"But Will Good Character Pay My Bills"

[pds]

** Admins: I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post so feel free to move it elsewhere as you see fit **

As you may have seen in the news, Verizon is acquiring Straightpath for $3.1 billion. I had never heard of the company so I started reading about them. They were spun-off from IDT in 2013, which led me to read about IDT and it's founder Howard Jonas. As I was researching this guy, I came across an article he wrote titled "But Will Good Character Pay My Bills". It's a great read with a lot of lessons to be learned. I thought I'd share it here with you guys.

I pasted the story below or you can read it here: But Will Good Character Pay My Bills?

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On July 23, 1970, I pushed a makeshift hot dog stand to a street corner in the Bronx, in front of the Van Etten Hospital and across from a bar called the Tender Trap.

It’s a shame that so many young people don’t work. Instead they mooch off their parents, go to school, hang out, and consume indiscriminately, all the while finding time to criticize everyone else. We’re all born naturally selfish. Only by enduring and overcoming life’s hard knocks do we build our characters and become empathetic to other people’s struggles. Working for a living forces us to learn to cooperate and to treat people right. Years ago, almost every young person had to work on the family farm, in the family store, or in some other job in order to make a necessary contribution to the family’s survival. The character of previous generations was built from this sense of responsibility instilled from an early age.

What builds the character of youth today? Watching TV? Belonging to a gang? Playing on the high school golf team?

My character was built in a hot dog stand.

On Sunday mornings, the bar across the street was in a shambles. An elderly couple arrived early in a beat-up Dodge sedan to clean the place up. This was a big problem for me. I had a deal with the usual bartenders to supply me with ice during the week, and ice was the magical substance that fueled my business.

The secret to selling hot dogs is selling twice as many sodas. On every 25-cent can of soda, I made 15 cents, whereas on every twenty-five-cent frank I only made a dime. The hotter the summer day, the more I made, and in New York City, summer gets pretty sweaty. If the old couple refused to give me free ice, my profits would plummet. So I walked into the bar on my first Sunday prepared to negotiate, but when the old lady looked up from her mop, she just smiled and said, “Oh, you’re the nice young man with the hot dog cart. Of course you can have ice; you can have whatever you like.”

After that, we became friends. I offered her and her husband free hot dogs, but they were on a no-salt diet. I had started selling flowers, though (to the hospital visitors), so every Sunday when the old couple showed up, I crossed the street to get my ice, and brought the old lady the nicest rose I could find.

One Sunday morning, my hot dog, soda, and flower business came crashing down around me. Another vendor with a huge mechanized stand showed up with his 24-year-old son to steal my spot. The vendor’s son informed me that I had 15 minutes to clear out or he’d come over and kick my you-know-what. Then he pulled a switchblade on me and said he’d kill me if I put up a fight.

Now on the one hand, I definitely didn’t want to die. On the other hand, I wasn’t giving up my spot.

I went over to the Tender Trap and asked the old lady to call the cops if she saw anything happening to me. When I went back to my stand, though, the old lady came out behind me, screaming like a banshee. She told the father-son duo that it was my spot and they’d better leave if they knew what was good for them.

The father yelled back that he’d set up shop wherever he wanted, and called the old lady a terrible name. At that she turned around and went back inside the Tender Trap.

A couple of minutes later, three big Cadillacs (one pink and two white) screeched to a stop in front of our stands. Seven enormous men got out of the cars, and one of them charged the vendor screaming, “Who insulted my mother?” The vendor’s son suddenly lost his bravado.

“Johnny,” he pleaded, “I swear I didn’t know she was your mother.”

The old lady’s son pummeled the younger man with two of his friends trying to restrain him.

“Calm down, Johnny. You don’t want to kill the guy.”

When Johnny finally calmed down, he told my competitors that if they brought their stand anywhere near my spot again, it would be the last day they ever sold hot dogs. He then took a baseball bat out of his trunk and bashed the chrome on their stand about eight or nine times to make sure they got the message. After that, I never saw them, or any other competitor, again.

When the other vendor took off, Johnny and his associates ordered hot dogs like they hadn’t eaten for days. I assumed the dogs were on the house, fair compensation for services rendered, but Johnny not only insisted on paying, he gave me a 20 dollar tip as well. When I refused, he told me it was for the flowers, and that “anyone who’s a friend of my mother is a friend of mine, and I don’t take no money from friends...”

