The only constant is what? (My last tribute to Whitney Bank)

December 22nd, 2010 - an innocent date of record by most all accounts. However, this arbitrary day would initiate the genesis of another unforeseen chapter in my personal and professional life. It was on this date, that is was revealed that my employer, Whitney National Bank, would be sold to another company. Shocking is far too tepid of a description of the impact of this announcement.

Spanning its 130 year legacy, Whitney National Bank was the last known survivor of the grand old New Orleans based banking institutions. It was the bank that my great-grandfather conducted his financial business. It was the monolithic empire that both my own grandmother and mother had been duly employed during the early & mid 20th century. It was the imposing marble fortress of a structure that I had visited as a child with my grandmother to perform her weekly deposits after traversing the St. Charles streetcar line from uptown New Orleans.

It was everything to a true New Orleanian, it was living history in every contrived sense of the word.

Alas, time waits for no man. You can't flip your hourglass when it runs out of sand.
You either change with the reality of the day or you become a casualty of its destiny.
Change is difficult and some say the only constant in life. I am not sure if I truly have embraced this altruistic motto with open arms or if I am simple holding the line through coercion and self-preservation.

I can only hope that I can continue to be called upon to make a difference for the new company. I can only hope that I can execute my leadership endeavors with the same innate passion, pride and zeal that I had while working for Whitney Bank. I know change is constant and unavoidable, but it is doesn't mean that it is calming nor does it bring much personal solace.

Change opens up new doors, while forcing you to gaze upon a new, unexplored path. A path that is not comforting, at least at first, because it is dark, unknown and led by a cavalry that is completely foreign.

I believe the only constant is not change itself, but the opportunity to accept that change is unavoidable. Like nature itself, change is perfect; neither good nor bad. It is how we grow to accept or deny the reality of change that ultimately is the only constant we have...

Here's to the future and a nod to the past....
RIP - Whitney National Bank (October 26, 1883 - June 4th, 2011)

Cheers,
Andy

Needing Solace....

Wait, hold that shot. Just hold it. Freeze time, I am not ready to start.

As I pick myself up from the starting position on the dusty cinder track, I pretend to stretch out the time needed to regain my desire to continue as I outwardly exercise my poised frame. I just cannot get my mind and spirit engaged into the present. I cannot let this race begin, I cannot dare to hear that starter's gun explode beside my head. Not just yet.

Time lapses, but unsure of what my immediate future holds, I remain paralyzed in the moment. However, will this moment end or will the stress of my current life continue to unravel my confidence, desire & ability to continue?

As I retreat from the track, I stop. Placing my nervous hand upon my forehead, I check to even judge the reality of this event, the existence of my own body here in this moment. I feel tired, moody & generally unhappy. I ask myself "How could this be?", I have no reason to feel this way. I have no rationale for this moment of weakness nor the understanding of its meaning.

I am like a tree that is green with life on its leaves because the mechanisms of life itself never fail. Nature is perfectly, imperfect. However, I am cold within my own trunk, it is a feeling that I need to understand, quickly...

Walking to my truck, I dare not glance back. I cannot race today. I cannot support the weight of the past. I am just not ready for this. I remove the tops to my Jeep and gracefully pause in a meditative pose, seemingly asking my spirit to figure out what it needs. With the tops removed, I enter and look upward. I know I need the solace that only being with nature can bring.

The engine starts as I glance over to the clock. It reads 11:35AM...today.

Building with my Brothers

 

I had an amazing experience this past weekend working with both of my brothers for the first time in a very long time, probably since I was very young. As anyone would expect, we work like guys with every one of us a slight bit unique in our own mind, but in perfect harmony focused on getting the proverbial job done. I wouldn't trade the time I spent with either of them this past weekend. In retrospect, it was a tremendously rewarding and humbling experience. I didn't realize how much I missed the comraderie that I felt with my siblings as an adult. I tend to make few lasting relationships due partially to my available time and wholly to my abhorrence to fake people.

