Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

19 Years After

It still seems like yesterday. But it's been 19 years of looking over our shoulders. Of taking three times as long to board an airplane. Of mourning loved ones that did not deserve their fate.

That this day of remembrance falls on a Music Friday provides us with a platform to share the music that honors those who served and died, remembers those that were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and asks a singularly powerful question.

To the first, we offer Yellowcard's powerful "Believe."

To those we lost, we offer Kristy Jackson's "Little Did She Know."

And, to the root question, we turn to the Eagles. Don Henley began writing the song the evening of the attack and the band ultimately recorded "Hole in the World."

Hole in the World, indeed...and we will never forget.

A Powerful Piece on Our Farm Neighbors

Terri and I are 'Sconnies (people who live in Wisconsin). Our move two summers ago to the country places us just miles from the "Driftless Area" of the State, where some of the finest agricultural land in the nation can be found. A region where Federal policy changes promised by the President in his last campaign have yet to materialize. In fact, his trade wars have made it worse.

We are a farm family. While I'm pretty much a city-boy (but, evolving every week), some members of Terri's extended family work the land and milk the cows. And, I learn more everyday about their struggles, many of which are government induced. But, I gotta say, none of what I've learned in our time together prepared me for this story in The New Yorker.

If you live in the Midwest, you must read this piece. If you live anywhere else, you should.

Winter is coming.

An Archer Hits Her Mark

Those of us in the Destination Marketing and Tourism field have been left adrift in the Federal response to the 'VID. With legislation that would bring some relief stalled in Washington over philosophical differences that just simply don't matter anymore, DMO pros are writing impassioned missives to urge action.

Our friend Rick Antonson penned one a week or so ago that hit a nerve. And, Destination Madison's Deb Archer so nailed it last week in her op-ed piece in the Wisconsin State Journal.

There are people that are surviving these times...and for every one of them, there is someone who isn't:

"For every local resident who glides across Lake Wingra in a kayak, there is an out-of-work tourism industry worker who is swimming in debt. For every group of friends who picnic in a shady park shelter, there’s a family headed by an unemployed hospitality professional who doesn’t know how much longer they’ll have a home. For every restaurant striving to survive by serving outdoors, there’s another that’s permanently closed its doors."

The full column is here.

Your job? Try to beat Deb's words. And then, get them heard.

We are all depending on you.

How We View Ourselves Differently

When the 'VID began to rear its ugly head, Destination Marketing Organizations pivoted on a dime and came to the aid of their business communities. DMOs went from Destination Marketers to Destination Leaders overnight.

Not that what recently happened in Cedar Rapids IA wouldn't have happened before the pandemic (because that's just how the CEO of Think Iowa City is wired), but it's a wonderful example of DMOs that are increasingly being understood as a vital agency to the lifeblood of the community.

The destruction that whipped through Cedar Rapids during the recent Derecho left tens of thousands of people without power for days, grain silos crushed, millions of acres of crops destroyed, homes and apartment buildings damaged and destroyed. 

Cedar Rapids is 20 minutes up the road from Iowa City...but that didn't stop Think Iowa City CEO Josh Schamberger from quickly assembling a crew of University of Iowa athletes, coaches and other volunteers to make that drive to help strangers recover.

That's what Destination Leaders do...even for other towns. Even for competitors.

Josh Rocks.

It's Either Sadness or Euphoria

If you follow the musings of Bruce Turkel, you may have seen his latest post regarding one of his favorite Billy Joel songs, "Summer, Highland Falls." And, that nudge was good enough to make it today's Music Friday feature.

Bruce doubles down on his admiration of the song as a metaphor for our times: "For all our mutual experience, our separate conclusions are the same" and "For we are always what our situations hand us, it's either sadness or euphoria." Sounds like 2020 to me, too.

So here it is: "Summer, Highland Falls," from only his fourth studio album (and here's the backstory on how this masterpiece evolved). His lyricism is stunning for 1976. And, while it wasn't a chart success, Turnstiles remains one of my favorite Billy Joel albums.

This album also contains another one of our faves, "I've Loved These Days," which was the featured song in a Music Friday post two summers ago that became my most viewed blog post in 14 years.

Enjoy.

The Next Victims

Last autumn, I had the opportunity to attend a fascinating presentation on the future of higher education by the Associate VP for Enrollment Management at the University of Iowa, Brent Gage. In a nutshell, Brent shared that demographic shifts, already in play, over the next 10 years would place under-branded liberal arts schools at risk.

Little did any of us in that room believe that day of reckoning would be coming much sooner due to a ham-handed response to a pandemic.

A friend from college (one of those schools that are on the "they're toast" list) sent me this chilling post from NYU professor Scott Galloway and his team as they looked at the health of every U.S. college (and thus, every college town) in the face of the 'VID. The article links to an exhaustive spreadsheet to show their analysis of the likely survivors...and those schools who won't. 

It's not a pretty picture. But, as Galloway says, "denial is more expensive than facing reality."

Or, be like Bluto: "My advise to you, is to start drinking heavily."

Your choice.

What's Going On

It was 50 years ago this month that Marvin Gaye laid the vocal track for "What's Going On."

As Brian McCollum recently wrote in the Detroit Free Press, "racial tensions, police controversy, environmental anxieties, a globe on edge — they were the topics on the front burner when Gaye rebooted his musical career and took control of his creative vision inside Motown."

“There’s too many of you crying…there’s far too many of you dying."

Finished in the fall of 1970, Motown executives sat on the song until January, fearing it would be too controversial. Upon its ultimate release, it shot to Number 2 on the charts and sits at Number 4 on Rolling Stone's "Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

On this Music Friday, we ask again, "What's Going On."

And, this isolated vocal track will give you chills.

"You know we've got to find a way to bring some understanding here today."

Are We Really Celebrating?

This 4th of July is unlike any in our history. And yet, so many of us are racing to congregate in the face of skyrocketing cases of the VID. And others refuse to wear masks, believing in a game show host who believes the virus will simply disappear.

But, has this ever really been a day to celebrate? Yeah, this has been the day we commemorate our independence. But, at what cost?

I'm not, for a minute, saying this isn't a day to celebrate American independence from the Crown. But, this piece in Fast Company deserves your consideration.

And, here's to doing what's right to retrieve our Republic and build a nation of equity.

 

Front or Back?

When we moved into our new neighborhood, we got lots of "looks." After a few weeks, it became clear that our habit (learned from our time in an urban environment) was to keep our garage door closed. In our new rural setting, that was akin to saying we were not open to hanging with our new neighbors.

Which, of course, was further from the truth than even the President can achieve on his worst days. 

We are, by nature and habit, back porch people...and we are out there all the time, inviting neighbors over whenever we see them. But, that's just not the culture here. These are garage partiers. But, our garage is a disaster.

A recent article on Curbed brought it home to me. So, we'll attempt to clean the garage and open the door more often. But, really...

Come around back. It's much nicer.

Well Played, My Friends

Today's issue of the Z-News (our monthly e-mail newsletter) notes the retirement of 7 (count 'em, seven) DMO CEOs in just the past month. That's simply insane...but, it's a sign of the times.

If you didn't receive today's edition (which also features my commentary on the future of Strategic Plans and links to new DMOU Podcast episodes with Visit Jackson's Rickey Thigmen and Visit Bentonville's Kalene Griffith), click here for the web version, and here to never miss an issue.

And, to those stepping away from the Big Chair, congratulations on starting the next chapter of your lives. Y'all done good.