Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

I love going to CES every January. I go to Las Vegas the day before the show starts so I can be in the exhibit hall early the next morning.

I also like to arrive the morning of the day before the show to avoid the long taxi lines at the airport. The Las Vegas airport taxi line is the worst.

I check into the hotel and leave my bags. I enjoy walking the Strip. I wander into the casinos. I study the players at the slot machines, the blackjack tables, the roulette wheels, and the craps tables. I watch the people play and study their reactions.

During my walk on the strip and in the hotel shopping malls I am always looking for a new deli to test their hot pastrami sandwiches.

This year I ate at the Carnegie Deli in the Mirage. The Carnegie Deli has lost its tall. Cindy’s Deli in Dallas, owned and run by Koreans, make a better hot pastrami sandwich.

After five miles of walking around I was tired. When I got to my room at 4 pm, I put my head on the pillow and was immediately asleep. Next thing I knew it was 5.45 pm.

Brad told me he would be working on his next book with his partner Jason Mendelson after 2 pm. He invited me to hang out in his room while they worked. Dinner was at 7 pm. I got to his room at 6.15 pm. We hung out and talked until dinner.

The incredible thing about my relationship with Brad Feld is that he always teaches me something. His perceptions are keen. He has the ability to evaluate issues he is interested in holistically.

The Foundry Group invites colleagues to dinner during the two nights they are at CES. They invite principles in companies they have invested in, VCs they have invested with, angel investor they know and some journalists they know.

I was the oldest person at the dinners. Everyone was under 50. Many are under 40. Most everyone knows of me through Brad’s references to my blog in Feld Thoughts. One person even said I was an icon and a legend.

How can you beat that?

The dinner at Bouchon was wonderful. The guests were great.

Brad went out of his way to introduce me to people I did not know. All the conversations I had were intellectually stimulating. All of them fascinated me. They were all focused on their work. They all had a very optimistic view of the future. I believe they all understand they represent America’s future.

On Thursday, I got to the convention center early. Brad was on a panel at 10.30 am. The topic was “Government policy and technology.” I wanted to see the CES best picks and scope out the exhibit halls.

The first booth I hit was the WIRED Magazine booth cosponsored by AMD. They were having a contest for who could construct the best WIRED magazine cover page. Below is the cover I made.

yone            WIRED call off the contest in mid-stream. Everyone was using the contest to promote his or her product. Isn’t that what magazine covers do?

Brad’s panel consisted of four bureaucrats and him. Brad was the only one that got it. I was not the only one in the audience who came to that conclusion. During a convoluted debate about software patents Brad received an ovation from the audience when he declared that software patents should be eliminated.

Brad and I walk the floor of all three exhibit halls for the next five hours. Each exhibit hall was at least the size of 2 football fields. Each exhibit hall was covered wall to wall with exhibits. I love going around with Brad because he is a “speed looker.” I usually touch every stone. I have concluded that “speed lookers’ ” comprehension is better that slow lookers.

My conclusions from CES:

1. It looks like all 80 of the tablets exhibited are me too’s.

2. LED TV’s are getting bigger and bigger and thinner and thinner.

3. 3D TV is going to continue to have problems.

4. Internet video streaming of TV shows and movies is going to take over.

5. I wish I had invested in Netflix.

6. Cable companies must start to reinventing themselves.

7. Google is going to take over the world.

8. Microsoft will have to figure out a different business plan.

Dinner was at Nobu. I am not a big sushi fan. I am afraid of raw fish. However, this was a sushi orgy. I was sitting next to Brad. He taught me how to enjoy sushi. Actually, the sushi was great. As an additional benefit, I have not yet developed liver fluke.

My trip to Las Vegas proved to be a great learning experience. Brad, thank you for hanging out with me. Thank you for providing the opportunity for me to meet some very exciting people.

I love you.

Dad

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

To: Bud Selig

Commissioner of Baseball

Dear Mr. Selig;

World Series is an exciting time. It is important to promote the national pastime. Kids play baseball all over the world.

I have been particularly interested in the post season games this season because my home team, the Texas Rangers is in the World Series. They have been playing magnificent baseball.

I have been both a Yankees and Rangers fan ever since the Rangers came to Texas. In fact, my brother and I went to the first Ranger game in Arlington Stadium.

I have been a student of baseball strategy for many years. Baseball is a fantastic game.

