Life Goal: Achieved!

When I started Bert Records in the late 1990's, the first question people asked was "Why Bert?" Often people speculated that it had to do with Sesame Street or the engineer depicted in Scott Adams' comic. Sometimes, Hall-of -Famer-to-be Bert Blyleven would be mentioned. My response to these guesses: "No, No, No."

This led to the second question, "Okay then, who is Bert?" For purposes of suspense, I skip now to the third question, "Why Bert?"

"I call it Bert Records after my Uncle Bert because he has a happy dog. I can think of no better measure of contentedness than having a happy dog." (This still holds true today.)

Bert Records was a record label that by design broke even financially, and if I had felt there was a financial opportunity out there, I might have made Bert Records bigger, and pursued things on a larger scale, but the overall essence of Bert Records, at least to me, was always contentedness. Through Bert Records, I wanted to achieve contentedness. Thus, I named my little enterprise 'Bert Records' because my Uncle Bert had a happy dog.

So here we are, toward the end of the first decade of the 2000's. Monica and I throw a small party. Lots of musicians show up, talk, make up songs and have have a good time. One of them (a non-drinker, no less) is too tired to go home and spends the night in our basement on the day bed. We go to breakfast down the street and he tells me, "I am jealous of you. You have the happiest dog."

By the best standard I can can come up with, I have achieved my goal of contentedness.

Life Goal #1. Achieved.