I Am Furious (Yellow)

By Patrick J. Cole and Barbara Merlotti

Patrick Cole is a management consultant and poet; two roles not as far apart as you might think. He travels through corporate workplaces regularly and invites you to join him on an enlightening tour from curious, to furious, to a glimpse of nirvana. Yes, he mixes his behavioral science training, Buddhist practice, and tongue-in-cheek poetry to deliver his simple message: there’s more to life than work. And don’t let a little sarcasm dissuade you from joining the tour for underneath his occasional harsh pinstripe exterior lies a workaholic attempting to overcome his “respectable addiction.” When not collecting “loyalty points” at various hotels across the country, Cole lives with his wife in western Michigan.

Barbara Merlotti is a professional artist with a master’s degree in art therapy. While typically creating beautiful drawings of sensual organic imagery, she accepted the diversion of graphically portraying the rants of her mad brother-in-law in I Am Furious (Yellow). Merlotti lives with her son in southern Illinois and participates in a variety of art shows in St. Louis, Missouri and the surrounding area.

Picking up where their first book (Tangoed Up & Blue) left off; Cole shares the addiction of work, the dehumanization of the corporate institution and a cure for them both while Merlotti illustrates the journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 30, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440127618

Patrick J. Cole

Patrick J. Cole is a management consultant and poet that finds delight in Nature which is often pointed out to him by a canine companion while he attempts to walk mindfully through the woods. Cole mixes his psychology background, perennial wisdom practices, and poetry to deliver his simple message: there’s joy to be found if we know how to look for it. Oh, he’s not the calm, cool, Zen cucumber you might expect. He still feels a range of emotions as he attempts to maintain his PBS practice. What’s PBS? His Zen Buddhist mentor explains that it means Pause, Breathe, and Smile – or, if that doesn’t work, Peanut Butter Sandwich. Both can help avoid negative knee-jerk reactions that often only make life more difficult. While practicing PBS, Cole lives with his wife in rural Missouri relatively near St. Louis. 11/30/2021: Patrick J. Cole is a management consultant and poet who finds delight in nature, especially the hidden wildlife often pointed out to him by a canine companion while he attempts to walk mindfully through the woods. Cole mixes his psychology background, perennial wisdom practices, and poetry to deliver his simple message: there’s joy to be found if we know how to look for it. Oh, Cole might look calm, cool, and collected, but he still feels a range of strong emotions as he attempts to maintain his PBS practice. What is PBS? His Zen Buddhist mentor explains that it means Pause, Breathe, and Smile—or, if that doesn’t work, Peanut Butter Sandwich. Both can help avoid harmful knee-jerk reactions. While practicing PBS, Cole lives with his naturally beautiful wife in rural Missouri, relatively near St. Louis.

Book preview

I AM FURIOUS

(YELLOW)

PATRICK J. COLE

Art by Barbara Merlotti

(cover art: madman in yellow)

iUniverse, Inc.

New York   Bloomington

I Am Furious (Yellow)

Copyright © 2009 by Patrick J. Cole

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4401-2760-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-2761-8 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse Rev. 3/19/2009

Contents

Introduction

Programmed For Production

Hook Me Up

Early Training

His First Incentive Plan

Work is Love

I Pledge Allegiance

The Peace of Silver, The Heart of Gold

It’s Easy

Reaping What We Sow

Looking Good

The Evolution of Management

Seven Figures

Executive Pay

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Purging and Other Handy Excuses

He & His Machine

Workaholic Mantra

For the Corporate Good

Shedding The Shackles

Growing Restless

Travel Day

He Who Has the Gold Rules

Honestly

A Walking Billboard

In Praise of Paracosm

No Peace in Transition

It’s Free Until You Fight It

Big Chip

Snow Lion

B is for Bullshit

Getting Over Myself

Fading Beauty

Returning Home?

Flashes of Freedom

A Body of Work