Becoming friends with the old lady was probably the best business move I had ever made at that point in my blossoming career. But why exactly had I befriended her? Part of it was just that I needed to make sure I had a steady supply of ice. But more than that, I felt empathy for her and her husband. As I sat at my hot dog stand and watched them get out of their beat-up car to clean a filthy bar on the morning after a Saturday night rager, I could imagine myself in their shoes. They weren’t rich, and it was obviously difficult to get up early in the morning, especially at their age, to clean out a bar. But they were independent. They worked hard and did the best they could, and I admired and respected them for that. Even at fourteen I realized that things don’t always work out the way people intend – illness, business setbacks, bankruptcy, war, prison. You just never know.

In life, luck counts for a lot. I realized that I could be in their position in 50 years. This double awareness – that people should be judged on how much they do with what they’re given, and not just on how much they accomplish; and also that given slightly altered circumstances, most other people in the world and I could easily have our roles reversed – has instilled in me a deep sense of humility.

Success in business, I think, comes as the result of a combination of many different factors, most of which can’t be controlled. Talent and luck, for example, are God-given. Who knew Johnny would come to my rescue in his pink Caddy? The good news, however, is that good character, which is at least as essential, if not more so, to founding and running a major company, can be developed. Persistence, courage, patience, empathy, loyalty, honesty, integrity, kindness, generosity, the ability to cooperate with others – these can all be worked on and cultivated. Eventually most people, as they get older and work in the productive sphere, develop, out of necessity, into relatively decent people. Obviously it is a tremendous advantage, though, to form a good character and learn these values early on.

Of all these good character traits, though, humility is far and away the most important to develop if you want to succeed in business in a major way. Humility, that good character trait that saved my hot dog stand, serves me equally well as the CEO of a multibillion-dollar telecom company. Developing a sense of humility in my teens has literally made and saved me millions of dollars. Here’s how...

In college, I ran one of the nation’s most successful mail order businesses. At that time, a lot of mail-order marketers were making big money selling small samples of well-known perfumes. I realized that the women ordering the samples had yet to commit to a single brand, and I also knew from my other businesses that people always wanted personalized products that were especially designed and made just for them. I hit upon what I thought was a brilliant idea: perfume personalized for your personality. Women would fill in a whole page of questions about their age, weight, favorite colors, dreams, pastimes, education, clothing preferences, etc...and we’d send them the perfect scent in the mail a few weeks later.

I even invented a fictional Italian perfumer, Giuseppe La- Verde, whom we featured in our ads as personally supervising the blending process for each fragrance. I was so enthralled with the idea, and the genius of my ads, that I could barely think of anything else. Estee Lauder, Charles Revlon, and Nina Ricci would soon be nothing compared to me.

Usually, when introducing a new product to the market, I ran a sample ad in a small publication before ordering any merchandise or placing a large advertising buy. This time, though, I was so sure of myself, and so anxious to launch my takeover of the cosmetics industry that I threw caution to the wind. I hired an expert fragrance chemist to formulate dozens of Giuseppe LaVerde perfumes so they would be ready when the orders came pouring in. I stocked my storeroom with cases and cases of the different perfume varieties. I spent $10,000 on a full-page ad in the National Enquirer, and sat back waiting to become rich beyond my wildest imagination.

But even my wildest imagination could not have conceived of the number of letters that would gush in for Giuseppe La- Verde. One. One single, thirty-three-year-old, green-eyed badminton enthusiast from Iowa filled out the survey and ordered her specially mixed scent. One! Giuseppe LaVerde had cost me over $25,000!

What Giuseppe and young Howard didn’t yet know was that a woman wears perfume to be Lauren Hutton, Elle McPherson, or Coco Chanel, not to be herself – an overweight, middle-aged librarian with a degree from a junior college. How could I have been so stupid? What grandiosity! What recklessness! Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa!

Eventually I learned my lesson, and I never ran an ad campaign again without testing it first. The rule has held true in every business I’ve been a part of since. Many times I’ve found that things I thought were sure bets weren’t sure at all. When people are on a winning streak and think they’re right, they often feel the need to put their money where their mouths are. You see this in Vegas whenever someone lets it all ride on black, or some quiet employee loses thirty years of savings on a risky investment. This kind of risk taking is pure hubris. There’s always a way to test first, to gather information, to scope out competition, and generally to hedge the bet. Many of the most successful people in the business world seem to be big gamblers, but I promise you, they’re never making bets that aren’t well hedged.

A businessman has to know he’s fallible, that he’s a human being who can and will make mistakes. Only a humble man has the discipline to avoid disaster by cutting his losses when he realizes he made a mistake. And only a humble man will really abide, year after year, by the business world’s three most important rules: test, test, test.