Ron Washington manager of the Texas Rangers has been a master manager on many levels. The Texas Rangers have looked tentative and awful in the first two games.

Baseball players are role models to kids all over the world. A baseball player’s behavior on the playing field should be exemplary.

Baseball players have been poor role models as far as spitting and scratching their crotch. I have never become immune to these tasteless rituals.

Spitting or expectoration is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. It is currently considered rude and a social taboo in many parts of the world including the West, while in some such as China it is considered more acceptable. It is possible to transmit infectious diseases in this way.

Spitting upon another person, especially onto the face, is a universal sign of anger, hatred, or contempt

Various diseases and infections can be spread by respiratory droplets, including tuberculosis, influenza, and the common cold.

1859 many viewed the spitting on the floor or street as vulgar, especially in mixed company. Spittoons became far less common after the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Scratching the crotch can be prevented by providing the players with comfortable underwear and antiperspirant.

Italy Makes Crotch-Scratching a Crime

Scratching your genitals in public in Italy can land you in trouble if you’re caught. According to a report on the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Italy’s highest appeals court has defined the ‘act’ as "contrary to public decorum and decency."

As Commissioner of Baseball, you should penalize players for spitting and crotch scratching in order to maintain the decency of the game and to decrease this poor habit that might influence children and adults alike.

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

Brad Feld is, in my opinion, a transformational visionary. Cecelia taught him to read at a very young age. He has the ability to absorb everything he reads.

He has also developed the skill of being intrinsically motivated.

“Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.”

Brad illustrated this ability during a recent presentation.

“Tonight, I’ll spend about 90 minutes talking to y’all.  I’m doing it because I enjoy it and I learn from it.  While I hope, it is useful to you, that’s not the reason I’m doing it.  While I hope you have fun, learn something, and enjoy our time together, I won’t feel better or worse if you do.  In fact, since my goal is to learn from everything I do, I’d much rather you give me feedback about things you think could have improved our 90 minutes together.”

This is an excellent explanation of intrinsic motivation. Our culture drives us to seek the approval of others. I believe when a person is centered he does things for his interest which in turn will result in benefiting others.

“I then went on to explain that I’m motivated by learning.  I’ve decided to spend my entire professional life learning about entrepreneurship and have decided that my laboratory is “creating and helping build software and Internet companies.”

“ I derive enormous personal pleasure from the act of working with entrepreneurs, helping create companies, and learning from the successes and failures.”

Brad is very generous with his time and energy. He loves to teach and share his successes and failures with others. I have always felt that teaching enables you to learn and get more than you give.

Brad illustrated this point in a recent blog.

“It’s a good example of giving more than you get and letting the universe do its thing.  Gary DiGrazia, the CEO of Mindjamz, emailed me with some questions about his startup.  I didn’t know Gary but as is my habit I gave him some quick feedback.  We went back and forth a few times and then he told me that he helps produce the KRON 4 Weekend Morning News show and asked if I wanted to do an interview about Do More Faster on it.  Um – duh – yeah!  Two weeks later we tape an interview which just aired.”

About four years ago, David Cohen came to Brad with the idea to teach startup entrepreneurs how to run their companies by developing a mentorship program in Boulder. Boulder entrepreneurs would teach these start-ups how to become successful.

Brad and I were in Las Vegas during one of our father son weekends when he explained the concept to me. I thought it was a brilliant idea. Colleges and universities do not provide this kind of opportunity.

He told me he planned to advertise for applicants on his blog.

He did not know how many applications he would receive or how many companies they would take. Brad and David received over 300 applications. They decided they could handle 10 companies. TechStars would fund these companies in order for them to live in Boulder for 3 months for a small percentage of the business. During those 3 months, TechStars would provide the selected entrepreneurs with intensive mentorship, a startup community and an opportunity to pitch their product to venture capitalists and angel investors.

On a visit to Boulder in June, I went to TechStars and asked each participant to describe the vision of their company to me. Some could and some stumbled.

In August, I revisited each company and stayed for Demonstration Day. It was a day in which each company made a 12 minute presentation about their company to venture capitalists and angel investors in a quest for funding at the next stage of their company’s development. Start-ups are forever seeking funding. Brad invited venture capitalists and angel investors from all over the country to come to Demonstration Day. At least 350 people showed up.

The difference in professionalism during their Demonstration Day presentations was amazing.

