What's It All About?

Ever since I was laid off, permanently, back in August of 2008 I've struggled with the available options for my employment. I was greatly discouraged when I found that many jobs required a college degree. That's not surprising but a lot of the time they didn't care whether or not the degree was in the field you were applying for. They just wanted you to have a sheepskin. One of the biggest surprises was when I applied as a delivery person for the Scooter Store. You know, the place that sells motorized wheel chairs. They turned me down because I did not have a degree. What the heck is that about? Another surprise came when I applied for a position in McDonalds management training. Actually I told them that at that point in time I would take any position they offered me. They very politely told me, in very politically correct language, that I was neither old or young enough to be considered. That's a pretty depressing thing to be told that McDonalds doesn't want you. It's pretty much assumed by everyone, I believe, that they can get a job at McDonalds.
Well, I'll quit rambling and get to the point. We're told all of our lives to find our passion and pursue it. I can't believe that it took this long for me to realize what my passion was. It was right in front of me the whole time. I don't think I ever pursued it because I felt like there wasn't any money in it. And when I did find out that a lot of people make a lot of money doing it I felt I was too old to take advantage of it. Now the problem is that I've narrowed it down to the exact part of my passion that excites me and I'm trapped in ways that will not allow me to pursue it. I've even tried thinking outside the box, begging for donations, and even looked for investors, but to no avail. What do you do when you finally realize what you want to do with your life and there doesn't seem to be any way to make it happen? What do you do when you're 52 years old with no money and retirement around the corner? What do you do when it seems like everything you've ever tried to do failed?
I apologize for airing my frustrations and worries, but it is my blog. And I know not many people will see it. If you're young and happen to stumble across this just remember this: GO TO SCHOOL AND GET A DEGREE! This will go down as one of my greatest regrets in life. I was and still am totally unprepared for what life hands us. I know that many people with degrees don't work in their field of knowledge, and many that do hate what they do, but it's something to fall back on. Even if it's delivering motorized wheel chairs. No one can predict where employment trends are heading and where you will work, but with a degree you stand a chance of doing something. Talent and ability won't always get you where you want to go. I found out the hard way. Unfortunately, I can live with failure but I think my wife and kids have put up with enough of it. Live your dreams but have a fall back plan. That's my 2 cents.

Farewell East Newhall

I had a surprising shock to my system the other day. I was in Wyoming, Michigan, at the corner of 36th street and Burlingame getting gas. I looked over to the northeast corner to look at the very first school I attended. Much to my surprise all I seen was a pile of rubble, a front end loader and a whole lot of open space. I really don't know why but my breath was taken away for a moment. I suddenly realized that another piece of my history was gone. Now I'll be honest, a lot of what went on there is stuck in a fog in the back of my mind because I only went there for kindergarten and 1st grade, but I have memories. Memories of my kindergarten teacher whose name was Mrs. Post and we called her post toasties. Memories of eating my first fizzie on the playground. If you don't know what a fizzie was ask your parents. Memories like having to stay late for discipline in 1st grade and having a student walk in and ask the teacher, Miss Cunningham, if she had heard that the President had been shot.
I don't know why the school was tore down but I imagine it was due to obsolescence. I don't think it had been used for some time so it was basically only serving as a link to my, and thousands of others, past. The ball fields in back are where I grew up playing little league baseball. I wonder if they survived.
This event has made me realize that nothing is permanent. Everything either evolves or gets shoveled under. I am learning lessons from the things that happen around me more and more lately. I myself have had to evolve many times but still feel like I'm being shoveled under at times. All of us have had to adapt to many situations I'm sure.
I wonder what I thought my future would be like as I played on the playground or put crayons on the old radiators to watch them melt. Did I see myself as an astronaut, a fireman, a major league baseball player, or a college graduate? I'm not any of these. I'm sure I never dreamed I would be a realtor. But I am. And like that, as with any career, I can either evolve and adapt or I can be shoveled under.
How's your old elementary building doing?