As crazy as this sounds, this weekend was one of my best life experiences, and it reminds me of the singular and paramount importance of family. Growing up in a troubled and abusive household, that moral was not something that was easily remembered.

Nothing better than a little bit of sweat, cussing & beers with your brothers.
Cheers to both of you. I love you both dearly.


"You can be my wingman, anytime..."

-Aviator Andy

Garden Layout - Drip Irrigation

GE Whiz Fan - Completed! (PART II)

FAN PROJECT CONTINUED!

I had some time today after returning from the Saints/Bucs fiasco, so I decided to finish my 1921 GE Whiz Oscillation fan. This is more of a preservation project rather than a complete restoration in my opinion.

I was able to preserve most of the original GE factory dark green paint.
I disassembled everything, cleaning all parts & components. I polished out the rotor, cage & blades to a mirror finish. I then replaced all electrical & re-oiled the wicks.
After a few coats of polish on the paint, it is looking very clean & fresh.

It works just great. Not bad for being about 90 years old!

I am still learning and consider myself to be an amateur in training, but I do enjoy the adventure and the ability to renew the past.



CLICK ON PICS FOR LARGER IMAGES!

The "Whizard" Enters --- 2011

Happy New Year!

I spent some time today cleaning my antique work bench and re-organizing all of my tools. I decided to pull my first victim for 2011 off of the floor and onto the magical stage of amateur restoration! This is a 1921 GE WHIZ 10" Table Fan.

I have decided to follow this restoration through a multitude of steps rather than simply "before and after" --- In case, any of you thought good ole' Rumpelstiltskin was being hired to run the ole' polishing machine after midnight or anything. :)

STATE 1: ORIGINAL & UNTOUCHED
Here is the solemn state (Notice the morgue-like coldness of the non-working fan)



STATE 2: (BEFORE IN COLOR)


STATE 3: (IN PROGRESS - CAGE & BADGE POLISHED - BRASS BLADES RESTORED & POLISHED)



I will keep updating to show my progress. It is still amateur work for now, but I really do enjoy bringing beauty back to life. It is an amazing passion to see something old transformed back into its former glory by your own hands.



Cheers!

The Taste of Tea

Ah, the warming taste of Chinese tea in the morning. It is a pure and simple moment that I look forward to each day. The Chinese believe that the process of creating anything is as important as the end result of the activity. From the utensils used to the care & patience given to the essential brewing of the tea, the motions are indeed a vital part of the relaxation. To this end, I brew "loose leaf" tea and not packaged tea bags. I find the quality of raw organic product higher than the sum of its assembly-line pre-bagged parts.

So, which tea is best?

I cannot consume any variety of green tea, as I find it to be too harsh on my body.
Accordingly, I have settled on white tea as my tea of choice. I am not picky about my tea, but I will admit that I have researched it enough to be dangerous. I have learned about the varieties grown, the regional soils, methods of harvesting & the final grades awarded to each type. So, I guess you can say that I am picky about my inherent knowledge of tea.

I have found that the standard grade of white tea is a mixed hybrid concoction known as White Peony tea. It is essentially a mixture of twigs, leaves and a few white buds. It is the Milwaukee's Best of White Tea, if that is even a remotely admissible comparison. On second thought, perhaps, simply the Budweiser of White Tea.

I primarily enjoy Silver Needle White Tea as my favorite. This tea is comprised of all flower buds only, no roughage, stems, twigs, leaves, dirt or filler. It is pure White Tea without the extras which help drive up the cost, but the quality more than compensates for that slight adjustment.

Rishi Silver Needle white tea ( Bai Hao Yinzhen) is a good introduction to the world of quality tea. Truly high quality silver needle tea is known to be very expensive with some batches reaching an estimated $122.00 an ounce. By comparison, this tea is sold for about $6.50 per ounce or about $.35 a cup.

TEA - Great for your mind, soul & overall health.

Brew a batch from Amazon here:
Rishi White Tea