This post may ramble, but I hope to make a point at the end.

If you have read previous posts you will know that I was a marginal athlete in high school and had NO hands as a wide receiver. This ALL changed in the late 70's.

I was HAPPLY married and had a WONDERFUL step son that I am still VERY close to today even though his mom and I divorced several years ago. I was his father in a very traditional marriage for around 20 years.

During this time I was pretty much the final decision maker but ONLY after discussion and agreement with my wife. I had a rule and it threw me into a world that I did not know existed. I pretty much DEMANDED that my son engage in an outside activity besides school. I also demanded that if they started something that they finish; if they didn't like it then they could change at the end of the season and pick something new.

My son had some physical problems in his infancy involving his feet and some other things. I was traveling a ton and he was a PAIN in the BUTT for my wife when I was gone. I would come home from a trip and would have to do DISCIPLINE and it just was NOT RIGHT. If you are not going to CORRECT right after it happens a week later is going to be ineffective at best.

I sat my son down and made a deal. You pick a sport or activity and I will MAKE time to coach or whatever if you don't hassle your mom while I am on business. A deal was struck and he picked soccer.

I had done some kick around when I had some dead time in Nam but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Fortunately, he picked AYSO which in my mind is the GREATEST youth sports organization in the WORLD. If you want to know more just GOOGLE "AYSO".

What started as a BRIBE ended up taking over my life for over 20 years. I was just a dad doing the best that I could with a minimum of knowledge.

AYSO offered EXCELLENT training and I started to go to the classes. The more classes that I took the more I realized how STUPID I was when it came to this game.

Then I heard about this clinic that was a SEVEN day residential course and was close. I got the Region to cover the cost for me and two other coaches and we were off.

We showed up and got checked in and I quickly realized that for the first time in my life I was the TOKEN AMERICAN! United States Soccer was a laughing stock at the time and the English thought that they had a lock on training.

We went to a meeting after dinner and were all given a book of "The Laws"; there are like TWELVE laws, but 200 exceptions to every one of them. We were told that we would be given a 150 question test the following night and if we didn't pass with a score of 70% or better we didn't belong there in the first place. We stayed up ALL night studying and all passed.

We hit the field (pitch) at 8 AM and essentially went until 5 PM with a lunch break. We had dinner and at 7 PM showed up for three hours of class time. We followed that schedule for SEVEN days. I was in GOOD shape, but it KICKED my donkey.

My ball skills were marginal at best but I did well as a goalkeeper (keeper). I had to laugh when I realized that I had finally gotten some "HANDS".

There were tests on Match analysis, practical coaching, presentation and one FINAL. I did VERY well on everything but the ball skills part and passed by the skin of my teeth. I could hardly walk for a week and heard that their was a men's league that played on Sunday's.

I waited a couple weeks and decided that it was time. I packed up my gear (kit) one Sunday and decided to give it a shot.

My name sounds VERY FRENCH, but I was born and raised in America. My mom married an immigrant farmer and she picked "Jacques" because it "had a nice ring to it".

I walked to the pitch and suddenly realised that I was the ONLY one without somekind of an accent. There were; Russians, Hispanics, Jewish and EVERY OTHER nationality and culture that you could imagine. Hah, I felt like Thelma Roudolph in Little Rock.

I just stood for awhile and watched; there was some REAL talent playing. I finally walked up to the guy that looked like he was in charge and said, "Hey, if sombody wants a break I'll get between the posts".

He looked at me for a minute and said in a heavy Norwegian accent, "If you vant, ve put the children there to learn; he vould like to run with us".

Little did I know at the time, but this man would become a dear and close friend for the next 20 plus years.

I got my time, made some nice saves and didn't make a fool of myself. We won the match 2-1 and I was leaving when I heard, "Hey, vat is your name"?

I stopped and said, "Jacque, my mother had a sense of humor"

He looked at me for a minute and said, "Zat is a funny name for a white-bread American that knows NOTHING of our BEAUTIFUL GAME. You played vell and have ability for an American, if you want to come back, you are velcome. Next week, if you come, I will introduce you and ve can have some refreshment after the match".

This was the FIRST time in my LIFE that I had been in the MINORITY and it was a HUGE SHOCK to me! It had been FUN and I looked at it as an experience.

I was SORE for a day, but it was a GREAT SORE. I was in a HIGH TENSION job and started to run 6-miles twice a day and stopped smoking cold turkey. I worked for a Japanese company and was doing three-packs a day.

I went back the next Sunday and realized that there were NO teams but like school yard. There were two captains, the rest of us lined up andf then were picked. Everyone brought a light shirt and a dark shirt and put on which ever one your team was wearing.

I just figured that I would be picked last being the new American and had resolved that in my mind.

