Do I sound skeptical?  Yup!  And you may ask why…  You see, one of the biggest reasons for the success of the iPhone was a combination of its revolutionary user interface in the form of capacitive touch, combined with the power of a real computer which when applied to the phone industry (an industry in which Apple had never participated before), it was groundbreaking technology.  The thought of taking such powerful computing to an industry that had been locked up by mega-telco’s putting out 23% of what an end user really wanted (yes that is a made up statistic, but my feeling of what I felt I got out of cell phones prior to the iPhone).

So why the skepticism…  It is because most of the rumors seem to indicate that Apple is taking the iPhone/iTouch to a bigger format.  Wait a minute… Isn’t that the wrong direction?  Maybe and most likely yes.  Not because people don’t want or need bigger; its because the industry gets excited about smaller, faster, cheaper.  However, there would be a reason that Apple is going bigger and that hypothetical reason could be in keeping with the Apple tradition of breaking down market barriers and bringing the unconventional to new markets thereby making it the new convention.

What could the reason be?

How about the re-invention of paper.

Over the last two decades, we have seen the march of time and advancements in technology bring an almost certain death to the Newspaper industry.  Even the surviving newspapers are experiencing subscription/readership rates that are so low, its a wonder that any of them can support the infrastructure costs for the needed physical distribution of their product.  Print advertising has been all but replaced by internet advertising.  Print news in general has been replaced by “read what you are interested when you are interested in reading it” internet media sources.

So what bright new technology could topple such an industry?  Well, if we all think green, take the Kindle as a sign that electronic books are here to stay, combine it with a 4g mobile device for on demand download, and provide a device that can truly mimic the written page; you could not only crush what is remaining in the newsprint industry, but serve up a truly new ability to not only read content, but store it, save it, index it, read it in a familiar form, with full size text, and fonts we have grown accustomed to, while also combining the powerful computing tools needed to manipulate, edit, save, share and publish new media.

Where’s the catch?  Why do I remain skeptical?

Its the rumor of the name  the “iSlate”.  Slates, tablet, touch PCs have always met with limited success.  They are rigid and weighty.  They are not convenient to hold and read on a subway as you are commuting to work.  They are cumbersome and stand out when you use them in public – think of sitting getting your favorite latte at Starbucks and whipping out your iSlate to read a few headlines before heading back from your break.  Even with an iPhone like interface… Even with a larger screen… Even with it being as thin as an iPhone… its not the same.  Just the word slate brings on images of hard, heavy and rigid.

But!  an iSlate using Electronic Paper?  That would be the balls.  Think of a screen that is flexible yet can display vibrant images.  Think of a lightweight, paperthin device that could be held like a sheet of paper, or a newspaper for that matter.  That would be cool!

And I know what you are going to say… A flexible screen like that would not have the same tactile response as an iphone like device.  It could not hold the computing power of a device like that.  It would be limited in its use.

Not necessarily though!  What if Apple made an iSlate which acted as a frame for electronic paper?  the slate portion of the device held all that you would expect from the powerful devices that Apple has historically produced.  Imagine a slot at the top of the device that would allow you to reach in and yank out your electronic paper and the paper itself has enough storage to display for you the content that was downloaded to it that you are interested in reading.

Now THATS a device I would ogle over.  The slate having a glass like rigid pane similar to a picture frame on your wall that gives you that rigid yet smooth surface for the capacitive touch interface.  The images being displayed on the other side of the transparent glass by your flexible Electronic Paper.  The paper acting as the display portion of the screen with perhaps a couple of independant touch sensors that upone removing it from the iSlate would then allow you to flip through your digital content.

Think of a true converged media device.  Your TV, combined with your PC, combined with your Phone, combined with your magazines and newspapers, with an interface that is suitable in all those uses.  Internet everywhere, media at your fingertips, communication friendly, and powerful enough to handle all your computing needs.

Now that would be killer.  If the iSlate is anywhere close to what I described, I would tell everyone to call Rupert Murdoch and tell him to hang up his hat.  But something tells me that if Apple is truly going to take over this industry.  Steve is smart enough to line up his ducks before pulling the trigger, so maybe he has struck a deal with a few magazine publishers and newspaper outlets.  He already has the developers, the music, and the video content.  And to put the final nail in the coffin… how about throwing in a couple of book publishers as a way of dousing the Kindle?

I guess we will have to wait and see.

