where did fall go?

today is december 8 and i am looking out my window at the woods. it seems like yesterday the temperature was in the 80's and the foliage was still green. now, it is gone. we went from summer straight into winter.
i am still off work. last week i had some problems with my knee and my doctor put me back on workmans comp. i am so blessed to live where i live. when the kids are in school, it is very quiet here. if i were a professional writer, it would be a great place to just sit and write. but, i am not.
the last date i worked was june 30th. i have been off more than 5 months. i jokingly told someone that i could have had a heart attack, bypass surgery and rehab and been back to work!!! i checked and found out i was right. oh well.
so much history has been made since i have been off. the depression (or recession), the stock market, the presidential election, foreclosures, "the big 3" and all of the bailouts. it has been quite a year and it is not over yet. we will see more businesses go belly up and more people losing their jobs and homes. it is a sad time in our country.
lee iacocca has a new book entitled "where have all the leaders gone". i have been a fan of his since he was ceo of chrysler. he is straight forward and his approach to leadership i greatly admire. here are some excerpts form his new book. i apologize for the language.

'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's

happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming

bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship

of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing

us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less

build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around

and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'



Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the

damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums

out!'



You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and

maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this

country anymore.



The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys

in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is

burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving

'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise

of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.

I've had enough. How about you?



I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're

not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The

Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of

leadership, with crisis being the first.)



Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis.

It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.

Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a

battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world

comes tumbling down.



On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other

time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the

ashes. A hell of a mess so here's where we stand.



We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan

for leaving.



We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.



We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great

companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.



Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent

energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.



Our borders are like sieves.



The middle class is being squeezed every which way.



These are times that cry out for leadership.



But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the

leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where

are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and

common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get

the point.



Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than

making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?



We've spent billions of dolla rs building a huge new bureaucracy, and

all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.



Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.

Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the

hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were

made in the crucial hours after the storm.



Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen

again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a

plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.



Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we

can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have

believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred

to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important,

what are we going to do about it?



Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down

the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care

problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are

eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.



I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on

your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is

being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.

What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News

<http://www.foxnews.com/> will call them a name? Give me a break.

Why don't you guys show some spine for a &nb sp;change?



Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom

here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have

hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege

of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also

experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World

War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam

War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years

culminating with 9/11.





If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by

standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.

Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for

our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm

raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action for people who, like me,

believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty

close. So let' s shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em

all we've had 'enough.'



Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and

care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future

is at stake!!


until next time...