Years before getting married, I went on a date to a forgotten restaurant for an unremarkable meal. However, I remember the moment when my companion was rude and dismissive to our waitress, and thinking, “nope, this is not going to work out.”
Everyone has bad days, but how we treat other people – from waiters to stewardesses to rental car agents to people we disagree with – speaks to our general humanity, humility, and respect for others.
Cookie Lies and Punishment
When I was five-years old, Mom literally caught me with my hand in the cookie jar.
“Have you been eating cookies after I told you not to?”
Pause. “No?”
Wrong answer. That did not go well for me.
Kids get in trouble when they don’t tell the truth. What happens to adults?
February 24th, 2022
5:07 am: Russian military forces launched volleys of cruise missiles and long-range artillery into multiple cities in Ukraine. Over the next several hours, sirens sounded as Russian forces attacked Ukraine from the south, east, and north.
7:00 am: I met a friend and former professional baseball player on a nearby tennis court in Watkinsville, Georgia to play two sets of tennis. He crushed me.
8:00 am: Ukraine’s military claimed it shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter, while Ukrainian citizens retreated to their basements, prayed in the streets, and lined up at ATMs to take out cash.
11:00 am: I had a call with a client in the Pacific Northwest to discuss a potential forest industry consulting project in the U.S. South.
2:00 pm: Ukrainian forces confirmed shooting down a K-52 “Alligator” Russian helicopter near Kyiv, where traffic from people fleeing the strike zones clogged roads leading out of the city.
5:00 pm: Covering for a colleague on maternity leave, I stayed late at the office to work through administrative tasks and the training plan for a newly hired employee.
That day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law, preventing men of fighting age from leaving the country, while at least 137 military and civilian Ukrainians were killed and 317 wounded.
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