When I first enrolled in courses, I had made mention of the fact to an old friend and colleague John Luongo.  Interestingly enough, he had given me the idea to take courses to begin with, as he had been working on going to school locally in California.  When I delivered my news to him, he responded with a very pleasant coincidence.  He had decided to switch and continue his next degree at Harvard Extension school as well.

One thing I found was that when he was explaining his decision, I did note a bit of what almost seemed to be him justifying why Harvard Extension was a good choice.  Perhaps it was me reading into what he was saying, perhaps not.  But I had been aware that there has been an ongoing controversy about the validity of the Harvard Extension School program.

We are merely weeks away from entering a new year and the calendars showing the year 2010.  That year is significant as it marks the 100th anniversary of Harvard University’s Extension School program.  If you scour the internet it is not hard to find many articles that either extol the virtues of the program, or seek to demean it due to it not being a degree from “Harvard”.  With a little digging you will find articles ranging from people who are caught “impersonating” a Harvard student, to people misrepresenting themselves on their resumes, to people who just downright treat people who have attended Harvard extension as ivy league “wanna-be”s.

The funny thing I find though, is that much of this controversy is generated by people who are not even associated to Harvard.  I have the luxury of being close enough to the campus where I can freely attend all my classes on campus.  I am not relegated to merely experiencing my education on-line through distance learning due to being in some far away state.  As such, my experience is not merely limited to just having access to the courses.  I interact face to face with my professors, fellow students and enjoy a myriad of what the Harvard campus has to offer.

Perhaps it would be good to clarify a few things.  First, Harvard University has 13 colleges under it’s umbrella.  Harvard Law, Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School are just 3 of them.  Of course there is the infamous Harvard College.  But then there is Harvard Extension.  It befuddles me to think why on earth there would be such a debate as to whether Harvard Extension is really “Harvard.”  The university itself clearly advertises and states that it is indeed a bonafide and valuable part of the Harvard brand.  So why the controversy?

Some point to the fact that it is driven by the parents of students of Harvard College who have the privilege of paying the high price that comes with being a student that matriculated into the program through its rigorous admissions criteria.  Some say it is because Harvard Extension has an open enrollment policy and as such is reflected in the quality of the students.  For whatever reason though, the controversy exists.

The program itself is excellent.  It is also not as easy as people may think.  To be considered part of the degree program, you do indeed need to show you are capable of doing the work at a high enough level where you have proven you deserve to be there.  So perhaps it is a nice courtesy to let anyone try under open enrollment, but you have to be successful at a Harvard level to go beyond just taking a few classes.

But what of the positives other than just those that the extension student receives?  Does the University as a whole receive any benefit?  The answer in my opinion is clearly a “YES”.  One of the cornerstones of an education at Harvard is its promise of experiencing a diverse group of students and faculty.  That is not unique to Harvard, but it is something they hold in high regard.  The existence of Harvard Extension school bring a degree of diversity to the mix that is intrinsically valuable to the entire campus community, and is a dynamic that should be cherished by all those who walk through that square.

The Harvard Extension program brings people from all walks of life and gathers them into an environment where they can learn from each other, not in isolation, but as a group and community all striving to better themselves.  If you look at the roster of students who are part of this college within Harvard University, you will find successful politicians, business people, investors and executives all learning side by side with young students who can do much worse than to be exposed to the experiences of people working in many different industries from all walks of life.

Perhaps moving into this new century of Harvard Extension’s existence, we can all grow to set aside this meaningless controversy and focus on the primary reason we are all at Harvard University…

To be part of a talented group of people – culturally, economically and socially diverse – all seeking to work together to further our knowledge and bring value to each other and our global society.

I was very engrossed in this wonderful ground breaking technology.  Being a techie from way back I researched and studied the phone in great depth.  I even participated on the iPhone hack team by performing tests on my phone and sharing the results with the coders that were furiously working to unlock its hidden secrets.

I bought a MAC and downloaded the tools I needed to start coding in XCode and Cocoa as soon as the SDK was available.  I cranked out enough apps to test the iPhones useability and was pleased with the results.

I doubt I could ever claim to have coined the term as it seems so obvious, but I have always believed in the existence of “technocrud”  I have written about it in the past, and Im sure you can find my blog posting about it in my indexes of entries.   It seemed that technocrud was being developed at such a rate that it was mind boggling.

Then the wind began to change… DROID was coming… Or more specifically the promise of a trully open OS for a phone such that the artificial barries that Apple was imposing would no longer exist.  Skeptics claimed that Apple’s foothold would prevent its adoption.  They were down right wrong.

