Have you ever noticed that being mentally tired is so much more exhausting than being physically tired?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red always looks forward to Fridays as they tend to be "lighter" Red & Black days, which lets her catch up from the week, as well as get herself organized for the inevitable Monday morning onslaught of Black's weekend research and work, resulting in lots and lots of emails. And even though not a pressure-filled day, most Friday's Red finds herself not only physically tired, but mentally exhausted due to the pandemic on top of the presidential election, both of which created more stress than normal. Assuming anyone can even remember what "normal" is …
But today's different. Very different. Red's not sure if it's due to watching less TV because there was less genuine breaking news (vs. everything that's just promoted as "Breaking News") or because there was less political drama originating from the White House. Or a combination of the two. Regardless, she just felt more relaxed. Of course, there are things that make her roll her eyes (she does that a lot), things that concern her, things that will take a long time to be resolved, but Red welcomed the fact there was a lot more calm and a lot less chaos. And for the first time in a very long time, she wasn't heading into the weekend totally exhausted.
The funny thing is when she mentioned this to Black, preparing herself for a detailed and research-filled response, Black merely said,
This is one of those rare occasions where analyzing and understanding the "WHY" adds nothing, so I will say nothing … except … relax and enjoy.
Labor Day celebrates the American worker. However you may celebrate, we wish you a Happy Labor Day!
Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?
Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.
Which is what got Red to realize, much to her surprise (shock, if truth be told), that even as a straight-A student with a love of history, that when it came to Julius Caesar, a famous historical figure and possibly one of the greatest generals and statesmen of all time, she couldn't tell you dates or battles or anything "historical" associated with him.
Even as a theater major in college, she never read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," although she knew just enough about the play to know that it was where the fortune teller warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Instead, her knowledge of Caesar came from her love of movies.
My first, and probably my most enduring, memory is of a brilliant general who not only commanded armies as he conquered lands far from home but was a great statesman who was also involved with one of the world's most beautiful women. And while he was Julius Caesar and the woman was Cleopatra, to me, they'll always be Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, a movie almost as controversial as the general himself.
And Black? Besides knowing that Caesar Salad was invented by a different Caesar, she appreciates Julius Caesar's leadership skills and way with words,
There is much we can learn about leadership from Julius Caesar, whether on the battlefield, in politics, or in business (start small, take risks, communicate well), including what ultimately led to his death (always consider worst-case scenarios, never get complacent or arrogant). Many of his quotes speak (pun intended) to his powerful way with words, and the ability to not only deliver a message but to inspire (and story tell), with my favorite being, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
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