The Burger Quest is Over

As humbly as I can possibly say this, for a man who claimed to be on the quest for the "World's Best Burger" without ever qualifying by adding "in my opinion", the Quest is over. In defense of my apparent arrogance in the matter, since it is my blog then it must be my opinion, or in the case of posting other articles, an opinion with which I agree.

The search is over for three reasons:

1. My doctor says my cholesterol is high, a diagnosis I take very personally since this is totally in my control. By the way, when I told him I wanted a second opinion, he said "you're ugly too". (Thank you Groucho). Dr. Bill suggests I eat less fat from meat, and more fresh fruits and vegetables. As reluctant as I am to correlate my quest for the best burger with my elevated cholesterol, it would be imprudent to at least not consider the possibility.
2. There's a new quest - the Quest to somehow eat the recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables while on the road. Based on my recent trip to Ottawa I'm going to say this is no easy task, particularly in the winter. Combined with the socially responsible trend towards eating a 100-mile diet, it is downright impossible. I call this the "bringin' back scurvy" tour.
3. Friendships have suffered over this, and I have discovered that people take recommendations, given and received, personally. It's possible the Hatfields and McCoys started out arguing about ground beef. My search for burger heaven has occasionally left me in burgatory.
4. Besides, I found it (the best burger that is). In 'n Out in Nevada, California and Arizona is the fast food winner. It's a time machine trip back to the future, complete with paper hats and pre-microwave, no-freezers and no-heat lamps quality and friendliness. 1948 has arrived and found a home.
The best gourmet burger I found is right here in Windsor at Motor Burger on Erie Street. It's tasty, well presented and creatively different. If only the service matched the quality of the food, but that's a hangover from the old NOI restaurant that used to be in this place. "We'll get there when we get there and you'll sit there till we get there" is the unfortunate feeling whenever I go there, and while the food is always worth waiting for, the "we're busy serving the in-crowd" attitude isn't.
Remember my trendy friends, even on Queen Street a clean cut stranger feels at home.

I Like Taxes

One Last Word about Politics in Windsor (at least for 2009)

I like taxes. I like paying taxes. I like the good things our collective resources bring, and I shudder at the thought of having to pay for running water, sewage processing, policing, roads and education directly out of my pocket specifically for the needs of my family. I couldn't afford it, but together with the entire community's pooled resources I like my standard of living.

I like politicians. Once I wanted to be one. Once I was one, except for the winning an election part.

I don't like it when politicians play on our most foolish sentiments by trumpeting "no new taxes" or promise no tax increases in a time when the only purpose for babbling such nonsense is for election, or re-election to public office. This selfish drivel only serves to harm the community in the long run.

Now I'm not saying I'm in favour of wasteful boondoggles. When I ran for municipal office (and was soundly trounced by the incumbents and the other guy on the ballot, too) I campaigned on a platform of "are you getting your money's worth?" in regard to taxation. Suffice it to say that didn't have the cache of "I will go through the budget line by line and guarantee a 0% increase", which is exactly the kind of myopic governance that passes for leadership that we have been stuck with for 7 years in the city.

In this year when we really do need to hold the line at 0% because of a dismal economy, high unemployment, lower property values and a decimated manufacturing and tourism base, there's nothing left to cut. We have sacrificed our collective good to satisfy the well-off at the expense of the poor primarily as a public relations exercise that, frankly, worked for the politicians. Incumbents were reelected and legacy projects built.

In 2010 the poorest of Windsorites will be asked to sup from a thin gruel that is already long past nutritious and satisfying, both figuratively and literally.

The Feast of the Holy Family - December 27th

Luke 2:41-52 (in which the child Jesus is found in the temple)

Some people feel like today’s society has forgotten all about families. We worry that families don’t matter anymore. We long for days gone by, fond in our memory, for a time when the nuclear family was celebrated and protected.