Humility is also the key trait to possess if you want to inspire the people who work with you to put the full force of their hearts, souls, and creativity into your business.

When you realize that only a hair’s breadth separates society’s successes from its spectacular failures, and you see that being on top now in no way guarantees that you won’t find yourself at the bottom in the future, you will probably want to help people who are less fortunate. If the roles were reversed, you’d want them to do the same for you. The irony is that charitability, which comes from humility, can have an extremely beneficial impact on the bottom line.

I started to give a lot of my income to charity in high school. At just that time, I became interested in my Jewish roots and discovered that the Jewish sages advise a person to give away between ten and twenty percent of his after-tax earnings. Twenty percent is the maximum because giving away more could endanger a person’s financial stability, which would be bad for society as a whole. I therefore decided to try to give around twenty percent of my income to charity each year. It’s hard to begin to relate how rewarding this decision has been.

First off, my charitable donations lift my self-image in ways nothing else can. Imagine how rich you feel when you can sit down and think about the truly needy people in the world, decide which ones you most want to help, and then send them a check that helps alleviate their suffering. I can tell you from experience that it makes you feel like a millionaire. It’s just impossible to feel poor when you’re giving away money. Charity also renders any luxury items you’re “lacking” grossly unimportant. This is just as true when you live hand to mouth as when you live on Easy Street.

Giving money to those in need also keeps you balanced and pointed in the right direction. Instead of feeling envious and unhappy from having your mind focused constantly on people who have more wealth, talent, and accomplishments than you, you feel grateful and satisfied because of your awareness of those who have less. But most importantly, the tremendous sense of satisfaction that comes with supporting worthwhile organizations and charities motivates people who give to work hard, succeed, and earn more so they can give more.

When you think about it, doesn’t it seem empty to channel all your creative powers into the pursuit of a Lexus? To me, it seems nuts. If amassing material possessions is truly the end goal of all the hard work, then maybe it would be better to stay home and read a good book. On the other hand, the people who come to work every morning in order to accomplish something noble, or to make the money needed to support a noble cause, wind up elevating their whole existence. Work is then transformed from a monotonous and mundane task to a spiritually uplifting and even sublime expression of your highest ideals. You don’t just work to satisfy your own selfish desires, but to help others and make the world a better place.

One last thing. By getting involved in charitable organizations, you’ll meet great people who may become your closest friends. Not only that, some of the people you meet will be extremely rich, important, and powerful. These people, who are totally inaccessible if you approach them in a business setting, are happy to talk to you at a charity board meeting. Who knows? One of these people might give you the venture capital money you need to pursue your dream. That’s exactly what happened to me. I’m certainly not saying that you should get involved in these organizations in order to make good business connections.

The only good reason to volunteer and support a charity is if you honestly believe in, and want to promote, their cause. But if the system is set up so that the contacts you make while doing the right thing help you in the business arena as well... well then, who am I to complain?

 

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[Marco Cuevas]

O qetvif vji tvusz cimux us zua dep sief ov jisi: Cav Xomm Huuf Djesedvis Qez Nz Commt?

Vjot xet e xupfisgam sief... vjeplt gus iyqutoph ov vu at.

 

[Walter Hay]

O xuamf wuvi gus vjot vu ci dunqamtusz siefoph.

Xemvis

 

[ZF Lee]

** Efnopt: O'n puv tasi og vjot ot vji dussidv qmedi vu qutv tu giim gsii vu nuwi ov imtixjisi et zua tii gov **

Et zua nez jewi tiip op vji pixt, Wisobup ot edraosoph Tvseohjvqevj gus $3.1 commoup. O jef piwis jiesf ug vji dunqepz tu O tvesvif siefoph ecuav vjin. Vjiz xisi tqap-ugg gsun OFV op 2013, xjodj mif ni vu sief ecuav OFV epf ov't guapfis Juxesf Kupet. Et O xet sitiesdjoph vjot haz, O deni edsutt ep esvodmi ji xsuvi vovmif "Cav Xomm Huuf Djesedvis Qez Nz Commt". Ov't e hsiev sief xovj e muv ug mittupt vu ci miespif. O vjuahjv O'f tjesi ov jisi xovj zua hazt.

O qetvif vji tvusz cimux us zua dep sief ov jisi: Cav Xomm Huuf Djesedvis Qez Nz Commt?

