memories | Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

In North Dakota, you have two (2) seasons every year named Winter and Not Winter. During Not Winter, you experience the traditional seasons of Spring, Summer, and Fall in a six (6) month period and you experience Winter during the other six (6) month period.

There was no internet, no smartphones, no video games, and for leisure you had maybe 4 TV channels to watch, read a book, or go outside.

During the sub-zero Winter months, you hibernated inside and one of my fondest memories as a child was curling up in a blanket in front of the TV watching Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom before the Wonderful World Of Disney came on.

A concept ahead of its time and duplicated time and time again. Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom was a program dedicated to ecology and the environment that ran from 1963 to 1971. Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler hosted the show and could be considered the godfathers of environment programming.

In later years, it was reported that some scenes were staged for the program and in our political correct (PC) environment, Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom may not have survived. I gained an appreciation for our wonderful planet and its wildlife as a child because of this program and to this day prefer to take pictures of wildlife.

Being a realist when it comes to ecology and the environment and I believe in the right to hunt and our responsibility to be conservationists. Being not certain if Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom taught me this but I would like to think so.

It is incredible that there are TV channels dedicated to ecology and the environment and this wouldn’t have happened if Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom had not blazed the path. I enjoy programming on these channels as long as the message is balanced or there is no ulterior motive.

I wish I could go back to those frigid winter days when my only concern was coming inside before Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom came on and feeling a sense of amazement after watching that once again Marlin made Jim risk his life to get that video shot.

1963 to 1971 was a simpler period in many ways but it was also one of our more turbulent periods so I am happy I could watch a program that had an overall goal of exposing its audience to great wonders of the world.

Mutual Of Omaha Insurance owns the rights to this program and has not released it since 1971. It sure would be great to revisit this program and childhood memories.

Its great being 50 Plus Going On 15 (Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen).

What program impacted your life when young?

Jay Patterson

Sports Heroes October 2017 – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

I am happy to say that the NHL Hockey season started this week so I can post a positive Sports Heroes October 2017.

What a refreshing sight, the national anthem being sung with players and audience singing along, hockey players standing on thin blades understanding that the product they provide to customers is hockey and beautiful show of patriotism on both sides of the border with a special acknowledgment for Las Vegas.

I have walked away from my favorite sport of NFL football and purchased NHL Center Ice and tonight is our third night of hockey watching games from the east to the west coast. The cool thing is, there are 80 plus hockey games per team so what a deal compared to spending more for only 16 NFL games per team.

I have my lovely bride to thank for my newfound love of hockey. We were both raised in North Dakota with me a novice hockey fan and Renee a hardcore hockey fan since her brother played hockey.

Over the years, my bride and daughter have continued watching hockey with a passion watching the Sioux City Musketeers for when we lived in Iowa and watching the Missouri State Ice Bears since moving to Missouri. I have taken them to a few professional hockey games over the years with our favorite team being the Nashville Predators even before they were in the Stanley Cup in 2017.

I am still doing NFL Fantasy Football since I obligated myself to a league prior to the season starting and I still do NFL weekly game picks since it has been a family tradition since the 1970s but I have not watched a game in 2017 and probably won’t.

NFL football fans have experienced a sad situation that started in 2016 and has continued in 2017. NFL fans forgave the NFL for multiple labor strikes, building domed stadiums in the great white north, making it almost impossible to tackle a quarterback, and for the national anthem issue in 2016.

Unluckily, it is doubtful that this NFL fan will forgive them for the national anthem issue dragging into 2017. I hold terrible grudges and have made every effort to not shop Sears since they stopped producing a catalog and that is only the tip of my grudge list.

I’m good with this change and believe I will figure out a way to take my bride of thirty years to an NHL hockey game of her choice and we are going to make certain we show our appreciation for players and teams on both sides of the border. We have many NHL teams within 12 hours so who will it be?

Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus, Minnesota, Dallas, Denver, or Detroit.

It does not matter to me since no matter the game, I believe it will be quite enjoyable and we will receive what we pay for.

We are currently watching the Florida Panthers play the Tampa Bay Lightning and the score is within one point halfway through the game. A close, exciting game.

Changes in slashing rules for the 2017 season should make the game a little faster and a little less physical so we will see if this makes the game more exciting. I miss the days of no helmets but agree that helmets were a good change to the game.

What are your thoughts regarding the NFL anthem situation and have you changed your sports habits?

Have a great day and its great being fifty plus going on fifteen.

Jay Patterson

Napkin Sketches And Notes – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Life is interesting when you are fifty plus going on fifteen and recently I was asked a question that I would like to share.

The question:

What did you do In the dark ages (back then) to take unplanned notes before smartphones, notepads, and touchscreen laptops?

I do not believe this individual was ready for my answers but I will share in this article and many of you will understand exactly what I am talking about.

