Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Today, we spent the afternoon visiting the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin. We hadn’t visited the Library in a number of years and wanted to see what had changed.

The LBJ Library is located in downtown Austin on a 30-acre site on the UT campus. The ten story building is modern monolithic in design and has visitor exhibits on the third, fourth, and tenth floor. The other notable feature is that it has a five-story glass encased view of the actual archives, which visitors can see, from the Great Hall on the fourth floor. It was dedicated on May 22, 1971.

Sue and me in front of LBJ’s Presidential Limo, a 1968 stretch Lincoln that was used in both D.C. and Austin.

There is also an animatronic LBJ that tells humorous stories from LBJ’s speeches. One of them goes something like this:

"A little boy was praying for his Momma. She was a poor widow and was having trouble making ends meet, so the little boy wrote a letter to God: "God, I'd be mighty thankful if you would send Momma a hundred dollars to help out." Well, his letter wound up in the postmaster general's office. And the postmaster was so moved by the letter that he took twenty-dollar bill from his pocket, put it in an official Washington D.C. Postmaster General envelope and sent it to the widow. Two weeks later, he gets another letter from the boy addressed to God. The letter thanked God for everything and the great help that the money provided. It also asked for another hundred dollars with this added caveat- “Only please God, this time send it direct. Last time it went through Washington and they withheld eighty percent.”


Photo Below-Sue in front of the LBJ storyteller. She thought it was creepy, the way the eyes moved and the hand creaked when it moved. In her own words:

“I found him kind of creepy, especially the eyes. I thought, what if you were accidentally stuck in the museum after they locked up for the night? Say you were studying in the archives and lost track of time. And A-LBJ started to move and talk, when nobody was around to trigger his motion sensors! And he didn't tell his funny stories but instead said stuff like, 'I don't take kindly to strangers snooping in my private papers.' Then the lights go out. And you run for the doors, stumbling around in the dark, only find the doors are locked from the outside! Then you hear a squeak from behind you...”


The Library had a section on the Vietnam War. Here I am in front of the Special Forces (SF) display. The beret on display has a 5th Group SF Flash on it; I was in 12th Group (1985-87), which no longer exists.


A view of the archives.


According to the visitors brochure, "The library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photos, one million feet of motion picture film, and 5,000 hours of recordings from the public career of Lyndon Baines Johnson and those of his close associates."

If you’re in Austin, and up to the drive, you can also go to nearby College Station and visit the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M. My wife and I visited it about two years ago and it was also pretty cool.

On the other hand, if you find yourself in the Los Angeles area we highly recommend the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley California. That library has the old Air Force One airplane from the Reagan era and the "Gipper" sweater of Notre Dame fame.

Finally the G.W. Bush Library is getting off the ground and will be located in Dallas (approximately four hours from Austin). Sue and I are looking forward to visiting that one when it gets up and running.

-JP

Madoff Schadenfreude Part 2

According to the WSJ, the other shoe has dropped in the Madoff Ponzi scheme case. Irving Picard, the court appointed trustee in charge of recovering funds for Bernard Madoff’s victims is now suing Madoff’s wife, Ruth Madoff, for approximately $44.8 million.

“Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, alleged that 68-year-old Ruth Madoff "knew or should have known" that vast sums of money she received from her husband's investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, rightly belonged to the firm and to her husband's customers.”

“’For decades, Mrs. Madoff lived a life of splendor using the money of (Madoff’s) customers,’ Mr. Picard said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. ‘Regardless of whether or not Mrs. Madoff knew of the fraud her husband perpetrated at (his firm) ... she received tens of millions of dollars from (the firm) for which (the firm) received no corresponding benefit or value and to which Mrs. Madoff had no good-faith basis to believe she was entitled.’"

Of course the problem is that Ruth Madoff has already given up her rights the bulk of the cash she had withdrawn (just prior to Bernie Madoff’s arrest), and has already agreed to sell the marital real estate assets in Manhattan, Long Island and Palm Beach as part of restitution for investors. In an agreement with federal prosecutors she was allowed to keep about $2.5 million in cash. Not chump change, but not anywhere near the $44.8 million Picard is seeking.