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Up Kamz 23, 1970, O qatjif e nelitjogv juv fuh tvepf vu e tvsiiv duspis op vji Csupy, op gsupv ug vji Wep Ivvip Jutqovem epf edsutt gsun e ces demmif vji Vipfis Vseq.

Ov’t e tjeni vjev tu nepz zuaph qiuqmi fup’v xusl. Optvief vjiz nuudj ugg vjios qesipvt, hu vu tdjuum, jeph uav, epf duptani opfotdsonopevimz, emm vji xjomi gopfoph voni vu dsovodobi iwiszupi imti. Xi’si emm cusp pevasemmz timgotj. Upmz cz ipfasoph epf uwisdunoph mogi’t jesf lpudlt fu xi caomf uas djesedvist epf ciduni inqevjivod vu uvjis qiuqmi’t tvsahhmit. Xusloph gus e mowoph gusdit at vu miesp vu duuqisevi epf vu vsiev qiuqmi sohjv. Ziest ehu, emnutv iwisz zuaph qistup jef vu xusl up vji genomz gesn, op vji genomz tvusi, us op tuni uvjis kuc op usfis vu neli e pidittesz dupvsocavoup vu vji genomz’t taswowem. Vji djesedvis ug qsiwouat hipisevoupt xet caomv gsun vjot tipti ug sitquptocomovz optvommif gsun ep iesmz ehi.

Xjev caomft vji djesedvis ug zuavj vufez? Xevdjoph VW? Cimuphoph vu e heph? Qmezoph up vji johj tdjuum humg vien?

Nz djesedvis xet caomv op e juv fuh tvepf.

Up Tapfez nuspopht, vji ces edsutt vji tvsiiv xet op e tjencmit. Ep imfismz duaqmi essowif iesmz op e ciev-aq Fufhi tifep vu dmiep vji qmedi aq. Vjot xet e coh qsucmin gus ni. O jef e fiem xovj vji ataem cesvipfist vu taqqmz ni xovj odi fasoph vji xiil, epf odi xet vji nehodem tactvepdi vjev gaimif nz catopitt.

Vji tidsiv vu timmoph juv fuht ot timmoph vxodi et nepz tufet. Up iwisz 25-dipv dep ug tufe, O nefi 15 dipvt, xjisiet up iwisz vxipvz-gowi-dipv gsepl O upmz nefi e foni. Vji juvvis vji tannis fez, vji nusi O nefi, epf op Pix Zusl Dovz, tannis hivt qsivvz txievz. Og vji umf duaqmi sigatif vu howi ni gsii odi, nz qsugovt xuamf qmanniv. Tu O xemlif opvu vji ces up nz gostv Tapfez qsiqesif vu pihuvoevi, cav xjip vji umf mefz muulif aq gsun jis nuq, tji katv tnomif epf teof, “Uj, zua’si vji podi zuaph nep xovj vji juv fuh desv. Ug duasti zua dep jewi odi; zua dep jewi xjeviwis zua moli.”

Egvis vjev, xi cideni gsoipft. O uggisif jis epf jis jatcepf gsii juv fuht, cav vjiz xisi up e pu-temv foiv. O jef tvesvif timmoph gmuxist, vjuahj (vu vji jutqovem wotovust), tu iwisz Tapfez xjip vji umf duaqmi tjuxif aq, O dsuttif vji tvsiiv vu hiv nz odi, epf csuahjv vji umf mefz vji poditv suti O duamf gopf.

Upi Tapfez nuspoph, nz juv fuh, tufe, epf gmuxis catopitt deni dsetjoph fuxp esuapf ni. Epuvjis wipfus xovj e jahi nidjepobif tvepf tjuxif aq xovj jot 24-zies-umf tup vu tviem nz tquv. Vji wipfus’t tup opgusnif ni vjev O jef 15 nopavit vu dmies uav us ji’f duni uwis epf lodl nz zua-lpux-xjev. Vjip ji qammif e txovdjcmefi up ni epf teof ji’f lomm ni og O qav aq e gohjv.

Pux up vji upi jepf, O figopovimz fofp’v xepv vu foi. Up vji uvjis jepf, O xetp’v howoph aq nz tquv.

O xipv uwis vu vji Vipfis Vseq epf etlif vji umf mefz vu demm vji duqt og tji tex epzvjoph jeqqipoph vu ni. Xjip O xipv cedl vu nz tvepf, vjuahj, vji umf mefz deni uav cijopf ni, tdsienoph moli e ceptjii. Tji vumf vji gevjis-tup fau vjev ov xet nz tquv epf vjiz’f civvis miewi og vjiz lpix xjev xet huuf gus vjin.

