Email:
mmaurer@ibj.com
Mickey's Camp presents a chance to learn new skills or polish old ones, including backgammon, canoeing, badminton, darts,
bass fishing, fly fishing, golf, self-defense, magic, jewelry making, knitting, arts and crafts, and CPR.
My longtime assistant, Marla Smith, had a sign on her desk that read, “The best
man for the job is often a woman.” I have grown to appreciate and believe in that advice.
Angela Brown has a voice that reaches extraordinary heights from roots that are set deep in Hoosier soil. She is a diva with a heart as big and as soft as her magnificent voice.
Memo to the state Republican Party: Show me the candidate. We have a right to expect much from the party that gave us Sen.
Richard Lugar.
Dr. Douglas P. Zipes, retired director of the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at Indiana University School of Medicine,
has devoted his last couple of years to scaring us half to death with his new novel, “The Black Widows.”
Wellpoint CEO Angela Braly was criticized by President Obama on national television. She incurred the wrath of health insurance
policyholders in California and Indiana. She reignited debate on the moribund national health care reform bill. A woman hasn’t
caused this much turmoil since all those ships were launched by Helen of Troy.
In Indiana, one institution rife with nepotism and political favoritism stubbornly persists:
township government and, more particularly, its delivery of emergency poor relief.
Did you ever see one of my favorite old cowboy movies, “Broken Arrow”? If you missed it the first time,
it has been reissued under a new title—“Avatar.”
Last November, Katz Sapper and Miller went back to schooll—Broad Ripple High School.
Each January, I reflect on a few of the prior year’s columns. I’m always curious about the topics and
people I have written about over the course of the year. I hope you are, too.
As is the custom of the last few holiday seasons, I am pleased to present a puzzle. This year’s challenge, 3-D Word
Hunt, is derived from a format conceived by Will Shortz, puzzle editor of The New York Times.
Remember Cousin Eddie? He is the obstetrician/gynecologist in Houston I wrote about who tried to cut the mustard
in the hot dog business (“There ain’t no hog in the Yoso Dog”). He dreamed of having his own restaurant
and, against the advice of friends, he went to the dogs.
Mayor Greg Ballard published his book “The Ballard Rules” in 2005. Apparently, the rules do not apply
to Ballard.
As a participant in the Spirit and Place Festival that took place in Indianapolis Nov. 6-15, I was invited to share
a personal story of how an ordinary space was infused with special meaning for me. This is my story.
Failure does
not have to mean you’re through. Mistakes are inevitable in all businesses. A better test of the character of someone
in business is how he or she reacts to failure.
Quentin Smith served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945. He is one of at least seven surviving Tuskegee Airmen who live in Indiana.
God hates fags. That’s the declaration we heard Sept. 24 from the Westboro Baptist Church road show that appeared
at North Central High School and other Indianapolis venues throughout the day.
As an old-timer, I am honored when asked for business advice. Because so much of the labor force has been idled,
recent inquiries have come from Hoosiers with resumes in hand. I am afraid my usual advice isn’t working, so I have
some new ideas—new opportunities to investigate in the face of this job crisis.
I recently welcomed a special guest to “Mickey’s Corner”—Will Shortz, the crossword editor of The
New York Times and the riddle maven we love to listen to every Sunday morning on
National Public Radio. In order to engage this creative genius, I conceived a challenge that I present to
you now: a two-part game called My Word.
He was a tree trunk of a man who met my glance with a calm, almost disinterested glance—just another day at the office.