I knew Brad had something big going on here. He did not stop there. In time, Brad and David started a TechStars program in Boston, then Seattle and recently announced a New York City site.

David and Brad gained a lot of insight from the experiences of both the start-up companies and mentors. They decided to write a book about their experiences as well those of the start-up companies and mentors.

“Do More Faster” is a must read for start-up entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists.

It is also a must read for anyone who wants to be innovative.

It provides a template for the components of innovative thinking. It teaches us how successful mentors and start-up companies learn to problem solve. These lessons are useful for anyone.

 http://serve.castfire.com/video/439475/439475_2010-10-17-130615.mp4

“When I reflect on the process of writing this book, I realized that I accomplished several goals at the same time that are all related to my lifetime commitment to continually learn, with a specific focus on entrepreneurship. At the most obvious level, I learned what it took to write a book and become a published author. But the process of writing the book gave me a lot of time to reflect on what it takes to create a new company, the attributes of a successful entrepreneur and how entrepreneurial communities work.

While we originally envisioned that “Do More Faster” would target first-time entrepreneurs, now that it’s finished we are hopeful that it is valuable for any entrepreneur, investor, and early employee of a startup.”

“Do More Faster” will be a best seller. Be sure to read the customer reviews on Amazon.com.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

I am an early adaptor. It might seem strange that a retired clinical endocrinologist would be an early adaptor. Physicians are early adaptor when there is something compelling to adapt too.

As proof, I have had a cell phone since 1985.

My son, Brad, wired my medical office building in 1986. Feld Technologies, his first company, also developed a medical financial package and a lab billing program for me at that time. I developed a web site for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in early 1994.

My first cell phone was a large $2,000 brick. I bought it at a benefit auction for $500 in 1985. It had to be installed in the floor board of my Porsche 911. A call cost $2.00 a minute. The phone was compelling to me.

My proudest early adaption was my purchase of the PogoPlug. Without knowing it, I bought the first one ever sold. My buying it led to Brad and Foundry group investing in the company.

Today, I received a beautiful note from Daniel Putterman, President and CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc. along with DVT #1 (first copy) of the third generation of Pogoplug.

He wrote, “I hope you will accept this as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation from the entire Pogoplug team and myself.”

Dan, I do and it will sit in a special place in our house. You are a great kid with a great product.

I had the first Palm Pilot at Brad’s suggestion. I have had a series of cell phones since my first one. My favorite was a SONY CM-RX100.

I cherished my SONY CM-RX 100 cell phone. I then bought an early Treo combining my cell phone with my Palm Pilot.

The SONY is now in my cell phone museum. It is part of Brad and Daniel’s inheritance.

I wanted to buy an IPHONE shortly after it was released. Apple’s method of releasing products has always annoyed me. My first IPOD was 4 GB. It was obsolete in 1 year. My present IPOD is 160 GB.

Steve Jobs builds stuff to be obsolete. He then introduces an upgrade that is “essential” while maintaining his price point. He is doing the same thing with the IPAD.

Two years ago, I made another run at an IPHONE. Brad told me it was “the greatest and I must have one.” I knew ATT’s service was terrible in Dallas. I am not into pain.

Again, I went to three ATT stores. All three had me take a number and wait. The greeter told me the wait would be 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, I asked how much longer I would have to wait. The greeter in each store said another 15 minutes.

I left each store. I finally walked down the street to T-Mobile and got a Blackberry. The sales person at T-Mobile was terrific. The Blackberry did not live up to my expectations.

I was very excited when Google released the Android operating system. I feel Google has great vision for the future. The Android OS fits into this vision. I am confident the Android OS will enhance our living experience.

Google’s marketing of its first Android phone, the Nexus, stunk. T-Mobile shrugged off its role in the service as an inconvenience. As new phones were released, I became more and more excited about the Android OS.

I was in no hurry to spring for the first Android phone. I knew Google would develop the system rapidly.

I followed the specs on new phones. I then asked Brad’s IT person, Ross Carlson, for his opinion. Ross is on top of every phone. His evaluation is astute. He also has the same opinion of Apple’s marketing that I have.

Cecelia, my wife of 47 years, has been happy with her simple clam phone. It took a lot of convincing to get her to agree to an Android phone. I wanted her to get the same smartphone I got so we would experience the learning curve together.