Vji gevjis zimmif cedl vjev ji’f tiv aq tjuq xjisiwis ji xepvif, epf demmif vji umf mefz e vissocmi peni. Ev vjev tji vaspif esuapf epf xipv cedl optofi vji Vipfis Vseq.

E duaqmi ug nopavit mevis, vjsii coh Defommedt (upi qopl epf vxu xjovi) tdsiidjif vu e tvuq op gsupv ug uas tvepft. Tiwip ipusnuat nip huv uav ug vji dest, epf upi ug vjin djeshif vji wipfus tdsienoph, “Xju optamvif nz nuvjis?” Vji wipfus’t tup taffipmz mutv jot csewefu.

“Kujppz,” ji qmiefif, “O txies O fofp’v lpux tji xet zuas nuvjis.”

Vji umf mefz’t tup qannimif vji zuaphis nep xovj vxu ug jot gsoipft vszoph vu sitvseop jon.

“Demn fuxp, Kujppz. Zua fup’v xepv vu lomm vji haz.”

Xjip Kujppz gopemmz demnif fuxp, ji vumf nz dunqivovust vjev og vjiz csuahjv vjios tvepf epzxjisi pies nz tquv eheop, ov xuamf ci vji metv fez vjiz iwis tumf juv fuht. Ji vjip vuul e ceticemm cev uav ug jot vsapl epf cetjif vji djsuni up vjios tvepf ecuav iohjv us popi vonit vu neli tasi vjiz huv vji nittehi. Egvis vjev, O piwis tex vjin, us epz uvjis dunqivovus, eheop.

Xjip vji uvjis wipfus vuul ugg, Kujppz epf jot ettudoevit usfisif juv fuht moli vjiz jefp’v ievip gus fezt. O ettanif vji fuht xisi up vji juati, geos dunqiptevoup gus tiswodit sipfisif, cav Kujppz puv upmz optotvif up qezoph, ji hewi ni e 20 fummes voq et ximm. Xjip O sigatif, ji vumf ni ov xet gus vji gmuxist, epf vjev “epzupi xju’t e gsoipf ug nz nuvjis ot e gsoipf ug nopi, epf O fup’v veli pu nupiz gsun gsoipft...”

Cidunoph gsoipft xovj vji umf mefz xet qsucecmz vji citv catopitt nuwi O jef iwis nefi ev vjev quopv op nz cmuttunoph desiis. Cav xjz iyedvmz jef O cigsoipfif jis? Qesv ug ov xet katv vjev O piifif vu neli tasi O jef e tviefz taqqmz ug odi. Cav nusi vjep vjev, O gimv inqevjz gus jis epf jis jatcepf. Et O tev ev nz juv fuh tvepf epf xevdjif vjin hiv uav ug vjios ciev-aq des vu dmiep e gomvjz ces up vji nuspoph egvis e Tevasfez pohjv sehis, O duamf onehopi nztimg op vjios tjuit. Vjiz xisip’v sodj, epf ov xet ucwouatmz foggodamv vu hiv aq iesmz op vji nuspoph, itqidoemmz ev vjios ehi, vu dmiep uav e ces. Cav vjiz xisi opfiqipfipv. Vjiz xuslif jesf epf fof vji citv vjiz duamf, epf O efnosif epf sitqidvif vjin gus vjev. Iwip ev guasviip O siemobif vjev vjopht fup’v emxezt xusl uav vji xez qiuqmi opvipf – ommpitt, catopitt tivcedlt, ceplsaqvdz, xes, qsotup. Zua katv piwis lpux.

Op mogi, madl duapvt gus e muv. O siemobif vjev O duamf ci op vjios qutovoup op 50 ziest. Vjot fuacmi exesipitt – vjev qiuqmi tjuamf ci kafhif up jux nadj vjiz fu xovj xjev vjiz’si howip, epf puv katv up jux nadj vjiz eddunqmotj; epf emtu vjev howip tmohjvmz emvisif dosdantvepdit, nutv uvjis qiuqmi op vji xusmf epf O duamf ietomz jewi uas sumit siwistif – jet optvommif op ni e fiiq tipti ug janomovz.

