Economy and Trade: the next 20 years

There is a shift afoot.

The election of Donald Trump means a change is coming in economic thinking at the policy level. Globalization has defined the trading order for the last 25 years or so, but like a rusty freighter it is starting to show its age. Assembly line workers who saw their jobs outsourced have always felt cheated. Replacement jobs and training haven’t been there for laid off men and women hoping to replace big incomes. It isn’t just Donald Trump who is pulling back from economic entanglements; the Europeans are seeing a rising tide of nationalism. This is bound to change the international thinking on economics and determine trade policy for the next 20 years.

Economics is theory, the big picture stuff. It won’t explain why cotton prices suddenly jumped up in June or why steel prices dropped in December, that’s business. It can give you scenarios where prices might swing, or historic trends where political and social pressures existed on the market. Economics is a snapshot of the existing trading system and a historic record of how it got that way.

It isn’t a surprise that it’s changing; the dismal science is due a makeover. Economic Nationalism is on the rise in America and across Europe. Economic Nationalism is a phrase used by Steve Bannon (one time Trump advisor) to explain his view that the U.S. government should support American companies through tariffs, subsidies, tax breaks and quotas at the expense of other countries. So basically everything once thought of as anti-competitive Steve is for. Did you hear the president’s inaugural speech in January? That was Bannon. He wrote it. It pitted ‘elites’ against regular folks, politicians against citizens and nations against nations. It wasn’t exactly nasty but it laid out a case (in some minds) for a government that hasn’t valued its citizens. It has chased after foreign investment and low wage workers.

 Like multiple theories of economics though, there is some good and some bad.

Why do protectionist policies lead to sluggish growth? because any business or industry that isn’t pushed to keep prices low gets lazy. Companies that rely on regular installments of federal money tend to relax their research and development side and pay higher wages. The downside is Uncle Sam just took away the small firm’s ability to compete. 

The wild tiger is more likely to hunt than one in the zoo.

I always go half-way with Bannon. Foreign countries like China play a different version of trade than we do. The economic models we learned in school that show how trade benefits everyone are seriously lacking. You remember the Ricardo ones don’t you? Country A has sheep and makes wool clothing, country B grows gapes and bottles wine. Instead of country A growing grapes and bottling their own wine and country B doing the same with sheep and wool, they trade. This trade creates an advantage for both nations since they specialize and gain the comparative lower costs.

The model works well on a mathematical level but there are too many missing pieces that throw off the balance. The missing pieces get chalked up to ‘elites’ benefiting themselves at the expense of hard working Americans. But it's really tough to draw a straight line between jobs going to China and long term unemployment in the US. The gains are spread out, more diffuse. They mean lower prices at Target and Kohls but lower wages for workers. Gains for some, losses for others.

 It’s a tough sell for politicians: “Vote for me and you’ll probably lose your job but don’t worry, the gains will be marginal and spread out.”

Trade is anything but fair. Modern economies have all sorts of clever ways around straightforward competition. Tariffs aren’t used a lot anymore since a lot of work has been done to eliminate them. Countries still use subsidies to prop up their industry. Agriculture in the US couldn’t survive without them, neither could Chinese steel manufacturers or Japanese car makers. So the Economic Nationalists are right about foreign cheaters either helping their companies or propping up the currency.

“Why bother playing by an old trade model where we get screwed every time? How about instead we help our own companies first and trade later”? He figures.

Mainly because in order to grow big companies need overseas markets and blocking tires from Mexico means they’ll refuse to buy machinery from us. Also, I don’t think Steve realizes that certain manufacturing jobs don’t pay what they used to. Everyday market forces make it impossible. Foreign car companies like Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen started getting better and cheaper, right around the early nineties. Americans began buying them and putting a squeeze on Detroit. Putting up tariffs on Japanese and Korean car makers would have held off the onslaught for a while, but GM and Ford couldn’t compete overseas forever. Legacy costs also hampered the American companies; paying ruinous fees to retired workers would have undercut their ability to be competitive anyway. 

Banon and Trump are right to be skeptical about Chinese business and current iterations of ‘free trade’. For both Republican and Democrat lawmakers any international trade deal was considered good, because ‘free market’ equals good—or something like that. 