In my youth we watched television shows about family and we wished we could be like them. Some wanted to be the perfect nuclear family like the Cleavers, others the perfect blended family like the Bradys, we wanted father to know best and mom to wear pearls in the kitchen. Today we see families in the media and we thank God that at least we’re not that bad. We’re not the Osbornes, we’re not the balloon boy’s family, I’m not John and she’s not Kate, with or without the eight.

That's when we can turn to the example of the Holy Family.

We don’t know much about the childhood of Jesus or the life of Mary, and I can imagine Mary as an old lady surrounded by the disciples of Christ asking her, “what was Jesus like as a child?” No doubt she told a great number of stories each of them revealing the very human nature of our Divine Lord, but this one, this story of the child in the temple beginning to make known and perhaps beginning to realize his divine nature all at once and at the same time would be the event that best foretold his great mission here on earth. This is the story Mary pondered in her heart. She and Joseph did not understand what he meant and that’s a very normal family.

When our own children do and say the things that cause us confusion and even heartbreak, God knows how we feel. God knows. No matter how we describe our family situation, what has happened or what challenges we face, God knows.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were not perfect people with all the answers. God chose them as part of a divine plan.

"They, too, had to listen to God’s call, and try every day to choose virtuous actions. Whole-hearted effort – not a perfect result – is what it means to be a “Holy Family”. (John Vella)

The Feast of St. Stephen - First Martyr and a Deacon

"Stephen was a deacon in the early Church. We read about him in chapters 6 and 7 of the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and the apostles had found that they needed helpers to look after the care of widows and the poor. So they ordained seven deacons. Stephen is the most famous of these." (Saint of the Day website)

We celebrate the martyrdom of Stephen, who faced the angry mob and defended the faith.

Deacons are supposed to be the Bishop's right hand man. As my friend Deacon Doug Oltsher sometimes jokes, gesturing towards our own Diocesan Bishop, "We're supposed to take a bullet for that guy!"

The Pope sure could have used a Deacon earlier this week. Check this out:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/2009/12/stunning-video-of-attack-on-pope.html

4 Easy Steps to Restaurant Bankruptcy, Server Edition

Four things restaurant managers and owners should watch and listen for (unless they like the idea of one very bad server putting them out of business, one customer at a time). These four statements were made in the very first interaction with a server just last week as I attempted to tap into her knowledge for a little guidance. Unbelievable at a Denny's, unforgivable at the $50.00 - $75.00+ per person price range.

1. "I'll give you a few minutes to decide".

(Translation: "I could stick around and tell you about our specials, my favourite entrees, why we're different and better, why I'm the best and most knowledgeable server you've ever had, but I don't know the menu very well, I forgot to check what the soup of the day is, and I don't remember what the special is. So I'll give YOU a few minutes to figure all that out for yourself.")

2. "Everything's good," as I try and pry a recommendation for an appetizer out of her.

(Well of course it is or it wouldn't be on the menu, would it? Can you narrow it down for me?)

3. "Depends what you like..."as she comes beside you and looks over your shoulder to study the menu as if she's seeing it for the first time.

(Yes, of course it does depend on what I like, since I'll be eating it. And if you ask me I'll tell you, and then you could suggest something that will make me rave about this place to all my friends. Unless you consider customers who don't know what they want to be nothing but a pain in the ass, in which case refer to #1)

4. "It's up to you"

(Yup, I knew that. I just thought that since you work here and I don't you might like to give me a hand deciding how I'll get the best value for the c-note I'm going to drop in here tonight. No?)

No problem. See you around. Don't forget to tell your coworkers what a cheap bastard I am for leaving you such a lousy tip. And tell your next employer how you were the best server that place ever had, too bad they closed the doors.

- Bonus observation - beware the servers who can "handle" more tables than you've given them. You think you can't live without them because you can send all the other servers home and if it suddenly gets busy, superserver can handle it. In the end they will dump you and move on after they've pissed off every last one of your guests with their indifferent efficiencies and the business has become so slow they can't make big bucks in volume anymore. Unfortunately it will not come soon enough to save your restaurant.

