We spent the morning in the airport in the Bahamas waiting for our flight back to NYC and our eyes were glued to the TV monitor covering the Haiti Earthquake Victim Recovery operation.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen it too.

The devastation is beyond belief.  And that’s where YOU come in….

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We believe we’re all in this together.  Today the people of Haiti suffer immense personal loss…

tomorrow it easily could be one of us.

We need to come together as a people and support those that need it most.

If you can donate anything, please do so….

BUT BE CAREFUL.

Tragically, donation schemes during times of tragedy abound.

I don’t know why…. they just do.

So below we’ve supplied you with a couple of easy ways to donate as little as $10 or as much as you can.

And do so knowing that your donation will go where it belongs…helping the people of Haiti.

Here is the donation information:

To make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross,

text 90999 with the word “HAITI“.  You will receive a

text response asking you to confirm the $10 donation.

100 percent of your donation will go directly to the

Red Cross efforts to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

The $10 will be added to your cell phone bill.

Grab your cell phone right now and help…every minute counts.

Pass this email on to all of your friends and loved ones.

If you want to make a larger donation go here:

http://www.redcross.org/

or Call 1-800-RED-CROSS

Have a great weekend, but take some time to say a little prayer tonight for the people of Haiti.

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Respectfully,

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Bob and Rosemary

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As I write this, it’s Christmas Night, 2009.

The dinner has been cooked and eaten, the presents unwrapped, the friends have come and gone, and the kids have left with their families.

Now it’s just Rosemary and I sitting here reflecting on the day’s events.

You know what ?  It wasn’t perfect.

And you know what else?

It doesn’t matter.

Now Much Time Do You Waste?

If you’re like me, you’re a perfectionist.   I strive to make everything JUST RIGHT.  And if its not, it really bugs me.

At least it used to.

But I have changed over the last couple of years.  Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older (and a little sentimental after watching The Bucket List –watch this DVD if you haven’t already).  Maybe it has something to do with Rosemary’s bout with breast cancer last year.

I don’t know.

All I know is that I have spent WAY too much of my life trying to make everything perfect…. and trying to please others.

And at the end of the day, perfectionism isn’t all its cracked up to be.

Take your Christmas this year.  How was it?

• Did everyone go ballistic over their presents?
• Was your dinner the best you’ve ever prepared?
• Did you in-laws get along with your parents?
• Were you one big happy family like on The Cosby Show or The Waltons?

Chances are, the answer to one or more (or all) of these questions was a resounding NO.

And you know what?  It’s okay!

Christmas if a time for family, for friends, and for love.  The Christmas spirit doesn’t require you  to be perfect, because next year no one will remember what wasn’t.

They won’t remember the dinner.

They won’t remember the decorations.

And most likely, the won’t even remember the gift they received.

What will they remember?

The feeling of LOVE in the house.  The SECURITY your child felt just being in your home.

The feeling of WARMTH as people enter your house.  The feeling of just being WELCOMED to be a part of your celebration.

That’s what people remember… not the material things.

THE FEELINGS!

So this Christmas, and throughout the NEW YEAR… give yourself a break.

STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT.

It just doesn’t matter.

So tonight I ask you….

What was NOT perfect about YOUR Christmas…. and did it REALLY MATTER?

Til next time,  I offer you glad tidings and Christmas cheer!

Dr. Bob Clarke

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Tonight I said goodbye to an old friend.

I grew up with Yankee Stadium.  My mom and dad took me to my first game there around 1965, and I can remember the vastness, the history, and the ambience, even though the Yankees were in last place at the time.  It didn’t matter.

The history, the memories…. to think I was looking at the same field where The Babe played right, Gehrig stood telling us how lucky he was as he was dying from ALS, where Mickey patrolled center field and where Thurman defended home plate.  I was just in awe every time I went into the place.

That continued into my adult years, where I watched the championship teams of the late 90’s and 2000, when making it to the playoffs and the World Series was almost a given.  In stark contrast to my childhood when the Yankees finished last or almost last every year, this was heaven.  This was how it was supposed to be.  I finally got a sense of what winning a Championship was like at Yankee Stadium.

And now, tonight, it’s time to say goodbye.  The last game, the final time.  I am enveloped with a sadness that surprises me.  It’s tough to say goodbye to an old friend for the last time.

But across the street, a new Stadium has arisen, promising to be the biggest and best cathedral in sports, much like its older counterpart.  I am excited to go, to watch a game with the feel and look of the old stadium (prior to the renovation in the 70’s), and I’m sure that it, too will provide it’s share of memorable moments.

But it won’t be without a touch of melancholy and sadness, looking over to the place where home plate once stood, the hallowed ground.

It’s time to say goodbye, but not forget.

Good bye, old friend.

September 20, 2008, Cresskill, NJ

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