Joe Marconi on Life’s Business

A colleague at the university where I teach has this sign on her door: I can only please one person today. Today is not your day. Tomorrow does not look good either. It’s a silly sign and I smile every time I read it. But not everyone does. The number of people with a sense of humor today seems to be on the decline. Magical thinking – the belief that ...  Read More

Is it Extreme Cultural Idiocy… or the Devil? There must be an explanation. Really. About now banks, insurance companies, airlines, drug companies, and the oil industry are all getting a pretty good pummeling from interest groups, legislators and much of the public. It would appear the companies and their respective industry associations could use a crash course in public relations. (I...  Read More

It’s often said that people get the government they deserve or that… we get what we deserve . Those are examples of using a popular quotation from some smart person to help make a case. Usually the quotation offered is close to what was actually said, but not exact enough to win a big-screen TV, luggage, or an all-expenses-paid trip to Latvia. George Bernard Shaw wrote, " Democracy is a...  Read More

Here are a few things everyone needs to know: Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. – Forrest Gump (by novelist Winston Groom) Life is just a bowl of cherries. Don't take it serious; life's so mysterious. – Composer George Gershwin Life is an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep. – Poet Carl...  Read More