Day 240

A Shocker: Since Andrew was born, I have always started off by giving you an update on him. But this past week, I was knocked a little bit off kilter. My company, Prairie Packaging, is a family owned business. The Shapiro family owns and runs it. Not for long. I was informed via conference call that Pactiv bought Prairie for $1 billion dollars. Pactiv is a giant in the disposables and packaging business. They are a gigantic corporation who owns Hefty, makers of trash bags, foam plates, plastic cups, etc. They are also the kings of the foam hinged carry-out containers that you see everywhere. I had just spent three days on the road and prepared two Power Point presentations for reviews at my two biggest clients. I sat through these meetings discussing the future. Turns out it may have been all for naught. From everything I have heard and read, Pactiv bought us because we have been so successful in an area that they need the most work in - foodservice. That is our bread and butter. Pactiv's CEO has been quoted as saying they have been long attracted to our company and have been trying to buy us for 6-7 years. Now was the best time for them and for the Shapiro's. Our plants are at full capacity and have $600 million in projections for 2007. We are strong with the three biggest foodservice distributors in the country - Sysco, Edward Don, and GFS. I wish my last name was Shapiro. How would you like to cash out for $1 billion? So how does this affect me? I won't know until June 1 at the earliest. I am choosing to think positively. Part of the reason Pactiv was so attracted to us is because they love how our sales force and system works in the market place. My two accounts have numbers that are all growing like gangbusters. I have great relationships in place and hopefully when and if my number is called, the Pactiv team we see my value. The key for me is my boss. If he ends up in a position where he is running an aspect of sales, I will be ok. But again, i think this could be a great thing for me in the long term if I can weather the early storm. I have to give Ags credit on this - he went through a similar situation with his old company. He too worked for a family owned company which was sold to a big corporation. He said I am now an all star for the Milwaukee Brewers and have been traded to the New York Yankees. We will see how I work under the spotlights. Obviously, I will keep you all posted on what happens, but it is probably going to be a few months before I know anything. It has been eerily quiet at work since the announcement.

Out Like Imus...: To nobody's surprise, that old windbag racist Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio after is now infamous "Nappy-headed Ho's" line referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team. Here is my take. What he said was obviously stupid, but he didn't deserve to be fired. He has been saying crap like this for years and getting away with it. Nobody seemed to care before. Where he lost his career was not by the comment, but rather when he went on his bad publicity tour apologizing to anyone who would listen. Had he just taken his two week suspension without saying a word, this would have gone away. Whoever handles his public relations should be fired. Imus went to the "some of my best friends are Black" card during his apology tour and it came off so hollow. How many times do we need to hear about how he helps little black children on his cancer ranch and how he is a champion for sickle-cell anemia? How dumb can one man be to go on the Al Sharpton show to apologize? I knew it was over when a woman called in to yell at Imus and his response was "I can't win with you people." The guy is and has been a racist for years. Several employees at WNBC where both he and Howard Stern used to work have said for years that Imus used to call two black women the "N" word in public. He doesn't even deny that fact, blaming his drug and alcohol abuse. Please. Keith Olbermann has said on his show that everyone at MSNBC and CBS Radio if given a vote, would gladly get rid of him in a heartbeat. He has treated everyone around him like garbage for years. Guess what, the chickens have come home to roost. All I can say is good riddance this fossil. How disturbing is he to look at by the way?

"Sharp" Criticism: Since when did Al Sharpton become the #1 African-American in the country? Any time their is a racial incident in thsi country, everyone runs to Sharpton for his opinion. Why? Ok, the man is definitely down for the cause whenever he is needed, but he sees everything is Black and White, regardless if he is wrong or right. So he was all over the Imus incident, taking up for the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. Where was he defending the Duke Lacrosse players who's lives have been ruined and had all of the charges dropped against them last week in the highly publicized rape case? These kids' lives were ruined by these trumpeted up charges. Do you hear Al Sharpton defending them? Of course not. I'll give Sharpton this, while I know what he is all about - the cameras - he at least steps forward on a national level for the African-American community. But its more self-serving than anything I believe. You want to see a classic - Don't miss this you tube clip. Its Jason Whitlock, a black sports writer for AOL and the Kansas City Star, ripping into Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Great stuff. The best article and quotes I have read are in this Dan LeBatard Miami Herald piece. He interviews legends Jim Brown and Charles Barkley about Sharpton and Jackson:

”I hate it,” Brown said when asked how he felt about Sharpton being a voice for black America. “I really hate it. It is a cheap shot. It is too easy. Look for the headlines. Go where the cameras are. Jump on these basically helpless individuals and don’t put in the real work. We’ve got language by these rappers. We have a gangsta culture. We’ve got athletes on the page of USA Today not doing the right thing. We have a community of kids killing each other. Our schools are going down the drain. Why not try to elevate real situations? We can’t make a living off Imus and chasing ambulances.”

Says Barkley, “People went crazy. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are like gods. It drives me nuts. That’s why black people are struggling. All our black leaders are jocks or entertainers. We’re not really leaders. We didn’t suffer any hardships or indignities like other black leaders. We’re rich and famous. That doesn’t give you the right to be a black spokesman. Only hardship I went through was having to decide whether to stay at the Four Seasons or the Ritz-Carlton. It is unfortunate and sad that all our great leaders are either passed away or really old. It is a reflection on our community.”

The Enterainer: Friday night Leah and I went out for the first time and leaving Andrew with a baby sitter. Props out to Maddy Friedman, mama Fritzer, for watching him. We went to see Billy Joel at the Q. I've seen him twice before, but we love his music and this was something fun to do to get away for a night. I'd give the concert a B-. He started off and played too many songs from the early 70-'s that nobody knew. Nothing worse to me than a guy who does a self-serving move like that. We are all paying $100 a ticket to see him do his hits, not "Zanzibar" from the 52nd Street Album. He tried a little too hard to entertain though. He should stick to singing. Dude should not be trying to dance. After about 5-6 bad songs, he went on a big run of all of his hits. It was solid. I bet you can;'t guess what his encore was? There were two kids, probably 14 years old, sitting behind us and they were having the best time. They knew every word to all of the hits. It was funny to see that. This was the single most white-bread crowd I've ever seen. When I went to see Paul McCartney a couple of years ago with Mark P, we counted the amount of black people there were in the crowd. I believe we counted 8. Friday night? That would be zero. Overall though it was great to spend a night out and a much needed breather for Leah.

Andrew Update: Nothing really new to report. He is growing like a madman and seems like he is always hungry. The last few nights the sleeping has been a lot tougher - he is getting fussy earlier in the night and it is taking longer to put him down. Its still the best thing going. Nothing better than seeing his face in the morning.

Rental Review: I watched United 93 yesterday morning. It was very well done and a fitting tribute to the passengers and flight attendants who were on that plane and were true heroes. I won't lie - the movie is not for everyone and is tough to take. You know how it is going to end and the buildup to the actual hijacking was unsettling. But the footage on the plane is about 35% of the movie. What is most interesting was the inner-workings of the military and the air-traffic controllers who were watching it all in horror. I would advise seeing it if you can handle re-living 9/11.

Props: Andrew's got a new friend! Last Tuesday, my cousin Susie and husband Billy welcomed their second child, a boy, Griffin Royce Preisler. He was 7 lbs, 11 oz, and 20.5 inches long. He is my grandmother's ninth great-grandchild. I saw some great pics of Griffin being held by his big sister Shayna. They are both adorable. Congrats to the Priesler clan.

Song of the Day: "In the Woods" by De La Soul