The Trump version of economics, which is really Bannon’s, insists companies look first ‘in country’ for tax deals and breaks before leaving for a low wage environment. As to how the policy toward economics will be affected it remains to be seen. Most supporters of globalization (free trade) sound a little humbler these days as populist politicians get elected all over the Western world. They admit that the benefits of trade have been gradual and slow while the downsides have been immediate and ugly—losing a job always is. Globalists aren’t ready to change their belief in the free market (neither am I) but admitting to missteps is a start. Agreeing to reconsider, and walk away from, large scale trade bills is a good move.   

"If Grace than Deeds"

Depression is a strong word for occasional ‘funks’ in life that drag us down.

 It suggests clinical, medical problems that demand attention and action. I fall into these shallow pits occasionally and have found the quickest way out is through selfless behavior, good works. No this isn’t one of those “So what is your biggest weakness?” interview questions where I get to pretend my weakness is actually a strength. “Well you know..I just love everyone so much, I don’t know when to say no.” This actually helps. Focus on someone in need. Any need. Just get involved with helping others and stop focusing on self. That clears up the funk clouds quicker than anything.

Good works allow others outside the faith to see a healthy example of love. That love exemplified through Christ’s death and resurrection is the goal, salvation is the point. Lead them to Jesus.

Good works have gotten a bad rap the last couple of years. Works are constantly juxtaposed with grace, as if humans must choose between them. Like the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where a totally subjective grail choice determines the drinker’s fate. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, Donavan the antiquities collector goes for the shiniest most bejeweled cup to drink ‘eternal life’ from. He sips from the wrong one mistaking it for the holy grail. Tthe Knight deadpans “He chose poorly” as Donavan’s rapidly aging body decomposes seconds after his sip. He got one chance and picked the wrong cup.  

We think our choice is limited to accepting grace and eschewing deeds. Grace and deeds are not mutually exclusive, they exist together. One is a gift and the other constitutes action--if grace than deeds.

 Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast.” (NIV)

Paul uses ‘deeds’ so Christians see an obvious contrast between something offered and something earned. He is saying that no one can earn it so don’t even try. Good works are still an essential part of Christianity and witnessing to the lost. Again, the best way to show the character of our Father is through good works and generosity. Don’t imagine deeds aren’t critical to winning souls and touching lives.

James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (ESV)

There can be no doubt that ‘widows and orphans’ falls comfortably under the works category. Works are encouraged in order to show the Father’s love. Just don’t imagine works can be traded in for credit at any time. Salvation through grace is free. Isn’t that wonderful?

The knowledge alone should get you out of your funk.

Overgrowth

I like to prune my landscaping area for overgrown weeds.

Actually I don’t like it but I have to, if only for a couple times a month. I am that guy who really wants a decent looking yard with trimmed plants and hedges but balks at having to do the work. Once I start it isn’t so bad to keep going but the work is never done. It seems to get worse every year. I realized this today while pulling weeds out of the exact same spots as always. I’ve never put in the time to prevent them from coming back. Not really. In one case I dug a small trench on the back side of the fence to prevent crabgrass from jumping from the lawn to my evergreen area.

 Oklahoma has these strange weeds that grow horizontal instead of straight up. If they grew straight up it would be easy to yank them right out of the ground. Because they run along the ground it’s impossible to see them until they’ve grown a couple feet long. They get through mulch and wrap around plants and bushes, entangling themselves and making it tough to pull out. Keeping them away requires serious dedication because they grow without water and seem to thrive everywhere. 

The quick fix is to rip out the existing weeds and wait till the plants are covered again next month. A better way is to put in place barriers that prevent encroaching brush from taking over. It takes longer though and requires more attentiveness. It’s worth it but mostly I just don’t like working that hard.

 Keeping my yard nice takes more diligence than I often can muster. The Christian life feels this way too often. Those unattended areas of life become havens for all types of unwanted growth. Zones that get ignored, un-managed and open to influence become the areas overrun with messy problems. Only when we put real effort and attention into stopping the weeds of life from getting through do we make any progress. Most of us get lazy though. We deal with the results of overgrowth. We apologize for angry outbursts aimed at family; we break off disastrous relationships after serious emotional damage. We clean up the mess. We clean up the mess because it’s easier than preventing the problem. It takes work. We hate work. 

Many get comfortable dealing with the overgrowth convinced it isn’t a big deal. “Everyone has issues, after all” we tell ourselves so we can keep going without putting in any real work. It isn’t until the weeds become unmanageable and we get exhausted with the process that we make a drastic change. We dig a trench, cut the grass, remove excess roots and pay attention to unwanted growth. 

