tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368184612009-02-22T18:03:24.183-08:00“I want all my senses to be engaged. Let me absorb the world’s variety and uniqueness.” ~ Maya AngelouMarcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-43908184643518223252007-11-08T04:43:00.000-08:002007-11-08T04:46:44.793-08:00

I have particularly enjoyed my current time in Boston. It is always grand to spend some time with my still active father and my more-beautiful-than-ever mother; They are both wonderfully delightful people and a joy to be around. I am very lucky to have them as parents. One of the greatest gifts they ever gave me was to encourage a sense of wonder and a drive to discover and learn things for

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-57189059161717400922007-10-31T17:18:00.000-07:002007-11-02T16:09:24.374-07:00

It's nearly Halloween again - a time of year that is interesting to me. Do I believe in "ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night"? No, but I do have respect for the traditions of the observance and for the thoughts and fears of those who have gone before. And what, after all, is Halloween all about? As Reb Tevye, the milkman, would say, in one word

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-77643012014985196952007-10-03T14:42:00.000-07:002007-10-03T14:57:53.918-07:00

Hello, everyone!I may have told some of you that I was heading for the Flint Hills in Butler County, Kansas. I have a deep interest in alternative energy development programs. Even better for me than development are projects that put what we know into practice. It was with that in mind that I traveled to Beaumont, Kansas to take a first hand look at the one-hundred wind turbine installation on

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-84813450254827315082007-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:002007-08-13T08:51:54.724-07:00

Greetings, everyone.My good friend Hall Harsh sent me an interesting story that I thought I would share with you. I find it interesting that someone could have so much fun with two characters that they just made up:Marcos, my parents had a friend, Pat Uhlmann, who had an annual party for his good friends, Norman and Patty Pechter of New York City. Pat would invite about 100 couples to his farm

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-24962270826237536742007-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:002007-07-10T13:56:11.554-07:00

Greetings from the beautiful country of Venezuela!At my last entry, I was heading toward the International Rotary Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. What a tremendous event. I went into the convention very curious about what this organization would be doing to attract the next generation of members, and I was not disappointed. As you know, I love having an experience and this event was exactly

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-40139415674344709802007-06-13T10:10:00.000-07:002007-06-13T11:50:56.540-07:00

Greetings,Those of you who have registered for Benetti’s Bulletin know that I was recently in Bangladesh. I was there a little longer than I expected as I mistakenly negotiated my way into a chicken by offering to watch a man’s children while he played in a Cricket tournament.Right now, I’m at my Boston apartment preparing to leave for Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend Rotary International’s Annual

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-77434561147324729662007-05-11T08:37:00.000-07:002007-05-11T09:24:27.777-07:00

Okay, that may be a bit crass, but I can’t help but quote the legendary waitress, Flo, from the TV series Alice. As odd as it may seem, I recently attended the 22nd Annual World Grits Festival in St. George, South Carolina.Yes, a grits festival. St. George has celebrated this greasy-spoon favorite for more than two decades. Apparently, the festival was born out of the realization that the good

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-56907274733951329982007-04-10T18:35:00.000-07:002007-04-10T18:37:01.115-07:00

Greetings, everyone. I’ve had a busy couple of weeks. I had intended to meet several business people at the Raytown Chamber of Commerce luncheon in March. The luncheon was sponsored by Benetti’s Coffee Experience and I was going to speak at the event.However, another opportunity bumped the business luncheon. An opportunity that is too good to pass up for an aviator like myself. Our friend Jeff

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-22013190760712372092007-03-08T08:39:00.000-08:002007-03-08T11:03:46.990-08:00

Hello, everyone. It looks like Punxsutawney Phil might be losing his edge. The winter has lasted a little longer than he predicted, at least in the Northeast. However, in Missouri, it is starting to look like spring. This has been very good for our coffeehouse project.Spring is always an exciting season, with both rebirth and new birth. So, it is timely that Ben and Sarah are now first-time aunt

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-59093248001939138022007-02-16T19:07:00.000-08:002007-02-16T19:16:51.580-08:00

Okay, I’m catching up on my Tivo’d shows, and, after watching this week’s episode of Lost, I now have to update my list of the most shocking people-getting-hit-by-a-vehicle scenes in a movie or television show.As of right now:1. Brad Pitt getting ping-ponged by two cars in Meet Joe Black.2. Juliet’s ex-husband Ed getting hit by a bus in Lost.3. That girl that gets hit by a bus in Final

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-3941873601879722272007-02-15T17:27:00.000-08:002007-02-16T19:07:18.232-08:00

