LUE-42 Enterprises September 2022 Ezine

I Believe In Fairness, Fun, And Sharing What I’ve Learned With The People Who Make This Planet A Great Place To Live

Issue 139, September 2022

It can't be September already! My summer didn't start until August and I feel entitled to at least a few more weeks of it. But my calendar doesn't lie, so permit me to hang on by reminiscing about August.

For the days I was home in August, I had visitors (football and otherwise). We didn't do many touristy things in town because there's never enough time and, honestly, many of us are still leery of big crowds. Still, I got to show off my town a bit.

I saw plays (including Come From Away) and snippets of plays (Script Salon) and yet for only the second time in 41 years, I saw none at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. Next year I'll be back, and hopefully with a new play.

For the two weeks I was away I felt like an extra in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Perhaps not as many mishaps, but definitely a ton of stories. I attended a beautiful wedding in Gatineau, had a few days in Montreal, and was a full-on tourist in Ottawa. I did a canal cruise, a river cruise, the Natural History Museum, and finally the Diefenbunker, which had been on my to-see list for years. I also got to see my EE team win on the road and hung out with great people. From there, I got my business head back in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and also had a few days with family in Smithville. There might have been a few craft breweries along the way, too.

I always forget that stringing together some days off (rather than taking one here and there) can make the vacation seem longer. I felt like I was gone a month. Am I rested and refreshed? The mirror isn't saying so but, gosh, I hope I am.

I hope you are too, because here we are. Back to work, back to board meetings, back to school, etc. I am going to try to tap into the feeling of excitement I always had in September -- a new beginning, full of possibility.

/lmwe

"Follow your inner moonlight,

don't hide the madness."

-- Allen Ginsberg

Revenge Sleep

This was new vocabulary for me, but it clearly applies to me and many others I know.

The National Sleep Foundation defines Revenge Sleep/Bedtime Procrastination as, "the decision to sacrifice sleep for leisure time that is driven by a daily schedule lacking in free time."

This article from Everyday Health has a ton of information on what it is, why we do it, problems it causes, and how to do better. I respectfully ask you to take a look. Good luck and sweet dreams!

/lmwe

Culture at Glacial Speed

In 2021, when my EE football team was a dumpster fire, I wrote here that I was concerned about the culture. What happened to the once-proud, flagship organization? As I pondered, the organization cleaned house (not at the board level but everywhere else).

While the board was recruiting a new CEO, I had the opportunity to speak to the EE Board Chair. I appreciated his candor, and was surprised at how positively he spoke of the culture, at least at the board level.

At a basic level, culture is "the way things are done around here." According to the Chartered Governance Institute, "...the wider company culture either arises from the behaviours and beliefs of the people working in the company, or is driven or set by the Board culture...most organization culture incorporates both..."

Since that meeting, CEO Victor Cui was hired and the CFL is buzzing. Social media savvy (understatement), stylish, great hometown story, accessible, fearless of new things, respectful of old things, and surrounding himself with good people. These will all contribute to the new culture (the old one is gone).

The shift has started but it hasn't yet reached every level (hey, it's just been a few months). The on-field product (team) is not good. In fact, it's often pretty bad. There is a revolving door for players who don't fit in the coach's scheme (maybe great, maybe not). Fans who hung in for years are drifting. Commonwealth Stadium never looked so empty. What gives?

CFL EE Dynasty players recently shared their story with the current players (here). It was a different time; a different culture. CFL Hall of Famer and former Edmonton Eskimo Brian Kelly also weighed in (below).

Culture is a process and so is winning. The EE culture WILL emerge better, and the team WILL be good again. It is my job as a fan to believe this with all my heart. Patience...

/lmwe

Brian Kelly is at Commonwealth Stadium

From Facebook (August 14 2021)

I was at the Saskatchewan game this weekend supporting the Elks and was honoured to see 3 of my former Eskimo teammates, Jim Germany, Joe Holliman, and Ed Jones inducted into the Wall of Honour at Commonwealth Stadium. While they, and I were lucky to be part of the “Dynasty Eskimos," and play in front of a sold out Commonwealth Stadium every week, life was not always so easy for the franchise. There were many lean years prior to those golden years. And I would meet fans (most of them long gone by now) who would proudly tell me that they went to every single game when times were tough, and how much they were now enjoying the good times of victories, and Grey Cup championships. If you learn one thing playing sports, it is that it is cyclical…good times and bad times…with neither lasting forever. So while winning is a struggle for the boys in the EE today, it will not always be so. So, be like the fans of the past who supported the club every day, every week, every year. Go to the Stadium, bring your family and friends, wear your EE gear, and cheer loud and proud for your team. Today, we are one day closer to the “good times” than we were yesterday. And do know this, while we were all proud to be called “Eskimos, “ that name never threw a pass (Wilkinson, Moon), made a goal line stand (Fennell, Kepley), or returned a missed field goal (Gizmo) for a Touchdown. It was the heart of the player underneath the jersey that did what fans cheered about. So now the jersey says “Elks”, but the heart beats strong under the jerseys of the current team. Let’s be like those fans that supported the Esks through all the lean years. Be there for the team. You will enjoy all the great years of the Elks that are coming soon.

Some People Who Made Life Better in August

JudyLynn Archer, Nancy Barden, Pat Bragg, Chantelle Chevrier-Painter, Jonathan Cote, Elaine Danelesko, Rita Davie, Dave Hughes, Janna Jorgensen, Kuzik Family, Pat Macdonald, Bev Mahood, Paul Rechner, Lori Schmidt, Ralph Suppa, Theresa Tsoukalas, West Family

"I'm always drawn to characters

who have no idea of the

impression they're making

on other people.”

-- Catherine O'Hara