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Family

The English: A Portrait of a People

It’s rare for me to post a book review on this main page, in part because it is sent to all subscribers of the blog and I don’t want to pester them with all the books I read! Normally I just list the books here and leave it at that.

But I finished a book on the way home from England that struck me as more than just another book. Jeremy Paxman wrote The English in 1999, but it still reads as a brilliant insight into the English psyche. Anybody who spends time in England needs to read this book. …

Family,

Surreal London

The family roots trip included a stay in London. Jedd, Kevin and I did the usual things like the British Museum, Westminster, and so forth, but it was much more than just that. There were a few times that the whole experience felt a bit surreal.

For instance, when we arrived at our hotel in London there was a cameraman waiting outside. Jedd, the ever-curious one with an instinct for photojournalism, went over to chat with him. Turns out that Rupert Murdoch lived in the building across from the hotel (a mere 50’ away). The News of the World scandal …

Family,

Prayer in Oxford

My previous post about Aldingbourne mentioned that Pete Greig picked us up at the airport. Pete is the accidental founder of 24-7 Prayer. I love the idea of being an accidental founder … it’s much more realistic than most founders are willing to admit!

Anyway, Pete met us at the airport and spent a couple of days with us as we explored Southern England. But he also took us to Oxford and introduced us to some of his 24-7 Prayer friends. They were having a gathering of UK leaders and it seemed the perfect way for us to hear …

Family,

Burpham, West Sussex

One of the surprises of our England trip was the tiny village of Burpham. I chose to stay in the Burpham Country House because it was well regarded on tripadvisor.com, but even more importantly it has a Goble family connection. Apparently, in the 1700’s Squire Goble lived in this home and managed to irritate all the local peasants while also being suspiciously involved with the disappearance (possible murder) of a French maid.

Cousins…what are you gonna do?

The stories all seemed so old world, like an Agatha Christie mystery, so we just had to stay there.

And I’m glad we …

Family,

Aldingbourne, West Sussex

Last week I flew to Southern England and had a wonderful time with my son Jedd.

This was a roots trip to explore the Goble family history in Southern England. Our research has shown that I’m a descendent of Thomas Goble and Alice Brookman, married in the tiny village of Aldingbourne in 1619. By 1634 they had migrated to America. As Puritans they were looking to make a new life and escape what they saw as impurities in England.

At Heathrow we met my friend Pete Greig. We drove to West Sussex and made our way to Aldingbourne to …

Apocryphal, Family, Random Thoughts,

Nicknames

Had a nice conversation with an old friend the other day, and he kept calling me “Kid” even though I was his boss for two decades. I finally stopped him and asked, “What’s up with this “kid” stuff?” He laughed and reminded me that it was my nickname when I was working in the wrecking yard. I’d forgotten about that! When we worked there I was always the youngest around, thus the name.

That got me thinking about all the nicknames I’ve had over the years. Thankfully not many of them have stuck. Thought I’d share a few of the …

Family, Goble Properties, Junkyard Management, PathLight, The SOLD Project, Wine Reviews,

Goble Properties Staff Retreat

During the 30-years that I have been at Goble Properties we have never had a staff retreat. Ridiculous, right?

Well that has been corrected. Last week D’Aun and I spent three days in Napa at the Silverado Resort with some of the nicest people on the planet. Our staff are scattered from Cathedral City to San Jose to Pleasanton, so it was good to pull everybody together.

We built our meetings around the book ReWork by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. What I love about this book is that it understands the mindset of a small business owner. …

Family, Goble Properties, Junkyard Management,

Walt Rodoni, 1913-2011

I have written before about my friend, mentor and employee Walt. Sadly, Walt passed away on Easter Sunday. He was 98 years old and lived an active life right up till the last week. He will be missed.

Below is the obituary for Walt, and below is that is unedited footage from a shoot my son Jedd did about Walt’s life. The video is well worth watching; a candid moment of reflection, with an endorsement for “a good doctor and tabasco sauce”.

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Walter A Rodoni, 98, was born on January 23, 1913 and passed away April 24, 2011 at …