THEN: Secretary of State (KY), 1996-2004; Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, 2007
NOW: JYB3 Group (Owner) -public affairs consulting firm; Miller Wells law firm (Of counsel)
Full Biography:link
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Dec 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
Twas the Night after Christmas
Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except a small mouse.
The stockings were strewn across the floor like nobody cared,
In hopes more money would be found insider there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While hip hop on new head phones danced in their heads.
And mamma and I, both feeling like crap,
Had tried for a night’s sleep but got no more than a nap
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my office chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I stumbled and then crashed,
But pulled myself up by the shutters and threw open the sash.
It wasn’t the moon’s shiny cast on gleaming white snow
But the local garbage truck, grinding it’s gears low and slow
It was a wonder to tired eyes when what should appear
But Santa’s magic clean up crew—instead of elves and reindeer
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be our garbage man, Rick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called the refuse angry names!
Darned boxes, darned paper, darned instructions and spoiled food
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now trash away! Trash away! Trash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with a hydraulic waste collector, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the wrapping papers they flew,
With the truck full of excesses from St Nicholas’ crew.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard from my perch
The pulling and grunting of the garbage truck’s helpers.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
I thought to myself, what a difference a day makes. In fact it’s profound
I love Santa, his reindeer and am thankful for the gadgets and bling
But this morning, Rick and his helpers seemed like God’s greatest Christmas blessing.
Read the rest of… John Y. Brown, III: The Night After Christmas
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Dec 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
I wish everyone a Merry Mediocre Christmas.
Why?
Well, about 20 years ago I noticed that few people we truly enjoying the Christmas holiday season because so many were stressed out and anxious trying to achieve some sort of “perfect” or “idealized” or “amazing” Christmas holiday. And I felt bad pouring fuel on the fire by wishing them a merry Christmas on top of all that burdensome pressure. So I started withing people a “Mediocre Christmas.” And I think it takes the pressure off…a little. And we need that more than we probably think.
It’s not about how “fabulous” the presents are this holiday season. But about how fabulously present you can be to those most important. And sometimes a step back and a deep breath and a reminder that mediocre and present is better than fabulous and stressed out.
Now, if you think you can handle an unadulterated Merry Christmas, more power to you. Go for it. But otherwise, just know it’s not necessary and I don’t want my overly optimistic wishes to be an obstacle to you having a nice time with those closest to you this holiday season.
It ain’t about how many loved ones we can impress …but more about how many loved ones we can allow to impress us–without asking them to try all that hard to do so.
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The benefits on the night before Christmas of having older children.
This is something that I did on the night before Christmas 7-8 years ago. That I will not be doing tonight. Thankfully. ; )
A True Christmas Story.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Brown house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St Nick….well, you get the idea.
Anyway, it was a few years ago when my children were still Santa age (before Christmas became more of a business transaction) and my job was to work the wee hours of the morning to assemble a mini pool table for our basement and surprise our children Christmas morning.
I started around 1am. By 3am I was almost finished but realized I had assembled one of the short ends of the table upside down. So, I took it all apart and started over.
By 4:30am I was nearly finished again before realizing I had inadvertently assembled one of the long ends of the table upside down. I took a short break to say as many curse words under my breath as I could recall at that time of morning and got back to work a little before 5am.
I took apart the table again and decided to get out the directions this time. I followed them, but like following all directions, it slowed me down (although admittedly I didn’t make any mistakes this last time). No mistakes….but I did run out of time.
It was now nearly 7am and I heard feet pattering upstairs and cries of “Dad, where are you?” The kiddos were ready to see what Santa had left them….and weren’t going to give me another 30-45 minutes to finish up. Fortunately, I quickly thought of a brilliant solution.
A note. From Santa. Here’s how it read.
Dear Johnny and Maggie, Merry Christmas!! I love you both so much and hope you like all the presents I left you, including the miniature pool table. As you know, I have to cover a lot of ground tonight and in my old age don’t move as fast as I used to. I almost got the pool table set up, but had to leave before finishing to get to all the other children in the world. I left the last few pieces for your father to finish for you.Thanks for the cookies and milk.
Merry Christmas!!!S.C.
(My kids were excited but also skeptical and disappointed. My daughter suspected my handwriting. And my son knew if it depended on me putting something together, it might take all night).
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Dec 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Context is the thing.
“Life is so much better in proper context. Fairer, funner, more Gracious. Just better all round.”
A quick comment I just made to a friend but like a lot because so many of our daily issues aren’t so much problems but misunderstood situations because we view them out of context–where we are the victim, the one getting the short end of the stick, the injured one, the one singled out, the worst ever luck, and so and so on and on.