I am also not aware of anything preventing individual investors from bringing civil litigation directly against her. In which case, the $2.5 million could disappear almost overnight in attorney fees. Finally there have been reports that she is having trouble finding a place to live, as she is persona non grata in Manhattan and some buildings have refused her.

Whether you feel sorry for her or not, one thing is certain, she is about to undergo an extreme adjustment in her standard of living.

-JP

Read
Madoff Schadenfreude Part 1

(Photo ABOVE- Ruth Madoff is shown in an AP photo leaving a correctional facility after visiting her husband Bernie Madoff in April. Photo BELOW LEFT- Ruth and Bernie Madoff in happier times while at a desert party in Mexico- Rex USA. Photo BELOW RIGHT- The Madoffs on the yacht of real-estate tycoon Norman Levy. Vanity Fair)

Best Advice

Every year, Fortune Magazine has an issue where business leaders discuss the best advice they’ve received. That got me thinking about my life, and what I could claim was the one single best piece of advice I’ve ever received.

Here’s my answer- I joined the military right out of high school for the college money. I really had no other incentive; but to my surprise, I took to the military like a fish to water and did very well, very quickly. What I had anticipated as a drudgery had instead become a pleasurable experience.

While still a private, a crusty old Sergeant Major stopped me and stared at me intently. He then asked me, “Pacheco, you love the Army don’t you?” Up to that point I hadn’t really consciously articulated the thought, but after a moment’s consideration I replied, “Yes Sergeant Major, I guess I do.”

He then leaned into me and said, “Well don’t fall in love with the Army Pacheco, because the Army won’t fall in love with you.”

It took a while for the full meaning of that advice to sink it, but has been one of the most useful tools of perspective anyone has ever given me. No matter how much overlap there is, there will always be conflict between the objectives of your employer and your own enlightened-self-interest. You should never make the assumption that your interests and those of your organization are one and the same. You should never have the expectation that an organization will reward you for loyalty or self-sacrifice. Simply put, there are too many variables, both external and political for the equation to be that simple. At the end of the day, you have to keep your eyes wide open and do what’s right for yourself and your family. That’s your burden, and that burden cannot be delegated or entrusted to another earthly power.

Do what’s right by your colleagues and customers to earn your wages, but don’t overlook to do right by yourself in the day-to-day process.

-JP

The Tall Ship Cuauhtemoc

The print version of the WSJ had a photo of the Mexican tall ship Cuauhtemoc sailing into San Francisco on Monday July 13th. Unfortunately the photo wasn’t available online, but the photo I’ve posted here of the Cuauhtemoc arriving in Japan is essentially the same. When she enters a harbor, the crew stands on the yards and sings greeting.

The WSJ reported:
“The barque Cuauhtemoc sailing along the city-front in SF in the '05 Tall Ships Challenge. Built for the Mexican Navy as a training vessel for its cadets, she was named for the last Aztec emperor who was imprisoned and executed by conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1525.”

The ship apparently travels all over the world as a sort of good will ambassador and permits tours once in dock.

Emperor Cuauhtemoc’s name meant, “descending eagle,” which is perhaps fitting, as he was the last legitimate ruler of Tenochtitlan. The painting below depicts Cortez torturing him. Cortez wanted to know where the last of the Tenochtitlan’s gold had been hidden. Cuauhtemoc insisted there was nothing left of the national treasury and maintained his royal bearing and dignity through the pain. Eventually in frustration, Cortez had him hanged; however, Cauahtemoc's bravery made him a folk hero and his name lives on.

Legend has it that Cuauhtemoc will return in the era of the Sixth Sun and reseat the Mexica as the rightful rulers of the Cem-Anahuac (or “One World” as the Aztec Empire was known).

“You tell me then that I must perish
like the flowers that I cherish.
Nothing remaining of my name,
Nothing remembered of my fame?
But the gardens I planted still are young-
The songs I sang will be sung!”
- Huexotzin, Prince of Texcoco

The Torture of Cuauhtémoc - A 19th Century painting by Leandro Izaguirre

The Great Gatsby

One of the nice things about summer reading is that in addition to new stuff, you can revisit some old books that you haven’t read in years and see them with a new perspective.