- Bonus observation #2 - beware the server who doesn't write down the order. Any fool can remember one order dictated by a customer (at least until the first distraction occurs between the table and the POS computer). A true server guides and suggests their guests' experience through the menu; they have to write it down. They wouldn't dare risk forgetting to bring anything that would complete the perfect meal.

P.R.A.Y. our way to "Yes"!

Saying “Yes” to God

A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:39-45

It’s not easy saying “yes” to God. It’s never been easy. God asks a lot of those who pray daily “thy will be done”. He asks more from those who live it. How can we be ready when God asks our obedience, in small or grand ways? How can we get to a life of faithful obedience in God, like Mary? Most of what God asks of us may not seem so dramatic, but it can be every bit as life changing, as challenging and as important to our salvation. Here’s a simple acronym for saintly obedience that I think will help us to get to where we need to be. We use the four letters of the word “pray”. P.R.A.Y.

P – Prepare, ponder and pray. Especially pray. Mary was clearly a prayerful woman; in fact some of the words she speaks in the Magnificat are taken right out of the Old Testament books and from some of the psalms. Whatever else we know about Mary, we know she was a prayerful woman who prayed with the scriptures. We can pray the scriptures – perhaps a few verses of the Word, or even just few words. Be still. This is the sort of thing we might do on a retreat, but we can also do at home or in the quiet of our Church before Mass begins. Prayer is a communication that isn’t all about just asking for something, although that is part of it. Prayer is a good time for thanksgiving and praise, but also for expressing fear or anger or confusion, just the way you’d speak to your father or your very good friend.

R – read and reflect. We can read God’s word in the bible, and we should be getting our sustenance more often than once a week at Church. It’s OK to pick up the bible! But there are also good books that help us to understand the words in the bible, and my own preference is books that are scripture based. None of that Chicken Soup crap or internet "lump-in-my-throat, send this to your friends" nonsense for me. The Word is not meant to be an anesthetic for the pains of life. Sometimes the Word comforts us in time of sorrow, but sometimes the Word challenges and make us very uncomfortable. In reflecting on God’s word in a prayerful way, we prepare our hearts for the gift of obedience.

A - Act. We know what is right and wrong, in our hearts, and so we are called to be good Christians, good Catholics every day and every moment. There is a principle of Social Justice that says we are to See, Judge and Act. A thoughtful and prayerful Catholic need not be afraid to stand for what is right. If not us, who? All of this leads to the last letter in the word PRAY – Y.

Y is for Yes. Yes Lord. I’ll do it. Yes to your church through active participation in the Mass and in ministry. Yes to being a member of an imperfect congregation. Yes to my faith, not just the sacraments but definitely the sacraments, but weekly and daily and every moment. Yes to Jesus in spite of all worldly evidence to the contrary. Yes to the Eucharistic sacrifice for us.

P-R-A-Y. Pray, reflect, act and, “Yes".

Road Test - 2010 Mazda 3

I get to rent a lot of different vehicles when I travel, and I try to rent a different car every time just for the fun of it. It kind of takes care of that nagging desire to go out and buy a brand new car every six months.

I arrived in Ottawa in a blinding snowstorm and was offered a rear-wheel drive Dodge Charger (cool car, heavy on gas, last time I rented one was in the dead heat of summer), a Honda Civic (pretty nice little car) or a Mazda 3. I've never driven a Mazda before and I didn't feel like the inevitable snowstuck / sidespin driving style of the Charger, not that the old "motorboat method" of driving wouldn't have come back to me. But since I was already booked into a Holiday Inn that hadn't been renovated since the 70's, one trip in the Wayback Machine was all I needed on this visit to Ottawa.

So I chose the Mazda. Here's my review:

Great?