Only by setting a plan and sticking to it with all the diligence we can muster does our life begin to change. Real change. Change that sticks. The kind others see and learn from. One effective lesson from Alcoholics Anonymous is to do a ‘fearless inventory of ourselves’ in order to progress. Another way to say that is to do an honest assessment of past behavior and evaluate potential trip wires. This doesn’t just have to be about drugs and drinking, or even alcohol related triggers. Chances are most of us need to clean up areas where behavior often gets out of control. Like the weeds it comes back stronger if ignored. Be targeted and honest about the problems.

Tempted to rob the bank? Maybe use the drive through instead—and leave the ski mask at home. Have trouble staying faithful to your wife? Keep away from nude beaches and massage houses on your ‘cultural appreciation’ trip. Seriously though, for every hang-up there exists ways to avoid traps and keep the weeds from getting out of control.

Besides, we aren’t alone.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you’ll have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) 

NFL Protests: An Exercise in Selfishness

This is the second time I’ve written about Colin Kaepernick. The scenario last year really pissed me off for two reasons. First, non-political events are being dragged into the political realm like a calf to a butcher. Sports is one of those areas, especially football. Second, because refusing to acknowledge the anthem and to bring attention to oneself is so unfair it should be met with scorn and derision for everyone engaging in it. What does the flag (and the anthem) have to do with your particular political grievance? 

Under this logic, any player with ANY political complaint could sit during the anthem. Don’t like immigration? Have a seat. Income tax too high? Too low? Protest the flag. Don’t have enough health care? Take a knee.

This is silly and gets us nowhere except at each other’s throats because the protest is out of bounds.  

I just read a story about some NYC cops who support Colin Kaepernick and his anti-flag demonstration that caused such a fuss last year. The Giants were thinking about bringing him into camp this year as a backup to Eli Manning. Because of the hate mail and pressure they decided against it ultimately. This has been the case with a few other teams, Baltimore to be specific. I don’t want to open the Kaepernick can of worms again but the guy plays in a league with pretty strict policies on everything from off the field behavior to dress code. They didn’t try to stop him from ‘demonstrating’ and sounding like an ass whenever he spoke. He got what he wanted. Now he’s ostracized and he doesn’t like it. He is reaping the rewards of a conscious decision he made and explained to all football fans who frankly didn’t want to hear it.

Some players are going on record saying he should be on a team. Or that he was treated unfairly. The argument usually is the player is being denied some ‘right’ to speak or demonstrate. Using the flag as a prop for your personal grievance is the lowest form of dissent and he should have known it. I can’t imagine doing that in a foreign country with genuine human or religious rights violations. The flag IS the country, good or bad. When supporters of Colin act surprised at the hatred from fans it proves they don’t get it. There are so many high profile ways to bring attention to political issues. Join a group. Start a group. Call a reporter and bloviate about the state of country. Give money to a campaign or cause.  Kneeling for the anthem or holding up a fist is cheap and dirty.

 It’s using a platform that isn’t yours for a cause that isn’t relevant to the game.

There still seems to be some question as to why NFL football fans write letters and react angrily to Colin Kaepernick and I think sports media needs a lesson in why this is. I hear radio hosts comparing Kap’s ‘sins’ to ‘sins of other athletes, drug possession, spousal abuse, drinking and driving, they like to weigh one versus the other. But not standing for the national anthem isn’t a moral failing or poor decision at a night club like a lot of other player misdeeds. There isn’t a scale for this kind of thing. He made a statement on a platform that wasn’t open to him. He stormed into our house, put his cleats on the furniture, and pissed on the floor. Then he shared his thoughts on America as a racist country (the country he makes a lot of money in) and why it must change. He also insisted on ‘doing his part’ by not standing for the anthem, an unrelated act to either cops or the country’s founding.

He is reviled, not because of his views but because he chooses the wrong venue to share them, especially in settings where they aren’t wanted. We’re all upset when our team’s star athlete gets caught with drugs or pulled over for drunk driving. They’ve let everyone down including teammates and fans, family and friends. Ultimately we forgive them when they get on track and make it right. Kaepernick didn’t just offend our sense of liberty and patriotism though. He didn’t tell us something awful, about the country, we weren’t prepared to hear. He didn’t ‘expose our inner racism’ or highlight the unfairness in the system. He didn’t bring attention to anything other than his own fruitless crusade. He stole the attention due the flag and all it represents—liberty, freedom, heroism for his own childish ends. He willfully and spitefully insisted that his on-field rebellion was linked because of cops killing blacks.