This weekend I started re-reading Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It’s one of those books you’re forced to read in school, to which your adolescent reaction is invariably a bored “Huh?” But as you get older, you begin to appreciate the nuances.

For a little humor try this passage describing the scene at one of Gatsby’s over the top parties-

“I was immediately struck by the number of young Englishmen dotted about; all well dressed, all looking a little hungry, and all talking in low, earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans. I was sure that they were selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. They were at least agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.” (Sounds suspiciously like some of the parties I attended during the dot com bubble.)

And finally for those readers who haven’t read the book and just want the nickel-tour-summary so that they can discuss it, here it is-

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- the smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made….”

Regurgitate that summary, and you’re sure to get an A.

-John P.

PS- For the record, and at the risk of getting beat up via email, I do think The Great Gatsby is the only good book Fitzgerald ever wrote.

The Hamilton Jazz Master, men's stuff part eight

I have a new Hamilton Jazz Master Chrono, a gift from my wife. It’s a beautiful watch with a classic masculine appearance, reminiscent of the 1950’s.

The Hamilton Watch Company has an interesting history. It was founded in 1882 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but its real claim to fame came with World War II. During the war, the company stopped making watches for civilians, and concentrated all of its production towards the war effort. As a result, Hamilton became synonymous with the GI Field Watch. To this day, Hamilton carries a line of field watches and military style watches under its Khaki collection, however it is no longer American owned. In the 1990s Hamilton became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swatch Group along with Omega.

In the past I had considered getting a Hamilton watch, but I couldn’t really get excited over the idea of field watch. I have owned too many field watches over the years.

Recently however, I noticed a collection of Hamilton watches in the window of a jewelry store and the Jazz Master Chronograph Auto caught my eye, specifically the rose gold case model. I went inside to take a closer look at it and was pleased with what I saw. The only flaw I saw was that the rose gold model came with a brown crocodile strap, and I prefer a black strap with rose gold.

That evening, I mentioned the watch to my wife and promptly forgot about it. She knew that I have been considering a new watch purchase- the IWC Portuguese Chrono, or the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso -but it hasn’t been an immediate pending decision. So imagine my joyful surprise when she gave it to me on the morning of a special event along with my morning coffee. (YES!) My wife even had them switch out the croc wristband from brown to black, so if it was perfect.


I’ve worn it now for about three weeks and have been very pleased with it. It has a solid feel to it, like a quality watch should. The chronograph (stopwatch) goes up to 12 hours, which is ample time for measuring flights and daily tasks. It has a dressier appearance than my Rolex Submariner and once I adjusted and stretched out the croc leather band, the Jazz Master was a comfortable fit despite its large size. (In its thickness, it reminds me of a Panerai watch.)

On the back, it has a sapphire crystal display so that you can see the inner workings, and “Hamilton “ is etched on the rotar. The automatic wind up feature (by motion) works fairly well. I’ve only had to manually wind it a little between wears.

The crocodile leather strap is adjusted and secured via a double butterfly clasp, and an “H” is etched on the outside of the clasp.


The chronograph controls and readouts are pretty standard. The outer-upper-right button (above the crown) starts and stops the stopwatch, and the outer-lower-right button clears the time. What is normally the sweep second hand on the face, is in fact the seconds-hand for the chronograph. The normal time sweep second hand is in one of the small inner dials. The other two inner dials keep track of elapsed minutes and hours.

In the close up photo, notice that the chronograph buttons are curved and serve as "de facto" crown guards.

Because of the three inner dials, the date function is moved to just below the 4 on the face, and yet the watch face remains classically balanced in appearance. The date can be set by either moving the hours forward with the crown, or faster by pushing an indented button (called a pusher) on the inner side of the case by the 10 on the face.


My one caveat is that Hamilton claims the watch is water resistant to 100 meters, but I wouldn’t put it to the test. It’s definitely a dress watch. I have a hard time picturing somebody actually diving into the ocean or pool with it (especially if left on the croc wristband). I wouldn’t trust the seals on the chronograph buttons, and saltwater could easily harm the finish.