“Back Then”, I always tried to carry a pen and pad of paper in case I had to record unplanned notes, received a call on my non-smart cell phone, or was paged and had to call someone. Yes, I said paged. You did not always have a pad of paper so you had to improvise with anything available to write on but I would always carry a pen.

If you did not have a pad of paper you had a number of options including:

Writing on your hand, but for hygienic reasons, your notes would be washed off.
Writing on the tablecloth, wall, table, etc., but some considered this vandalism.
Writing on money in your wallet, but you would sometimes spend the money.
Writing on napkins, this was my primary choice for sketches of notes if I did not have a pad of paper.
Whiting on matchbooks, my backup choice if no napkins but matchbooks are not always available.

I found myself in many situations grabbing a pile of napkins and documenting meeting notes, processes, procedures, flowcharts, etc., on the fly, in the car, and while on pay phones.

For those that are not clear about a pay phone, we can discuss later but I will tell you the phone cord was never long enough.

The napkins were protected like the Dead Sea Scrolls until your could either re-write your notes on a pad of paper or enter them into your desktop or laptop that was too bulky to drag to lunch or a meeting.

Napkins worked and the extra napkins in your pockets could come in handy for other reasons as well. On the flip side, there were a couple workable options listed below but the napkin was my primary choice.

Matchbooks were a good alternative to napkins in an emergency but you could only write on the inside and if somebody asked for a match, you would lose your notes.
There was a significant innovation called “Sticky Notes” and they were easier to carry in your pocket but I always had issues with them falling on the floor and walking off on the bottom of someones shoe again losing your notes.

Napkins were also a great way to relax or beat boredom prior to a meeting, lunches, when alone, etc. You could doodle, rip them up, try to make airplanes, clean your silverware, and perform many other critical and non-critical functions.

The napkin worked in 1920, 1970, and a napkin will work in 2020 and beyond. So, for those that did not know what Napkin Sketches and Notes were, you do now. For those that used something else, let me know what that is.

Have a great day.

Jay Patterson

Sports Heroes September 2017 – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

With the beginning of fall, a convergence of professional sports seasons occurs unlike any other time of the year.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is winding down and the Cleveland Indians are one of the hottest teams playing ball prior to the playoffs.
National Hockey League (NHL) is ramping up with two more weeks of preseason play and Las Vegas has a team.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) completes preseason play this week and the big question is Cleveland or Golden State.
National Football League (NFL) is entering week three (3) of the 2017 season and the NFL cannot figure out why viewership is taking for the second straight year.

I am an avid National Football League (NFL) fan who has followed the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders since the late 1060s. My Vikings have broken more hearts than Zsa Zsa Gabor and my Raiders have won Superbowls and have been the laughingstock of the NFL.

When I talk about being an avid football fan, my level of interest includes:

Counting days until the draft, preseason, regular season, playoffs, and Superbowl.
Purchasing and reading magazines and subscriptions to websites to be better educated.
Purchasing televised subscription services for all NFL games and I love the Red Zone.
Studying stats so I can participate in football picks each week.
Studying player and team stats so I can participate in my fantasy football team.

Well, it is week 3 of the NFL season and I have walked away from the NFL with exception of doing football picks and fantasy football since I have obligated my involvement with friends. I don’t like it but I do not like the new political NFL.

Please do not get me wrong since I believe that everyone should be able to support their political leanings but professional players are at work when they play and is it right to take your politics or religion to work?

So there is a void in my fall sports needs and to fill this void I am filling my time with non-political sports like college football and hockey.

I do have other options and I am warming up to MLB baseball again but the 1994 baseball strike still catches in my craw. NHL hockey is an option but a couple weeks out so perhaps we dive deep into hockey. I love NASCAR but all the rule changes have resulted in less interest and Junior is having a poor final year but I hope he is having fun.

Perhaps, the NFL will figure out that people do not really care about politics when watching football and will take a handle on this issue but perhaps not. Until the NFL does treat political protests like a personal foul, I will refrain from fully participating in my favorite sport.

Have a great day and it is great to be Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen.

Jay Patterson

Cadillac Service At Yugo Prices – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

At one time, a Cadillac automobile was considered a class ride and for those that remember the Yugo, this automobile was a little red wagon with a motor and Fred Flinstone brakes.

I have been involved in the service delivery industry for much of my life and logic would imply that service levels would improve with technology advances and you would experience a decrease in service costs.

Major technology companies have bet the farm on the philosophy of cheaper, faster, better but is this a strategy that actually delivers as promised? Let’s see.

Today, I needed to set up a rental truck for a project in South Carolina. Using the model of cheaper, faster, better we will map out the results.