So here I was sitting there in my living room and all of a sudden my son came screaming to me in a fit of excitement… “DAD DROID IS COMING!”

I had seen some of the early Android phones.  I had several opportunities to play with them and I had been watching the myriad of apps that the developers had been releasing.  Yet up until now, none of the phone had ever struck me as being true iPhone like predators.  The screens didn’t work anywhere as nice.  Getstures were clunky, keyboard typing not as intuitive.

So I skeptically went down to the Verizon store, perhaps in hopes of maybe seeing something that really would impress me.  You see… as much as I loved the iPhone, my passion has always been cooled due to the requirement to be on AT&T’s network.  As much as there have been arguments regarding their coverage areas being comparable to Verizon’s, they simply did not stack up compared to what Verizon offered in the areas I frequented.  So me with my skepticism ventured forth.

Upon my arrival, I went to the pod that had this large Droid banner hanging from it and I was immediately faced with two phone options.  One was teh Moto Droid.  Having been a fan of Motorola, I picked that up first.  It was nice.  Very….. well… um…. Wait… Kind of a cross between a Q, Blackberry and Treo.   Ummmm…  Isn’t this kind of bulky?  Did their engineers design this to target people who like the button feel of a keyboard?  Moving parts on the phone?  Sliding screen?  I don’t get it… did any of them ever look at an iPhone?

But I looked over next to it, and my eyes immediately were drawn to this sleek, little, sexy number.  It had this little roller ball that was intermittenly glowing white as if it were calling out “touch me”.  I put the Moto down and lifted this matte finished,  black beauty and it immediately felt at home in my hand.  I pressed the phone button almost instinctively and the screen came to life.  Slide down to unlock…  Here was the test.  Was this going to feel like yet another faker attempting to lure me away from the graceful feel of the iPhone interface?  My thumb traveled down and with a swipe the home screen came to life.

OMG!  The weight, the design, the look, the vibrant display, the smooth touch and glassy feel of the phone made me instantly realize I had my hands on what was soon to be (at least for me) the death of my iPhone.

I must have spent two hours probing the applications and interfaces, email, calendars, contacts, phone, video, internet speeds.  All to which I was looking for that one flaw… NOTHING.  I could not find it.  A quirky smile came across my face and I reached out with my hand in the air, the phone being restricted only by that simple littel security wire and I gestured to the sales clerk… I want this one.

HTC had done it.  I don’t know where they found their engineers, but they were ultimately successful in creating what to me seemed like the very next step BEYOND what Apple had accomplished.

Well to say the least, my sons were happy as when I got home, they were the proud recipients of my two iPhones I had been using.  They dont use them as phones, they merely use them as if they were iTouches.

But me… Everyday I use my wonderful new communication companion, I grow further in love with it.

I tip my hat to both Google and HTC, and hope they can surpass this wonderful device so I may remain loyal as a new follower, adopter and fan.  And I appologize to AT&T.  As much as I like to be loyal… you do need to catch up.  Verizon is a better phone network, especially now since they have drunk the coolade and really know that there are people like me that need and want phones that are open to do with what we please.

Oh… and as a note to HTC… I am always open to having you send me pre-release phones, I would more than enjoy giving you my feedback. (hint hint hint)

Now that I have a bit more time on my hands, I will be blogging more often.  (hopefully)

I guess that is it for this post as I do have something I want to write about but I would rather not clutter it up with my letting you all know I am back around for a bit.

Happy reading!

Anyway… the topic of his presentation was to discuss the effective use of LinkedIn and are you maximizing it to help drive business for your company. Even though I feel I am fairly knowledgeable about LinkedIn, I attended in order to show my support for my friend. Maybe one reason was that when I spoke to him earlier this week, he had said that only a handful of people had registered. I figured why not attend, after all, I would be networking with people, and I may just learn something new from Sensi Kevin.

LinkedIn is not Facebook, and I remember that over the last couple of years, that its growth (at least within my network of people) was slowish. However, over the last several months, I have noted a significant increase in my network of peers filling in on the site. I actually use my contact manager to compare my contacts there to what I have on linked in, to determine saturation rate.

What I am finding now is that of my active contacts, saturation is very high right now. Somewhere in the 60-70% range based on my recent contacts in my contact manager. My older or less accessed contacts I can see a much smaller percentage of saturation. Last I checked it was in the 20 to 25% range.

So leave it to say, that LinkedIn has now become a valued tool in my daily arsenal. And lo and behold, when I showed up at the seminar. It seems Sensi Kevin had nothing to worry about. We were both pleasantly surprised to see an overflow crowd of people at least 5 times what he had told me had registered.

