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A few years ago, Lynnda and I were part of a trade mission to Japan. We were on our own until we connected with the rest of the group. On the train from Narita Airport to Tokyo Station, all announcements were in Japanese only. I noticed, “All the signs are in Japanese!” Lynnda commented, “We ARE in Japan.” “Yes, and I have no idea how to find our hotel.” Lynnda disappeared and returned in 10 minutes. “I found a lady who speaks English. Her husband is meeting her at the station. He can help us.” The woman’s husband took us from the fifth basement level of the ...

What the Bible teaches about respect

On June 18, 2020, police were called to Dunkin Donuts in Forest Park, IL, after 2 men, one with a knife, threatened an employee. The men were blocking the doors, preventing customers from entering the restaurant. When an employee asked them to move, one of the men pulled a knife and responded, “I don’t like you anyway; you disrespected my girl last week.” While investigating the incident, police learned that the man had been caught in a theft the previous week, and had been asked to leave the restaurant and never return. The man had an interesting definition of respect, don’t ...

Marietta history in one picture

Read all about it here, on a single, easy-to-read page - a map full of history facts and features of our “City Beautiful.” It may have been a postcard. I found this by accident; sometimes history research works that way. Here are some of the facts, factoids, and promotional messages ...

MOV Climate Corner: No movies on a dead planet

This weekend marks the occasion of the 97th annual Academy Awards. This year’s Oscars come on the heels of the January wildfires that devastated much of Los Angeles, scorching nearly 57,000 acres of Southern California. Among the untold victims of these deadly conflagrations, which were made an estimated 35% more likely due to climate change, was the widely acclaimed and visionary filmmaker David Lynch. Lynch, a lifelong smoker from the age of eight, announced in August of last year that he’d been diagnosed with emphysema and had become largely housebound, requiring supplemental ...

The road to Johnson’s Great Society started in Athens

Sixty years ago, the first programs of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” were signed into law. They were part of a massive set of legislation that was designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. The road to the great society had started in Athens the year before, when the president first laid out his plan from the College Green of Ohio University. The president’s brief stop in Athens was part of a five-state, 30-hour tour of areas that would be included in the War on Poverty program. Johnson spoke a few hundred feet from Cutler Hall, named for Manasseh ...

Our observations in Europe

For the last 10 days Lynnda, Shale Crescent USA President Nathan Lord and I have been traveling through Europe as part of the U.S. Commercial Services Roadshow. The Shale Crescent USA Team got to tell the SCUSA Region story to over 250 companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. In addition to Jobs Ohio and Team Pennsylvania, over 20 other state and local economic development organizations – including from Virginia,Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, New Jersey and New York – were part of the Roadshow. We had over 30 one-on-one meetings with ...