I was able to pull up websites quite easily using Google Search. I wanted to compare costs between two different providers.
- On both sites, I was able to pull basic costs but neither website would allow me to select all desired options so I had to set up a chat and wait for a rep to chat with me.
- Once the chat started, neither reps could answer the questions I had so each directed me to contact a rep using the 1-800 number.
I called the 1-800 number for company #1 and they were unable to pull the information off the website that I had completed so we manually completed the quote over the phone.
- Overall, they were very helpful and we achieved our goal.
- Total invested time, company #1, 30 minutes plus.
I called the 1-800 number for company #2 and they were unable to assist since the system was down so I was directed to call back. This occurred after extensive waits for a person to answer.
- We did not achieve our goal.
- Total invested time, company #2, 30 minutes plus.
Results of cheaper, faster, better:
- Cheaper – YES – Websites and initial chat personnel that cannot answer all questions and/or permit all quotes are cheaper since on average they will field most calls and quotes without issue.
- Faster – NO – Perhaps on average this is a yes but for me, this was a no and my questions were very basic.
- Better – NO – Company #1 actually charged me less on the phone than the quote online and I had to wait for the quote to be sent to me to review. Company #2 did not get a chance to quote because the system was down.
Perhaps I am missing the big picture of cheaper, faster, better but in this example, I spent more time, they made less money but I am certain the investment in customer service was limited.

The strategy of cheaper, faster, better service is considered Cadillac Service At Yugo Prices. Although this looks good on paper, this strategy results in satisfactory service delivery for the majority of customers but for customers that do not fit into a normal bucket, get ready for a ride in a Yugo.

Unluckily, providing Cadillac Service At Yugo Prices has been labeled cheaper, faster, better and this model has infiltrated most areas of customer service. If we were talking cars, you could buy at least two Yugos for every Cadillac so you had a backup.

We are talking about customer service so we just get frustrated and ask “whatever happened to a person on the other end of the phone” as we wait on hold in need of assistance.

Just some observations about the cheaper, faster, better strategy as it relates to customer service.

Wishing you a great day.

Jay Patterson

Little Red Wheelbarrow – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

We travel through life retaining items of comfort and/or discomfort and these items may be physical, non-physical, and/or emotional possessions.

I have traveled the nation with a little red wheelbarrow that normally provides comfort to me and is both a physical and emotional possession. The little red wheelbarrow is not your standard wheelbarrow so may be considered more a cart and its picture is on this post.

When I was a child, my mother purchased the little red wheelbarrow as a kit and since my dad was not mechanically inclined, my mom and I put it together. At that time, it was shiny red with white lettering, a white handle, and wheels that were quite as they rolled.

Much like me, my little red wheelbarrow has aged. The paint is faded, the wheels squeak a bit, and it has started to rust. Although I could buy a new little red wheelbarrow I won’t because I can fix it, oil it, and I am attached to it even with its imperfections.

People talk about being physically and emotionally attached to fancy cars, locations, etc., but my little red wheelbarrow is my Achilles tendon. Why is this?

As a child, our first project with the little red wheelbarrow was to move the full load of sand my mom had delivered instead of the half load of sand we needed so we had sand everywhere. That’s okay, sand was a great cure for traction on ice so we maintained the extra sand in a pile and filled the wheelbarrow until we used it all.

With my mom and sister, we moved hundreds of rocks to the rock garden we built after driving around the North Dakota countryside picking up rocks bigger than your hand but smaller than a shoe box. We had a 1962 Ford Galaxy and its back end was dragging when we would go over speed bumps and dips.

The little red wheelbarrow was used for many chores and resulted in many memories as I grew up and although I did not know it then, we were linked for life.

In 1980, I left for the Navy and for a number of years I would only get to spend time with my little red wheelbarrow when I was home on leave and mom or dad needed a project completed. Incredibly, the handle still fit like it did when we were both young and although we had aged, we were still a great team.

In the late 1980s, I found a bride and once we moved into our first house in Georgia. We were in need of a wheelbarrow so we picked one up from the local Walmart. The wheelbarrow had one wheel and two handles but was not the same as my little red wheelbarrow in North Dakota.

During my next trip to North Dakota, I noticed my little red wheelbarrow hanging up in the shed and that there was a new, shiny wheelbarrow in the garage. I went in the house and popped the question regarding my little red wheelbarrow and we have not been separated since.

My little red wheelbarrow and I have been through many new adventures since the late 1980s and it my goal to do whatever is required to keep her happy and with me for the rest of my days. In that little red wheelbarrow, I will always have kind memories of my parents as a child, of my children as an adult and hopefully of my grandchildren in the future.

Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen is an adventure and I am sure many of you have a little red wheelbarrow that may be physical, non-physical or emotional. Hold onto that wheelbarrow tight because sooner or later things we love go away but not the memories.

Have a great day,

Jay Patterson