What a Day!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009... what a day! It's been more than 24 hours since Barack Obama's innauguration, and I'm still kind of stunned by it all. Regardless of your political leanings, this was one for the history books.

I'll never forget when the Berlin wall came down in November 1989. I lived for a time in Germany in the 1970s and visited Berlin on several occasions. I got to see the wall and the "no man's land" that separated East and West first hand. One of the most sobering experiences of my life. My German friends honestly believed the wall would never come down in their lifetimes. When it did, we were all stunned, absolutely speechless. Yesterday was like that for me. Walls came down in the midst of chaotic and uncertain times. Like that bright day in Berlin nearly 20 years ago, hope shone through.

Whatever your political affiliation, pray for our President and all of our political leaders. They, we, our country and our world surely need it. Oh, and if you receive any incendiary emails... you know, the ones that trash this leader or that, typically with a caustic, sarcastic or holier-than-thou tone... don't forward them to me. I'm open to discuss anything, but I'm done with those things.

I was talking with my new boss at HP the other day, and we got onto the subject of people he admired. He said that he particuarly admired people who've built something, who prevailed through good times and bad to create something of lasting value. I've been thinking about that comment a lot today. We've got a shot to do that, if we can come together, drop the rhetoric and negativity, and get down to building a brighter future.

All the best,
Dave