In early September, I read the pre-release specs on the Verizon Fascinate. I decided that the Fascinate was the Android phone for Cecelia and me. It had a 4-inch "Super AMOLED" display that looked stunning on the video. Picture quality looked fantastic, and colors were rich. 

Perhaps more importantly, one is able to see the screen in direct sunlight. The Fascinate has a larger form factor than an IPHONE or Incredible. It is thinner than the Droid X and has rounded edges. The Fascinate has a 5 mgp camera with flash and 720 p HD video capture.

The Android 2.1 OS is reported as excellent. There are a few glitches. I expect the upgrade Android 2.2 will eliminate the glitches.

Cecelia complained about not being able to return a voice mail call without going to the call log. There is a work around to Bing being the browser and Navigator being the GPS maps program. There should be a work around to downloading and synchronizing tasks and notes in Outlook from MS exchange to the phone as there is for synchronizing the calendar. Market applications are too numerous to count. It is difficult for me to find applications I might want.

I called Ross. He said this looks like it is the best new Android phone released so far. Verizon is the best provider in my area. He did not have time to play with the phone yet but he knows Samsung makes a sturdy phone.

Cecelia and I stopped into the Verizon store on the day of release. We finished dinner and were on the way to a chamber music concert. I did not realize Verizon had a promotional special of two for the price of one. The promotion made the phone sound even better.

Ralph Garcia was an unbelievable Verizon sales representative. He knew he did not have to sell me. He immediately focused on Cecelia. He made her very comfortable with the Fascinate. She picked the Fascinate over the Incredible and the Droid X

The difference in this experience between Ralph Garcia/ Verizon and IPHONE/ATT was between night and day. ATT was doing me a favor selling the phone and service. Ralph Garcia understood our needs and provided us with information to make a choice. He was consumer focused.

We felt we were engaged in the decision making. We had the freedom of choice. We had a feeling that the person selling the phone was concerned about our satisfaction. Customer satisfaction and freedom of choice should be the goal of every sale no matter the product being sold by whatever profession.

Hooray for Verizon and Ralph Garcia. Hooray for Google and the Android OS.

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

In January 2009 I met Brad at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is always fun to hang out with my son for a weekend. This weekend was special because Daniel and my brother Charlie and his wife Cindy were at the show also.

One morning Brad asked me to walk around the show with him. As soon as we arrived at the startup area of the show entrepreneurs gathered around Brad to ask questions. I felt like an extra wheel.

While he was busy I visited a few exhibits. I love to ask a lot of questions about the products for two reasons; first, I want to see how the entrepreneur expresses himself and second, to see if the product interests me.

I stopped at the Pogoplug exhibit Daniel and Jed Putterman. It was a small exhibit with two tables and two guys. It turned out they were brothers. They did not have fancy banners or giveaways. They simply had a dynamite product.

Two brothers, Jed and Daniel Putterman, were starting the company. They described the product with great passion. I was enchanted. It was a small square box. You plug it into the electrical outlet and into your router. Then you plug a USB port into an external hard drive.

The two brothers got me excited about their Pogoplug. I carry my hard drive back and forth to the ranch weekly. With a Pogoplug I would not have to carry the portable hard drive back and forth. I have been and still am goosey about putting my data in the cloud. With the Pogoplug I could enjoy the advantages of the cloud but avoid losing control of my data.

I asked how much the Pogoplug cost? Jed told me the price was $99.50 per unit. I said, “sold”. They said they had a special at the show. The Pogoplug would not be ready for shipment until March. The show special was $79.50. The delay did not bother me. I felt like buying two of them.

I did not know at the time I was their first sale. I also didn’t know that Brad and the Foundry Group was looking to invest in the Pogoplug.

Eventually Brad finished answering questions and found me near the Pogoplug exhibit. I told him I bought a Pogoplug. Brad said, “no kidding”. He immediately went over to the brothers and told them that if they could sell a Pogoplug to my father, a 71 year old retired clinical endocrinologist, he would invest in the company. I received my Pogoplug as promised in March. It worked perfectly. Jed and Daniel did a magnificent job with this little box. It was clean, uncomplicated and extremely user friendly.

The second generation Pogoplug is sexier and has added functionality.

I love my Pogoplug.

I think all physicians should have a Pogoplug attached to their file sever in their office. They would have a personal CLOUD for all the data in their electronic medical record. Patient records  can be accessed from anywhere on their smart phone. Prescriptions can be written off campus after review of patients’ records and emailed to the pharmacy. The Prescriptions can then be downloaded or emailed to the chart.