He has succeeded in one way. Other players are now sitting during the anthem. They took the most outrageous and beside the point effort toward attention. This is why I think they’re just malcontents. There are countless ways to voice opposition as stated before. Platforms exist for this type of ‘anti’ activism. When it starts bleeding into sports, a traditionally non-political sphere, people feel cheated. They write letters demanding the owner of their favorite team reject Colin. They call the headquarters and yell at the phone operators, they call radio shows and voice displeasure. If left wing activist groups behind Kaepernick thought this was a good idea they’ve been proven wrong, very wrong.

I don’t want to boycott the NFL or turn off the games over this non-sense but if I have to I will. This politicizing of everything needs to stop and I don’t pretend to know where to begin. If support for Kaepernick grows and color commentators feel the need to remark on protests, show the sitting players, or remind the audience of the on-going debate. I’ll tune out. It’s actually getting easier for me to turn off shows I find objectionable. It’s easier than getting angry all the time. I’ll just deny them the one thing they crave, attention. 

Risky Business

I used to love playing Texas Hold ‘em with friends in the student apartments when I was in college. I learned something about gambling and the risky nature of betting money. I’m not good at it. I try to cautiously gamble, which is impossible, and carefully wager money. One of my friends use to say he could read my ‘tells’ easier than most. “Really?" I said. "What do I do that makes you know the kind of cards I’m holding.”

“Easy.” He said. “You’re cheap with fake money the same as with real money. You only make large bets when you’re holding sure winners like Aces or Kings.” I tried to argue but he had me. Some people can’t hide their tells. I haven’t played cards much since then. I tried overcompensating for a while by being reckless, bluffing a lot and losing quicker. I never really enjoyed it anyway. 

I’m risk averse on most things and card games are no different.  

 Gambling for poker chips is a poor measure for determining a person’s risk aversion. Individuals have different levels of risk tolerance for important things in life. I never cared about winning poker chips so I didn’t work hard at it, content to manage it comfortably and stay in the game. This might seem a little backwards. Why wouldn’t I play careless with worthless chips and bet heavy with small cards or risk it all on a bluff? Because I didn’t value winning at poker, I valued the experience of being with friends. The reward was fun, not winning.

At some point the scales tip though and the reward IS worth the risk. This is true of everyone at some point in life. It isn’t as easy as we pretend though.  We all have a risky, wager it all mentality for the right kind of reward. So what is it that turns you into a risk seeking Vegas high roller? Is it job freedom or romance, maybe a hobby?

 Figuring out what might take the better part of life.

Some people are easier than others. Professional athletes want to win and their competitiveness sometimes leads to taking performance enhancing drugs to get a slight edge. Their reward is winning medals or signing big contracts but the competition is incredibly tight so they risk getting caught and having their name destroyed. If it wasn’t worth it they wouldn’t keep doing it. Of course not all do it, but cheating at such high stakes is not unusual. They establish the reward and determine the risk. 

 Most people face the risk/reward paradox at some point in life. Some can navigate the high stakes real better than others. Day traders and commission salesman come out on the competitive side while government workers and salaried employees stay on the safe side. Most of us land somewhere between those careers on a graph, depending on our personal risk tolerance, our comfortability taking chances.

At some point in life all of us take an uncomfortable risk (or should), a step further than we intended. A step we aren’t sure about but that feels right regardless. People who start businesses know this feeling well. The strength required to make a company profitable is superhuman at times and demands regular overtime hours. From hiring honest, loyal workers to keeping customers happy and (hopefully) coming back takes an individual who knows risk. There aren’t guarantees for success and the statistics are against new ventures. Persistence and guts make the difference when talent falls short. 

Small business is not for the faint of heart yet countless people do it because the risk for them is worth the reward. Ask a business owner why they take on the burdens of running it and they’re likely to say something like, “I get to be the boss.” Or “My kids will have something of their own”. Maybe “I love the job, I am good at it.” “I make more money going it alone than working for someone else.”

Different reasons and different rewards but each one figured out the particular scale tipper and went ‘all in’. Some figure it out early in life and others much later. We all have it though and in most major points in life (career, marriage, finance) the scale tips and we make a bet.