Ola! It’s been a while since I’ve had access to the internet. My aunt, who I was visiting in Florida for while, contends that the World Wide Web can, in fact, let others see through your monitor. So, since she lives in a one-room, senior living apartment, it left me with no place to fire up my laptop without the entire globe getting an eyeful of her ceramic kitten collectables.I often spend

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-70670978393546831862007-01-18T17:49:00.000-08:002007-01-18T17:51:14.114-08:00

Hello everyone from beautiful (and COLD) Quebec City, Canada. Today there's a nice light snow falling, and it may hit 25 degrees if we are lucky. That's appropriate, because I am here visiting some friends who are working on the Québec Winter Carnival. It’s a family-friendly celebration of art, culture, sports, and entertainment to which tourists from around the world are invited. My kind of

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-14471861247533679572007-01-14T15:25:00.000-08:002007-01-14T16:48:46.473-08:00

I make a point to be here in the USA each year for a special observance on the King Day Weekend. I look forward to sharing more about this event next year. I hope that many of you will have the opportunity to join me in an extremely meaningful use of a “day off” on MLK Day, 2008.Of course, because I am home now, one of the wonderful things I get to do is catch up on all the beautiful

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-936599516991526232007-01-01T15:32:00.000-08:002007-01-02T19:47:00.859-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!Once again, it was great to be in New York City and join the 1 million folks in Time’s Square for the traditional New Year’s countdown. At Mayor Bloomberg’s invitation, I was privileged to pull the switch that dropped more than 3.5 million tons of confetti on the crowd—a new world’s record. Just where do you locate 3.5 million tons of confetti Marcos, you ask? That’s a

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1167148556127248512006-12-26T07:40:00.000-08:002006-12-30T17:35:10.687-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Today, I am writing to you from sunny Bethlehem, Israel, where it is partly sunny and 55 degrees. I am having a wonderful holiday with family and friends, and I’m wrapping up a very busy Christmas season. I can’t share all the details with you now, but perhaps some time in the future. I sent a quick note to Ben and Sarah yesterday about a wonderful Christmas experience,

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1165611631201572332006-12-08T12:54:00.000-08:002006-12-30T17:35:53.584-08:00

Ahhh. December is here. This is a special month for me. In fact, some of my most memorable experiences of the year happen in Diciembre. I’m not sure it’s time for me to share all of the details, yet.I will say that the majority of the month is spent participating in some fulfilling but exhausting activities that take me around the world. So, I thought I would start this final part of the year

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1164517964218825762006-11-25T21:04:00.000-08:002006-12-30T17:36:43.532-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!Although gratitude and thankfulness are my chief emotions during this time of year, the ridiculous amount of goodies that I consume help guilt work its way up there. This year, I wanted to experience something other than the normal, set-and-et turkey dinner that threatens my afternoon with a tryptophan nap.I needed something a little more challenging. I felt the need

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1163986476797131902006-11-18T17:26:00.000-08:002006-12-30T17:37:42.991-08:00

After returning from my hair-raising hike (see In Search of Blackbeard), I accompanied Jeff and Ben on a short flight around Jackson County in Jeff's Beechcraft Bonanza. In addition to being a businessman and a real estate professional, Jeff is also a very skilled pilot.Although I am certainly not new to flying, it had been a very long time since Ben had flown in a small plane. Jeff was a

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1162777799206278672006-11-05T17:45:00.000-08:002006-12-30T17:38:10.849-08:00

Hello, friends.I was recently back in Raytown from a short visit to Maine and got a good look at the progress on Benetti’s Coffee Experience. Wow! Jeff has really taken some big steps in the beginning of the project. It’s easy to see that this is more than just the average start-up business. The demolition part of the endeavor may not look too appealing, but as with most projects, it gets worse

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1162180974439458302006-10-16T19:56:00.000-07:002006-12-30T17:38:32.067-08:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since my last post. Ben had to get on me about keeping this up to date.Anyhoo, as a motorcycle enthusiast, I have been to many biker events in this country and others. (Don't miss an opportunity to ride a Swedish chopper near the Alps, but do check their brakes.)So, I feel comfortable saying the Ralph Wayne's Vintage Back Yard Nationals is one of the

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818461.post-1162181176093934892006-07-29T20:05:00.000-07:002006-12-30T17:39:06.181-08:00

Hello, friends from lovely Kauai, Hawaii.This place is absolutely georgous. I plan to write some more about the trip before I make my way to Raytown, but right now I have to catch up with a local barista who is a self-procliamed "lava junkie" who is taking me out to his favorite spot near the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to take a look, and maybe even leave some graffiti.Don't worry, this isn't

Marcos Benettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09646628405067556346noreply@blogger.com0