The beauty of the Pogoplug is that the physicians would retain physical ownership of his medical data on their own server.

At my 50^th Columbia College reunion the chairman of Columbia University Information Technology Department delivered an Information Technology Lecture to our class. He went through the history of computing since IBM’s first massive computer and ended with a demonstration of the wonders of the Pogoplug.

Wow. I raised my hand and told my classmates the story of my Pogoplug. If anyone does not have one and needs to be plugged into their files in the office or at home get one and plug it into your hard drive.

Get one. You will love the Pogoplug!

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

In 2006 Brad suggested I write a blog since I had so many ideas about Repairing the Healthcare System.

In the course of writing the blog Brad and I decided to write about each other occasionally. We have done a Father and Son Weekend for a number of years.

This year we spent our Father Son Weekend in San Diego. We have no goal. We simply hang out. Every year I come home invigorated.

We went to Coronado because Coronado is the “World Headquarters” of Howard Lindzon’s Stockwits.com.

Last year Cecelia and I meet Howard in Phoenix two years. Brad has invested in a few of Howard’s companies. Howard is a guy who has an idea a minute. He is a vibrant personality. He never stops churning. His vibrancy can be seen on  video feeds. Stockwits tag line is Real Investors, Real Ideas, Real Time.

This year is the year of Howard’s first annual LindzonPaloza. He invited 45 venture capitalist, investors, and entrepreneurs from all over the country and me to the LindzonPaloza. Forty four people showed up.

I was invited because I am Brad Feld’s Dad.

What is a LindzonPaloza? It is a Meet and Greet sponsored by Social Leverage one of Howard’s companies. “Social Leverage’s” tagline is Invest, Syndicate. And Grow.

I was hanging out with some of the brightest people in the world. All were under the age of 45. I learned about their views of the world, their attitudes and impressions of the future.

Let me tell you folks, their view is a very optimistic view of the world.

Everyone had at least two smart phones. During lunch on Friday part of the discussion was which was the best smart phone. Brad had just been on a couple of panels at the I/O Google conference. Google sent him a Droid with an Android OS 2.1 before the conference and gave him an EVO Android 2.1 at the conference. One guy had Incredible Android 2.1. Everyone had an IPhone.

I concluded from the smart phone discussions that Apple had better watch out. Steve Jobs’ party is almost over. He will not be able to play catch up. It had Sprint since 1982. I quit Sprint 2 years ago because they did not have an adequate smart phone.

I think I am going back to Sprint as soon as the EVO with Android 2.2 is released. This is just one of the many things I learned over the weekend.

Most fascinating was the many philosophies of venture capitalist investing. These guys have big ideas. They are all smart and articulate. They are going to revolutionize our existence. The different philosophies were directly related to the differences in personality.

After lunch we wandered over to Howard’s Stockwits Headquarters. Howard interviewed Brad on Stockwits for 30 minutes.

Howard talked us into spending some time     shooting the breeze on the patio at the del Coronado. I stuck close to Brad all weekend learned a lot from him.

Howard continued the Meet Up with hors d’ouerves and wine on the patio. My brother, Charlie Feld, and I were concerned that healthy people between the ages of 40-55 were not interested in President Obama’s healthcare proposals.

I had a chance to pitch my views. Brad and Howard made the introduction about healthcare to get me started. I was pleased that most of these guys were very concerned. .

At 6pm PDT it was either eating with the group or on your own. It was time for the famous Feld Men’s nap. The timing was just right. I was 4 pm Dallas time. A fifteen minute snooze and we were all set for dinner.

Neither Brad nor I remembered that we were scheduled to eat at Vigilucci’s on Saturday night. We had Friday dinner together at Vigilucci’s.

If you’re in Coronado for dinner go to Vigilucci’s. Brad and I spoke about life, the past and the future for two and a half hours. Love that boy!

At nine o’clock we split to go to our separate rooms. I think I was asleep by nine fifteen. Saturday morning I jogged at 7 am along the bayside. Brad and I were going to meet for breakfast at 9 a.m. It was cold in San Diego. I had a windbreaker and hat on and was shivering. Brad didn’t show up at nine. He was swimming in the pool. He didn’t wake up until 9. I tried to get his attention while he was swimming but he was in a zone.