Congrats Kevin, and yes… I will be more than glad to go to your next event in a month.

Although some wine and beer might be a pleasant addition to the evening.

Oh! and by the way…

“POKE”

Gotchya!

If we continually come up with ways to nurture and support weak ideas, we will prevent innovation from shaping the future of technology.  Business Incubators are one example of what I am talking about.  A business incubator is designed to allow entrepreneurs to be protected during the fragile stages of the creation and development of their start up.

Business incubators are actually a good thing in that they expose the entrepreneur to resources that otherwise could not be had.  They offer access to expertise on an as need basis for problem solving, idea generation, and rounding out of gaps in the entrepreneurs own ability in a way that doesn’t drain valuable investment capital from the startup.  They offer savings in office space, capital investments, and shared facility and equipment use.  They provide an almost think tank like environment that nurtures the development of ideas and innovation.  All of this is good.  To an extent.

There is something to be said for having to survive in a dog eat dog world.  Competition strengthens those who succeed and survive through the turmoil.  To the victor go the spoils.

This type of experience is invaluable to a budding entrepreneur.  An entrepreneur who is able to develope a business in light of adversity becomes tempered from his or her experirences.  They are much better prepared to handle adverse situations as they arise.  They are able to persevere in teh face of hardship.

As much as a business incubator offers to teh entrepreneur, it is also riddled with problems in that the individual never gains that level of experience and temperment, thus when they are thrust into the harsh world of competition, they are ill equiped to deal with that adversity.

So if you are an entrepreneur that is starting a new venture, be careful how you leverage an incubator.  Being honest with yourself and your abilities is critical.  If you become complacent due to the comfort on knowing you have the incubator to rely on, what then happens when you do not have that security in the future?  Are you prepared to handle it?

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last year, you will know that we have been slipping into one of the worst economic periods of our nations history.  So perhaps you may believe that raising capital today will become impossible.  I would say it is just the opposite.  Sure raising capital was easy during the bubble.  All you had to do is put together a 10 page presentation, drop out of Stanford, have one of your professors introduce you to some VCs and voila!  You walk away shortly with a 20 million dollar check and you are off to the races.  Or at least that was the way it seemed.  The fact is the number of investments rose, but so did the field of businesses looking for money.  So much so that it was just as difficult to get financed.  You had to stand out amongst a larger field of players.

Now… I am not going to say that this ended badly for everyone.  However, I would say that this did cause a large amount of funding for very bad ideas.  VCs were throwing all their fundamentals out of the window to chase after these deals out of fear of not being able to keep up with their counterparts.  The people they raised money from apply huge amounts of pressure to perform, and you cannot perform if you are not even in the game.  But there was also a dynamic that occurred that most people didn’t see.  The more crazy deals that VC’s got into, the more people came out of the woodwork with more crazy deals.

I can tell you that the number of business plans I was exposed to grew during that period exponentially.  I was discarding many more plans than I could ever read and those that I did read all seemed rushed and half baked.  But the sheer volume of people that were trying to raise capital was staggering.  If anything good came out of the tech bust, it was that things slowed down.

Raising money in a down market can be challenging.  But not for the reasons you may think.  Most people believe that eventually as the economy suffers, the capital being invested in new ventures eventually dries up.  That is in fact not true.

Most investment money comes from people who are trying to balance their portfolios between growth and asset retention.  Savy investors will split their portfolios up between various industries, and segments.  They will invest in some high risk investments to maximize growth, and some more conservative vehicles to ensure they are able to retain their base level of assets.

However, with most money out there, a long term outlook is necessary.  With new ventures, this is almost a given.  If I invest 1 million today into a company that is a new venture or start up.  I would have to expect that I will not be able to get a return on that investment for quite some time.  That and the fact that the new venture will most likely not be dependent on the economy until it is ready to sell or distribute its products will mean that regardless of what the economy is doing today, I need to predict where the economy will be when it will matter.  In addition, I will look much more closely at the venture to determine if this is a high flyer or an idea that is built on sound business practices or both.

So think about it this way.  If you think you have a good idea for a good business, why not start it today?  First off, you will need to have a strong fortitude to handle the risk.  I think that is a huge quality in an entrepreneur.  In fact, it also is direct proof of the validity of your idea.  If your idea is sound and has good business fundamentals, you will survive through downturns in the economy as well as succeed during the good times.  In fact, the down economy will prove whether or not your product is necessary.  People don’t spend money on things they don’t find necessary when we are in a downturn.