They had each gone a few when Sven (how typical) said, "Jacques".

I went to his side and decided that I was just going to blow it out for him.

I played the whole match between the posts, made several saves, held them scoreless and we won.

I was leaving when I heard Sven say, "Jacques, ve have refreshment and barbecue. I also vant to introduce you to some people".

I dropped my bag and follwed him. There was a large group of guys with coolers and barbeques in process when we showed up. Somebody threw me a beer and I caught it with one hand out of the corner of my eye; it was more self-protection than the desire for the beer.

"Nice hands mate. I tought I was going to hit you in the blhoddy head".

Sven said, "That is Roy and he tells a mean joke. Sven went around the group and there was a group of guys that were from EVERY PLACE but the United States; England, Poland, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Argentina and a bunch of others. I quickly realized that I was the ONLY American in the group.

I would learn so many things from these guys over the next 20 some years that it was almost scarry.

Some of the guys were the guys that cut your grass every week and some were executive Vice Presidents of MAJOR corporations. When we were playing, we were just "footballers" doing what we enjoyed on Sunday.

It bacame a second family to me and it was a WONDERFUL time in my life.

I will continue this tomorrow and maybe take a few steps toward my ultimate point.

I will finish with tonight's post with a quote from Sven that I will never forget. We were talking over lunch one day and he said, "Football is Very much like life. You may spend 20 minutes on the pitch and never touch the ball. At the same time, you must ALWAYS be prepared to recieve it and to MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR OPPORTUNITY".

More tomorrow if anyone is interested.

It was really quite AMAZING! Because of all the diversity we took a trip every year to play and the guy that was raised there set it up. Teh team traveled to; Spain, Germany, England, Argentina, Hong Kong, Austrailia and Mexico. We were also hosted by the player's family, had dinner in their homes and got to see how it actually was.

Some of the guys staryed behind because they just couldn't afford eiter the expense or the time off work even when the rest of us chipped in to help. HAH! Some of the wives just would NOT give permission either.

I was always the one on the end of the discrimination and always the "Token American". It was interesting to be judged simply by my culture and it took me almost FIVE years to be totally accepted.

I played on teams that were primarily Hispanic and that is a tough road for a "white boy".

We played in one area that was BAD and all drove our own cars to the first match. We took a spanking in a 5-0 loss, the kids stood behind the net and ragged on me the whole time. I just laughed and smiled because I had learned that it wasn't personal, just the culture.

The match was over and we went to our cars; half of our radios had been ripped off! Now this is INTERESTING! NONE of the windows had been broken! While we had been playing the jids lifted our keys, helped themselves and put the keys back.

There is a HUGE amount of HONOR between "footballers" (soccer players) and they took advantage of our "Come from the good neighborhood" mentality.

In many cases this would have caused a fight, but NOT in this case.

Our team captain was named Miguel and was a LARGE Argentinian. He approached the other captain and it was almost like a negotiation.

I had learned enough Spanish and Mexican to know when i was being insulted and there was NONE of that; we were ALL prepared to FIGHT, but it NEVER came to that.

Miguel came back and said, "We have a re-match next week. If we win the radios will be replaced and they will barbecue for us here. If we loose, we take them and their FAMILY out to dinner. We had a beer with them in the parking lot and decided that it was ON.

During the week we ALL made some calls to footballers that we knew and added a little talent to the team. There were no ID cards so you NEVER knew who you were going to be playing.

I called a guy that I had mixed it up with awhile back. He had GREAT skill and claimed to have played for the Iranian National Team; I belived him and more about that later.

He got a break away and had the ball just inside the corner of the 6 when I decided to go. He went down to make a sliding shot at the same time I beat the HELL out of his right knee with my right eyebrow.

I made the save and got up to distribute after the STARS cleared.

This was when a teammate of mine said, "Jacques, you are bleeding like HELL"! I was told later that it looked liek someone had opened a dictionary in the middle.

I thought that it was just sweat running down until I looked at the front of my shirt and it was covered with blood; faces bleed like CRAZY. We stopped for a minute, I poured some beer in it and put it back together with a of tape. The match went on and we pulled out a 1-1 tie.

His name was Reisa and I explained the situation and said, "I think that it would be GREAT FUN to play on the same side and besides I think that you OWE me the honor".

Reisa just said, "Where and when my friend"? I told him and it was agreed.

We picked up Elias that had played for the Chicago Fire and Abbas. Elias and Reisa were NOT going to FIT well with Abbas because their countries had been at WAR for YEARS!

Miguel called Abbas and explained what was going on and Abbas said in his HEAVY accent, "We leave national problems OUTSIDE of TOUCH (out side of the playing field) and football gives us ALL a chance to FORGET how my people are being oppressed. When we are on the pitch we are a TEAM, but I will IGNORE them otherwise".