We finally went to breakfast at 10.30 a.m. Clayton’s Diner was packed. We had at least a 25 minute wait. We decided to have chocolate ice cream at Moo Time Creamery before breakfast. Chocolate ice cream before breakfast is not a bad idea.

We finished breakfast at noon and hurried back to the “del” to meet up with anyone that wanted to go to Iron Man 2 with us. David Cohen  and Micah Baldwin were the only people interested.

The taxi took us somewhere in San Diego. Iron Man 2 is a campy movie. It must be seen with the right attitude. The movie held my attention. I slept only for ten minutes.

LindzonPaloza is a Meet-Up. We went back to the “del” patio to continue discussions after the movies.

Next event was a group dinner at Vigilucci’s. I thought I met and spoke to everyone. I was wrong. I kept meeting additional intelligent, critical thinkers. They were all 25 to 35 years my junior. I think America will be in good hands. They all know what’s going on.

Howard threw a spectacular Meet Up. I thank him for letting me participate. Many people were leaving on Sunday morning. Howard told us to meet him at 9 am in the Coffee Shop on Orange. Neither Brad nor I had the vaguest idea where the Coffee Shop was located but we figured we would be smart enough to find it. We got lost because we were talking so much.

I had a great weekend.

Everyone should spend at least one weekend a year alone with their kid. I guarantee it will be invigorating.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

Cecelia and I believed it was important to expose our children to as much of the world as possible as they were growing up. The belief was not from our travels as children with our families. My longest trip was an occasional summer trip to the Catskill mountains with my parents and brother.

I did not travel in college and medical school but yearned to explore foreign countries. I worked in the Catskill mountains as a waiter for seven years including my senior year in high school to help pay for tuition.

College opened my eyes to the potential of world travel. When I met Cecelia I met a woman that had the same goals about world travel. We promised each other when we had enough money we were going to take at least one vacation trip overseas a year to experience other cultures

My philosophy is, “if you do not have goals you cannot score baskets.”

When Brad was 11 years old and Daniel was 8, Cecelia and I decided to take the kids to England during Spring break. We would start in London, go to Scotland and then drive back to London. The goal was to experience average British life.

We flew to London. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Knightsbridge. Cecelia did a magnificent job planning the itinerary for both the daily activities and living accommodations. The Feld family was the only American group in this Bed and Breakfast that accommodated eight other families of similar size from all over Europe. The stay was an interesting cultural experience.

We walked all over London. We took the tube or bus to everything we wanted to see.

Our goal was to expose Brad and Dan to all the fine art London had to offer. Cecelia and I had been to London a few times before and knew where to go.

I did not realize how much pain we inflicted on the boys schlepping them though all the museums and galleries. It turned out that if there is no pain there is no gain. Brad and his wife Amy and Daniel and his wife Laura have a deep appreciation of fine art.

There were many memorable experiences during that trip. Harrods’ food court enchanted the boys.

One night, dinner ran late. The scheduled visit was the Tower of London. The trip on the tube was long. We arrived at the tube stop 30 minutes before closing. The Tower closed at 9 pm. We didn’t realize how long it would take to get there. Tension mounted on the tube ride.

I saw the excitement rising in Brad and Daniel. We ran through the dark streets and were the last people to go on the last tour. We got lost in the tube on the way home. All of this delighted of the boys.

On our last day we were scheduled to take a sleeper train to Scotland at 11 pm at Kings Crossing. I had arranged to have dinner at a medical school roommate’s cousin’s house outside of London. This cousin was a Family Doctor with four kids. They lived in a modest apartment. The doctor had a lot of negative things to say about America.

He compared Americans’ attitude to the British attitude. He said; if there was a black kid in the back of the bus in London and a man in a Rolls Royce the black kid would be thinking about how that guy ripped off the country and how he could be destroyed. In America the black kid would be thinking how he could achieve enough to own that Rolls Royce.

I thought this was very constrictive thinking. Our family discussed it in Scotland.

The doctor drove us to King’s Crossing. It was the first sleeper train for all of us. None of us slept a wink. We arrived in Edinburg at 5.45 am. Our rental car was a Ford Escort equivalent. It was not the most comfortable vehicle for the four of us but we managed.

We stayed at a farm in Tweed after having our share of lamb chops. It was beautiful but cold. The farmer gave us hot water bottle to keep our feet warm in lieu of heat. There was an overnight frost and not enough blankets.

