Hartford, I'm coming for you!

Yes, Hartford Insurance, I'm coming for you! No, not because of any health care issue, but a customer service issue. And, not even MY customer service issue. It's an issue with literally hundreds of your customers and your customer's customers.

Confusing, you say? Explain, you say? Here goes...

I moved to Hampton Roads, the 757 area code, in May 2007. I did not want to give up my one and only mobile number of many years from the 540 area code. However, some people still tied to landlines are hesitant to call a "long distance" number. So, in order to accommodate my new found friends, neighbors and colleagues in the 757, I obtained my own personal toll-free number.

Little did I know that the toll-free number I now "own" belonged to the elusive (and evidently non-existent) "Deb Johnson" of Hartford Insurance Workers Comp Claims. How do I know this?

Because, I have received literally hundreds of calls from doctors' offices, patients, and who-knows-else looking for help from this person.

And, yet another one...today! Nearly 30 months later.

I've tried polite; I've tried to be proactive. I've called Hartford. I've asked everyone that called to please tell whomever gave them my number that I was NOT "Deb Johnson."

I've called back the many people who've left desperate voicemails searching for "Deb Johnson" despite my mailbox message clearly NOT by "Deb Johnson" including one from a Latino family that didn't speak English.

I've explained to people that despite NOT being "Deb Johnson," I also do NOT work for Hartford and am really sorry they have a problem that I cannot fix.

So what to do? Send Hartford a bill for services rendered? Give up on providing a toll-free, land-line way to reach me? Suggestions?

Hampton Roads' Identity Crisis

I finally had the opportunity to listen to the 8/31 Hearsay with Cathy Lewis radio show on WHRV via iTunes.

Someone called in and blasted the region for the moniker “Hampton Roads” again. It prompted me to share this with Cathy and her staff via her Facebook page and her new blog and now here:


Your caller re: "Hampton Roads" prompts me to suggest a future show on Regional Awareness. The region-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) aka VisionHamptonRoads.com in process now has shown that Hampton Roads has an "identity crisis" that must be addressed, nationally, state-wide and locally.

Adjectives such as cul-de-sac, branch or tidewater just aren't the right descriptors. The SWOT (Strengths/Weakness/Opportunities/Threats) analysis under way has shown us to be a gateway, mainstream, largest, first and premiere in so many ways.

The collective "we" just don't know it... yet. We have so much going for us in Hampton Roads. We should all be proud to live in this wonderful metropolitan region, and I'm looking forward to big things on the horizon.

But, perception is everything, and we, the citizens of Hampton Roads, have to recognize and celebrate our own greatness in order to share it with the rest of the world.

Did I "drink the Kool-Aid"? you betcha! and, I'm helping to make the next batch!

It's the people-driven economy, stupid!

Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Welcome to the World of Socialnomics ...

A Glass Half Full: The Better Man

by Felix Dennis hear the author read the poem

I was the better at getting and keeping,
You were the better at spend and spend;
I was the better at grubbing and heaping,
But who was the better man in the end?
Yes, who was the better man, my friend?

Who was the better man?

You were the better with lords and ladies,
I was the better at pillaging Troy;
You were the better at kissing the babies,
I was the better at search and destroy.
But who was the better man, old boy?
Who was the better man?

I was the better at improvisation,
You were the better at spinning the plate;
I was the better at procrastination,
You were the better at quiet debate.
But who was the better man, old mate?
Who was the better man?

You were the better at rolling a reefer,
I was the better with coke and rum;
Remember that night on the beach at Ibiza?
The Maori twins with the tattooed bum?
So who was the better man, old chum?
Who was the better man?

***

Envoi
Now we come down to it, relatives grieving
Out in the hall with their crocodile tears;
Now that you're out of it, now that you're leaving,
Now that they've sealed your arse and your ears,
What I've been meaning to tell you for years,
And years, and years, and years, old friend...
Is that you were the better man, in the end;
You were the better man,
My friend.

Searching for crab in Hampton Roads

I'm missing my family's reunion this weekend... an all day steamed crab eating and cold beer drinking extravaganza. Anyone know where I can pick some great steamed Chesapeake Bay blue crab around Hampton Roads?

While I like Dungeness, Snow, King, etc. crab, there's just nothing like Old Bay all over some succulent steamed blue crab.

Help!?!?

HarborFest in Norfolk, Virginia

Bertel under "DeVine," a human-grapevine hybrid gyrating around Town Point Park!

Parade of Sail from atop Norfolk's World Trade Center:

The new Town Point Park and tall ships from the Half Moone Cruise Terminal:

Bertel and his Independence Day cupcake... his words, not mine...

and the pièce de résistance.... an outrageous dual fireworks show!

Visiting our Congressman Glenn Nye and Washington DC

Jillian, me, Bertel (Bert XI), Bert and Representative Nye at the Capitol

Jillian and Bertel in front of the Capitol

The two Berts, Bert X and Bertel XI, at the FDR Memorial

Jillian and Dad pose at DC's Newseum (my fave - the museum of the news) at the front page of The Virginian-Pilot on Saturday, June 27th.

Bert at a section of the Berlin Wall, DC's Newseum.

The Big Backyard BBQ on Pennsylvania Avenue!

Jillian and Bertel rock-climb near the Capitol.

Can you eat 36 Hot Dogs? The Black Widow can!

Bert and I enjoyed watching Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas of Alexandria compete in Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at MacArthur Center in Norfolk (blocks from our house) on Saturday, June 6th. The place was mobbed!

Thomas, 41, weighs 100 pounds and won the competition by eating 36 hot dogs in 10 minutes, earning her a spot in Nathan's Fourth of July International contest in Coney Island, N.Y. on July 4th. She crushed her 15 male competitors; second place was only 16 hot dogs eaten, a far distance behind Thomas.

Bertel's Blog

I'm proud to say that my stepson (nine years old) has taken a special interest in computers, graphic design, social media, etc. He's on Twitter, started a blog and talks to his Dad and me with Skype video. What a cool kid! Way to go!

Jillian's Videos

My 12-year old stepdaughter makes very cool music videos. She could show me a thing or two! Makes me proud to see such creativity...

SmartRegion.org

I've been a bit busy with several websites and creating a blog for my work at the Hampton Roads Partnership. Be sure to visit SmartRegion.org to learn more about Hampton Roads and sign up to receive the HRP e-News, too.

Your chance to be heard and learn how to get engaged!

Happy Valentine's Day

My honey sent me a V-gram!
awwww!

Missy "hearts" Bert, too!

Things For Which I'm Thankful

... sorry, I missed "Thanksgiving." But, better late than never.

My honey, Bert, first and foremost.

My family and friends. New and old, near and far.

My job and the opportunity to work with others who truly want to make a difference in our community.

My geekness; geek is the new "cool."

My job. Did I mention this already? With the walls falling down around us, we should all be grateful to have our health and our ability to learn and adapt. Sure, budgets may not be growing like they once were -- but hey, "flat is the new up." And for all those out there whose jobs may not be secure -- rest assured, this too shall pass.

PolarPlunge.com

Hampton Roads really DOES have it all. PolarPlunge is for a good cause, Special Olympics. It's cold, but heart-warming. If you missed it, there's always next year...