In fact, wise people understand that during a down economy, if you have the war chest to do so, is the best time to invest.  During recessions, you see stronger companies buying weaker companies all the time.  The reason for this is that they know they are purchasing an undervalued asset.  They know with proper management and support that they will be positioned to grow stronger and faster when the economy turns for the better.   Its the strong preying on the weak.

So investment dollars are still there.  Overall deal flow may be down, it may be longer to get to closure, investors may dig deeper into your plan.  But it provides a much stronger test.  It allows you to proof your ideas, strengthen your plan, ensure you are making the right choices.

So where do you turn for money in a market like this?

Customers are great.  You should always start with your customers.  There are two ways to get investment from your customers, sell them your product and or ask them to invest in a joint venture.  Large companies invest in joint ventures.  They monitor the markets, look for ideas, and seek to be prepared to handle the future.  Larger companies will invest in start ups and ideas and joint ventures much like traditional investment sources like VC’s and Institutions.  However for them there is the added benefit of those investments not only paying off financially, but also paying off by adding to the value of their ongoing business.  It can help them enter into new markets, solve future customer demand, innovate on existing products.  The benefit to the entrepreneur is that it proves you can sell to corporate America.  You have taken a big first step in validating your idea.  You have gotten your first potential reference, access to your end users, and visibility into the real practical problem you are trying to solve.  It also helps you later when you seek you next round.  Customers who invest in you can be one of the biggest benefits to future fund raising.

Angel investors are another avenue.  Since angels are usually individual investors, one of the things you will find is economic downturns weed out the faint of heart in the angel community.  Those who are effected by the economy either mentally or financially are probably those you did not want to invest to begin with.  They are usually the ones that after they invest are the ones that call every other day to get an update, or look to second guess your ideas, or are constantly asking when they will see a return.  During a down economy, the angels that still invest are usually solid people.  They are strong enough to weather a storm, they understand that down periods happen, they will hold a longer term view of your business.  They will be good planners and advisors.  All of which are good attributes.

Institutional players.  Many people think that institutions only deal in very large numbers.  However, there are many institutions that set aside money to dabble in the early stage of companies.  These institutions range from investment trusts for high net worth families to mini funds to pensions unions and the like.  What is nice about these investors are that they are very hands off.  They expect periodic communication that is done consistently and professionally, but other than that and maybe a few questions now and again, they sit back and watch.  They also become a great avenue for introductions to follow on investors once you prove to them you are fulfilling what you said you would in your business plan.

Yes there are other ways to raise capital.  Perhaps from my obvious exclusion of VCs you may be wondering what my thoughts are there.  I believe that venture capital is tricky and is a subject of its own.  Yes it can be a benefit to your company, but only at certain times and for certain reasons.  I like to say to new CEO’s that if you feel you need to turn to VCs for money, then you have something wrong with your plan.  The reason for this is that if you have a good idea and you can attract investors from other sectors, do so, that way you will be acting in a position of strength if a VC approaches you and not the other way around.

So in summary I guess I would say, down markets may be hard, but a good company that can start and grow and survive during a down market can be one of the best investments there are right now.

It was also the year I started my first company.  I had this idea that was bouncing around in my head.  I felt a need to let it out.  If you have read my other post, you will know that I believe that when you set out to start a company, you need to have a great idea, but you don’t want to fixate on the solution, you want to focus on the problem.  The solution should be something you are willing to mold and shape.  To toss out bad ideas in favor of better ones.  Thats why I love napkins.  They are easy to throw away.

Early in that year, I remember sitting with some people I was trying to pitch on my ideas.  It was very early in the process.  We sat at a bar over a beer, and I was explaining my idea while scribbling words and pictures on the back of a bar napkin.  As the conversation went on, with volleys of questions and answers, statements and challenges, opinions and fact, the energy grew, it was an electric moment.  By the end of the evening, I had hooked my first colleague to join me in my pursuits.

The back of a napkin can be a very powerful tool.  It helps you clarify, to impress.  The person sitting across from you stares at it intently, as since you have such a small space to write on, what you write must be keenly important.  Since you need that napkin to write on to begin with, sends the message that you have an abundance of thought on the topic just waiting to pour out into some concrete form.

