Envy – One of the Seven Deadly Sins (“Just A Guy”)

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Bruce Sallan

I recently visited my best friend, who moved from L.A., to a small town in the Northwest. He built a home, from scratch, supervising every detail, and with his wife, they created their dream home. I found myself feeling a tad of envy, as he took me on the tour of the house, pointing out all the beautiful details.

As we’ve been renting for several years, the pride of ownership is just not part of our lives and our belief is that the practical choice is to stay in rent for the near future. Our choice, certainly. But, as I reflected on my own bout of envy, I thought about my boys and how often they’re comparing themselves to their peers.

Male and Female Roles in Our Politically Correct Society

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Bruce Sallan

I am more and more troubled by how male and female roles in our politically correct society have evolved. Clearly, I may just not fully understand and accept these changes, but I want to understand for the sake of my boys. I’m trying to teach them to be men, how to treat women, and to prepare my sons for the current social environment and workplace that we live in. And, frankly, I need to learn and adjust for myself, as this column will show.

I was raised in the fifties and sixties, where men and women had casual conversational fun with each other, both in the work place and out of it. It was fun and not harassment, to be clear, and included healthy banter and even occasional flirting. But, today this is forbidden and larger companies have seminars on proper work behavior that, I believe, limits camaraderie and rapport between colleagues. As communication often is via e-mail, the chances of misunderstandings are only enhanced.