I could not find the farm. I stopped at a house and ask a guy where it was. He jumped on his BMW motorcycle and said follow him.

We showed the boys more old castles and churches than one could imagine existed. In a bed in breakfast in one village a woman charged us the equivalent of a quarter to take a bath.

To an American boy this was certainly old world.

Lake Windermere was a great experience. We stayed in an old mansion. The structure was beautiful but again no heat. Cecelia and I had a date night to the best restaurant in England by the most famous chef in England. I found a pizza joint in town and bought a very large pizza for Brad and Daniel to share with the owner of the house. They sat in the living room before the fireplace wrapped in blankets watching the telie and eating pizza.

They were happy and we were off to have one of the best meals of our life.

The trip was wonderful. Brad and Daniel were great sports. I hope the warm memories of that trip linger in their minds as is does in mine. This is what family travel is about.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP, MACE

The responses to the father and son articles have been tremendous. I thank you all.

One of the comments reminded me of an article I wrote about Brad’s and my relationship in October 25, 2007 entitled the Birth of an Entrepreneur.

Kare Anderson a well known communicator wrote a great comment about that article and followed it with a poem that should be a reminder about how to live in this chaotic world. I have been trying to find a spot to reproduce her comment for years.

She wrote;

Reminds me of my Dad, seeing his kids as so different yet encouraging us to cultivate our strengths.

I would become a journalist, one brother an entrepreneur, and my baby brother an international aide worker. But we all needed the entrepreneurial traits of resourcefulness, critical thinking, perseverance and ability to work well with people extremely unlike us.

Brad exemplifies these traits.

What a timely post for me to share with my Dad before the weekend.

Thank you Stanley. You have touched many of us.

The poem followed her comment.

In a civilization when love is
gone we turn to justice and when
justice is gone we turn to power
and when power is gone we
turn to violence.

Opportunity is often inconvenient.

Remember the many
compartments of the heart,
the seed of what is
possible. So much of who
we are is defined by
the places we hold for each
other. For it is not our ingenuity
that sets us apart, but our
capacity for love, the
possibility our way will
be lit by grace. Our hearts
prisms, chiseling out the
colors of pure light.

– Kare

Posted by: Kare Anderson | October 26, 2007 at 10:02 AM

I am gratified that these articles under the category of Life Experiences have influenced so many of you. The key is to find love in relationships and not hatred and adversity. I have always focused on this principle in relationships with family, friends and my patients.

Many of you can recall negative influences in your life. I suggest you re-examine them and try to turn those sour lemons into lemonade.

When Brad was fifteen one of the patients in my practice entered our life. Mr. X was 75 years old. He was one of the giants of the computer industry in the 1950’s and 60’s. He had Diabetes Mellitus and hypertension. Both could be controlled easily if it were not for his alcoholism. His depression was his most debilitating illness. He perseverated about his past accomplishments.

In spite of his illness, I recognized a path to help him find friendship and provide an intellectual experience for Brad and me. I set up a meeting outside the clinic for us to have a cup of coffee. The meeting lasted for 3 hours. Mr. X discovered two people who would listen and befriend him. We too, found a friend.

Mr. X enjoyed the effect he was having on us. I was pleased that his depression was lifting.

He became Brad’s mentor. He recognized Brad’s talent and wanted to help develop it. He got Brad his first job in the computer industry. It was with a husband and wife that Mr. X mentored previously.

The couple was hard working and smart. Brad had a fabulous experience learning about the petroleum software business. He also experienced the grind of the corporate world.

When Brad was 15 ½, I asked Mr. X if he knew anyone in the software business in England. I thought Brad would love the experience of living and working in England over a summer.

Brad was all for it. I did not appreciate the true potential of this experience. Mr. X connected Brad with another former student of his (Mr. Y), who was an executive in a printer manufacturing firm in London. The firm built and programmed Daisy Wheel printers. The software in those days was just as important as the hardware.

I could not get a work permit for Brad in London. Mr. Y promised Brad one of their expensive printers as salary at the end of the summer. I would have sent him without “salary.”

We sent Brad to London on Freddie Laker Airways.  Freddie Laker Airways was a no frill low cost airline that flew direct from Dallas to London. He arrived in London safe and sound.

Mr. X arranged room and board by contacting another friend. The subway stop was Ealing Common. The office was in Knightsbridge several stops down the line.

