The Coffee Clatter

Fellow Business Executives:

As the CFO of this business that employs 140 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama will be our next President, and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way.

To compensate for these increases, I figure that the Clients will have to see an increase in our fees to them of about 8% but since we cannot increase our fees right now due to the dismal state of our economy, we will have to lay off six or eight of our employees instead. This has really been eating at me for a while, as we believe we are family here and I didn’t know how to choose who will have to go.

So, this is what I did. I strolled through our parking lot and found 8 Obama bumper stickers on our employees’ cars and have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off. I can’t think of a more fair way to approach this problem. These folks wanted change; I gave it to them.

If you have a better idea, let me know…

Gun Sales Spike – Freedom Fighters Hit Gun Shops for a Reason

Fire arms caught the economic hike after the election due to implied tightening of rules governing the sale of guns. Do you have one? Gun laws appear to be tightening up on the sale of guns, due to changes in Government officials.

Can the Presidential Election have that much to do with national safety? Or is there panic in the streets?

According to Emberty, a local sports store owner, most purchases are semi-automatic weapons and accessories. The buying frenzy includes people Emberty isn’t used to seeing in the store. “They feel like ‘if I don’t buy it now, I may not be able to buy it later,’” says Emberty.

As sales increase, the increase in time to pass a background check also increases substantially. Time averaging fifteen to thirty minutes two weeks ago have increased to two hours. Last Saturday the processing times were over three hours.

The requirement to fill out a federal form, and then be checked by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations against the National Insta Check system operated by the FBI includes ALL Gun Buyers. No firearm may be purchased prior to passing this background check.

Current laws may change as Obama appoints new justices to the United States Supreme Court. While five current justices lean toward gun owner’s right to own and bare arms, four lean toward stricter regulation. Depending on which way the appointed justices’ lean, law changes could be eminent.

Democrats in the area assure us there will be no changes, stating the President-elect’s stance during his campaign, stating, “Don’t freak out.” Their reassurance includes memories of frequent frantic reactions in years past, proclaiming that Obama understands our rights and needs, preferring instead of restriction, education and responsibility of gun ownership and use.

Right or wrong, the opportunity for change is in the air.

Once elected, campaign promises mean little to the majority of politicians. Obama’s statements about gun ownership, personal freedom, and the rights of Americans tended to fall into this category.

Read More on this story at Lamar Daily…

“When I think of home,” Jan Verhoeff, a writer located in the Denver Metro Area explained, “I think of the mountain south of Lamar, my family, and the kind of Backroads of Yesterday that Oris George speaks of in his writings.”

This excerpt from an article written about Oris George, by an Arkansas Valley Writer, Danielle Simone, says a lot about the type of writing George puts into his work.

Asked why he writes, Reed said, “I knew I really wanted to be able to tell a story.” And in 1950, in high school, he started doing just that. His first story, The Decision, received an “A” from his English teacher, won the school - as well as a district contest and was published in The Capital Press, an Oregon State agricultural newspaper. Over the next 5 years, while in the service, stationed in Tours, France, Reed wrote numerous articles for a local newspaper there. He also published an article for a paper in Chinon, France. Reed has something to say, and he says it well.

Since 1960 he has written stories, articles, columns and essays and has published in magazines and newspapers including Mules and More, Western Mule, Cappers, The Saddle Mule News and Three Springs. In 1994 he published a book called Donkeys I Grew up With, which contained information about donkeys from his mother’s stories over the years. “Because of her stories, I developed an early love of donkeys.”

While many of his blog posts located at Backroads of Yesterday are popular with his mule loving friends, the reality is his words evict a kind of presence in the hearts of those who know and love the Valley and the life that is shared there. You can’t get away from it. “The Valley keeps calling you home,” says Verhoeff.

Okay, I’m as fond of my Joe as the next guy, but seriously… If you’re addicted to coffee listen up!

Coffee can be a dehydrater that sucks the moisture out of your blood and skin. If you haven’t heard this and you’re wondering why your legs are dry, red and itchy after you’ve had three cups of coffee every morning… You might want to cut back and add more water to your diet. Water clarifies the toxins and there are many toxins in that morning cup of Joe.