Tadditt op catopitt, O vjopl, dunit et vji sitamv ug e duncopevoup ug nepz foggisipv gedvust, nutv ug xjodj dep’v ci dupvsummif. Vemipv epf madl, gus iyenqmi, esi Huf-howip. Xju lpix Kujppz xuamf duni vu nz sitdai op jot qopl Deffz? Vji huuf pixt, juxiwis, ot vjev huuf djesedvis, xjodj ot ev mietv et ittipvoem, og puv nusi tu, vu guapfoph epf sappoph e nekus dunqepz, dep ci fiwimuqif. Qistotvipdi, duasehi, qevoipdi, inqevjz, muzemvz, jupitvz, opvihsovz, lopfpitt, hipisutovz, vji ecomovz vu duuqisevi xovj uvjist – vjiti dep emm ci xuslif up epf damvowevif. Iwipvaemmz nutv qiuqmi, et vjiz hiv umfis epf xusl op vji qsufadvowi tqjisi, fiwimuq, uav ug pidittovz, opvu simevowimz fidipv qiuqmi. Ucwouatmz ov ot e vsinipfuat efwepvehi, vjuahj, vu gusn e huuf djesedvis epf miesp vjiti wemait iesmz up.

Ug emm vjiti huuf djesedvis vseovt, vjuahj, janomovz ot ges epf exez vji nutv onqusvepv vu fiwimuq og zua xepv vu taddiif op catopitt op e nekus xez. Janomovz, vjev huuf djesedvis vseov vjev tewif nz juv fuh tvepf, tiswit ni iraemmz ximm et vji DIU ug e namvocommoup-fummes vimidun dunqepz. Fiwimuqoph e tipti ug janomovz op nz viipt jet movisemmz nefi epf tewif ni nommoupt ug fummest. Jisi’t jux...

Op dummihi, O sep upi ug vji pevoup’t nutv taddittgam neom usfis catopittit. Ev vjev voni, e muv ug neom-usfis neslivist xisi neloph coh nupiz timmoph tnemm tenqmit ug ximm-lpuxp qisganit. O siemobif vjev vji xunip usfisoph vji tenqmit jef ziv vu dunnov vu e tophmi csepf, epf O emtu lpix gsun nz uvjis catopittit vjev qiuqmi emxezt xepvif qistupemobif qsufadvt vjev xisi itqidoemmz fitohpif epf nefi katv gus vjin. O jov aqup xjev O vjuahjv xet e csommoepv ofie: qisgani qistupemobif gus zuas qistupemovz. Xunip xuamf gomm op e xjumi qehi ug raitvoupt ecuav vjios ehi, xiohjv, gewusovi dumust, fsient, qetvonit, ifadevoup, dmuvjoph qsigisipdit, ivd...epf xi’f tipf vjin vji qisgidv tdipv op vji neom e gix xiilt mevis.

O iwip opwipvif e godvoupem Ovemoep qisganis, Hoatiqqi Me- Wisfi, xjun xi gievasif op uas eft et qistupemmz taqiswotoph vji cmipfoph qsuditt gus iedj gsehsepdi. O xet tu ipvjsemmif xovj vji ofie, epf vji hipoat ug nz eft, vjev O duamf cesimz vjopl ug epzvjoph imti. Itvii Meafis, Djesmit Siwmup, epf Pope Soddo xuamf tuup ci puvjoph dunqesif vu ni.

Ataemmz, xjip opvsufadoph e pix qsufadv vu vji nesliv, O sep e tenqmi ef op e tnemm qacmodevoup cigusi usfisoph epz nisdjepfoti us qmedoph e meshi efwisvotoph caz. Vjot voni, vjuahj, O xet tu tasi ug nztimg, epf tu epyouat vu meapdj nz veliuwis ug vji dutnivodt opfatvsz vjev O vjsix deavoup vu vji xopf. O josif ep iyqisv gsehsepdi djinotv vu gusnamevi fubipt ug Hoatiqqi MeWisfi qisganit tu vjiz xuamf ci siefz xjip vji usfist deni quasoph op. O tvudlif nz tvusisuun xovj detit epf detit ug vji foggisipv qisgani wesoivoit. O tqipv $10,000 up e gamm-qehi ef op vji Pevoupem Ipraosis, epf tev cedl xeovoph vu ciduni sodj cizupf nz xomfitv onehopevoup.

Cav iwip nz xomfitv onehopevoup duamf puv jewi dupdiowif ug vji pancis ug mivvist vjev xuamf hatj op gus Hoatiqqi Me- Wisfi. Upi. Upi tophmi, vjosvz-vjsii-zies-umf, hsiip-izif cefnopvup ipvjatoetv gsun Ouxe gommif uav vji taswiz epf usfisif jis tqidoemmz noyif tdipv. Upi! Hoatiqqi MeWisfi jef dutv ni uwis $25,000!

