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"Expect nothing; hope for
everything else." That became Buddy's mantra in March,
2005. "I had experienced quite a few disappointments up until
that point in my life, and I realized that they had been made worse
by the high expectations I had set for the particular
situations, many over which I had no control. I could
only do my best; what happened after that was in the hands of other
people and/or events. Prior to this March, I took losses and
rejections very personally. With my new outlook and
perspective, I begin a task with the hope of success, but without
any expectations. It might sound like semantics (Others might
use the expression, "splitting hairs," but I do not like clichés.), but it seems to have worked for me during the past
seven months. Another key ingredient in avoiding or
lessening the level of my disappointment, is enjoying
the project for the sake of the process. Whether a signifcant
amount of business develops as a result of the site, or if
very little comes of it, I have still had a fulfilling
experience. The third lesson I have learned, that
has made me a stronger, more productive person, is to do one thing
at a time, without looking past it to the work still
to be achieved. Creating this website, even with the
provided format, has been a major undertaking for
me. I am extremely proud of the finished
product. I do not expect to make millions of dollars from the
site, so I will be very glad each time I form a
new business relationship as a result of my
efforts. |
Left: A
fatigued, bewildered Buddy is captured as he reaches the summit of
Mount Washington in the Presidential Range in New Hampshire.
He hiked the entire way up from the Appalachian Mountain
Club's base facility. On the right, Buddy is
photographed by his cousin, David, a professor of American History,
as he leaps from one rock to another alongside a
stream in southern Vermont. Upon gazing at the two
photos, one might think that Buddy is quite the
daredevil. For the sake of the truth, it is a shame
that there is no record of his one and only Ferris wheel
"ride," in which he demanded to be let off after half a
revolution! |
"I enjoy writing and creative
thought -- and trying to make people
laugh. Eleven years ago, I created, wrote
and "modeled for" a series of humorous postcards, called
Buddycards. You are welcome to view several sample cards on
the "Buddy's Bizarre" page of this website. If nothing else,
I hope they cause you to have some sort of
reaction; hopefully, not that of immediately exiting this
site! |
Above: Outside a New
York City lithograph and poster store on Columbus Avenue, Buddy
signs a Buddycard for one of his adoring fans
(in Buddy's mind!). Below: Buddy performing his "comical
lamenting" at an "open mike" night at Gladys' in The Big
Apple. Buddy had to pay only $3.00 for the
performance, one of his best "paying" gigs ever! |
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"During the past five months, I have
undertaken about a half dozen diverse creative challenges,
including: promoting a power rock band, called Fear of Flying (no relation to the Erica Jong novel - please
feel free to visit the band's website via the "Our Favorite Links"
page); contacting a famous comedian, via the Internet and
e-mails, and arranging for him to call my uncle at a
special birthday party; representing my childhood friend in a
situation involving damaged goods he had purchased; and, creating a
concept, and writing the outline for, an original reality
television show. I feel extremely fortunate to have been
inspired to work on these various projects, outside of my business,
and "give it all I've got." I have achieved favorable
results from several of them, to date. However, since I
enjoyed the creative process, additional rewards, if any, will
only add to the positive experiences I have already had. |
↑: Buddy, "giving
it all he's got," during the "staging" of a championship tennis
match vs. Pete Sampras. In reality, Buddy has played his
close friend, Jim D.D.S., approximately 800 sets, with Jim winning
787 of them! "Yeah, but there were another eight to ten sets
that were close," explained a still proud, Buddy. |
"Long ago, in what
now feels like a former lifetime, I had dated a certain
woman a couple of times. Shortly before we met, she
had stopped eating meat. When I learned of her decision,
I stopped eating meat as well. I have seen her only once
during the past 21 years, but I have been a vegetarian the
entire time! It goes to show you that there can be benefits
from unreturned lust! I continue to avoid eating 'anything
with a face' and am very proud of my dietary
commitment. Actually, I had the thought in the back
of my mind that eating animals was not right,
before going out with Dara. Unfortunately,
animals that become food for humans do not enjoy a very happy
existence. Usually, the conditions under which they are
raised (their entire lives!) are quite punishing, and they do
not experience a painless death.
I am a strong supporter of animal rights, and,
fortunately, am far from being alone in that
regard. The following quotes are from famous men much
more learned than myself: "For as long as men massacre animals, they will
kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain
cannot reap joy and love." Pythagoras,
mathematician. "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics,
which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other
living beings, we are still savages." Thomas
Edison, inventor. "I am in favor of animal rights as
well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human
being." Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S.
President. "Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature and its beauty." "Nothing will
benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on
earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel Prize 1921.
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Above: Several of the
many wonderful organizations and causes supported by
compassionate women and men across the United States, and
around the Globe. |
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"I became a vegetarian,
and recently, a vegan, out of my concern for the animals;
the health benefits were not really a part of my decision-making
process. Therefore, it is rather ironic that I became
a distributor of health-related and feel-great
products. However, there is a more than subtle
connection between the two: All of the items I sell are
animal-friendly -- there is no leather or suede, or
other animal ingredient, in any of our products, and there was
no animal testing for any of our items. There are three
other connections that are of significant importance. The
first products I began distributing were introduced to me by my
close friend, Yajing, who I met at a health food store. And,
Yajing's 13-year-old son, Andrew, has provided me with invaluable
expertise and many hours of hard work in the construction
of this website. Just yesterday, I said to him: 'Andrew,
visitors to this site will think I ran out of money halfway through
its construction. Certain pages, and parts within specific pages,
are much better than the ones I worked on by myself.' Andrew
coolly responded: 'Don't worry, Buddy. If you want, I'll fix
them for you later.' Cocky kid! 'Andrew, thank you so
very much for all of your hard work and high
standards in helping make this a professional
website.' (I hope this doesn't encourage him to ask for a
percentage of the profits!) And, finally, Yajing's daughter,
Belle, is the featured model and product demonstrator on my
website. Belle is pictured at four months old, four
years old and eight years old. Hopefully, we will add another
photo of her in about 4 years. Belle, thank you for
your wonderful contribution to this project. |
"I hope this page has given
you some insight into my formative stages that have led
to, and accompanied, the development of my business and this
website. The following pages contain a wide assortment of
health-related and feel-great products. Enjoy your excursion,
and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments or
suggestions you might have along the way. We look forward to
hearing from you!" |
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