Fact is next time you feel this way and say to yourself, “Why me?” The answer is probably, “Why not you?”
I mean, ever heard of sharing?
I joke…but think of it that way. Everybody has to take there turn in the barrel, as a friend of mine likes to say. I’m not sure where that saying comes from, but I like it a lot. Heck, lean to enjoy rolling around in a barrel if that’s the case. Or just sit still until it safe to come out.
The point something I said to a friend years ago who was listing their bad luck litany to me. I said, “Sadly, the most unfair thing in life is that we usually get about what we deserve.”
I don’t think my friend understood what I was trying to say. But it was to step back a little. See our life in context.
It’s probably not going as bad as we think…and there’s a lot of good stuff we are missing out on because we are hyper-focused on the tiny bubble of paint dried in the corner of the door that we don’t see the gorgeous paint job most see when they walk up to the door.
And that–even worse–we are failing to walk through the door we are standing in front of.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Dec 21, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
#TeamJYB3:
Diary entry for Day (not sure but a lot…about two weeks) in my decision to lose 15 pounds (or at least 10)
THE DECISION
I’m doing better with my diet and even starting to exercise. In fact, lifted weights a few minutes each of the last several days.
I enjoy lifting weights. It’s intense and painful and over quickly. Other forms of exercise take too long. I saw one guy rolling around on a giant ball for about 15 minutes in the gym. I never knew what exactly was the point. If he was working out some body part or just trying to see if he could roll himself around on a giant ball from one corner to the other. Or perhaps it was some form of a parole sentence involving public humiliation for a crime he’d committed.
Regardless, I like weight lifting. Not heavy weights, mind you. Those really are a pain to lift in any form or fashion. But the polite and nonthreatening level weights. Bigger than the dainty silver ones but smaller than the large industrial sized ones.
I even got pumped up a little. You know, that’s bodybuilder talk for when blood is pumping through muscles during a workout. It felt good and I like the endorphin kick. But what if really got into this weight lifting and bodybuilding thing. After my 3rd 5 minute weight workout, I looked online at bodybuilding competitions for men 50 and over. Of course, it’s only been 3 workouts and I’m nowhere near the point of anyone taking me seriously as a competitive bodybuilder. But the fact I worked out three days in a row worried me and forced me to make a bold decision today.
No matter how fit I get, I WILL NOT become a competitive bodybuilder in the Men over 50 category.
It was a decision that had to be made –and quickly. Slippery slopes happen in every area of life. And I could see this was going to be a dilemma at some point for me and I wanted to resolve it now.
I worked the bag (punching bag) a little the past two days and enjoyed that too. And, yes, if you are wondering….I’ve also decided that I will not become a competitive boxer in the Men over 50 category.
I’m just trying to keep things simple. And lose 15 pounds (or at least 10).
I’m not ruling out competing in the over 60 category. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Dec 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Anticlimactic Apocalypses
What will you be doing to celebrate the Apolcolypse this Friday?
I wish I could get pumped up for it but, it’s a lot like Halloween this past year, my hearts just not in it.
It was my 49th Halloween and I know the routine and have seen it all and knew there were not real surprises. Nothing new or fresh to keep my interest. So I just took it easy and picked out some candy for our house that I wanted to eat and treated Halloween 2012 just like any other day.
And today’s Apocalypse (I think this is the Mayan variety) will be much the same way. According to Wikipedia Friday will be Apocalypse 59 for me during my lifetime. If you can imagine being bored with Halloween after just 48 of them; try to imagine how checked out I’ll be for today’s Apocalypse?
And add to it that Apocalypses don’t even have candy or gifts or after school specials. They are just cataclysmic disasters that don’t happen.
Like going to the doctor to get tested every few years for leprosy.
Sure, I guess there is a sense of exhilaration hearing the news that you tested negative, but did you ever really think you had leprosy? Or that the Mayans were somehow that much better at predicting the future than the dozens of psychics before them that totally botched predicting an Apocalypse?
I won’t waste the day but I’m not celebrating either. I’m not even sure I want the t-shirt this time.
And a word to clairvoyants and psychics everywhere. I know that predicting the end of the world occurring on a date certain can get a fellow psychic a lot of street cred within your profession. But c’mon. Every year a new prediction? It’s getting to be worse that The Boy Who Cried Wolf. And these are grown men and women crying apocalypse. All the fun has been taken out of it. Look it’ if you are going to predict Armageddon, make darn sure you you either come correct, or don’t come at all.
