Tag: Life

Life

Humility-2

Anthony Dixon

 

Humility

I have met two Men in my life that were of enormous wealth, their wealth was not what impressed me the most about them. What impressed me the most was their Humility. John Gutfreund was one, I will forever be talking about John because all the Money he made and all the notoriety it never changed him in the least.  When I worked for Mr G as we called him among ourselves, he was CEO at Salomon Brothers Inc a Brokerage House on Wall Street. He was well respected among other CEO’s and Brokerage Houses on the Street. Many Movies about Wall St was spawned from His trading style. What impressed me the most about the Man was the way he interacted with people. His staff was approximately three thousand people, traveling the fifty Stories Building of One New York Plaza, if he knew that you worked for the Company in whatever capacity, you were in an Elevator with him, he would address you in a cordial friendly manner.

 

 

Not so with some people who made less than 1% of of what he made yearly, in the same situation in an Elevator they treat you like the Elevator, inanimate. I figured that John had to be that way all his Life meek, humble and poised, because people rarely change for the good. Remember that the meek shall inherit the 🌎 Earth. Meaning, Humility rules, why does Humility rule? While working on Wall Street a Billionaire Buisness Community there were many Indigent People who slept in the Alleyways of the Neighborhood they once traveled in Limousines, they dressed fine, they themselves threw Pennies at Beggars not ever dreaming that the Table could ever turned in such an upside down Economy as in the late 70’s.

 

When I worked for Salomon I came to work in a Limousine and went home in one, I never lost sight of the Bum sleeping it off in the middle on of the Day on a Sidewalk in the richest Neighborhood in the World. Knowing that he once tipped Hundred Dollar Bills, so who am I to look down on him while John treated me the way he expected me to treat others, not knowing if and when I also should fall from Grace. The first time I heard of Jesus washing his Disciples Feet, my life was changed for every. From that day on I learned the meaning of Humility. Even though for a great portion of my life I lived it  in a wayward manner, I never lost sight of the big Picture knowing that even if I developed the cure for Cancer I would still be no more than a Grain of Sand on the Beach of Life.

 

 

1988 Salomon Rented several floors in the upper 70’s of the world Trade Buildings. At that time being an employee in good standings, to be precise a model Employee. I didn’t go to John looking for special treatment, I went through the chain of command, I submitted my request to be transferred to the World Trade Center Branch of the Company. My request was flatly turned down with no explanation. I tendered My resignation cashed out My Portfolio and moved to Pennsylvania. My Mother noticed me mopping around and inquired why I was down and out. I explained my situation to her, with the wisdom of Salomon she said don’t stress it,

 

 

God has a plan for you. It was those words that kept me from passing out watching my coworkers and friends perished while the Buildings Collapsed to the Ground. Salomon lost 900 People I was supposed to be 901, but God had it charted differently in the Book of Destiny. I have since stop asking myself what is his plan for me, realizing that it is as simple as doing unto my Neighbors as I expected of them. When I worked in a Nursing Home in Pennsylvania I got a close look at my Mortality, I met Moguls, Artists and Performers of yesteryears who were reduced to the mercy of their Caregivers. Some were neglected and some were abused, sometimes by their own families. One Resident named Salt, which describes her personality, nothing like John, her personality was Venomous as she had been all her life.

 

 

The 59 millions she made off the Backs of her underpaid and abused Staff was not enough to command care and sensitivity from the Staff at the Nursing Home which she abused daily with poisonous diatribe like calling each and everyone of us, from the Director to the Cooks, Sons of Bitches of Bastards. You don’t learn those words at 85 ravaged with Dementia, they are the Column Post of your Personality. Karma the Backbone of Justice paid her back handsomely, to the end her loving family deserted her counting the Days they could start spending her Money. That is why I am telling you who are out there on your way to becoming Successful and Famous” teach your children well” do not create selfish self centered People who don’t give a Rat’s Ass about the Community of Man, because that Toxic personality they also inherit and passes on to their Children.

 

 

Anyway what I truly learned at the Nursing Home is that one Day I am going to end up there at the mercy of Heartless Caregivers who is only here for the menial wages, got no Humanity got no Humility got no Love, what is to become of me? if my Personality isn’t covered in Honey, my Fate will be that of Salt’s. I have always been Humble since meeting John Gutfreund, I know that if he reads this Blog he would be proud of me telling it as I see it. For me to say that Life is unloving, un-giving, untimely and unpredictable would be the greatest understatement one could utter. my best advice to you is “Live, Love, Laugh”, do not take yourself too seriously because today you are riding on a Cloud, Tomorrow, who knows.