On of our team drove the company van and managed to score it for the night; we were NOT going to drive alone again.

Chris was Polish, built like a fire hydrant and had marginal skills. He played because he could score a "Team Bus" and gave 200% when it was his time.

We all met, parked our cars and got into the team bus. A LARGE coller of beer wa salso in the back, compliments of Miguel and the team fund.

It was about an hour drive and we all had a couple of beers with Gatorade as a chaser. We just figured, "It's ONLY a game, but radios are at stake. If we lost, the ones that had the funds would cover the ones that didn't and it would NEVER be nmentioned.

It was then that Ababs started singing camel herding songs and Reisa and Elias joined in with their native language.

It was WEIRD to me to see these guys singing together. Then the rest of the team started to HOWL like dogs and do their best impression of a camel.

It became suddenly silent for a minute and then Sven tried to be a "coach".

He said, "Ve have a big match and I vant you to focus on our OPPORTUNITY tonight.

One of the guys in the back said, "Sven, shut the %$#@%7 UP, we are ready to go and will be eating barbecue in a couple of hours".

Everybody laughed and we pulled into the parking lot.

We got out of the bus and heard this hum that I had never heard before; it was erie!

We walked toward the pitch and there must have been 2,000 people there; there must have also been 20 COPS to and two on horses.

I thought, "MY GOD, what did they expect, the Third World War"?

Migues went to their captain and they shook hands as gentlemen, the coin was tossed and we assumed our positions.

We had ALL left our bags locked in the team van and the kids were behind my net. They were doing what they did and I knew enough Spanish / Mexican to know that they were talking about my mother and various farm animals. I just turned, smiled and gave them a thumbs up. In my broken Spanish / Mexican I also told them that I bet that thay all still wet their pants and their father cleaned up their mess. This is a HUGE INSULT because the Hispanic women handle this chore and it showed a lack of "machismo".

They were silent for a minute and then continued.

We scored at about 30 minutes; Abbas was playing in the midfield, got a pass from Chris in the back, made a beautiful pass to Elias, Elias settled it for Reisa and he hit a shot at about 90 mph into the lower right corner.

As a Keeper you get to watch this stuff happen and it was BEAUTY! We shocked them, but I was afraid that we would relax. That happened and we fell apart in the back.

They had found some guy with long blonde hair that was something! His first shot just froze me and it was now 1-1. The kids gave me a ration and I just ignored them.

We were about 5 minutes before the half when they got a corner kick. It was from my left and a left footed kicker was taking it (that ment the ball would curve toward the goal rather than away. I also noticed the big blonde guy about 11 yards out and guessed that he was the target.

The ball was hit and it curved toward the goal. I also saw everyone clear the area and I yeled, "KEEPER", my defenders backed off and I went.

We met at about the 8 yeard line and we both went up, him with his head and me with my hands. He NEVER got a head on it and I SLAMMED into him with my thigh up. We both went to the ground, I had the ball in my hands and he was OUT COLD with stuff coming out of his nose.

He came to and I went over to help him up. As I leaned to take his hand, I said, "If you come inside the 18 again I will make it my job to ^%$* you UP, COMPRENDE BLANCO"?

The half ended and we all went to our respective sides for water.

The second half started and they were determined to go ahead. I had skipped my runs for two days and was ON FIRE! I was in "THE ZONE" and only seasoned Keepers really know what that is. In short EVERYTHING goes to slow motion and the word "PAIN" does NOT exist.

I made several diving saves with the score still at 1-1 when I noticed that EVERY TIME I moved the kids would yell "EL GATO, OLE"!

I had a Hispanic nickname with NO barn animals attached, I had FINALLY been accepted by THEIR Football Culture! It felt good!

I was in my late 30's plating with a bunch of kids that stil had a professional future and IT FELT GOOD.

Reisa, Abbas and Sven hooked up in the midfield and Elias put it away.

The match ended 2-1 and the barbeque started. Chris went to the van and brought out beer, chicken, peppers and a raft of other stuff. The cops tied up their horses and joined in even though beer in the park wa sagainst the rules.

I was eating with a beer in both hands when a ninio came up to nme and just stood; he almost looked afraid.

I looked down at him and said "Ola' Que pas so".

He looked at me and said, "My English is not good but I am trying. Are you a bad man "El Gato".

That surprised me and I said, "Maybe in touch, yes I am. Outside I am just a gentle "Oso". I took off my keeper shirt and handed it to him and said "Gratis and enjoy if you want". He put it on and went to find his parents with his new shirt.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see the tall blonde man with two beers; I had one empty hand so that was good.

