Friday Donuts

[Posted by Ed Stocker] Dear Members and Constituents, Kids love Easter egg hunts.  I just don’t see them actually eating a lot of the eggs.  Now, if they are plastic eggs filled with jelly beans or other candy they go down pretty quick. But it’s been my experience that the brightly colored eggs kids race to find and stick in their baskets will largely become deviled eggs before the afternoon meal.  Looking in on JP’s office this morning I thought I had found the Easter Bunny’s secret stash of these eggs readied for delivery.  Dozens and dozens of them.  Brightly colored and shining in the morning sun.  Then I realized these are no mere Easter eggs, these are Easter Donuts.  I thought about hiding them around the office for our first annual Easter Donut hunt.  Then I thought it would be better to just eat one or two. Thanks to Donut Boy Eric Jochens for laying four dozen Winchell’s Easter Donuts for us this Good Friday. Happy Easter, Ed

Dear Members and Constituents, A couple of you expressed disappointment I made no mention of the first American Pope last week, so let me make it up to you. I just realized the last three generations of my family –my dad, myself and my eldest son- have all had a Pope named after us. I’m not saying we were named after sitting Popes, either -that would be cheating. They were named after us –or so we’d like to believe. 1.       Juan, my dad, was born during Pius XII's papacy and had Juan XXIII named after him. 2.       I was born during Paul VI's papacy and had, not one, but two Juan Pablos (I and II) named after me. 3.       My son Francisco was born during John Paul II's papacy and now has Francisco I named after him. Granted, names in my family come from the Catholic repertoire (no Apples, Blue Ivys, Kal-Els or Dweezils in our family tree), still, it’s not like we’re medieval Italian feudal lords who might have any influence on the selection process. Furthermore

Dear Members and Constituents, Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A donut rolls into a bar and starts drinking like there's no tomorrow. The concerned bartender remarks [Bartender]- You're looking a little glazed-over, maybe you ought to stop. [Donut]- Nah, I'll be o-cake. It’s just my Sweetie pie broke-up with me last night. I think my shape torus apart. Now, I feel like there's a hole at the center of my being. [Bartender]- So that's why you're drinking Bailey’s. You want to be cream filled! I must admit it sounded much better with the 80's sitcom laugh track in my head. It could've been cruller -get it? Hopefully I got you to crack a smile. But if I didn't there's hope yet. I brought-in five dozen Krispy Kreme's this morning, and that's no joke. Bite into one, I guarantee it will cheer you up. Happy last Friday of the current rotation!

Dear Members and Constituents, Do you think of things as coming in cycles? Seasons, semesters, sunrises and sunsets. Finding patterns and extracting them to simplify our lives is a very human thing. And, while this approach has served our species well, there is a downside. By focusing on the common denominator we can sometimes lose sight of the uncommon numerator. When I hear people say it’s all been done before or, there’s nothing new under the sun, I feel they’re missing the point. The universe is expanding and time ceaselessly moves forward, so even if you’re watching a T.V. re-run, it’s a different you, in a different place, with a different set of environmental conditions. You may notice different things or find a previously elusive joke suddenly funny.   So too it is with donuts. We started the current rotation 59 weeks ago, and next week it will come to an end. I will be sending-out new calendar reminders for the new rotation. If there are dates that don’t work for you i

Dear Members and Constituents, It's that time of the year when we all start to wonder: Wow, is March really here? I think there is a blunder! Time flies, don't you know? Yes, it may sound cliché; though we'd like to move slow, boy, the days fly away. Seconds, minutes and hours; to days, weeks, months and years. Stubborn time overpowers all the things we hold dear. So what's your reaction? Fear, longing, regret? Or, taking bold action in the time you have yet? Be kind, do a favor, indulge in a donut. They’re here, come and savor, Terry Kugler has done it! Happy Friday!