Picto Diary - 10 to 21 March 2026 - TIMDT Virtual Training Session

Above: Grrr and Mynduveroan. Park City, UT. 10 March 2018.
Nostalgia pic.

Above: Francks Restaurant. Holladay, UT. 11 March 2026.
Hailey family. Granny and Mwah (sic).

Above: Deer Valley, UT. 13 March 2026.
40 15 454
Image. Crown Point Lift. Metaphor for 2025/2026 ski season.

Above: Train Dreams blurb. 14 March 2026.
TIMDT and Mwah (sic) watched the movie tonight. The only one of the "best picture" nominees for this year's Academy Awards that we watched.

I liked the setting, northern Idaho and northeastern Washington, area through which I have motorcycled extensively. And the period, pre to post WWI.

Costumes, visuals all very authentic.

The film captures the life of Robert Grainier (played by Joel Edgerton) an orphan, become railroad worker and logger, whose only happiness, a wife and a child, came in his 40's, only to lose both, killed by a forest fire at his home while he was away on a logging job. Grainier was a nobody in this character study. Grainier was a man of few words. Most scenes were narrated by the very recognizable (and slow talking westerner, appropriate for the show) voice of Will Patton. Of course, there was the very obligatory, but tiresome, Hollywood scene where we were all to be educated about the evils of white racism. White ruffians threw a Chinese worker off of a bridge. Grainier didn't participate in the racist incident... rather, he was puzzled by it. The incident was a recurring dream for the Grainier, so we weren't allowed to forget it. I'll remember the movie, if for no other reason than its unusual subject matter and authentic production quality. But "best picture," has descended a long way since Lawrence of Arabia and Apocalypse Now. William H. Macy had a cameo part in the film.

Above: Deer Valley, 15 March 2026.
Cushing's Cabin (file image)
41 15 469
Blue bird. Cold. Tricky conditions. Snow: hard and sugar. Irregular grooming bumps. Ruby Lift closed due overnight tree fall. Substituted Cushing's Cabin for office break. Still in all, good to be outdoors

Caps or not? 16 March 2026.

A month ago, I, (accompanied by three motorcycle riding friends) walked into the Palm Desert, CA Ruths Chris Steakhouse wearing a baseball cap. Before being ushered to the table I was asked politely to take off the cap. I wasn't offended, and would have removed the cap in any case, as I always do, after I was seated.

A couple of weeks ago I became aware that Ruth Chris had actually established a new dress code policy that included removing hats. Ruth’s Chris Steak House says ‘proper attire required’ in dress code change - al.com

Two nights ago, seated with friends at Ruth Chris Steakhouse, we watched as four or five men were seated (different tables) still wearing their caps. The men's caps remained on during the dining experience.

I saw (didn't seek out) the Manager on the way out and asked him why the new rule wasn't being enforced. He was nice enough as he explained that he would lose business if he tried to enforce the rule.

Somewhere here there is a sociological treatise on manners in America.

Citi Mentors 18 March 2026

In a recent email forum discussion, the topic of Citigroup's fall from grace over the last two decades came up. Many on the forum discussion were former Citi employees as was I, from 1971 to 1991. Following is an excerpt from my comments to the forum:

Yet, you can't deny, it was good living at the apex ie. when we were there!

Oh wait...
"Countries don't go bankrupt!"

Still, notwithstanding Citi's fall, something was right, at least for me, when we were there. I had great mentors who taught me much, raised my expectations of what I could accomplish, directed me to over-my-head opportunities where I could sink or swim, and laid the dough on thick when I performed.

Mike Callen: Beirut, Lebanon. 1972. The Beirut Bourse Course was by far the best pedagogical experience of my life. Co Beirut trainee, Dennis Lockhart, later President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, who was in PC skiing last week, affirmed the same as we rode up the Deer Valley chairlift together. Mike, after he left Citi as a Vice Chairman and a board member, he was CEO of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank for a few years. Mike and Vickie live nearby in Park City, UT and we remain friends 55 years after Beirut.