Overall, the watch is classical in design, masculine, understated, and comfortable despite its large size. It was a great gift and I’m very pleased with it. Thanks hon!

JP

“Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.” Coco Chanel

SPECS-
REFERENCE: H326460
NAME: JAZZMASTER CHRONO AUTO
MOVEMENT: Swiss Automatic Mechanical ETA 7753
POWER RESERVE: 42 Hours
WATER RESISTANCE: 10 ATM or 100 Meters (But I wouldn't put it to the test.)
REF STRAP: brown croc leather # H600.326.105 (NOTE- I changed mine out for Black)

Goodbye Columbus, Philip Roth

I found this old book I hadn’t picked up in years, and got reacquainted with it this weekend. This collection of stories was Philip Roth's first book, and was published in 1959.

Jewish assimilation into American society is the common theme through all the stories.

“Dress British, Think Yiddish,” is always great advice; and summer reading is always best with large quantities of ice tea.

Barbour in Facebook

You can now comment on Barbour in Facebook.

For info on how to wax a Barbour Jacket, click here; for a review by me on the Barbour Beaufort Jacket, click here.

JP

PS- "How To Wax A Barbour" is the most often visited page on my blog.

South Beach Diet

My wife and I started on the South Beach Diet this week. (I’m trying to bring down my cholesterol.) We’re in Phase One, which means I can’t have sugar or carbs or alcohol.

I find I have a strange longing for gummi bears.

JP

(painting- 1922, Women Running on the Beach, by Pablo Picasso)

Madoff Schadenfreude

The current June issue of Vanity Fair has an interesting article on Bernie Madoff and his 18-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

In the article Madoff’s former personal secretary, Eleanor Squillari, provides a glimpse of the personal dynamics of Bernie Madoff, his immediate family, and the commotion that transpired upon his arrest. The Madoff news story has a little bit of everything- an engaging mountebank, the surprising banality of evil, avarice, Manhattan gossip, and an uber-large dose of schadenfreude.

The Vanity Fair website also has related articles, describing how Madoff used the “con of exclusivity,” to take peoples’ money into his fraudulent swindle. In a January web article, writer Marie Brenner describes-

"Madoff masked the predator in the cloak of the familiar. His clothes said London—Barbour jackets, cashmere sweaters...

Madoff had used the Studio 54 approach, the con of exclusivity. He understood the swamp of insecurities that lay underneath many of his clients’ designer clothes, their face-lifts, their need to be part of an insiders’ club. A former governor of the New York Stock Exchange had once gone to see Madoff on behalf of a client who wanted to invest. “I don’t need your money,” Madoff told him, “and I don’t discuss my investments.” Then he ushered him out the door...

We rode a decade in which people conferred special status on those who lived in $30 million apartments, leased NetJets, and filled their closets with $5,000 purses. Did Bernard Madoff see his opportunities and seize them, or did the casino atmosphere in New York spawn the ordinary man in the Barbour coat who would become the greatest con artist of all time? Madoff provided his victims with a mirage of an impossible dream house—with investments that paid 12 percent in good times and bad—and their tragedy and ours was that they believed him..."
And while restitution for the Ponzi scheme victims seems unlikely, federal law enforcement has begun the seizure of Madoff "personal" assets as well. (I'm assuming they have already seized all assets within the Madoff financial firm.)

As of this writing, I have not read of any charges being brought against his wife, Ruth Madoff, but some reports exist that she made significant cash withdrawals just prior to her husband's arrest. The New York Post reported that Ruth Madoff was “fighting to hold on to her $7 million Manhattan apartment, $45 million in cash and $17 million in bonds…
(meanwhile) U.S. Marshals have seized Bernie's $1.5 million, 55-foot yacht, ‘Bull’ from its slip in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
They also seized a 24-foot-long boat named "Little Bull," that was also moored in Fort Lauderdale.
They've also seized a 55-foot, $7 million yacht in the South of France.”

A little more schadenfreude, anyone?



Read
Madoff Schadenfreude Part 2

Post Entry- For a list of wristwatches seized and auctioned from Madoff read Interwatches Blog.