I Didn't Write the Memo I Just Read It: Selected Poems, Musings, and Leadership Observations

By Vinnie Venturella

In this, his fourth book, Vinnie Venturella takes a thought-provoking look at some of lifes experiences. His observations are at times instructive, funny, sarcastic, smart, insightful, and action oriented. He shares thoughts about his faith, America, his professions, leadership, his kids, family, and friends. Theyll make you laugh, cry, go hmm or at least think.

Vinnie takes an in your face and tell it like it is look at things. If one, a few, or all of these observations resonate with you, hes met his intent. They are a result of decades of experiences, observations, and lessons learned. He hopes his unique style, content, and format appropriately deliver the message as intended.

Vinnie retired as a Chief Master Sergeant from the United States Air Force after 21+ years as a Combat Controller in Air Force Special Operations. He has been in a leadership environment since 1985. He is a Certified Financial Planner and works in the personal finance industry. Vinnie, his wife, Tammie, and their daughters, Meaghan and Sophia, live in North Carolina. They attend Manna Church, and Vinnie wants everyone to know hes still under construction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504953047

Vinnie Venturella

This is Vinnie’s seventeenth book. Vinnie and his wife Tammie have two daughters, Meaghan and Sophia. They live in Texas. Vinnie was born in Pittsburgh, PA. His Mom Joyce and Dad Frank were a big influence on him, and he has a twin brother, Frank and younger sister, Jill. He graduated Woodsville High School in NH. He has a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Campbell University, NC; and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. Vinnie retired as a Chief Master Sergeant from the Air Force after 21+ years as a Combat Controller in Air Force Special Operations. Vinnie works in the Personal Finance industry. He has a passion for reading, writing, and physical fitness.

Book preview

I Didn’t Write the

Memo

I Just Read It

Selected Poems, Musings, and Leadership Observations

Vinnie Venturella

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

©

2015 Vinnie Venturella. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/29/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-5305-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-5304-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015916073

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

I Didn’t Write the Memo I Just Read It

Veteran’s Day Parade

Let’s Be Honest

Catch People Doing Things Right

I Pray Everyday

Resilience

Proud To Be an American

Impossible Questions

Be Yourself

The Bank

Think Outside the Box

The Onion

Sophia

The Thousand Gnats

Keep Pounding

It’s Always There

I Cannot Lie

You Brought This on Yourself

Meaghan

Known and Remembered

What If

Personal Responsibility

Reliability

Compromise

Really

The Magic Elixir

Haters

Life is a Job Interview

Bring Your A Game

Some of Life’s Snippets

Success

Leaders

Without…There

MO

The Sunshine

The American Dream

Accountability

Things That Make You Go Hmm

Tammie

You Know What I Mean

To Get Better by the Letter

The Company Man

You Can Just Feel It

No Less

Availability

What Does That Say

Perspective

I Know How to Do This

There Are No Hard Decisions

What Perfection Might Be

Forward or Backward

The Train Isn’t Stopping

Meritocracy

Scrogg

D

Attitude

Hope

Are You Adaptable

Like and/or Respect

They Don’t Flock

Unconditional Love

Obliviousness

Fear of Failure

Even When No One is Looking

Making Sausage Isn’t Pretty

Myths

Absolutes

He is Simply a Good Man

He’s a Soldier

The Most and Best

The Box

Some Great Lines

Things We Don’t Want to Hear

Being Self-Aware

Despite the Neurosis and Eccentricity

The Bucket List

The Reason for the Season

Diseases Some Can’t Cure

We Are What We Are

What about Tomorrow

Not Free From Repercussions

His Own Language

When it Calls

Only in the Dictionary

The Dash

New Year’s Resolutions

Gym Etiquette

Your Moment to Shine

That Guy

Choices have Consequences

There is No Rule Book

Drive

Don’t Shun the Journey

A Promise to Deliver

Old Glory

Winning

Courage

Sometimes it’s All You Got

You’ll Never Be the Man

We’re All Expendable

The Short List

Class and Elegance

What’s the Difference?

Chess

Duty

You Get What You Deserve

What Were You Thinking

Big Eddy

Fortune Cookies You Never See

The Airport

When You Know You Have Girls

It Should Start With You

One-Up Guy

You Reap What You Sow

They Shouldn’t Be an Option

It’s Counterintuitive

Reality TV

Your Compass

Feel Free To…

It Does Not Lie

What Are You

The 26 Degrees of Johnny Utah

Because it’s The Right Thing to Do

It’s Ironic

Personal Finance Room 101

Life in the Movies

Emotions are Based on Perspective

Retirement

T.E.A.M.