Glenn Moreno: Sydney, Australia, 1975. I was 30 and Glenn, Citi's senior man in Australia, was 32, a hot corporate property for Citi at the time. I was two down from Glenn but had a few interchanges with him that taught me a lot. Glenn had wisdom beyond his age. He taught me value of nuance as a substitute for my still hard to shed dogmatism. Glenn later became CEO of Pearson, in the UK and after that was acting Chairman of UK Financial Investments Limited, the entity that managed the UK government's shareholdings. Glenn is currently on the board of Consolidated Pastoral Company, one of the largest cattle ranches in Australia. Recently, hearing that I had a trip scheduled to do an Oz adventure cruise in the Kimberly, he invited me to stop by the cattle ranch. That will have to be for another time, but I appreciated the invitation

Ralph Kravitz (RIP): Sydney Australia. Analysis. Goal orientation. Toughness. Need for self-confidence. Importance of bull shitting in his office until 9:00 PM every night. Ralph was assigned to Australia to fix a big operational problem at Citi affiliate, Industrial Acceptance Corporation. The team Ralph assembled, from within Citi worldwide, and local hires was formidable. Here's a link to a write-up I did on Ralph after he passed: Ralph Kravitz - A Student's Memoir | Stephen DeWitt Taylor

Edward Harshfield: Sydney, Australia, Manila Philippines, Tokyo, Japan. Ed, a Citi Division Executive at the time I was a direct report (two down in Oz and PI), was based in Hong Kong. Ed set high expectations. Ed could size up a business problem better than anyone I have known. Same for talent... good and bad. Ed showed confidence in me. Defended me when I faltered. Kept a professional distance (I mean this in a good way). Laid money and opportunity on thick when I delivered. Ed left Citi in the mid-80's and led some S and L turnarounds post S and L crisis... on a scale much bigger than my own success at American Savings of Florida. I remain in regular contact with Ed, no longer a boss and now a friend. Ed's and wife Libby rotate between homes in Naples, FL and Highland, NC.

Richard Kovacevich: Tokyo, Japan. I was two down but couldn't avoid noting his wise and even-tempered authenticity as a leader. Dick paid three or four visits to Tokyo while I was there. I attended business reviews with Ed and Dick in NY as well. Dick was CEO of Wells Fargo Bank from 2001 to 2007. He remained Wells' Chairman until 2009. I participate with Dick on email forums and see him occasionally in Palo Alto for Hoover Institution events... where we are both Overseers.

Above: Ivins, UT. 18 March 2027.
AM routine. TIMDT"s virtual training session with Jada, her trainer of fourteen years. Jada is face timing from Park City, UT.

Above: Ivins, UT. 18 March 2026.
Freddie. Home routine.

Above: Ivins, UT. 19 March 2026.
Desert bloom outside my home office.

This Paris Tour Reveals How Hidalgo Made City Greener, More Car-Free

Above: Paris Article from Bloomberg. 20 March 2026.

Here's a Facebook post I made after reading the above piece on Paris:

I spent 2 years of my life, off and on, in this city. 1965 to 1968. Mormon missionary. I rode my 50cc Velo Solex around Etoile at least a dozen times and climbed most of the five story stairs in the Fourteenth's batiments. I cashed my monthly check of $150, received from my parents, at FNCB's Champs Elysee branch. There I met the branch manager, John Fogarty, Fondee de Pouvoirs, who told me that if I wanted to work internationally for FNCB (later Citibank) I should get a law degree. I ran into Fogarty fifteen years later in Miami where he was head of the US Tennis Association.
I am keen to follow the Paris strategy of Mayor Ann Hidalgo, particularly in the context of Europe's economic and cultural decline. No mention in this piece of any changes to Paris region's Muslim no go zones in its surrounding suburbs.

Here's a reply to my Facebook post:

A similar thing happened to me when I was a missionary in Uruguay and Paraguay. I met Bill Farnsworth (who was later over the part of Citi Latin America where I began my overseas career.......Panama, then Puerto Rico). In Paraguay I cashed MY monthly checks at Citi (No doubt FNCB then) where Bob Wells was the Country Head (he later opened Citi in Ecuador). He interested me in banking and Citi. Funny how these things just sorta come together when you are active in meeting people. Leon Reinhart

Above: Las Vegas, NV. 20 March 2026.
Out and about on the 'Wing. 20
Lunch in Vegas with Mr. Z3 and a ride in his rare BMW M Coupe.

Above: Glendale, NV. 20 March 2026.
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Round trip/Ivins Summerlin, NV 269 miles. Image. 100F ambient temp. Miles since last gas: 208. Remaing range at this stop. 24.