RH Business Blog

Ravens Hollow Business blog wishes all members, guests, and readers a very Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday! We are taking some time off to spend with our family.

We will update our blog posts after the Christmas holiday.

President Reagan’s Favorite Christmas Gift
By Floyd and Mary Beth Brown
December 20, 2008

“Christmas has always been a very special day for as long back as I can remember,” Ronald Reagan once wrote in a letter. “Maybe this was due to my mother and her joyous spirit about the day.” Although President Reagan could have spent his White House Christmases with family at his beloved ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., he instead stayed in Washington, D.C. His sacrifice allowed Secret Service agents and other aides to spend Christmas at home with their families. He was a thoughtful person.

Reagan grew up in a desperately poor family. His father was a shoe sales clerk who had trouble keeping a job, partly because he was an alcoholic. “There were very few decorated trees in the years of my
growing up. But never defeated, my mother would with ribbon and crepe paper decorate a table or create a cardboard fireplace out of a packing box. And she always remembered whose birthday it was and made sure we knew the meaning of Christmas.”

His mother Nelle was an optimistic Christian woman who always looked for the positive side in every situation. President Reagan explained, no matter how bad things were for their family, his mother was always finding someone worse off than them. Reagan’s most vivid early memory of his mother was of her with a covered dish taking it to a needy family. Nelle was always helping others.

Perhaps those lean years are one reason why Ronald Reagan once said a particular Christmas gift was especially memorable for him. It was his favorite gift and it came from his brother Neil. He called it “a
gift truly in keeping with the spirit of the day.” Neil had been struggling to find a suitable gift for his brother; they both were middle-aged adults and both men had successful careers.

Neil solved his dilemma by writing a letter. In the letter, Neil told his brother he had found a truly needy family with small children “who wouldn’t go to bed with dreams of Santa Claus in their head.”
Ronald Reagan recounted how his brother Neil changed that and “became Santa himself, providing a Christmas from tree to turkey plus toys and gifts for all.” Included in Neil’s letter was a very detailed
blow-by-blow account describing the “joy of the children and the grateful happiness of their mother.”

This act of charitable giving by Neil reads like the end of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and became President Reagan’s most unforgettable Christmas gift. He called it “a gift that will never grow old,” as he

would re-read the letter or think about the family’s reaction to Neil’s generosity. Helping and serving others gives true joy and happiness, not only to the recipient but even more so to the giver. Maybe Neil’s gift was particularly touching to Reagan because he knew what it was like to go without.

Today, there are still families out there who are in difficult circumstances and they face a bleak Christmas. A gift like Neil’s may be the perfect gift for you to give to that someone in your life who has everything. Your church or locally based charities such as the Salvation Army are aware of needy families. You could make a difference and receive special Christmas joy by giving to a family who has hit hard times. Then write a letter similar to Neil’s describing the family’s reactions and give it as a gift. This is the true spirit of
Christmas.

On Christmas Eve 1984, speaking to the nation, President Reagan said, “families and friends across America will join together in caroling parties and Christmas Eve services. Together, we’ll renew that spirit of faith, peace, and giving which has always marked the character of our people.” At the end of his tale, Dickens writes, “it was always said of [Scrooge], that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive

possessed the knowledge. May this be said of all of us. And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!” Merry Christmas!

—

2008 Floyd and Mary Beth Brown. The Browns are bestselling authors and speakers. Together they write a national weekly column distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. For more info call
Cari Dawson Bartley at 800 696 7561 or e-mail cari@cagle.com.

This entire year has been difficult from the auto industry to the small business distributor. From wall street to main street everyone has been feeling the pinch with the economical down turns. Everyone deserves to have a smile brought into their lives before the end of the year is over even if it is for one day.

During this time of economic turmoil it reminds me of days when I grew up and learned the value of money. I was at a young age and did not know a lot as I was only a teenager however I learned the meaning of savings. I also remember helping our fellow neighbor when they needed it. For example, many times there were items which we no longer used such as toys or gently used clothing and we happily passed them on to a family that would enjoy them.