He handed me a beer and said, "You played well my friend and where did you play before? You hit me hard and fair; I underestimated you and paid the price".

I looked at him, clicked my beer against his and just said, "Just here reliving my youth. You have played some at the higher levels and it was my HONOR to knock you out CLEANLY. Most of my Team is afraid to invite me to their home because they think that I am that way ALWAYS".

He looked at me for a minute and asked, "Do you have any ball skills"?

I responded, NOT a LICK and that is why I am the American KEEPER!

He looked at me, got couple more beers and camer back and said, "You could have played for your National Team you know"

I just replied, "TO damn old and had a family. It just never occured to me.

We all ate and drank too much that night and probably told too many lies.

It always amazed me that guys that would shoot at each other in their native countries would play on the same team and work toward a common goal.

I cut an article out of a magazine many years ago and still have it. It seesm that two third-world countries were at war during a World Cup and their was only one TV in this town. Both sides put their guns down, watched the match together and when it was over, they picked up their guns and started where they had left off.

I played with these guys sometimes three matches a week and we were almost like brothers.

I remember that one guy brought his son every Sunday and he would watch his dad play. The boy was about 6-years old and could roll a ball up onto his foot and balance it for as long as he wanted. He would then jump with the ball still on his foot, flick it up and catch it with the opposit foot. I finally taught myself how to do that trick, but it took my 5 years.

This boy continued to come as he grew older and the next thing I knew he was in high school. He played four years of varsity and exceled. He went to college and came back to coach the frosh-soph team and I was the Keeper coach.

He had grown up to be a fine young man and it made me feel old to actually be on the same coaching staff with a boy that I met when he was 6-years old. To this day his dad and I remain friends.

I faced first hand discrimination as a coach and trainer too. It was VERY simple, I was an American, never played college soccer, never played professionally (played a little semi-pro but it was just too time consuming at the time).

The rest of the coaches out there were either English or Hispanic and to read their football resume you would have thought that they were GOD.

I am sure that there are EXCEPTIONS but I think the majority of these resumes were PUFFED! If all the Hispanics that "claimed" to have played with Pele' had actually played with him his career woould have been 100 years long. If all the English coaches that claimed to have known or played with "Besty" (George Best, may he rest in peace after passing away last week at 59) he would have been 100 years old too.

When I started training kids and coaches the American public was STUPID about soccer; if you had a foreign accent you had to be good.

It was unfortunate, but a LOT of these "coaches / trainers" were just washed up players that had no other skills but playing football. They did training and shared an apartment with 4-5 other coaches and got by.

I know one coach that is QUALITY, but lacks communication skills if it doesn't involve football SPECIFICS. He is bi-lingual, played professionally in Mexico and had the TOP USSF coaching license. He runs a club of about 20 teams and he makes $26,000 a year.

Hell you can only love something until HUNGER takes over.

I coached for two years at a HEAVY religious college and it ended due to discrimination because I was NOT like the coach; he refered to himself as a "sports minister", if you get my drift.

It was a weird situation. Half of the team was there for reasons of faith and the other half was there only because it was the ONLY college that would give them some financial help. There was "The God Squad" and then the rest of us.

I personally kept a middle ground, participated in the prayers but drew the line at standing up and telling everyone how I had been saved on that particular day.

When we went to away matches we took two vans and everyone stood around until the coach picked a van. "Coach did NOT allow ANY swearing on his bus and basically conducted a church service for the ride. "The God Squad" got on his bus, I got on the other and the rest of the team got on with me. I was VERY strict, buit also knew how to be selectively deaf. They listened to their music, got fired up in their own way and I used the time for private conversations with players that wanted to talk. The first two rows were always vacant because the guys didn't want a team mate sitting right behind us to overhear. It was just something that they worked out themselves.

They talked to me about girl problems, parents, school and everything else. I did the best that I could without being too "Put yourself in the hands of the Lord". I just relied on my own experiences and mistakes to help them get through theirs.

It was a tremendous opportunity for me because I got to coach at the college level. I also had the opportunity to actually train with some WORLD Class coaches. I learned more from them than I did at ALL the clinics that I attended over the years.

This coaching experience also allowed me to meet several other college coaches and it would be invaluable later when I was promoting the kids that I had trained to various colleges.

I was actually asked to leave this college because they found out that I was LIVING IN SIN with my future wife. The AD actually told me that I was MORE than welcome to come back AFTER I got married.

Now I am going to back up a bit and will come back to this.

I had a BAD reputation in my league for being physical; I was ALWAYS clean, but PHYSICAL. In almost 20 years I received ONE yellow card as a player and ONE red card as a coach.