• Gas mileage
• Gas filler access on the right - a safety feature so you don't get clipped by passing traffic when you fill from a gascan if you run out of gas on the side of the highway
• It's a tank in the snow (I parked in unplowed spots and didn't have to worry about getting out)
• Manual shift feature on automatic transmission (great in blizzard and snow)
• It's peppy

Good?

• I like the "hello" feature on the readout when you turn on the ignition
• Well laid out dashboard, cupholders, radio controls
• Split folding rear seats
• Locking fuel filler door
• Info on dash like outside temp, date, time
• Trunk room
• Interior room

Growth? (room for improvement)

• There was no light in the trunk
• Turn signal stalk was a bit touchy and I tended to turn on high beams when reaching to signal
• Would have like remote entry and corresponding security / alarm (probably available on upgrade)

Overall - a pretty cool little car. I'd buy one if a cool little foreign car was what I was in the market for.

The Cowardly Manager’s Guide to Dealing with Poor Performers

To quote Kim Mitchell on the mighty Q - "Damn, I wish I wrote that!"

Here's a great blog about leadership:

The Cowardly Manager’s Guide to Dealing with Poor Performers

How Cohabitation Is a Sin Against Social Justice

Interesting reading...

How Cohabitation Is a Sin Against Social Justice

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Christ the King - The Original Inconvenient Truth

Christ the King – an Inconvenient Truth or Liberation? November 22, 2009

John 18:33b-37

We are invited to listen in on a conversation in today’s Gospel. Two men face off, one very powerful and influential by the world’s standards, the other – Christ. There’s a lot riding on the outcome of this encounter, although it’s clear Pilate doesn’t quite know the extent of it.

Picture a time when a society is clearly divided into those who have the power, those who want power, and those who will never have power. This was the situation in the Palestine of Jesus’ time, with Roman occupation men like Pilate had all the power and wealth, and the armies to enforce it.

Occupied Jews who were smart knew enough to stay on the right side of the Romans did fairly well. The Pharisees and the High Priests do OK by keeping things quiet, and they live a pretty good life as they await the coming of the Messiah to give them back their promised land.

Along comes Jesus to rock that boat, and they don’t quite know what to do with him.

He preaches a different kind of love of God – one in which after God, we are commanded to love our neighbour. To put our neighbour ahead of ourselves, because isn’t that, my friends, the definition of love – to put someone else’s needs ahead of your own?

But what does that mean? That all this striving for power and status and material possessions mean nothing at all? Apparently the poor are the blessed ones, the meek are blessed, and the lowly are in fact the first for God’s affection. Christ threatens the fabric of society of his time. He is not exactly the messiah the Jews have been waiting for, not only because he doesn’t arrive in a blaze of glory, but because what if they believe what he preaches they will have to renounce all that they believe to be true.

It’s no different for the Romans. If they believe what Christ says, their world will be very different indeed. If Christ is King, then he is the highest authority in the land, in the world, and that means going against the most powerful government on the face of the earth, with potentially disastrous results.

Christ has become the original inconvenient truth.

Two men face to face and Pilate isn’t keen on recognizing the King in front of him.

How is that different from today’s world? Don’t we tend to hold in high esteem those who have achieved positions of great wealth in our society? Beyond financial wealth, we value talent and good looks and physical fitness. We idolize our rock stars and our sports stars and our Hollywood stars and even the sons and daughters of the well to do, whose only accomplishment seems to have been that they were born to wealthy parents.

Oh come on. We want to be like them. Bigger houses. Nicer cars.

"You can do it. If you believe it, you can achieve it." We motivate ourselves by reading quotations from famous people. I have personally spent hundreds of dollars in the last 30 years of my business career attending seminars, buying books, motivational calendars – all with the goal of “making it” in the business world. The next promotion, the biggest bonus, recognition, maybe even elected office….