We have some close friends of the family who have always been there for us whenever we needed them and assisted my husband’s grandmother when she needed it. I found a pair of earrings that belonged to his grandmother which are quite beautiful but they are not my color because of my skin tone. So, I passed them onto this friend as a thank you for being there for the assistance. There was another pair of earrings which I don’t wear due to my ears but I knew her teen daughter would and there was a well conditioned leather purse which I had set aside.

I have always believed if there is a way to help someone in need I will do it. I’m far from being made of money and never have been but something I love doing is passing on items in good condition which I no longer use which I know someone else will appreciate and also get a good use from.  

Every new business owner experiences that period when they question  how to manage customer service with certain matters. The main factor a business owner must be aware of is how they will build a relationship between consumers when there is a request for assistance. When a customer purchases a product, there is always that slight chance the product could have a manufacture error. How will you as the company manage it?

Here are a few quick tips for a business to use:

1. It is important to retain customers
2. A company obtains 80% sales from their data base
3. If you can get a referral, there is better chance for making a sale

Customer service is not perfect however what a business does need to remember is they must build trust with their customers because without trust, it will be very difficult to resolve issues that do arise.

Have you ever heard the saying, “penny wise, pound foolish”? I can recall hearing the phrase growing up and always knew it meant there are persons who cannot save money wisely. After doing some research, I discovered the phrase defines a person as someone who will carefully budget their finances when they have a small amount income however should they have a large amount of funds they carelessly spend. (GoEnglish.com, 2008)

During this difficult economic period, consumers must be penny wise but not pound foolish. Consumers can manage their finances to save income and maintain financial security. It is difficult situation when someone is accustomed to spending money. For example, when a family of four goes out to dinner every weekend then to see a movie that can get become expensive.

Considering expenses first the amount of dinner for a family of four would most likely amount to somewhere between $60 to $80 then tickets for four can amount to $40 to $60 depending upon the time of when it is viewed and the ages of the children as some are admitted for free. There are options which can decrease those expenses and the family will still have a good time.

Family night can still be just as important because everyone is together. A family can still keep family night but rather than going out for dinner, begin cooking at home. What will make this dinner special is when kids help prepare dinner. There are plenty of things kids love doing in the kitchen you just have to ask guide them with direction on how to do it. When children help making dinner that actually is something that helps build their minds plus it makes them feel like they are participating. Of course it is a fun process especially when it involves doing small things like putting together a salad.

Making popcorn these days can be quite simple as you don’t need to do it in a pan with oil. There are heated popcorn makers available which are so easy to use all you need are the popcorn kernels and a large bowl to catch them as they come out of the shuttle. If you don’t want to use that, you can purchase those items which are made in the shape of a pie plate with a handle and all you need to do there is shake it over the stove once it begins to heat up. Then there are bags which you can place in the microwave, enter the time, and the corn will pop inside the bag. Once done, you remove the bag from the microwave then pour into a large bowl or divide into smaller bowls. The choices are endless regarding how to make popcorn. The only thing to clean up afterward is usually the bowl as the bag can get thrown away.

When choosing your movie, everyone in the family can be a part of the choosing. The great thing about watching movies is instead of paying $35 or $40 for a movie a rental in most cases can be $20 and it is for three days if you do it during the weekend. Another benefit of watching movies at home is each family member has their own bowl of popcorn and can sit in their favorite chair. So the next time family night is considered, a good option may be for an “in home” family movie night  as it can help save money.  

Resources: Go English.com (2008) “Penny Wise, Pound Foolish”
http://www.goenglish.com/PennyWisePoundFoolish.asp

I was looking through the papers yesterday to see what stores have the deals over the weekends as I refuse to shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving. There are many who actually will carefully cut out the particular items they are focused on then aim directly for those department stores starting at 5am on Friday morning and no matter how early they arrive I can guarantee there will be a line of 100 people or more all the way around the building just waiting for the doors to open.