In one season as a player I knocked out 13 opposing players cleanly and got a new nick name. A guy named Paul was a top of the line BMW stock broker and raised in Bolivia. It was Paul that gave me the name of "Mato Santos". Literally it translates to, "The doctor that makes well people dead, or just Doctor Death". I was also known for being able to tell a joke, mostly FILTHY, but they all laughed. It was also known that if one of my teammates was hacked then they would deal with me at some point. When we played EVERYONE was NICE.

In one instance a player on my team HACKED someone and it was DIRTY! He was one of my defenders and it ANGERED me because I knew that I could have handled it without him loosing it.

I was VERY close to my center back and we read each others minds. After the DIRTY shot the other team was awarded a corner kick and I went to my center back and said, "It's on you, because Curt needs some education". He just nodded.

The kick was taken and it went back post. I went near post and met up with Curt as I went for the ball. It went over my head, as I knew it would and Curt and I "pressed the flesh". He then got my fist just below his solar plexus and went down like a rock. My center back cleared out of bounds and the match was stopped.

Curt was laying their trying to get his breath and stuff was coming out of his nose.

I leaned down to help him and said in a whisper, "This is lesson number one and if it takes TEN I can give them. If you cheap shot another player, I PROMISE that I WILL $%^& YOU UP. Now get up and finish. If you can't, just leave in disgrace and DO NOT come BACK. Do NOT EVER foul the pitch that I am playing on, do you understand"?

Curt got up, finished and played well. My center back just looked at me and nodded.

I just figured that they could be taught everything but ATTITUDE.

I was playing in a league that was 35 and up but every team could have 5 players of ANY age; this was done so fathers could play with sons on the same team. Some guys even brought their daughters to play and put them up front. I HATED it and REFUSED to go one on one with the girls. I just held my line and hoped that I was quick enough
to make the save.

We were playing the Columbian's and they had a college kid playing up front, he was maybe 18 years old. He was much quicker than my defenders and had notched two goals to make us down 2-1.

It was at the start of the second half when this kid got a break away and I was just tired of it.

He carried the ball and I thought that I was going to meet him outside the 18 (Keeper's can't use their hands outside the 18). He took a final touch in an attempt to chip me but as he struck the ball I struck it at the same time.

He was maybe 150 pounds, I was 220 and me thighs were almost 36" around. We hit the ball at the same time and itr was like he had kicked a cinder block.

I heard the first SNAP and then the second and heard him scream as he went over me.

Both benches cleared and I was surrounded by a bunch of ANGRY people. The paramedics came, I left guarded by my team and actually received death threats at home.

I was devasted and considered hanging uo the boots.

The team managers met and ultimately decided that it was CLEAN and I was invited back.

The problem was that I had not absolved myself; I had basically ended this talented young mans football career; NOBODY comes back to FULL form after that kind of break and I knew it.

I hung up my boots and reflected upon the fun and friends that I had made; in my mind it was just another part of my life.

Theyn I got a call on Friday and amazingly enough it was from the manager of the Columbian side.

He needed a Keeper and the past was forgotten. I had done a little training but hadn't touched a soccer ball in a year.

I showed up, did my warm-up, had an UGLY loss, (6-1) and have not played since. I was 56 at the time playing with a bunch of KIDS and didn't want to HURT someone. I also took a 6-0 BLISTERING on a team of a bunch of strangers. I had retired a year before for a variety of reasons and got a call one night from a guy that I knew briefly. He was playing the top team in the league and needed a Keeper. I hadn't played in a year and knew the rust was 6" deep. I figured that I would give it a shot and maybe I could get my form back quickly.

I left the pitch that day and have never returned.

Most of my old team mates had either retired or were playing in this Over-55 league and I wanted no part of it. I had played with them once and it was like a bunch of old men making a pathetic attempt to regain their youth. There were also a bunch of new rules and it just wasn't the kind of football that I found FUN. My GOD! There were guys in their 70's playing.

I just decided to hang up my boots and concentrate upon passing on my knowledge to kids.

I did private lessons and charged TOP dollar. I either saw something in the kid or nicely cut them loose to find another sport. At one point, I was doing 3-4 back to back lessons and I was surprised that I could handle it physically at my age. I will talk more about soccer in another post.

I think maybe I have built a foundation for my next comments and perhaps I will have some credibility.

We all know that it is against the law to discriminate because of a whole raft of reasons and age is one of them. I personally experienced this too.

The reason that I started my own business was because NO ONE would hire me. I felt that my resume was pretty good and I had ALWAYS been associated with TOP performance either individually or as a manager.

I hadn't looked for a job seriously in a number of years and had been approached by various companies that needed the skills that I offered.

I NEVER "PUFFED" my resume because I didn't think that it was necessary.