At this rate, Apocalypses are about as exciting as a lunar eclipse. That hasn’t happened 58 times in a row.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Dec 21, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
Well, the trip is about over now. The trip of a lifetime, for sure, for my family.
We’d never before been on a cruise or to the Mediterranean. And had the great good fortune of doing both. For that I am grateful.
And, as with all family vacations, the best is yet to come. It’s my experience that the memory of the vacation always exceeds the experience of it. Not sure why it works that way, but it does. For us anyway.
We saw a lot and learned a little and may be inspired to learn a lot more as a result of our travels.
It’s a great big world out there. Stunning in it’s breadth and diversity. And yet no matter where you go, people are just people–far more alike than different. Just making do with different circumstances.
For our trip of a lifetime we touched Italy, Greece, and Turkey.
I hope—if I can distill my thoughts of this trip to a single hope–that we learned an appreciation of the roots of all Western culture in Greece. In Turkey, I hope we recall the roots of all human history–from the Biblical to the political– and that the deep divide at present between Westerners and Muslims seems harder to understand when interacting face to face with one another. And finally, from Italy—oh, Italy–I hope we learned just a little bit about how to live and love with greater passion. That’s Amore!
And, of course, perhaps our greatest blessing: Returning to a place that we have the extraordinary privilege of calling home! The good ole U.S. of A. With a new term learned along the way that describes both where we have been– and where we are going.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Dec 19, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Why Facebook won’t ever save your life.
Today I was working from my car (something I do often) and both phones were out of charge and and I had left my charging cable at home.
I mean….the whole point of having a back-up phone is in case the primary phone runs out of power but it was drained too. Having a back up phone is especially critical if your primary phone is an iPhone (which holds a charge about as long as you can drive on a spare tire) And note, iPhones are terrible back-up phones to another iPhone. It’s like replacing your spare tire with another spare tire.
But here’s how I realized Facebook isn’t a great vehicle for a blast text message screaming out for help. Of course, I didn’t need to scream out for help. But I did have a few minutes left on my laptop which was connected to wifi. And it made me wonder what would happen if I did post in big bold letters on Facebook, “Help Me!!”
And I realized instantly what would happen if I was being beaten and kidnapped moments before posting my desperate plea for help….assuming I survived to check my Facebook page the next day.
I would have received maybe 25 “Likes” and had about 10 comments along the line of “Hilarious!,” “No, not him. I need help! LOL,” “You should use a red octagon sign,” “OMG, that happened to me once and all I got were “likes.” Good luck!” And maybe a few “shares.”
But, then again, if something like that ever did happen, it would make a really funny Facebook post.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Dec 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
What if the most remarkable country in the world that has been negatively and unfairly defined by a single movie?
If you answered “Turkey” and “Midnight Express,” I’d say you and I agree.
In Ephesus today.
Here I momentarily forget what I’m thinking about and inadvertently find myself captivated by the tour guide’s explanation of the city’s history.
It happened many times today.
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Kickin’ it with my girl, Ottoman style! ; )
One of the greatest sins we can commit is to have a chance to get to know extraordinary people.
And then not take advantage of it.
And you never know when the opportunity will present itself. So always be ready to talk. Even when your not sure.
This pic of a cat siting on a column led to some chuckles from my wife and daughter but then a nice lady with a very professional looking camera decided to take the same shot. I nudged my wife and daughter and said, “Told ya it was a good photo to take.”
The woman with the professional camera overheard us and, along with her husband, laughed. And that’s all I needed. Over the next 20 minutes I learned that Matt worked as a VC for 6 years before he and his wife, Erica, dropped out and became professional world travelers 2 years earlier. They’ve visited and written about 30 countries, mostly about economic development but also offering a sort of personal Trip Adviser take on each destination. (Think of Albert Brooks’ Lost in America —but working out. And going international.)
Next year Matt hopes to find himself in Standord’s MBA program. And deserves to be there.
And if that still isn’t enough to pique your curiosity, their website is titled “What if” with the tag line, “Living to never wonder, What if”
Extraordinary young people I have a feeling I’ll see again and already have suggested they write for a blog and would love to help these two any way I can.
And I never even took the time to go back and thank the cat for awkwardly sitting on that column and giving me an excuse to meet to fine young Americans–Living the American Dream. (without a sarcastic overtone)
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Oh no you didn’t!
You didn’t really dismiss the idea of an American ever beating you in backgammon, before I did!
“Here, we play very fast.”
“In Kentucky, we just beat you. Whether you get beat playing in fast motion or slow motion is completely up to you.”