I could give you a list as to why I won’t go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving but I will spare the boredom and state one issue that seems to be occurring constantly every Black Friday the past few years and it is becoming very disturbing. Every Friday after Thanksgiving there has been an issue of a person being injured or worse, a fatality. What is it that makes a person have this sort of behavior? In my opinion, a person’s aggression can drive them into a desire and because of that aggression, it could become an issue with their attitude, their behavior, and cause a person to be possessive even if only for one day.

I am by no means a sociologist nor a psychologist however I have experienced one Black Friday many years ago which is enough. I read a grim article yesterday regarding a New York worker who was fatally killed by an impatient crowd. How this worker died was more disturbing than anything else. As the crowd was hoarding through the front doors which they forced their way through by breaking, a worker was fatally trampled to death.

You can read the story on the Fox News in detail:
Wal-Mart Worker Dies When Shoppers Break Down Doors

My husband and I have been chatting for the past two weeks on what we were going to do regarding our Thanksgiving menu. We actually chose something quite reasonable which both of us could manage and enjoy.

The turkey of course - 11 pounds cooked naked, browned with real butter
Herb and Oyster Dressing
Fresh Green Beans with french onions
Sweet Potatoes
Grand Rolls

For Dessert:

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie with fresh cool whip

Ravens Hollow would like to wish each writer who has paid a contribution and or visitor that has taken notice of our blog a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time to be thankful for what we have and I thank each of you for visiting my blog and sharing your opinions.

I remember as a child we would pile in the car and go to my Grandmother’s house because that was the place where the entire family would meet for the holidays. I remember walking into her house and it always smelled wonderful I could feel my stomach start growling. Her house was rather large and the dining room was this amazing great room with a beautiful chandelier in it. Because there were so many family members, it was easier to have two tables than just the one so we would have the great table as I called it then the smaller one in the living room for the kids.

There were always so many choices for dinner as we had this beautifully large cut turkey then along side of it was two different types of stuffing, regular stuffing then a delicious oyster dressing. My Great Grandmother always did these wonderful stuffed mushrooms with either sausage or she would stuff them with ground beef and everyone usually couldn’t get enough of them so they were usually the first thing to go. Then we had steamed green beans with onions and green beans with french fried onions which were just as good. For cranberries there were the chunks and slices so you could take your pick.

Then when everyone thought they had their fill with the main and side courses, out comes all the sweets that make you gain 10 pounds just looking at them! We’re talking homemade pumpkin pie, homemade pecan pie, homemade apple pie and then the homemade whipped topping to go with them! Everyone loved the pies but there was one treat my Great Grandmother and Grandmother made only twice a year for the holidays were these little cherry cheesecakes that were unbelievable! Just thinking about it 30 years later and my taste buds are watering.

My Mom now has the pleasure of doing the holidays at her home and she does a wonderful spree of food and the house is just as full with the continuing generations. I don’t always get the chance to go home all the time as my husband and I are in another state but we celebrate with my family traditions as well as his family traditions which makes it extra special.

There were so many things that took place this year it’s hard to believe it has gone by this quickly and soon everyone will be ringing in 2009. I have taken a few thoughts and put them aside for this post especially because it is important. The few things I can be thankful for:

• I achieved my MBA as of September 2008
• I have the total love and support of a spouse in everything I do
• My husband’s grandmother left us her home when she passed away

I could think of others however they are not as important as what I have above. Our nation has experienced multiple issues the past few months which are quite scary between financial issues, the economy, and other issues. In less than 4 weeks it will be 2009 and shortly thereafter we will be swearing in a new President. I can only hope the year 2009 will bring us better outcomes than the last part of 2008 did with the high gas prices and so forth. All that matters right now, is having family and friends close to me during the holiday season as nothing is more priceless than than their presence.