Show Travel Standard-Examine- r horizons Books Sunday November 20 1988 Weddings Gary r ClarkStandard-Examine- Richard and Linda Eyre seen here with their horse King have found a balance in life By MARILYN ABILDSKOV Siandard Examiner staff ichard and Linda Eyre authors of (Ballantine Books $1695) were yuppies before the word existed Caught up in a classic American quest for success the two lived a fast track lifestyle during their 20s: Richard graduated from the Harvard Business School Linda taught music in Boston’s public schools Together they started raising a large family keeping up with civic and church responsibilities all the while After moving back to Utah where Richard started a management consulting business and Linda was making twenty-plu- s trips in the car every week kids to and from piano the to get just lessons and soccer games on time — well time began looking mighty scarce And slowly the Eyres reached the conclusion they needed to slow down “From 23 to 33 we were yuppies That wasn’t a term back then but it’s what k we were” said Richard 43 in a interview at the couple’s cabin up Parley’s Canyon “Finally that whole e lifestyle caught up with us We found that the things we wanted were the things we were giving up We decided it was more important to us to have time than more money That was really the trade off — time for money” Now the Eyres are reformed yuppies n success stories if you will They’ve slowed down and lost the drive “Life-Balanc- e” laid-bac- fast-lan- born-agai- to own a BMW Their new battle cry — a messagg a lot of people are hungry to hear — is balance “Whatever you call it — balance quality whatever — it’s an idea everyone can identify with because we live in such a hurry hurry world” said Linda 41 “For older people who have not been in this kind of lifestyle they don’t under- stand” In a way “LifeBalance” is the Eyres justification for the way they’ve chosen to live their lives — for their choice “to put balance ahead of business and quali- ty in front of quantity” to use their words The book freely admits its authors’ biases: that relationships are more important than jobs that people are more important than things that real conversation is preferable to cocktail party chitchat “It assumes a certain maturity level” Richard said “People reading it must be willing to give something up You have to be willing to give up status symbols” As the Eyres are quick to point out the book is not for folks who want to rise to the tops of their professions It is not a good pick for say an aspiring concert pianist who must be focused and disciplined to achieve his or her goal Also “LifeBalance” tries hard not to p book or read like a how-tp books time “We really think management and the positive mental at o self-hel- self-hel- titude approach are part of the problem" Richard said “For many people making lists and trying to get more done is the very thing that’s taking spontaneity out of their lives” Spontaneity is one of the things the Eyres believe will help people balance work with self with family Society wants people to choose bethe tween structure and spontaneity flex— and between discipline Eyres say ibility between the yin and the yang But most people including windsurfing types as well as success-drive- n Wall Street brokers want and free-spint- need both That’s where serendipity — the quality that allows a person to discover something good while seeking something else — comes in “Serendipity is a bridge that lets us have our cake and eat it too” said Richard who along with Linda wrote “Teaching Children Joy” It’s a bridge between two worlds: one filled with people who love to make goals the other with folks who read poetry dress for comfort and listen to Stravinsky Note the definition of serendipity Richard said: It amounts to happy things you find nhile seeking something else You start with a goal in other words then polish your awareness and increase your sensitivity enough to enjdy unexpected pleasures and unforeseen in- dress-for-succe- ss terruptions When asked the Eyres admit they’v-ha- d the luxury of pursuing a balanced life — a' life that allows them to spend quality time with their nine children write books travel and take off to their ranch on random mornings to ride horses — because of financial security “Our financial base comes from the Harvard Business School” Linda admits “And Richard’s happy for those credentials He always tells our kids that’s what gives you a ticket And then once you’ve struggled you can get bal- anced" Still the notion of balance applies to everyone regardless of income the Eyres say Women in particular Linda said are pulled in competing directions and given conflicting cues from feminists traditionalists and everyone in between “I think most women live with a lot of guilt I feel like we’re all struggling to be good mothers whether we work outside of the home or not Mothers at home run into the same problems as working mothers Kids are tugging at her and she’s saying ‘Let me just get this floor done Let me Just do the windows’ ” k Linda Only partly t mothers “go to the nearest suggests-thacloset and scream”- on particularly for herself she’s learned to ful dayk-A- s Met a tot’ of things go See BALANCE on 6D tongue-in-chee- ' t Ups keep abreast of best ballplayers They’re lips that have kissed dozens of professional baseball players Lips that have kissed prominent figures in three other sports as well Lips that have kissed their way into jaiT 16 times Ah if only these lips could talk They can actually and this is what they say: “It all started when I was 17” the lips say “One Sunday afternoon some girlfriends and I went to a baseball game in Cincinnati The o in the seventh inning and my score was me to run out and give friends I was kiss a Rose Pete just a teenager you don’t a teenager So I did it and the 1 ' Reds won That was in the early ’70s Today they’re arguably the most famous lips in America Say “Morganna Roberts wife of a Columbus Ohio accountant” and you’ll get blank stares However simply say “Morganna" — that's all just Morganna nothing more — and now you’ve said something Anyone who has followed sports at all particularly major league baseball has heard of Morganna zero-zer- double-dirty-dar- double-dirty-da- ed re 3-- V 1 Dubbed “The Kissing Bandit” the buxom blonde with the overactive lips has become legendary for sneaking onto playing fields while ball games are in progress and planting one on unsuspecting athletes career she’s kissed many a During her e baseball player not to menleague major tion three college football coaches one pro football player a pro basketball player and a mascot (the San Diego Chicken) And on Thursday in Salt Lake City to make an appearance at the Coors AutoRama Morganna added a pro basketball coach to that list Utah Jazz Coach Frank Lay den became Morganna’s 30th victim the 30th sports figure unable to escape the Kissing Bandit’s smooches Not that anyone would try to Being kissed by Morganna has become a status symbol in the world of sports The Kissing Bandit gets several hundred letters a week from fans casting their “vote” for her next victim When she gets enough requests for a particular sports personality she plans her attack The Bandit’s MO is fairly predictable Since she's easily recognizable these days her disguise includes a scarf over her blond hair and a coat to 18-ye- ar big-nam- t well the rest of her She sneaks down cover her near the playing field then when there’s a break in the action scampers over the fence and out onto the field Although she hasn’t divulged her lipstick brand Morganna does say it goes on thick and gooey — “I want it to leave a mark you know like Zorro” Although it’s her lips that have done most of the work they're not the only attribute that’s made Morganna famous In fact she’s become better known for another part of her anatomy To put it gently as one insider put it “Morganna makes Dolly Parton look like a boy” “No contest” Morganna states flatly “Dolly’s a ‘double D’ and I'm an ‘I’ Compared to me she’s flat chested It’s not her fault and I feel sorry for her But I'm 5 inches taller so it only makes sense I’d be five cup sizes bigger” Although the players fans and even security personnel love her antics life as the Kissing Bandit is not without its hazards thanks to a few humorless spoilsports (mostly bailclub executives) Morganna has been tackled from behind and knocked unconscious suffering a trio of broken Mark Saal Standard-Examin- er columnist ribs She's been arrested 6 times for trespassing y onto ball fields and still faces a possible smooch for an in attempted Chicago jail sentence of the Cub's Ryne Sandberg in Wrigley Field earlier See SAAL on 6D 1 365-da- Y A- - ¥ V r ‘ II |