The Pension Dynamic

Potential

The Look

Passion

Tolerance

Practice

Mama Richetti

Rules

Imagine

In the Eye of the Beholder

Nowhere to Look but Up

It’s Still the Greatest Place on Earth

The Negative Will Never Outweigh the Positive

The Power of Self-Talk

Character

One

Not Just any Leaf

Trust

It’s a 50/50 Proposition

Faith

Passive Aggressive

Dig Deep

Zero Day PT

This book is dedicated to

my Mom Joyce and my Dad Frank.

They were the originators of

Be yourself!

Thank you and I love you.

Other Books by Vinnie Venturella

True Leadership: Leadership Lessons Inspired by the Apostle Paul

Character, Competence, and Commitment…the Measure of a Leader

Heartbreak Ridge

Preface

These thoughts and observations came from over many years of pondering. Some have happened innumerable times and others just once. I wanted to capture these thoughts and observations because I think they are very informative, instructive, funny, made me think, or simply resonated with me.

The title I Didn’t Write the Memo, I Just Read It is a metaphor for life’s lessons and validations. You just have to pay attention. Did you ever not notice something at all and then it was brought to your attention? Then, it was like a light bulb went off. Once a life lesson or observation becomes a part of your life, you’ll realize you’ve just read the memo.

Some of these are purely personal. Some will only mean something to me or to a handful of people. Most of these will resonate with everyone. Taken as a whole, I hope you get smarter, have a good laugh, think, or simply go hmm when you read these. However, please remember, I never met that Pulitzer guy.

As far as format I wanted to keep every observation to a single page. I’ve messed with writing poems over the years and along the way decided to write this book in that format. Obviously not all of my poems rhyme, nor do they fit any sort of standard for poetry. I was reminded not everyone knows that when I asked a certain lady if she had read the poem I emailed to the team. She replied, That’s not a poem. It doesn’t rhyme. I didn’t write the memo I just read it.

I was blessed with great English Teachers and Literature Professors in my life. They would probably cringe at my writing and rue the day they graduated me. However, they inspired me and others to read and to write. I am not sure what else a teacher can do but steer you toward your passions. And since no one steered me toward a 100 MPH fastball; I grew a passion for reading and writing.

I especially appreciate Miss Hemp and Miss O’Brien. Didn’t Van Halen have a song called Hot for Teacher? They got me (us) to read innumerable books, and a ton of classics. And they made us write…a lot. I can’t remember the last time I used the Pythagorean Theorem (and I was awesome at math), but I read and write every day.

Thank you Miss Hemp and Miss O’Brien.

Acknowledgements

A project like this is not a one-man show. Some great people were there for me along the way. I owe a special thanks to those cherished friends that inspired and encouraged me along the way. Whether it was their constant presence or a how’s it going? comment, they all kept me focused and motivated throughout.

You can tell a lot about a person by who their friends are. Mike Lamonica and Rex Freriks (as some of you know) have had my back coming up on 30 years. They offered encouragement and inspiration during this project. I owe them so much and am blessed to call them my bros.

A handful of ladies that I used to work with were a constant source of encouragement. Some of these poems were inspired by them. They definitely include: Jennine, Catherine, Lori, Jenn, Teena, and Dominique. I appreciate our friendship and thank you for all that you’ve done for me.

I want to thank my wife Tammie for dealing with me during this project from start to finish. It was not always easy; there was a constant pull of competing priorities. I owe her and love her so much.

My girls, Meaghan and Sophia, are a constant inspiration to me. You make me so proud. I love you so much.

I Didn’t Write the Memo I Just Read It

I didn’t write the memo I just read it

I figured out the rules and norms of my environment

I figured out the majority of human dynamics

I am not the smartest guy around; I just pay attention better than most

More people need to read the memo, study it, learn it, memorize it

The memo is a metaphor for life’s observations

The memo tells us the rules, the expectations, the lay of the land

And how things are supposed to be

I try not to say I told you so

But so much is in the memo…just read it

I didn’t write the memo I just read it

Not much happens completely new

Just pay attention

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me

John Wayne said life