 

Related stories

John Gutfreund, ‘King of Wall Street’ who helped transform Salomon Brothers, dies at 86

Salomon Brothers chairman John Gutfreund. (AP)

By Laurence Arnold March 9, 2016

John Gutfreund, who was proclaimed the “King of Wall Street” in 1985 for harnessing the egos and fiefdoms of Salomon Brothers into one of the most profitable investment-banking firms, only to be deposed after a 1991 trading scandal, died March 9 in New York. He was 86.

The cause was pneumonia, said a son, John Gutfreund.

As managing partner and later as chairman, Mr. Gutfreund (pronounced GOOD-friend) helped transform Salomon from a traditional bond-trading firm into a leader in businesses such as mortgage-backed securities and computer-driven trading techniques. It also became the largest underwriter of municipal bonds, the department where Mr. Gutfreund got his start.

What I have learned, or at least belatedly remembered, is that there is the possibility of a satisfying life that is broader than the Street,” he said. “I never thought of myself as a king. People really want you to be their deity. They forget the fact that you are a person who has feelings and doubts.”

In the 2010 interview with Bloomberg News, Mr. Gutfreund said he didn’t have many regrets in life. “If I should have been a saint, I would have been,” he said.

 

Health, Life

I found this on Pinterest!

Anthony Dixon

If you waste time on Social Media

Procrastinate

Get overwhelmed at work

Try to be perfect

Overload on sugar

This is a must read

 

What do you think? https://pin.it/72qulpinuku2sb

Life, Religion

Losing My Religion

Anthony Dixon

Losing My Religion

Faith is about what you personally believe. It exists (or not) independently of if you ever tell anyone about your beliefs and independently of whether or not anyone else shares your beliefs.

Religion is organized faith. A group of people with similar faith that in some manner share the faith is a religion.

I am so glad that this is perfectly clear to me, why? Over the years it has been perplexing to me how self serving Religion can be, instead of being in Servitude. It’s been over a year since I have been to Church, that has not compromise my Belief in God, nothing can change that. What has changed is that I can’t be a Hypocrite to myself by showing up every Sunday and contributing to the Church’s Coffers while they are selective to how it is spent. Also the Politics of Trustees who dictate Church policies and how a Minster can deliver his Sermons.

A minister who didn’t speak on Social issues and issues that affected the Community, the Country and the World is performing a disservice. A Minister or the Church does not have the right to influence the Congregation Political views. However it is their obligations to speak out on Social issues such as Homelessness, injustice and Racial discord. Which brings us to why my Feet have not crossed the Treshold in a year.

My Minister grew up in the poorest of conditions in one of the poorest countries in the World. Naturally he is reminiscent and would like to see Social change. As a result of him interjecting his Empathy in his Surmons he was transferred by the Ruling Party to a less Prestigious Parish where they thought he was better suited. How could I continue going to this place every Sunday putting my contributions in it’s Coffers. Once a week the Church holds a Social where a small contribution of six Dollars buy you a Meal. Never once have I ever heard anyone mentioned inviting the so called Indigent members of our Community to the Church’s Kitchen backdoor to give them the leftovers, or cooking enough to feed them also.

I understand that we were better dressed and better smelling, but why couldn’t we put Park benches in the Parking Lot behind the kitchen. Maybe the lack of insight parallels an experience I had working in a Restaurant while going to High School fifty years ago. I was somewhat of Cook and shift Manager, my responsibility includes counting the money and cleaning up. Whatever food that wasn’t sold such as Hamburgers and Hotdogs, I would find a large Boxtop lined it with Aluminum Foil and place the food in it and place the container on top of the Garbage Can. I did that so the Homeless People who lived in the area of 14th St didn’t have to go through my Garbage cans to eat. My Manager went off the deep end telling me that I was Harboring them.

My God am I not my Brother’s Keeper. I was seventeen Jobs were plentiful I walked out on that Idiot as I walked out on my Church for it’s lack of sensitivity for our Indigent Brothers and Sisters. Once I was working Downtown St Pete during the cold months sometimes you would see the sidewalk close to the Soup kitchen on 5th Ave littered with Sleeping bags, sometimes Kids are in them, another reason why I withdraw my Tides from the Collection Plate. My Church is not as big as the Catholic Organizations but they are World Wide.

Yet I have never heard of them doing anything outstanding like this one small Church in Tampa that goes out of their way to cater to the Homeless, they have an Industrial Kitchen and they provide Shelter. While writing this Blog it occurred to me that this is the kind of Church that I should Worship in whatever their Denomination is and give a portion of my Earnings to, unlike the Government not knowing where my Tax Dollars go, they would spend my money in accordance with my Belief of Charity and Servitude.

Jesus washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:1–17) occurred in the upper room, during the Last Supper and has significance in three ways. For Jesus, it was the display of His humility and His servanthood. For the disciples, the washing of their feet was in direct contrast to their heart attitudes at that time. For us, washing feet is symbolic of our role in the body of Christ.