Brad had some major problems. He turned each lemon into lemonade. The man who owned the house was a pensioner. He had no desire to work and every desire to be pessimistic about the future. He also had this young kid that he thought he could contaminate with his thinking. It did not work. Brad almost converted him to an optimist.

The second problem was London’s subway workers went on strike. When Brad called I told him to look for a used bicycle and ride to work. Brad found a bicycle for fifteen dollars and did just that for a few weeks until the strike ended.

There are many stories Brad can tell about his experiences that summer.

The final problem with the summer was getting home. Freddie Laker was on the verge of bankruptcy. I think he got the last flight out of London. Freddie flew to Philadelphia and landed at 6.30 pm.

Brad called us not knowing what to do. Our advice was to stay cool and fight his way on to an American Airlines flight. With a lot of talking, a little help from Freddie and a tremendous about of perseverance Brad got on the 9.30 pm flight from Philadelphia.

I picked him up at DFW at 1 am, gave him a big huge and told him how proud I was of him.

Cecelia, Daniel and I stayed up most of the night hearing stories of his London experience. If it wasn’t for Mr. X and my perception he needed a friend, Brad and our family would not have had this wonderful experience.

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

It is great to have children whose minds are like sponges. They absorb everything I have tried to teach them. Sometimes they utilize these lessons and sometimes they blow me off. I have no trouble with that.

Today’s story about Brad will be a lesson in leadership and self reliance.

One evening at dinner, when Brad was 16 years old, one week before school started in his senior year in high school, Brad said he and his friends had a scheduling problem. I asked; “What is the problem?”

Brad Before Senior High School Prom

Cecelia and I are firm believers in public school education for many reasons. We wanted our boys to go to public school. All of our “peers” kids went to private schools.

Brad told us at dinner that senior honors students had 7 honors classes to choose from. The problem was the honors classes were all given in the first period. I told him I thought the solution should be easy.

He said when the kids discovered the scheduling error they all went to the Principal to ask him to do just that. The Principal said it was impossible to change the scheduling program. The computer program had already been set by the school district and could not be altered.

I said that sounded like bureaucratic nonsense. We would try to fix it. Brad said he and his classmates were very familiar with the school district’s software and could fix the scheduling within one hour. In 1982 they all had personal computers.

I thought it would be an easy problem to solve as long as we had all the parents and students involved in the request. I had met the Superintendent of the School District previously at a function. I felt he was a reasonable guy. He would help the honors students achieve their goal.

After dinner Brad got on the phone and started a telephone network inviting all of parents and students to our house the next night to discuss the problem and sign the petition.

Sixty parents and students were invited. All sixty accepted and sixty showed up the next evening. Obviously, everyone wants the best for their kids. After the discussion I presented the strategy.

Everyone needed to sign the petition requesting permission to allow the students to change the scheduling program. The students would reprogram the schedule so everyone could take any the honors courses they wanted.

I volunteered to make an appointment with the Superintendent of schools for Brad, Cecelia and myself the next day. I cancelled my patients for the afternoon after I made an appointment for 2 p.m.

Brad presented the students’ case to the School Superintendent. He outlined exactly what the students were going to do without threatening the school district’s computer system. The School District IT person was called in. Brad explained the plan again. The IT person agreed that the students knew what they were doing and the computer system would not be threatened.

The Superintendent of the District agreed that the students could reprogram the scheduling program on Thursday. On Friday they could select their honors courses. On Monday the school year would begin. They would be scheduled to take the honors classes of their choice.

The Superintendent had one more hurdle. He had to get the Principal of Brad’s school on board. I was off the next day. He said he would speak to the Principal that afternoon and we should make an appointment with the Principal on Thursday morning.

Brad invited all the students to come with me to the meeting. It was very civil. The Principal somehow came to the conclusion that it was his idea to allow the students to change the scheduling program. At 2 p.m. a delegation of students lead by Brad went into the scheduling office and reprogrammed the scheduling computer in less than one hour reordering all the honors classes and teachers’ schedules as promised without harming the computer system.

The students were happy, their parents were happy, and the Superintendent was happy. Scheduling was fixed to everyone’s satisfaction without disruptions to the school or utilization of the school’s unavailable assets.

I am sure Brad remembers this episode to this day. I know he applies these principles of leadership and self reliance daily in his very successful venture capitalist firm, the Foundry Group.