As for cards, I just can’t do it anymore. I never enjoyed it much anyway and losing any amount of money is just too painful. Besides after this article everyone knows my ‘tell’. How can I possibly go on?

Marketing Subjects

Convincing people to buy anything is tough. From sales pitches about fear and safety to prideful notions of about ‘sexy’ and ‘powerful’ most of it has been tried before. The successful brands understand how visual cues and pattern recognition trigger wants and needs. 

I remember shopping in a trendy part of Shanghai. The brick road that ran between the glass storefronts was full of venders standing behind temporary stalls. From comic books and cologne to DVDs and fried candy it was a buffet for the senses. This wasn’t one of those markets where you argue with the stall owner over the price of a fake North Face jacket or pick the best looking imitation Rolex. This was a legit shopping experience although the dodgy types were around trying to sell knockoffs to anyone who could be pulled away.

 A lot of the retail stores would look right at home in any major city’s shopping district. One particular store had a display like a wooden book shelf full of square shelves with t-shirts from floor to ceiling folded neatly. It covered the entire side of wall. Much of it was too high for the clerk to reach without a wheeled ladder, again like in a bookstore. I couldn’t look away. It was beautiful. Every imaginable color of shirt perfectly sorted and identical in pile size to the one on each side of it, not to mention above and below. If you stood back, way back, it resembled a rack of those little paint swatches you get at Lowes. It was a freaking wall of cotton t-shirts why should I care about the display?

“Of course I’ll buy one! How about the purple one at the top, someone get the man a ladder! Get a red one too.”

I don’t think I connected it at the time but the impressive display was the point. Our eyes are attracted to symmetry and color. A corporate research team probably figured out the most efficient way to bring attention to their product (This was a chain retailer). By using recognizable shapes and colors they tricked me into buying stuff, the essence of marketing. The t-shirt display in Shanghai was one example of marketing on steroids, or maybe just an updated version of a proven sales tactic. Show the goods, highlight, display, demonstrate.

 Most of us can think of a time when something on a store shelf got our attention or a showy product feature impossible to ignore. It’s the phycology of selling. I want to know what attracts the human eye to product, ordinary boring stuff like cotton shirts that most people would look at unless displayed in an attention grabbing way. This isn’t just intellectual curiosity. I’ve worked retail for a lot of years and in many cases had to set up displays for stuff no one seemed to want.

Two solid rules to selling,  People love ‘cute’ and demonstrations bring audience. 

We used to have miniature baseball bags complete with functional zippers and garish brands splashed across the sides. The tiny wheels rolled like carry on luggage across tile floor, I demonstrated a few times. The marketing idea being a tiny version of the real thing is the best way to show it. Outdoor retailers do this with tents. They were only props though. Problem is the props didn’t work like the props should. Customers were interested in the mini bags instead of the actual ones.

Customer: “How much for the little duffles?”

Me: “Sorry they're just displays, can’t sell em”

Customer: “I just want one, the yellow one?”

Me: “Yeah, I not supposed to sell them either as a set or individually”

Customer: “What are you going do with em after the season, you won’t need the display?”

Me: “Don’t know…probably sell them”

Customer: sarcastically “Yeah thanks!”

Those types of conversations happened almost daily over those stupid little bags. I don’t remember selling too many of the real ones. People just wanted the ‘cute’ ones.

Another thing people like is demonstrations. A product you can show is a product you can sell. We had a putty type material that solidified when hit. You could knead the raw stuff in your hands like Play-Doh. The putty substance company put it in rib protectors for football players and girdles for hip and thigh protection. It was expensive but worked great and we got to demonstrate how protective it was by slamming a helmet on our hand with nothing but a rib shirt between the hand and the helmet. Best part was it made a huge banging noise when we attempted to show how protect-ant the material was. Imagine the thunk--thunk of a slamming football helmet on a counter and you’ve got it. People stopped what they were doing and ambled over the watch the eager salesman mash his hand under a swinging helmet. It mostly worked...mostly. A really enthusiastic smash would still get through. Course you had to play it off like “Pain? What pain?” and hope no one noticed the red throbbing hand. I had plenty of training for this growing up with brothers. Any show of emotion during an arm punching contest was a sure looser.

 I learned how to smile through the pain, tears below the surface.

Ever been to a public event or busy shopping district and noticed kids break dancing? Watched a chef show off some new knives at a grocery store at a makeshift kitchen between the cereal and soap isles? The crowds gather because something out of the ordinary is happening. Some form of entertainment is happening NOW. It’s seemingly spontaneous and demanding. No matter how amateur or silly the show we all want to watch. We love distraction. Best of all, distraction helps to sell when done right.