Over a period of three months I sent resumes to about 30 companies that needed someone of my skills. I got ONE interview and it went NO WHERE. The guy that interviewed me was older than I was, physically and mentally, and i seemed to know his market better than he did. He was a VP and I think he saw me as a personal threat. I "mirrored" him, used his kind of language and then made the FATAL mistake; I started asking him questions that he didn't know how to answer. I rationalized that I would have been miserable in that position and moved on.

Previously, I had shown the DATES of my education and employment on my resume; the second time around, I took them OFF. I figured if I could get an interview I could compensate for my AGE with my sales skills. I also re-wrote the resume with more youthfull terminology.

This was FUNNY, like a crutch. I got a TON of interviews and then they got a look at me and I was BUSTED. I am NOT blowing my own horn, but I have been accused of looking late 40's. I have all my hair, it's NOT gray and take care of the hair growing out of my ears (a DEAD give away to your age).

I got the interviews, but no offers. Maybe I was too confident, too old or they just didn't want to deal with someone with my exdperience.

I finally just gave up and started my own business.

I worked 20-hour days, 6 days a week for 5 years until I finally turned the corner.

I even got a consulting gig that paid $200 an hour. I was tasked to train a sales force in the medical service segment. I knew NOTHING about their market, but the Internet is a WONDERFUL thing.

I trained them from 6 AM until 7:30 AM three days a week; they HATED me, but where all there.

I negotiated their lease with ALL the build-outs and TI and saved them about 50%. The two majority stock-holders were two women. One was a nurse that seemed to have ALWAYS lived with her aged mother and the other was a SPOILED Jewish American Princess. I might also mention that the "JAP's" father was the other majority owner because he had funded the whole thing.

I met her fater in several venues, both business and socially and I had a GREAT deal of respect for him.

His daughter had been SPOILED her WHOLE LIFE, married WELL, divorced and did even better in the divorce.

The small business was GROWING but the BIG potential was flat. I went to the "JAP" and made the mistake of telling her that SHE had to visit these BIG accounts to get the incremental growth that she wanted.

She was INSULTED, ANGRY and fired me.

I just figured that it was a good gig while I had it and moved on.

Over the next 6 months she finally took my suggestion, sales BLOOMED and they started to eat into their biggest competitors market share.

Six-months after that they were acquired by that competitor for an obscene amount of money; mostly cash. They hired the "JAP" as a consultant and fired her 6-months later.

Her father and mother had both passed away and she screwed her partner out of her fair share.

She now lives a life of luxury, doesn't work and mostly plays.

Now this is what I do NOT get.

The United States is the land of opportunity for just about anyone that can get here legally or illegally through fake marriage or just having the resolve to make it happen.

Now look at all the Military people and diplomats stationed around the world.

As an example an American family accepts a post in some country anfd their kids have to go to school. The public or state school systems do NOT offer education in ENGLISH so their kids have to either attend Embasy schools or private schools to get an on-going education. I believe that it is the same with street signs, grocery stores and the like.

I had to go to the DMV today and we all know what that is like. We formed a que on this bench and I had an Indian on either side of me. One attempted to talk to me and I could NOT understand a WORD that he was saying. I could tell that he was trying HARD, but it wasn't working at ALL. I just nodded and said "Uh Huh" when I thought that it was right; I was patient.

Then the guy came out with the forms and to find out what you needed. BOTH Indian guys were their to re-take the drivers test and NEITHER spoke comprehensable English.

The United States is DIFFERENT! You want your drivers test in some obscure language and you GET IT; try this in India and it just is NOT going to HAPPEN. These two guys SCARE me because they are going to be on the Interstate with ME!

Look at our school system. Elementary school is available in EVERY language know to mankind and financed with tax-payer dollars.

Why? Because some advocacy group sued somebody to make it happen. Any other country would have told them, "If you don't like it, then GO HOME".

The same applied to health care, financial assistance (food stamps, rental programs and low interest loans) As an American, tty to get that in India or any other country in the WORLD.

Now consider this. I read three print newspapers a day plus three on-line papers and this confuses me.

EVERY article about some poor immigrant attempting to make it in the United States has a picture of a MINIMUM of three children in the picture. These kids are also ALL about 10-months apart in age. What is UP with this?

About a year ago I was in a HIGH end market. The woman had two children under the age of 5, both of the children were talking on their OWN cell phones and the mom was dressed well.

The groceries weer a bunch of pasta, rice and staples. She used her FOOD STAMP credit cared to pay for it! Then there were luxury items on the belt behind; alcohol, high end ice cream, flowers and a ticket for a barbeque. The mom whipped out TWO $100 dollar bills and paid for it separately.