Walking in sandals on the filthy roads of Palestine in the first century made it imperative that feet be washed before a communal meal, especially since people reclined at a low table and feet were very much in evidence. When Jesus rose from the table and began to wash the feet of the disciples (John 13:4), He was doing the work of the lowliest of servants. The disciples must have been stunned at this act of humility and condescension, that Christ, their Lord and master, should wash the feet of His disciples, when it was their proper work to have washed His. But when Jesus came to earth the first time, He came not as King and Conqueror, but as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. As He revealed in Matthew 20:28, He came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The humility expressed by His act with towel and basin foreshadowed His ultimate act of humility and love on the cross.

Jesus’ attitude of servanthood was in direct contrast to that of the disciples, who had recently been arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24). Since there was no servant present to wash their feet, it would never have occurred to them to wash one another’s feet. When the Lord Himself stooped to this lowly task, they were stunned into silence. To his credit, though, Peter was profoundly uncomfortable with the Lord washing his feet, and, never being at a loss for words, Peter protested, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Then Jesus said something that must have further shocked Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8), prompting Peter, whose love for the Savior was genuine, to request a complete washing. Then Jesus explained the true meaning of being washed by Him.

Peter had experienced the cleansing of salvation and did not need to be washed again in the spiritual sense. Salvation is a one-time act of justification by faith, but the lifelong process of sanctification is one of washing from the stain of sin we experience as we walk through the world. Peter and the disciples—all except Judas, who never belonged to Christ—needed only this temporal cleansing.

This truth is just one of several from this incident that Christians can apply to their own lives. I maybe losing my Religion but I will never loose my Faith

P.S. if the Government can’t fix it it’s up to you and me the Community the Church

“She calls out to the man on the street
‘Sir, can you help me?
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?’

He walks on, doesn’t look back
He pretends he can’t hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, it’s another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you,
You and me in paradise”….Phil Collins

Life

Blogging The Book/ excerpts1

Anthony Dixon

1990 I moved from the tranquility of the Poccono Mountains to a small Town in Nothern Pennsylvania called Wilkes Barre. In 1990 I would be amazed if the Population was one Million, yet the Crime Rate was just as startling as the Bronx. It was here that I met a young Man named Vincent Barberio, we met while working for the same Company and became great Friends. One Day Vince approached me and told me that If I didn’t mind working hard and traveling he knew of a contractor that was hiring at a better rate of pay than we were making. The only drawback was the Travel, the Jobs were spread out from North Carolina to Buffalo, from New York to Ohio.

We would pack a Duffle Bag and a cooler, left Monday and returned on Friday, the Company paid for the Hotel so that absorbed a lot of the cost. Vince and I always Roomed together, there were a lot of Rift Raft in the Crew so we watched each other’s back. After work we would return to our Hotel Room eat chill out watch TV and share stories about our Lives. We became good friends to the point where we introduced each other to our family, of all the People that I worked with in my Lifetime, Vince was one of the privileged few to got an invitation to my Home. The reason for that is you don’t go into business with Family and you don’t socialize with all your Coworkers, you should always be selective with Coworkers, they are not always trustworthy with your business and they spread gossip.

Not so with Vince and I, whatever secrets we shared stay that way. When I started writing Blogs one of my first Blogs were about Vince under a fictitious name. Today I can write about my Friend Vinny because while doing research I found out that he Died in 2016 seventeen years after I last seen him sitting at the Table in my kitchen. What preceded and followed our last meeting is noteworthy, because this also was a Tragic encounter. The Day after our last meeting Vincent Barberio was on Television, the Cops had surrounded his position and there was no way out.

Vince had lost it and taken his Girlfriend and his Baby Boy hostage I am not sure if he had threatened to kill them and himself or just himself. The situation was tense for hours, I was frazzled with stress that the Cops would act rashly and a Sharpshooter would have taken him out. Thank God there were no shooting, he allowed them to get close to him and was Tazed or pepper sprayed and hauled off to be Psycho analyzed and probably spend years in a Nuthouse. The events that preceded this Tragic encounter  were told to me by Vince for months while we shared Hotel Rooms while working in the contracting business. Sometimes he was repetitive but that’s what happens when things eats at you since you were a Child.

So here it is from Vincent’s mouth to my ears to yours. At an early age maybe nine he was Molested by an Uncle like myself he never told his Parents, the molester probably threatened him or laid a guilt trip on him. For a moment’s pleasure the Molester not only robbed my friend of his youthful innocenc but his entire Life. Shortly after the abuse Vince changed for the worse, as most Molested Children do. Being Molested didn’t have any effect on me because I extracted my own Justice. Poor Vince was a skinny nine year old, he was Traumatized, kept the secret to himself for twelve years until he bared his Soul to me.