Besides your typical round of caffiene, did you know there are at least seventeen different forms of mold that grow in drying coffee beans? Okay, that was enough to make me reconsider my coffee drinking habits. But, seriously… mold.

Now, come to think of it, I know there’s mold in the oranges that are processed into orange juice too. So, you might understand a bit more why vegens (and those of us who lean that direction) prefer to get our OJ fresh from the fruit, one slice at a time.

Flavored coffees…

Have you had your StarBucks today? At $5.00 a day, that’s a cool $150 a month or $1,800.00 a year. for coffee? That’s quite a sum of cash! And have you got any idea how many calories are in a cup of specialty coffee with cream? It’s a bunch!

Just adding a bright spot to your morning… Have a great day!

Make a Difference – Political Voice Gives You an Option and a Choice

Now that the election is over, there are a few things you can do as a citizen to be heard by politicians and leaders. Many folks desire a voice in political choices, but don’t want to speak out too vibrantly. They just want to be heard.

You can be heard. Here are a few suggestions of ideas you can use to state your opinion, give voice to your concerns without intruding too much into the public eye.

·         Write a letter to the editor – state your issue clearly, concisely and caringly with consideration not only for your cause, but for your reader. Ask a question about the situation, and then give your opinion and reasons for your views. Stand your ground with poise and clarity.

·         Write to your political leaders – tell them what you want. Political leaders often have their own agenda, but if they know their constituents have specific needs, they will generally listen and apply those needs to their list of political actions and concerns.

·         Blog about it – while you may think blogging is a silent means of sending vibes out to the universe with out much effect, the opposite is true. If you’re blogging your concerns, others will eventually find and read your thoughts. They’ll add their own too.

·         Bring together others who agree with your views – create a support group, collectively you can accomplish more than one person, you have power that a single person doesn’t have, and your group can step out as a unit to present views with impact one person might not be able to provide.

·         Find supporters and develop your own political group – lobbyist come from such organizations as this. Create your own lobbyist group and present your views to political leaders. Your views are as important as any others. Present them well and be heard.

Step out and say what you have to say with impact and power, because your views are important.

Speak out at the Coffee Clatter, at http://coffeeclatter.com and share your voice. Join the round table discussion and share your views on any given topic in the Coffee Clatter.

© 2008 – Jan Verhoeff

Okay, so I’m having a ball with the artsy new program on my computer! I couldn’t resist. I needed something striking, and while I really and truly loved the cup of coffee sitting in the upper right corner of my website, it just seemed to be lacking punch. Well, I punched it, spilled it all over the header and wiped it up with a paint brush.

I’m seriously thinking I need to make a larger print of the same cup of coffee and frame it for my dining room! I really do love the splashed over look of that piece of art. Perhaps it will go well with my newly designed dining room and kitchen. The cabinets are looking mighty fine, I ordered them yesterday from Home Depot. Maybe I’ll grab a nice white marble counter top too.

Check it out and leave me a comment, I’m interested to know what you think.

Jan Verhoeff

Writers spend a lot of time trying to find their muse. It’s a given, your muse will elude you until you grab it by the throat and take it down. It’s time to grab your muse, writers.

Grab a cup of hot coffee and let’s talk about your muse.

What is a muse? That’s probably the first question we should answer.

A muse is what stirs you to write. For instance, my muse is most often my kids. Although I don’t write about them all the time, they frequently inspire me to write. Whether I’m writing about kids, music, art, writing or business - my kids inspire me. Their interests and needs are always in my mind, often part of what I’m writing.

Your muse is your inspiration to write, no matter what you write about.

One of my best friends claims that her muse is coffee. I can almost believe that. I’m always excited about having coffee to drink while I write, and then there’s that cup of tea that just finishes off my afternoon, when I’m writing something important. I love the process of finding an inspiration to write. It’s one of those ever happening kind of storms that writers survive - or in my case thrive in.

Speaking of storms…

Some of my favorite muses are storms, fog, rain, and thunder. I just love a good thunderstorm to write by. Can you imagine the thrill of creating a story in the middle of a foggy morning? It’s like you’re on the planet all alone, the world is faded off into the distance and the fog surrounds you filling up your mind with characters, settings and activities. Let the winds blow away the cobwebs and write until your little heart is content.

Find your muse at the Coffee Clatter - writers.