So YOU figure it OUT!

I responded to a blog and was called "The right-wing conservative guy". Maybe I am, but I thought that the off-hand judgement was harsh based upon one post.

He said that he was "UPPER CLASS" financially and took exception to my stance on IRAQ. Maybe his stock in Green Peace is suffereing because of the war.

Hey, if you are reading this put your money where your mouth is.

I expect that he wants the Government to step up and solve ALL the World's problems so that he can clip coupons and live his GOOD LIFE.

GOD FORBID that he actually use some of his money to help educate, clothe or help a homless person. He would actually have to get close to "one of them". Maybe even help in a kitchen or volunteer.

NOPE! That might interfeer with his discourse of the wrongs of Iraq while he sips fine wine and YELLS at his servants.

Enough for tonight, I hope that I have made you think a bit and maybe we ALL can make a difference working together.

I truely understand that the living conditions are deplorable in many parts of the world and people want a better life, DUH.

Let's see, there is Sweden that basically TAKES CARE of EVERYONE, the TAXES are through the roof and try to get in unless you bring some MAJOR talent to the party. Just look at all the other options and the United States becomes a "NO BRAINER".

Because we are quickly turning into a SERVICE Economy (low skilled workers needed), our borders are HUGE in every direction and we are immigration friendly it is a simple choice for a family looking for a better life.

I do NOT have a problem at ALL with ANY race, creed or religion that wants a better life in the United States. What I DO have a MAJOR PROBLEM with is ANYONE taking advantage of the SYSTEM. I also have a LARGE PROBLEM with families of ANY nationality that have MORE children than they can support and then look to the rest of us to TAKE CARE of THEM!

Having a CHILD is a CHOICE and I am NOT goting to get into the "Pro-Life" thing. The PROBLEM begins THREE months before that becomes an issue.

I have probably been with more than my share of women and have NEVER had an "Un-planned event"; they were either on the pill or I just got lucky with the timing. After my second child was born I got a "VAS" because I just didn't want anymore children. I figured that I would be fortunate to provide for two, didn't own a farm and didn't need any child labor.

So what is up with the people on the dole with 5-6 children? Simple, everytime the woman has one they get a RAISE! Banging for BUCKS, if you will.

"I can't get a job because I can't afford child care". That is convienient because they have no work skills to begin with. There is also an issue with some cultures that frowns upon the woman working; it is a shot at the male ego when HE can't support his family on HIS INCOME. At the same time HE has NO problem knocking it out with his wife or girlfriend 4 nights a week in a drunken stupor. SURPRISE another raise from the welfare department.

It is a VERY simple concept; DO NOT CONCEIVE MORE CHILDREN THAN YOU CAN SUPPORT!

Unless one lives in the woods it takes TWO incomes to have a reasonable life in the United States; that is just a FACT.

I make a HEALTHY 5 figure income and it is TOUGH for me. How does a family of 5 make it when the man is making minimum wage and the woman takes care of their children? It's no wonder that you have TEN people sharing a motel room or a two-bedroom apartment.

Here is a story to illustrate my point and a true story. I live in an area with a LARGE MOTEL population. My wife got involved with this buch of "TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS WOMEN" and they decided that "The Motel Children" needed Christmas presents. I thouhgt that it was a GREAT idea and got behind it. I called a bunch of my soccer connections and got a bunch of soccer stuff donated. We wrapped it all up and showed up to see the glee in the children's eys when they had something to open on Christmas. HAH we didn't call it "Christmas" becaue some group that didn't celebrate "CHRISTMAS" might be offended. More about that later.

We showed up in our shiney new cars to distribute the gifts.

I noticed that THE PARENTS were the ones in line and they ALL had a cigarette hanging out of their mouth or smelled like BREWERY. It was NOT the up-lifting experience that we expected; we were simply out of our element and their lifestyle was COMPLETELY FOREIGN to us. There were about 90 people and we had enough to go around; we had planned 5 packages per room and our calculations were RIGHT ON!

We left and tried to feel good about what we had done, but the whole environment left us ALL feeling un-easy.

It was Monday afternoon when i got a phone call from a friend of mine that owned a soccer store; it happened to be Elias and he said, "What is going on"?

I just replied, "What do you mean"?

"Well when I showed up to open there was a line at the door and they all wanted to sell me a soccer ball or something for a dime on the dollar. I gave you a buch of stuff for the "motel kids" and it was the same stuff coming back. My cost on those balls that I gave you is $10.20 and I bought them all back for $4 cash. I figured that if I didn't someone else would. It was interesting because there wasn't a child in the line, only adults. The balls were brand new and i hope that you don't mind mwe taking them back".