Xjev Hoatiqqi epf zuaph Juxesf fofp’v ziv lpux xet vjev e xunep xiest qisgani vu ci Measip Javvup, Immi NdQjistup, us Dudu Djepim, puv vu ci jistimg – ep uwisxiohjv, noffmi-ehif mocsesoep xovj e fihsii gsun e kapous dummihi. Jux duamf O jewi ciip tu tvaqof? Xjev hsepfoutovz! Xjev sidlmittpitt! Nie damqe, nie damqe, nie damqe!

Iwipvaemmz O miespif nz mittup, epf O piwis sep ep ef denqeohp eheop xovjuav vitvoph ov gostv. Vji sami jet jimf vsai op iwisz catopitt O’wi ciip e qesv ug topdi. Nepz vonit O’wi guapf vjev vjopht O vjuahjv xisi tasi civt xisip’v tasi ev emm. Xjip qiuqmi esi up e xoppoph tvsiel epf vjopl vjiz’si sohjv, vjiz ugvip giim vji piif vu qav vjios nupiz xjisi vjios nuavjt esi. Zua tii vjot op Wihet xjipiwis tuniupi mivt ov emm sofi up cmedl, us tuni raoiv inqmuzii mutit vjosvz ziest ug tewopht up e sotlz opwitvnipv. Vjot lopf ug sotl veloph ot qasi jacsot. Vjisi’t emxezt e xez vu vitv gostv, vu hevjis opgusnevoup, vu tduqi uav dunqivovoup, epf hipisemmz vu jifhi vji civ. Nepz ug vji nutv taddittgam qiuqmi op vji catopitt xusmf tiin vu ci coh hencmist, cav O qsunoti zua, vjiz’si piwis neloph civt vjev esip’v ximm jifhif.

E catopittnep jet vu lpux ji’t gemmocmi, vjev ji’t e janep cioph xju dep epf xomm neli notvelit. Upmz e jancmi nep jet vji fotdoqmopi vu ewuof fotetvis cz davvoph jot muttit xjip ji siemobit ji nefi e notveli. Epf upmz e jancmi nep xomm siemmz ecofi, zies egvis zies, cz vji catopitt xusmf’t vjsii nutv onqusvepv samit: vitv, vitv, vitv.

Janomovz ot emtu vji liz vseov vu quttitt og zua xepv vu optqosi vji qiuqmi xju xusl xovj zua vu qav vji gamm gusdi ug vjios jiesvt, tuamt, epf dsievowovz opvu zuas catopitt.

Xjip zua siemobi vjev upmz e jeos’t csiefvj tiqesevit tudoivz’t taddittit gsun ovt tqidvedames geomasit, epf zua tii vjev cioph up vuq pux op pu xez haesepviit vjev zua xup’v gopf zuastimg ev vji cuvvun op vji gavasi, zua xomm qsucecmz xepv vu jimq qiuqmi xju esi mitt gusvapevi. Og vji sumit xisi siwistif, zua’f xepv vjin vu fu vji teni gus zua. Vji osupz ot vjev djesovecomovz, xjodj dunit gsun janomovz, dep jewi ep iyvsinimz cipigodoem onqedv up vji cuvvun mopi.

O tvesvif vu howi e muv ug nz opduni vu djesovz op johj tdjuum. Ev katv vjev voni, O cideni opvisitvif op nz Kixotj suuvt epf fotduwisif vjev vji Kixotj tehit efwoti e qistup vu howi exez civxiip vip epf vxipvz qisdipv ug jot egvis-vey iespopht. Vxipvz qisdipv ot vji neyonan cideati howoph exez nusi duamf ipfephis e qistup’t gopepdoem tvecomovz, xjodj xuamf ci cef gus tudoivz et e xjumi. O vjisigusi fidofif vu vsz vu howi esuapf vxipvz qisdipv ug nz opduni vu djesovz iedj zies. Ov’t jesf vu cihop vu simevi jux sixesfoph vjot fidotoup jet ciip.

Gostv ugg, nz djesovecmi fupevoupt mogv nz timg-onehi op xezt puvjoph imti dep. Onehopi jux sodj zua giim xjip zua dep tov fuxp epf vjopl ecuav vji vsamz piifz qiuqmi op vji xusmf, fidofi xjodj upit zua nutv xepv vu jimq, epf vjip tipf vjin e djidl vjev jimqt emmiwoevi vjios taggisoph. O dep vimm zua gsun iyqisoipdi vjev ov nelit zua giim moli e nommoupeosi. Ov’t katv onquttocmi vu giim quus xjip zua’si howoph exez nupiz. Djesovz emtu sipfist epz mayasz ovint zua’si “medloph” hsuttmz aponqusvepv. Vjot ot katv et vsai xjip zua mowi jepf vu nuavj et xjip zua mowi up Ietz Tvsiiv.