I wanted to say but didn’t. Instead, I said, “Oh, OK. Sure. Maybe we can play sometime.” ; )
Me with our world class tour guy and all round great guy….getting a free backgammon lesson from his KY friend.
“Many people think backgammon came from Persia. Actually, it came from Appalachia.” Something else I wanted to say but didn’t have the courage. ; )
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Theology and social media? No!!
My deep insight of the day offered to our tour group.
In Ephesus our tour guide was explaining the “Letters” written from the area by Saul of Taursus and John and St John –and how these letters later became entire books of the Bible.
“Sir,” I offered, “Can you imagine what the Bible would look like if they’d had email back then and communicated informally via email, texts and Twitter? It would be a third of the length and filled with ridiculous acronyms and smiley faces and even a few LOLs!”
I’m pretty sure no one had ever made that point to him before and was pretty proud of my theological insight. ; )
LOL!
Read the rest of… John Y. Brown, III: An American in Turkey
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Dec 18, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
#TEAMJYB3:
Phat Americans.
The Anti-Immigration Movement in the US may have an unsuspecting ally.
The article I just read (click here) now shows obesity is a greater food problem than hunger. That’s a big story. But not nearly as big as the “story behind the story” –that I suspect may be true.
Americans gaining weight is nothing new. Buy why are we gaining weight so consistently and deliberately? I think it is because you can’t argue with the fact that obese Americans simply take up more space than if they were thin. And then there is the other seemingly unrelated issue: That being an American and “vocally anti-immigration” is uncomfortable at best and somewhat hypocritical at worst.
The first time I realized I had mixed feelings about immigration and found myself agreeing with Lou Dobbs, I weighed 165 pounds. That was 27 pounds ago.
I still haven’t articulated any of my concerns. But i have taken concrete anti-immigration in other ways. Making sure I physically take up more space as an American—space that could easily be filled by a very skinny illegal immigrant. At first it was only subconscious…but the harder I find it to lose weight, the more it got me to thinking about my real motive for over eating since watching that fateful Lou Dobbs interview several years ago.
It just all makes so much sense now.
Even as a young child when the ice cream truck came by I would more likely order a Red, White and Blue “Bomber” popsicle while the other kids would order “Push ups.”
America’s problem with gaining weight began at about the same time there was an increasing concern that we were pushing the immigration limits in the US.
Americans who are selflessly carrying extra-weight must have been doing so—at least in part—as a subconsciously patriotic act to make sure our country stay’s “right-sized”– for our children and our children’s children.
Sure, there is an element of passive-aggressiveness and nativism —and maybe some unflattering stereotyping of “outsiders” (and in a few isolated instances even outright prejudice) we portly patriots are guilty of. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that the only real prejudice we have is being a little too “Pro-American” for our own health.
So, next time you see one of us out and are tempted to roll your eyes at our lack of discipline —ask yourself, “What did I do today to curb rampant immigration in my country today?” It may just give you pause and remind you of the greater goal behind those who don’t believe it’s wrong to be more concerned for their country than their waistline.
And remind you, too, that the enthusiastic gleam you see in our eye– that you assume is our misplaced excitement about our next dessert order— may have more to do our determination to keep one more illegal alien from crossing the border because even though our ideals will always be compelling to others, the practical matter of available space is being decided not “one politician at a time” but “one Hot Pocket at a time. And by those who have courageously taken our “can’t say no” attitude and decided to use if for a higher nationalistic calling.
20 years ago American had about 200 Million Americans. We new our absolute maximum would be about 400 Million Americans. Or 300 overweight Americans. So the next time one of you smug little waif of an American sighs at the heavy guy sitting next to you on an airplane, to holding your disdain. And saluting instead. (And if you really want to “Thank us,” you’ll offer us your peanuts, too).
Now, if you think you can handle an unadulterated Merry Christmas, more power to you. Go for it. But otherwise, just know it’s not necessary and I don’t want my overly optimistic wishes to be an obstacle to you having a nice time with those closest to you this holiday season.
Anyway, it was a few years ago when my children were still Santa age (before Christmas became more of a business transaction) and my job was to work the wee hours of the morning to assemble a mini pool table for our basement and surprise our children Christmas morning.
Regardless, I like weight lifting. Not heavy weights, mind you. Those really are a pain to lift in any form or fashion. But the polite and nonthreatening level weights. Bigger than the dainty silver ones but smaller than the large industrial sized ones.
Well, the trip is about over now. The trip of a lifetime, for sure, for my family.
What if the most remarkable country in the world that has been negatively and unfairly defined by a single movie?
Oh no you didn’t!
It just all makes so much sense now.
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