And you know, relatively speaking and in comparison to most of the rest of the world, we’re actually very wealthy. Even the relatively poor among us are doing well in comparison just by the accident of their birth on this side of the equator, or that they live in this country with all its natural resources, temperate climate and access to water, wood and oil…

Sometimes, though, just as the Jews and Pilate were, we are forced to face the truth in our midst. We are forced to see the poor among us. The poor in health, in hospitals and hospices across this country and in our community. The poor in spirit, the lonely, the elderly, the unemployed, the business person who’s just lost everything. The weak and the unsuccessful.

Often just two people face to face, like Jesus and Pilate. You see that scene played out every day across our community.

The street person asks the passerby on her way to the coffee shop if she can spare a few coins. The dying patient alone in the hospital asks the Hospice worker to sit with her a bit longer. A friend’s mother dies and she just needs someone to talk to. Just two people, one in need, the other being asked to give. A little like our scene in the Gospel.

Although it probably didn’t seem like it, and there isn’t a happy ending to the story, there is good news for Pilate in all of this. He has a choice.

The Christ is right in front of him. Jesus Christ has offered Pilate the chance to recognize him as King. Imagine the realization slowly dawning on Pilate that who he has in front of him is no mere rabble rouser, no run of the mill trouble maker for the Jews.

All the way through his ministry Christ has offered the truth and invited people to follow him, to become one with the truth. But, as I have said, it is an inconvenient truth.

Because if you believe, if you really believe, and embrace what Christ is saying, and follow him with all your heart, and proclaim him King – not a King but the King, then you must give up all that you hold valuable in this world in order to gain eternal life in the next. You must show a preferential option for the poor, you must recognize that those who have little or nothing are the blessed, and those who put wealth and power ahead of all else will have a difficult time finding their way to heaven.

It’s not going to be easy for Pilate to acknowledge Christ as King, but at that very moment, what if he had? What if Pilate had fallen to one knee and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. Christ never said it would be easy.

Pilate had an option, the Jews had an option, and the people of Jerusalem had an option.

We have an option. Not many of us are in a position with power of the magnitude of Pilate’s, but we are asked to deal with the problem of Christ in our daily lives. It breaks down into two parts.

The first is a question of what we hold dear to our hearts. What is it that motivates us? Is it material possessions, or status, or simply having more than everyone else? Any time we place something ahead of God we are worshiping false gods and false royalty. We know that, still it’s no easier for us to hear than it was for the people of Jesus’ time.

The good news is, the truth is, when Christ is at the centre of our lives in prayer, worship and in practice, those other things don’t quite matter as much, and we’re free to love our family, our closest friends and the strangers in our midst. A weight is lifted off our shoulders. The truth has set us free.

Secondly though, is a question of how we treat the poor, the lowly, and the down on their luck. Christ himself said, and this is what gets him in trouble in the first place, “when I was hungry you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome…” (Matthew 25)

Pilate just wanted Christ to go away.

We gain for ourselves a place in the Kingdom when we find ourselves face to face with the hungry, the thirsty, and society’s cast-offs, the lonely, the sick, the dying… and we face the truth. We forget ourselves for a moment, our ambitions and our possessions and our foolish pursuits and put their needs first as Christ loves us and puts us first even to the point of dying. We acknowledge Christ as King in the loving and prayerful service of others in the name of God.

This Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, was originally implemented in 1925 by Pope Pius XI who hoped that a day acknowledging Jesus Christ as King of the universe would act as a corrective to some dangerous political ideas of his time, and would help bring about peace and harmony and calm order in his time.

He could have issued a Papal encyclical, but instead established this solemnity, in his words “the annual celebration of sacred mysteries is more effective informing people about Faith and in bringing them the joys of the spiritual life… solemn documents are often read by a few…feasts move and teach all the faithful.”

This is a message of hope.

This man whose sacrifice for us we celebrate at the table of the Eucharist, this Christ; is he our King?