"NAH, I don't mind it's just business and I thank you, my friend, for your attempt. I think that we have both gained knowledge from our attempt at altrusim".

"You are right, my friend and I have learned something in the process as well".

"So what is that", I asked?

Elias responded with a laugh, "You actually have a HEART and it is NOT BLACK, as I always assumed; have a Wonderful Christmas and I will celebrate in my own way".

I hung up and felt good in some odd way; it was kind of like seeing your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand new 850 BMW.

I aslo found it VERY interesting that Elias accepted my lifestyle / culture and maintained his. He did NOT attemppt to FORCE me to accept his and that was NICE.

I figure that when you come to th United States it might be a good idea to learn ENGLISH!

This is WHAT I do NOT UNDERSTAND! You came to the United States to find a better life and GOOD for YOU, HONESTLY! The point is, "YOU ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE! If you like Kansas SO MUCH GO BACK! Just do NOT attempt to make the United States CHANGE to accomidate YOUR CULTURE!

NO special meals, NO time off for YOUR Cultures Holidays and pack a lunch if the company provided cafateria does NOT fit your dietary needs. Adjust your clock and practice your religious beliefs accordingly. JUST STOP ATTEMPTING TO TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO KANSAS!

YOU ARE not OPPRESSED, YOU CAN CELEBRATE YOUR RELIGION and you can eat whatever you want AT HOME.

You have a job and you don't have to worry about some guy dragging you out of bed in the middle of the night, perhaps NEVER to return.

It is a simple concept. LEARN to speak ENGLISH and make some kind of a contribution or GO HOME! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE UNITED STATES INTO KANSAS or where ever you came from.

You probably have a life better than you could have ever imagined and just DO NOT mess with it. If you want the BENEFITS then BECOME AN AMERICAN. If the COST is too much for you to deal with then, GO BACK!

Life is FULL of trade-offs; this for that and if you can't handle it then there is an airport or bus station close by.

The United States is NOT a FREE RIDE as you may have assumed and I am personally SICK of your attitude.

I really do NOT care if you are getting assistance in any way. What I DO care about is that it seems to be a ONE-WAY street; just SHOW me your CONTRIBUTION!

NO WHINING and AVOID lawyers! We have MORE than we need and a large percentage will sue ANYONE to make their BMW payment. You get the shaft anf they get the CHECK.

What is up with all these people bring law suits because their great grandfater was abused? Here is a HINT, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! If your grandfather was dumb, you will be dumb too. It is simple genetics. If your grandfather couldn't build $20 into a fortune, you won't either and it has NOTHING to do with something that happened 150 years ago. Get a GRIP people and do what you can do FOR YOURSELF AND STOP BLAMING THE PAST for your miserable existance.

If it happened 5 years ago it probably has a bearing upon your life; past that is a COP OUT and a miserable EXCUSE for what you have NOT accomplished with your life.

If my ancestors had ANYTHING to do with it I would be making Donald Trump look like a wanta be chump. It just doesn't work that way!

I just figure that if some one built a business than they shoulf be FREE to hire whomever they want, but they have to FILL QUOTAS to make the government happy and maintain their subsidies.

I would be ANGRY if I got hired because of my skin color or quota, VERY ANGRY! If you have THE QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE and can bring something to the party then you are hired and I do NOT CARE if you are PURPLE with a RED Mohawk and piercings in unmentionable places. If it soes NOT affect the way you do YOUR JOB, WHO CARES!

What BOTHERS me is that a MORE qualified candidate is PASSED over so the company can fill a QUOTA; THIS ANGERS ME! If you want the job, get the education, experience and knowledge to EXCEL. If you just do NOT have it, GET IT and try again until you find a place where you fit AND CAN CONTRIBUTE.

If you get passed over based upon color, creed, age, sexual orientation or religion then SHAME ON THEM!

Do NOT go find dome bottome feeding lawyer to sue so you don't have to WORK for the rest of your life. Just get better at what you DO and make a CONTRIBUTION!

There are ALWAYS people that are better at what they do than you do; the key is weather they are availble or not. If you do NOT connect with your new potential boss you ARE NOT GOING TO BE HIRED.

If your ENGLISH is not as good as his /hers then you are screwed. If you show up business casual and it is a suit environment, you are screwed again.

With the state of AMERICAN business and the push for making the Wall Street expectations they just Do NOT care about your cultuere or color as long as you can bring something POSITIVE to the party.

Sure there are ALWAYS THE PIGS that make POOR decisions, but they also have HUGE bills to pay and if you can help them they become color / culture blind.

JUst do NOT blame you heritage for your lack of work; your garndmother had NOTHING to do with your personal short-comings. Just get a GRIP on LIFE in the United States and adapt accordingly.