I talked to a guy at lunch yesterday that told me the early voting lines in Franklin were really short. So, I thought back to the last Presidential election and the fact that I waited in line for about 2 hours to vote. So - what the heck - I gave it a try.

Suzanne and I were in and out in 5 minutes. It was great and I got it out of the way. If you’re in Franklin, TN - head over to the Factory and get it done. It’s important. It’s your right. And, it’s a privilege. Regardless of who you’re for or against - just do it.

I was reading this month’s “Exit Interview” in Men’s Journal featuring Tim Robbins and thought I would answer the questions they posed to him:

What adventure most changed your life?
I’d have to say it was my honeymoon. I wanted to go somewhere a little out of the ordinary. It had to be a island, but not touristy. So, we settled on this little island in the Bahamas called Elbow Cay. We stayed at this great B&B on the island. The neat thing was that there were no cars allowed and only two telephones on the island. It was the first time in my life that I was really incommunicado and I loved it - but it took me about four days to settle into it. And, it took my wife a little longer. The interesting thing was when we flew back and laid over in Miami. After being away from the world for 10 days and walking back into that airport, you could just feel the tension and bad vibes in the place.

What skill should every man have?
Every man needs to know how to be an interpreter. There are so many things we deal with on a daily basis that require interpretation. What did the wife really say? What does my client really need versus what they want? What did my son mean by that? Why is that guy looking at me that way? Stuff like that.

Do you have a scar that tells a story?
Yes, there is a scar that runs from my mid forehead down my nose and under my right eye. My dad bought a ski boat right after I got out of high school. About 4-5 weeks after we bought it, the dealer came up to our house for a check-out ride - just to make sure everything was running properly. So, we went out skiing on this reservoir in Utah where I was living at the time. After skiing for a while, we were driving around and I sat up on the motor cover in the center of the boat. We’ll then we hit the sandbar doing about 30-35 mph. I flew forward and hit the windshield bracing after stopping dead cold. 200 stitches later - there’s my scar.

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Happy Birthday to my little buddy.

I had no idea how life would change - but more importantly, how fast it would go.

In this picture he is about 15 minutes old. And, these last five years have been filled with so much. As much as I try and be the best Dad I can - this little guy has given back so much. His capacity for empathy, compassion and joy are WAY more than me.

It’s really amazing what he teaches me about being a better person and how he has grown into that without my influence. He was just born that way.

I’m thankful everyday that he is with us and part of our family. And, I can’t wait for many, many more birthdays with him.

I have had a number of conversations over the last week trying to understand this mess our economy is in. There are a number of theories, ideas and everything in between floating around out there. I don’t begin to understand the totality of it - but I do understand some of the fundamentals.

Here’s what I think I know about the situation:

• Mortgages are the root problem.
• The banking industry was selling mortgages to a lot of people who wouldn’t necessarily qualify for a mortgage without some of these special loans.
• A lot of the bad mortgages causing this problem were sub-prime or mortgages whose value was below the prime rate.
• There were a number of government programs that mandated the mortgage lenders make loans to those less fortunate.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac knew a bailout was possible and therefore made more risky decisions based on the premise that they would benefit from a governmental bailout.
• This problem began more years ago than anyone, especially in this political climate, will give credit.

I’m sure there is a lot more information, facts, theories and such that are out there. But, this is my simplistic view. Here’s a great article by Thomas Sowell - “Bailout Politics“. He has a Ph. D. in Economics from Stanford and is really, really smart. There are a number of great quotes and insight in the article.