In the ‘About eLuNa Ventures’ section of my site (see sidebar), it says we are in stealth mode with a new concept.  Well the concept is taking shape.  Better yet, has taken shape.  I’ve bounced the ideas off of enough people now to take the next step.  The mystery of the pitch up until now is that it shifts dramatically at times, less so at others, but it is fluid, changing, morphing.  Then, when you think you have it, it shifts some more.  It will continue to do so, but at a certain point, you know in your gut that you have enough to go.  I would say there is one fundamental difference between my current exercise and the one I undertook in 1994.

In 1994, my target was to use technology to improve a process and to solve a problem.  In 2008, my idea is to change the process or model so to speak in such a way as that the model becomes the solution and the technology is merely a vehicle to implement that change.

Where much of my designs in 1994 were based around technology designs.  Much of what I am doing today is based on changes in the basic tenets of business and those changes create opportunity for infrastructure and technology that combined with the new model become represent the grail of the new economy.

As a side note:  Sorry if I am still being esoteric and obscure, but we are STILL in stealth mode.  So…  Live with it.

And what about my napkins?  Well I have many of them.  Pages and pages of ideas all jotted down.  My process is a bit different now.  I use more of a free association exercise today.  I lay out several pieces of paper and just write down ideas as they come to me.  I categorize each piece of paper based on an idea or a concept and as I think about things, I flip from page to page to draw lines, and write down notes in a loosely organized fashion.

I think I probably have over 50 pages of my virtual “napkins” now.  Honestly I haven’t counted.  Last night was one of my final tests.  Could I convey my message to a protoypical adopter in such a way as this is something he would pursue.  GOT HIM!  Validation.  Yeah, I pitched it to potential partners, vendors, investors, and customers.  I am on the road right now seeking my initial sponsors.  (I will go into the concept of sponsors in my next blog)

But if you can’t attract your target, your mainstream adopter, your prototypical end user.  Then you have a basic flaw.  Sure, there are also potential flaws in whether there is a market, or how big the market is, or how ready the market is.  But we are not at that stage in the development of this model.  Where we are is at the point that we have thought through enough of the model, came to conclusions, formulated ideas, and understand the dynamics well enough that we can boil the message down to a point where it can be conveyed in a short period of time, with a logical flow, and supporting arguments that by the end of an hour session with a prototypical adopter, he was hooked and excited.

Best part was he didn’t go into the meeting expecting a pitch.  I’ll explain why that is a good thing some other time.  But suffice it to say, you need to attract the BOIDS.  Without BOIDS, a flock will never form.  There has to be enough of an attraction in the message itself to seed desire and interest.  A desire to be part of it.

So alas, I am very excited.  I think its time to take my 50 plus 8×10 “napkins” and turn it into something more formal.  A plan.

I was a little wary and was concerned he would meet with disappointment.  He assured me this would not be the case, as he had sold these before and had done well at it.  So who was I to argue.  He smiled at me and off he went.

Now I guess this blog is about communication of sorts.  Or more precisely; how people have a breakdown in communication.  Its not that they do not try to communicate.  Its just that sometimes things have a tendency to go awry.  Perhaps I was not communicating well with him when I expressed my concerns.  After all, I did fail to remind him that the last time he went out to sell things, he lived in a different town.  And that most of the people he was going to sell to in our old town had known him for years.  I wanted to express to him that the last time he sold magazines, things were different.   I wanted to warn him that the people in our neighborhood might be wary as people have trouble expressing generosity and altruism except through people they trust.  I am positive, this is not what he heard me say.

So off he went.  An hour later he came home.  I noticed as he walked across our driveway he didn’t have the same bright smile and his order book looked as though it hadn’t been opened.  He confirmed to me that he did not receive any orders but was confident he would get one next time.  I admired his desire to do well and not give up.  I asked him where he went and he began to rattle off all the neighbors around us.  People that we know of but have not gotten to know.

Communication is a strange thing.  He shared with me that one of our neighbors, and older man who lives on the corner of the road, seemed a bit grumpy when he approached him.  I again tried to communicate that it was most likely because he did not know him, and that the neighbor was probably a nice man.

So yesterday while we were preparing dinner, I was talking with my wife and son.  The topic of the neighbor came up and I said “Oh you know… I meant to tell you… I think you may be right about the neighbor not being too friendly.  I was driving by his house the other day and he was outside.  So I smiled and waved to him and he just scowled at me.”

To this my son replied “He probably didn’t hear you Dad…  He’s deaf you know.”

My wife and I looked at each other and burst out laughing and she responded with “Perhaps your father should wave louder next time.”

I suppose that sometimes even the best intentions to communicate can fall on deaf ears.