A Scot, a Muslim, a German and a Jew play golf and go to the bar afterward. They play, they talk, they laugh, they drink and become good friends… It’s not a joke. It’s what happens when you play golf!
I say this because I recently received an email from my golf club telling us that they would stop showing news on the TV’s and to refrain from political conversations on the course. I know this is just part and parcel of the times and that because of social media, one person in Podunk can do one thing weird or wrong and the rest of us assume that is the norm. I worry about our “social fabric.”
When I was growing up you were taught to get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard and avoid illness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime. Be civil.
Lest you think there is no hope for the future, I have to tell you that I was walking with our neighbor who has adopted kids from China and Africa. She told me that a question on her recent job application asked how she handled diversity? She replied, “she kicks them out of bed in the morning just like her other two kids!”
Well San Diego closed out 2018 with the lowest unemployment levels since 2000 (don’t expect your commute to be any easier any time in the near future!). San Diego remains attractive because of its high quality of life and broad pool of talented workers. I know this is hard to believe but it is a lower cost of living compared to other tech markets for most tech talent. The story of San Diego’s real estate market will continue to be about low unemployment and where the tech jobs in the nation are going.
With baseball season upon us, I will tell you I get asked all the time, “what inning are we in – when will this cycle be over?” I will tell you that I think we are in the 7th inning (yes you can take a little stretch). However, having coached a lot of baseball, it is not a 9-inning game like many presuppose. In fact, the longest major league game went 25 innings in 1984 with the White Sox beating the Brewers after 8 hours and 6 minutes! So, although we may be in the 7th inning, I think there are a lot of extra innings in our future.
I tried to figure out how to string all these thoughts together but finally decided that in our ADD society, I would just serve them up to you as bullet points for thought prompts;
- There are 7.3 billion toothbrushes in the world. There are 7.5 billion cell phones. The real cyber security threat in the world is in the palm of your hand.
- In 1995, we had 100% tariffs on Japanese cars.
- The Tech Disturbance and low oil prices are both anti-inflationary.
- We used to worry about people “photoshopping” pictures (you know – your head on someone else’s body). The new thing is “Dark Fake” and it is making fake video and fake voice of you. This is a frightening trend!
- New trend – having a building masseuse.
- Chinese home buyers in the US last year (2018) spent $30 billion on houses.
- There are 130 million books in publication. There are 7.5 million books on Amazon and 500 a day being added.
- 24 million passengers passed through Lindbergh Field last year which is the fifth straight record year. Passenger traffic is directly related to a local economies’ health.
I hope that in our highly conflicted social fabric that you always remember that people aren’t stupid – life is hard. And we’re here at CDC Commercial to help make it easier for you!
I hope you have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope that in the spirit of that, you enjoy the bagpipe story.
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Irish backcountry.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions.
I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.
I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played “Amazing Grace”, the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”
