21 I was married and living with Jo Anne in a one bedroom furnished apartment on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles. I was enrolled in law school, but during the summer I held a full time job with the National CPA firm Peat, Marwick, with offices in downtown Los Angeles.

I commuted to work each day, and figured it was cheaper to commute by bus for twenty-five cents than to drive fifteen miles each way and pay for parking. When I returned home in the evening the cost of one ad...

Have you not secured your copy of People Tools yet? Well good news! We have a few giveaways of the book leading up to is launch on January 21st, including 10 signed copies by author Alan C. Fox via the Rafflecopter giveaway.

To enter to wina copy of People Tools, enter via GoodReads orthe Rafflecopter widget below. Copies will be mailed out at the end of each respective giveaway.

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-...

When I drive my car I sometimes marvel at all of the adjustments a driver needs to make, split second by split second. We watch carefully, listen, adjust our course a little to stay in the same lane, change lanes, stop for traffic signals, and avoid hitting pedestrians. As I tell my children, if you daydream in class for fifteen minutes, no big deal. If you daydream for five seconds while driving you could be dead. When I drive I pay strict attention.

Driving a car, or living your life, is...

(For my daughter Sara)

Rice grows

in water from the river.

We both sweat

in the summer sun.

The peace of this place

will capture you.

I think of Buddhist sand paintings

disappearing with the wind.

Alan

Happy New Year! Check out my first kiss of the year here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqzVO2I5o8

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, when we celebrate out with the old. Good riddance, I say. The coming New Year has all the promise which we could possibly desire – we can lose weight, save money, and improve our relationships. When was the last time we had that golden opportunity?





I remember. It was about a year ago when I viewed the first sunrise of 2013. Funny how each year gets old, just like we do. How can we ensure that twelve months from now 2014 will not join that awful 2013 in the dustbi...

The motorbike putt putts,

diminishing in the afternoon.

The woman sings

from the comfort of a radio.

The ship turns slowly,

slowly on the tide.

All is well.

All is always, always well.

Tonight is Christmas Eve and most of us are shopping, anticipating, or trying tocomplete whatever before year end. Here I am at my dining room table writinga blog. For your sake, and mine, I’ll make it short.





I have an idea for a single gift that will cost you nothing, is already gift wrapped,and will bring joy to you and to hundreds of others for the eight remaining daysthis year, and the 365 days available in 2014.





Give the gift of yourself.





To be more specific:





1. Arrange to spend “Q...