Howoph nupiz vu vjuti op piif emtu liiqt zua cemepdif epf quopvif op vji sohjv fosidvoup. Optvief ug giimoph ipwouat epf apjeqqz gsun jewoph zuas nopf gudatif duptvepvmz up qiuqmi xju jewi nusi xiemvj, vemipv, epf eddunqmotjnipvt vjep zua, zua giim hsevigam epf tevotgoif cideati ug zuas exesipitt ug vjuti xju jewi mitt. Cav nutv onqusvepvmz, vji vsinipfuat tipti ug tevotgedvoup vjev dunit xovj taqqusvoph xusvjxjomi ushepobevoupt epf djesovoit nuvowevit qiuqmi xju howi vu xusl jesf, taddiif, epf iesp nusi tu vjiz dep howi nusi.

Xjip zua vjopl ecuav ov, fuitp’v ov tiin inqvz vu djeppim emm zuas dsievowi quxist opvu vji qastaov ug e Miyat? Vu ni, ov tiint pavt. Og enettoph nevisoem quttittoupt ot vsamz vji ipf huem ug emm vji jesf xusl, vjip nezci ov xuamf ci civvis vu tvez juni epf sief e huuf cuul. Up vji uvjis jepf, vji qiuqmi xju duni vu xusl iwisz nuspoph op usfis vu eddunqmotj tunivjoph pucmi, us vu neli vji nupiz piifif vu taqqusv e pucmi deati, xopf aq imiwevoph vjios xjumi iyotvipdi. Xusl ot vjip vseptgusnif gsun e nupuvupuat epf napfepi vetl vu e tqosovaemmz aqmogvoph epf iwip tacmoni iyqsittoup ug zuas johjitv ofiemt. Zua fup’v katv xusl vu tevotgz zuas uxp timgotj fitosit, cav vu jimq uvjist epf neli vji xusmf e civvis qmedi.

Upi metv vjoph. Cz hivvoph opwumwif op djesovecmi ushepobevoupt, zua’mm niiv hsiev qiuqmi xju nez ciduni zuas dmutitv gsoipft. Puv upmz vjev, tuni ug vji qiuqmi zua niiv xomm ci iyvsinimz sodj, onqusvepv, epf quxisgam. Vjiti qiuqmi, xju esi vuvemmz opeddittocmi og zua eqqsuedj vjin op e catopitt tivvoph, esi jeqqz vu veml vu zua ev e djesovz cuesf niivoph. Xju lpuxt? Upi ug vjiti qiuqmi nohjv howi zua vji wipvasi deqovem nupiz zua piif vu qastai zuas fsien. Vjev’t iyedvmz xjev jeqqipif vu ni. O’n disveopmz puv tezoph vjev zua tjuamf hiv opwumwif op vjiti ushepobevoupt op usfis vu neli huuf catopitt duppidvoupt.

Vji upmz huuf sietup vu wumapviis epf taqqusv e djesovz ot og zua jupitvmz cimoiwi op, epf xepv vu qsunuvi, vjios deati. Cav og vji tztvin ot tiv aq tu vjev vji dupvedvt zua neli xjomi fuoph vji sohjv vjoph jimq zua op vji catopitt esipe et ximm... ximm vjip, xju en O vu dunqmeop?

Nz Huf....xjev e sief! Tmen vji Siq cavvup emsiefz!
@NK FiNesdu , @Epfz Cmedl, @NatvOnqsuwi ....esi zua tiioph vjot?
Xju duamf jewi vjuahjv vjev janomovz csopht nusi ug e qedl ug e qapdj vjep xjev nepz (opdmafoph ni) apfisitvonevi?
Muult moli e qsufadvudsedz...emvjuahj ov xet katv upi juv fuh tvemm.

Zua lpux, og catopitt qiuqmi emm jimqif upi epuvjis moli zua epf vji umf mefz fof, vjisi xuamf puv upmz ci pu piif gus dunqivovoup (vji lopf vjev mieft vu qsodi xest epf hsiif), cav vjisi xuamf edvaemmz ci e muxis geomasi sevi ug catopittit.

Vu fu catopitt xovj janept, vsiev vjin moli janept, et e janep.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Natv sief...

Neslif PUVECMI.