Archive for April 2019

Serving lunch to 625 kids at a Catholic High School. Hmm. Not exactly featured on my Ten-Year Plan. When the economy tanked in 2008 it was any port in a storm. From serving the Pope and President Reagan in 1987, to this.  But who is ever too high and mighty to learn? The Sisters who…

Leading Caterers of America . . . #1 on Yahoo for a time during the mid-’90s with its niche key words. I created this web site to connect clients to caterers. Sadly, early success was followed by failure. I didn’t have the time or the technical expertise to keep it relevant.  Competitors outran me, and…

Hugh Carter’s secretary nudged me towards the bushes on the front lawn of the White House. I was not to be seen by Chief Usher Rex Scouten.  Interviewing to be Food and Beverage Number Two, one of the questions was:   “Bill, do you have any skeletons in your closet?” Fortunately, my closet was empty…

What was I going to say? How was I going to say it?  How would I remember what to say? How do I keep these kids engaged for a whole hour?  George Jessel once said, “The human brain starts working as soon as you’re born and stops working when you get up to speak in…

October 1980. 200 attorneys at Vizcaya. The word “challenge” doesn’t begin to cover it. My first catering job and there were thousands of obstacles and pitfalls. A demanding group. Stairs. No elevators. Wind and rain. Long walks from the temp kitchen to the guests. Strict rules. And no shelter from the elements.  A caterer’s nightmare.…

How do you cut someone off? This was roughly 25 years ago, by my reckoning. It was time for hospitality law class at FIU. Dr. Tony Marshall was dynamic, demanding and charismatic. The topic that day: sensible service of alcoholic beverages. Tony drilled the class on what to do when someone’s had too much:            …

Easter Sunday, 2019 2,000 years ago, Mary Magdalene ran to John and Peter with the news. The grave was empty. John and Peter ran back to see for themselves.  They believed. And this belief has been passed down to each of us through the ages. In the fall of 1982, I ran the marathon through…

The party was over. It was time to be paid.   “Follow me, Beall.” (She couldn’t say Bill.)  Up the winding staircase of her multi-million-dollar home in Golden Beach. Where was she taking me? Finally, at the end of a long, imposing climb, she turned to me and said, “Please step into my office, Beall.”…

Today is the day, some 2,000 years ago, when Jesus fulfilled his mission, which was to die in our place so that we may have GRACE. God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense Imagine His mental agony at the Last Supper when He knew His time had come. Or how He stood in front of Pontius Pilate, innocent,…

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Uh-oh, Bill. Not again. Every Memorial Day in my hometown of Holland, New York, our American Legion club stages a parade through town. Those marching down Main Street proudly wear the cap of Legion Post 607. One year I realized I’d left my hat in my hotel…