 The classic example of marketing distraction was Nike at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Reebok owned the rights to officially use the Olympic trademark and outfit athletes in their gear. Nike managed to set up a giant logo (how is that legal?) outside the athlete’s village so when cameras panned over the facilities a massive swoosh loomed large on TV screens. They also got Michael Johnson to wear a pair of bright gold running spikes in his winning event. They made a lot of enemies for their “ambush” style but nobody could have pulled it off like Nike.

I guess we are all subject to distracting advertising and bright attention grabbing displays. I try to remember it before shopping for t-shirts.       

Husband, Father, Christian

It was a day like any other day. I found out my uncle passed away. Lost his battle with cancer after what probably seemed like an eternity to his family. After hearing the news the pacing of the day seemed to slow as the importance of work became less so. When a family member dies, even a distant one, it forces us to remember specific characteristics about them and tell stories.

It also reminds us of how precious life is.  

Everyone leaves their impact on the world in different ways. I am sitting here listening to an instrumental station that is heavy on piano melodies and old school worship. It seems appropriate for the moment since I associate piano worship with my uncle. I am sure he occasionally sat down to watch a movie or read a book but in my mind I can’t imagine it. To me he was engaged in some other activity at all times. If the families were eating cake for a birthday party he was around but usually taking pictures and video of the party, not to mention editing the photos before everyone left. He liked being just outside of the circle, just on the edges of the party. Present and polite but engaged in other pursuits at the same time. His mind organized work before play even though some of his work must have felt like play. 

My Uncle the photographer.

Funerals are difficult for a whole lot of reasons and even tougher when the deceased is family. Death has been defeated but we are still left with its legacy. Its efforts to convince us that the sting is real and the grave is forever are cruel lies constantly retold. Even in defeat Death fights harder and inflicts more pain. We have a Champion though whose resurrection eliminates the finality of death—a savior who broke the curse forever revealing a bright future full of hope and free of sorrow.

 Our efforts at love and life are God inspired and hopefully we touch others with the light of Christ. Our talents reflect the beauty of our Creator. Much of that beauty for Eldon is in the music he created. The lyrics and melodies he loved to write while sitting at his piano and recording. He seemed to have a craftsman’s dedication to playing, improving, tweaking.  Song flowed naturally from him the way water flows from an underground spring. One memory I have is of my uncle on the stage at church performing one of the songs he wrote while playing the guitar. I didn’t know before that day he could play so well, or at all. The piano sure, the guitar—I never knew it. 

My Uncle the musician.

I remember his fondness for Seinfeld and the quirky humor the show was known for. I didn’t share his fascination with old sports cars and his tech knowledge was far ahead of mine.  Seinfeld I got though. I think his happiness and ‘fan boy’ enthusiasm for the show rubbed off on those around him. By the time it became syndicated the show had spanned generations of followers and nerd subcultures that used Seinfeldian phrases in everyday speech. Words like “re-gift” and “close talker” caught on. It was a joy to see my uncle as a Seinfeld superfan, an unexpected surprise. He even combined his hi-fi tech skills with his TV show cataloging skills and set up a program to automatically download shows not already in his library. I can’t decide which part of him worked harder at organizing that software, Seinfeld fan guy or techy genius guy.

 It’s impossible not to appreciate someone who perfects a craft or who takes pleasure in learning something new. That enthusiasm for learning and crafting, tinkering and toying sums up Eldon. Business types have a term for people who blaze a trail in new technology and push forward through research. They call them Early Adopters. I remember him explaining how he learned the basic code that Benson Stone used for rudimentary functions (remember mid 80’s). He told me he analyzed the dots on the printed pages and used trial and error to learn a handful of strokes and functions. From there he built on the little code he knew to adapt more and take on larger projects. I was impressed, but also a little disappointed because I realized I would never go to that much trouble. It wasn’t trouble to him though. He enjoyed the messy process that a lot of us simply hate. 

My uncle the Early Adopter.

As Christians we understand the glorious future that awaits while hoping for extended time with loved ones and praying for it desperately. My uncle was certainly a loving husband and father who raised his kids in line with the scriptures. The uncle I saw though was a quiet self-made type who was a gifted musician and appreciated quirky humor.

God be with his family in this tough time.