Allen R. Hunt's Blog, page 23

The Dodgers and the 5:1 Principle

Frank and Jamie McCourt owned the Dodgers before their vicious divorce proceedings smashed everything in their orbit into bits and pieces. Their divorce is concluding, and it will likely be the costliest in California history - legal bills over $21 MM!

This catastrophe could likely have been prevented if Frank and Jamie had simply remembered and lived by the 5:1 Principle. I share this nugget from John Gottman often. 

Successful, healthy marriages are rooted in the 5:1 Principle. For every 1 negative interaction (frown, insult, rolled eyes, cold shoulder, etc..), there must be 5 positive interactions (smile, kind word, love pat, held hand, etc..). Remarkably, Gottman's research has proven this ratio of 5:1 to be the single most effective predictor of the long-term strength of a marriage.

If Frank and Jamie had remembered this precious insight, they likely would   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Help for Women in Problem Pregnancies

A caller named Kia shared in the LIfeline hour on the show tonight, asking for help in comforting a friend whose pregnancy ended painfully.

After the show, an excellent email arrived from another listener, so I am posting it to help spread the word.

 

A caller "Kia" called about a friend of hers who recently delivered a baby who had died.  I am a labor and delivery nurse here in Atlanta.  I specialize in perinatal loss (the loss of a pregnancy or baby within the first year of life.)  I don't know if it is possible, but I would love to leave our info for you to distribute as you see a need.  I am one of the Perinatal Loss Clinicians at Northside Hospital.  We have a website Read Entire Post

She was the Only One at the Meeting

Bob Greene was a lucky man to have had Miss Barbara. In 1947, she began her life's work: teaching kindergarten in Bexley, Ohio. For 32 years, Barbara Drugan would greet new, nervous groups of 5-year-olds in her classroom on the first-floor hallway of Cassingham School.

 

Miss Barbara never forgot a child's face or a child's name, even when the boys and girls had grown older and had children and grandchildren of their own. How she did it, no one knows. She knew your name, she knew your parents' names, she knew your brothers' and sisters' names -- 20, 30, 40 years after you had left her kindergarten class, she knew.



That matters. In a world where relationships can be fast and fleeting, that matters. For generations, when students would return for a visit years later and run into Miss Barbara around town, the sight of her face and the sound of her welcoming voice made it official: They   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Emails of the Week: The Death of Manhood

Great conversation around what we are doing to men, or what is happening to men, on the show last night.

Emails are streaming in, so I thought I'd share a few for good reading.

FROM A MAN - "David"

 

Mr. Allen,

Thank you for the great shows, and subjects of your shows. I really enjoy them.

The show on Sunday 10/19/2011 was great.

I am a manager for large a retail company; as you could imagine, in my position and for a duration of many years I have had the opportunity to work with  many hundreds of people.

I have had the opportunity to work with women and men of all ages and ethnicities.

 

For many years I have had the same thought you were expressing on your show. I feel sometimes devastated to see the attitude young men   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

1 Lesson from Cancer and Amanda Knox

I admit it. I was glued to the television as Amanda Knox heard the news that she would be freed from Italian prison. Not guilty. Her reaction was rivaled only by the look she had as she boarded the plane to head home to America. That look of relief, joy, and delight could only be matched by a child at Christmas. Or a cancer patient who just got good news.

My friend, Jack, has fought cancer for two years now. 3 major surgeries, nearly 40 chemo treatments. And he received the news this week that his scan shows an all-clear. At least for the next two months, no more chemo, no more exhaustion. When I saw him yesterday, his face shone like Amanda Knox's. 

Amanda and Jack have both learned a lesson that most humans fail to grasp on a day to day basis. We rarely remember this unless we suffer. Too often, our busy-ness in life causes us to take the most valuable lesson for granted. Here it is:   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Forgot to Tell You

Mentioned this on the show last night but forgot to share the highlights. You emailed and asked, so I am providing it here now. Sorry not to get to it during the show as promised.

Regarding Chris Christie's potential run for the Presidency and his weight, David Letterman joined the mainstream media onslaught to label Christie as fat. Al Sharpton, Michael Kinsley, Eugene Robinson all weighing in on Christie's weight. Here's Letterman and his entertaining top 10 list of White House changes should Christie get elected. 

My favorite? Secretary of   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Serendipitous Discovery

A friend took me down to the Rock Ranch about an hour south of Atlanta this week. I had never heard of it before. 

A 1200 acre operating cattle ranch with what they call "agri-tainment." I was mesmerized.

The highlight? A pumpkin cannon.

A huge corn maze.  A partnership with NASA. Yes, that's right - a partnership with NASA in a corn maze. Paddle boats, racing pedal cars, petting zoo, zip lines, corn cannons to fire at targets, conestoga camping, this place amazed me. Plus, they grow fresh strawberries, blueberries and pomegranates for the picking. 

Again, I had never heard of it before. Now my only complaint is that I don't have grandkids I can take there. To my daughters: hint, hint.  :)

Too bad the grandkids won't   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Change of Plans

Producing a good show requires a lot of effort. Since my show is now something I do for fun in addition to my full-time job, I have taken a look at how much time I devote to my blog, Facebook, weekly emails, and other forms of communication. As you likely know, I am directing a lot of my time and writing to my work at Dynamic Catholic and two books that are in progress. In analyzing my allocation of resources, it has become clear that my blog by far requires the most time from me, so I have decided to move all my personal communications to the other, less time-intensive venues.

From now on, there will be fewer blog posts and no space for comments. I invite you to respond to my ideas and thoughts by calling the show each Sunday night, in the forum at Facebook (facebook.com/allenhuntradio), or by email (allen@allenhuntshow.com) where I still read all my own emails.

Thanks for listening and for understanding how I am   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Every Other Week Delight

The Obama administration acknowledges that we have had an average of one Islamic terror attack/plot every other week for close to three years now. So here is this week's delight.

Physics student plotting to blow up the Pentagon and the Capitol. And hoping to throw in a few American soldiers overseas if possible too. No surprise - Male Islamic practitioner between the age of 20 and 40. Virtually every plotter/jihadist has fit that profile. Most have grown up here as the kids of parents who immigrated here.

He told the undercovers, "I have no choice. There is no other choice for me." Americans are "enemies of Allah." Same old stuff. Hasan. Shahzad. Mohamud. Abdul-Latif. Ahmed. The list grows and grows.

Here's the interesting thing in the now familiar string of these. "I want   >>>>>   Read Entire Post

Freedoms to Treasure

As if we needed another reminder of the precious gift we enjoy in our freedom of religion in America, here comes yet another story to jolt us. This one from Iran and shared by the Washington Post.

Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani will likely be executed in the next few days in Iran. His crime? Being unwilling to revert back to the faith of his ancestors, Islam. Pastor Yousef has refused to recant his Christian faith. His Christian faith in Iran may cost him his life.

May his faith and steadfastness inspire you and me to greater levels of fidelity. And may the State Department intervene on his behalf to have his life spared much as they did on behalf of the hikers arrested in Iran and the woman, Sakineh Ashtiani, accused of adultery there who was also scheduled   >>>>>   Read Entire Post