Can you imagine the weight off his shoulders. Why wouldn’t he consider me a great friend knowing that I wouldn’t tell not another living Soul. The real tragedy occurred during those twelve years before he laid his burden on my receptive Shoulders. Shortly after the Molestation his personality took a hundred and eighty degrees turn, School, behavior and everything else in his young life went for a nosedive, speaking of Dives I believe he was twelve not knowing how to deal with the Guilt Repression he tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Market Street Bridge and found the only Rock waiting there for him.

Grateful Dead/forever

He survived that Rock and picked up a new one(Cocaine)  that one got him in trouble with the Law up to the Hostage situation. Can you believe  the Mayhem that Cocaine have done to our Societies since Hernan Cortez whacked out on Cocaine and wiped out an entire Civilization of Brilliant People to the Massacres on the Streets of Brooklyn five hundred years later, are we ever going to learn that the Plant is only ment for Medicinal use. Well my Friend Vinny never learned. While doing research on him I found out that in the year 2016 he Died unexpectedly at thirty nine years old. From past experiences when a user Dies unexpectedly it is usually from current use or years of abuse finally catching up to you. Rest well my Friend you are not Tormented anymore, and so another Tragic Encounter closed.

P.S. I will never forget you my Brother

 

 

incent Barberio Jr. Obituary

Vincent Barberio Jr. passed away unexpectedly in Baltimore, Md., on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.

He was born Aug. 7, 1967, to the late Vincent and Marlene Barberio.

Vincent moved to Baltimore, Md., in 2006, and had resided there the last 10 years. He was employed by Jimmy Trujillo’s Game Sports Bar in Baltimore, Md. There he worked in the shadow of the Ravens Stadium and Camden Yards, catering to customers’ needs, where he was known and liked by all.

The family is forever grateful to the Trujillo family for giving Vincent opportunity and friendship. He was blessed to be able to work for such thoughtful people and kind coworkers. Their generosity, sincerity, and caring will not be soon forgotten. We thank them for reaching out to Vincent and our family.

Vincent attended GAR Memorial High School, where he was a gifted athlete.

He was an acolyte with his brothers, Victor and John, for many years, serving Holy Rosary Church on Park Avenue.

Vincent is survived by his children, Sean Cupil, Plymouth; and Corianna Cupil, Edwardsville; sisters, Darlene (David) Payne, Dallas; and Susan (Matt) Crowl, Dallas; brothers, John (Wendy) Barberio, Dallas; and twin brother, Victor Barberio, Wilkes-Barre; as well as several aunts, uncles and cousins.

We will all cherish the good memories of Vincent. We all know he is at peace, for his toil and strife with addiction is over. He will be in our hearts forever.

Private funeral services will be held at the convenience of the family.

Local arrangements are under the direction of Richard H. Disque Funeral Home, 2940 Memorial Highway, Dallas.

Published in Citizens’ Voice on Sept. 24, 2016
Blogging the Book is constantly adding

More Tragic Encounters you need to check regularly

Coming soon my friend Ed Byrne became a Cop seven months later Thugs shoots him in the Head five times.
Life

Fish

Anthony Dixon

Fish

As the saying goes if it smells like Fish then so be it. When I was a Juvenile I did a lot of bad things being young Dumb and full of it. A lot of young people do bad things as I done and grew out of it as I did, with one exception. I never aspired to hold High Office in Government. Now fifty years later your Delinquent years come back and bite you on the Ass. What were you thinking all those years prepping for your dream job in Public Office. Don’t you know that even when you think that you have committed the perfect crime, somewhere, sometimes, someone seen and know what you did that summer.

Now here you are fifty years later running for Public Office, pretending that you have lived your Life in a Godly manner and is deserving of the Office. Now while being scrutinized by the World you still hold strong that it wasn’t you even though God sees and know all while you are about to put your hand on the Bible and swear to God that he is wrong. Because you were not that fifteen year old that molested your childhood playmate as I did being molested myself.

It’s a proven Theory being molested you yourself becomes one. Regardless what we are talking about is being haunted by your past and manning up. I am always amazed by a guilty Man on his way to be executed for his Crimes and takes the truth with him to his Grave, maintaining his innocence even though God sees and know all while you take last Rites.

And so you take your Hypocrisy with you to the next Life. And so you lie to yourself, you lie to God but you want me to believe your scarlet image and your impeccable character, just another Politician by Heart. So please forgive me if I tell you it smells like Fish. Of all the Notables that have been Tainted with Molestation accusations and Sexual Harassment, Actors, Priests, Teachers, Network Executives why should Judges be Aloft.

I was molested fifty three years ago by a Teacher, my Mother died not knowing of the Incident, I never filled a Police report. Back then your Priest told you that it was your fault and that you would go to Hell if you tell. I can’t help it but whenever I hear accusations that occurred years earlier I believe each and every one to be true. And so there you have it if it smells like Fish it is.