service | Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Pull Your Finger Out Of The Dike – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

2017-2018 Leap Happy 2018

As 2018 closes, I can genuinely say that I am starting the part four of my life of which I hope there are five parts.

The first part of my life was my formative years in North Dakota where I grew up, and my base persona developed. Growing up in the 60s and 70s as a cop’s kid was interesting.
Part two of my life was my time in the Navy and initial family time where I developed further but was still wet behind the ears. During this time, I was on submarines, tenders and traveled the world.
The third part of my life was my civilian career where I worked for many small companies in South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Georgia, and California. During this period I honed many of my professional skills.
- This is the period of my life I regularly had my finger(s) and other body parts in the dike to keep things running for ownership.
Part four of my life starts in 2018 and I will be working for a multinational company as a solutions executive where I take everything I have learned in life and work and make it stick.
The fifth part is unknown as of yet, but I believe I will be cruising in an RV with my bride of forty (40) plus years, with fur babies and grandchildren, while riding ATVs and side by sides.

Five Parts To Life Five (5) Parts Of Life

So here I sit, fifty plus going on fifteen about to start a new career and this is when I reflect on what has changed or what I will modify to make the fourth part of my life a success.

I owe it to my bride, children, and me to not only challenge myself but also be content for the duration of this period of my life.

Overall, this is a significant change since I have always been the person that accepts critical fill positions, takes control of broken situations, and turns it around.

It is time for me to pull my finger(s) out of the dike to prevent flooding for ownership groups that did not always reciprocate the efforts and finally do what is right for my family and me.

Dike Pull My Finger Out Of The Dike

I could name specifics on the companies but will not since I left these companies sometime back but was limited in career choice due to employment agreements.

My goal was to be involved in sales during my fourth part of my life before a long-term employer sold the business to a group that did not understand the market they were entering so ended up traveling a different path the last couple of years.

This change in plans delayed my entry into part four of my life which I commence tomorrow, and I am excited that I will be working for and with an established innovation leading company.

Additionally, this change will be sales and program development oriented which was my goal career at this point in my life, so all is looking good.

With this change, I will not need to deal with:

Unfunded paychecks.
Past due vendor payments.
Ensuring HR is servicing employees.
High employee turnover rate with new ownership.
Customer issues based on manning and logistic challenges.
365 day, 24-hour availability to resolve problems.
Direction to change numbers for an investment group.
The list goes on, but I will keep it short.

Today, I need to button up work for some of the smaller companies I have worked for and with the last two years. The experience with these companies has added more tools to my toolbox, but in the end, I need to do what is best for my family and me.

The new career decision does not change my long-term goal of establishing a small business consulting/coaching website, but that is a 3 to 5-year goal for my family and me.

Working in this new direction also gives me the ability to help develop and sell a service that is needed, so I am incredibly excited about this opportunity.

Move On To Something Bigger And Better For Part Four (4)

Please stay tuned for updates on how this goes and feel free to comment on similar situations and how you are doing.

What part of life are you in currently?
Are there more than five (5) parts to life?
Have you had similar experiences and situations?

I wish you health, safety, and success in 2018. Being fifty plus going on fifteen can be exhilarating.

Happy New Year!!

Jay Patterson

How I Joined The US Navy – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

North Dakota Skyline

I am proud to be from North Dakota and happy that I was able to grow up with the freedom that is almost unknown in this day and age.

In many ways, you could compare the escapades of my friends and myself much like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn although 100 plus years later and located in Jamestown North Dakota.

All good things must come to an end as they say and as I entered Senior High School, it was apparent that my future was limited in North Dakota, so I started looking at options.

-I loved auto body and auto mechanics but without a college fund and being bored in High School, my potential to attend higher education was limited.

There were numerous options for work in agriculture and service industries in the area, but without higher education, my Career possibilities would decrease as my body aged.
A military career was possible, but if this were my choice, I would need to leave my family, my friends, and the life and freedom I so enjoyed. The long-term career and training opportunity was a plus.
The worst direction was a career that included making big rocks into small rocks if caught. You may think that I am joking, but it was possible being the product of a law enforcement family.

During my junior year, I decided to join the military, and I wanted to be a United States Marine as my primary choice and a United States Sailor as my alternate choice.

I met with the Marine and Navy recruiters and decided I wanted to be a photographer or meteorologist.
The ASVAB test would determine what I would qualify for, so I held fast until I was old enough to test.
It was my goal to sign up for the Marines when I turned seventeen (17) and leave for boot camp once I graduated from high school.
A couple of weeks before taking the ASVAB, my dad informed me that he would not sign for me if I went into the Marines so I decided the Navy was the way to go.

RTC Great Lakes - Source: US Navy US Navy RTC Great Lakes IL – Source: US Navy

Around the time I turned seventeen (17), the Navy Recruiter scheduled my ASVAB test in Fargo North Dakota.

Numerous potential recruits and I arrived at the Ramada Inn and commenced to prepare for the ASVAB by getting crocked.
Early the next morning we were taken to the AFEEs Station where we would take the ASVAB test, and we were all in poor shape.
We took the ASVAB test, and I was sure I was going to be scraping paint in the Navy since I was so hung over.
There was no drumroll, but there was a score provided that allowed me to choose any Navy career I wanted.
The recruiter was immediately on me to choose nuclear power or advanced electronics, but I wanted to be a photographer or meteorologist.

I held firm in my choices and the recruit detailer determined the timeline for me to leave for the Navy based on the need for photographers of meteorologists.

Shocked is an understatement when informed that the wait for these fields was at least twelve (12) months out.
These options had to be a set up since the recruiter and station received more points for the fields they wanted me to select.
It was back to the drawing board since the wait was too long for careers I preferred jobs.
In the end, I selected the advanced electronics field where my career was limited to a select training field.

The paperwork was submitted, and I was sworn into the Navy under the Delayed Entry Program and would leave a week after graduation in 1981.

CPO Ended Up A Chief

We have all made career decisions with limited knowledge of what to expect. In my mind, I had not only selected a career but was also anticipating an adventure.

Thanks for visiting and would appreciate your comments and/or input.

Have you ever leaped into the unknown when relocating or accepting a job?
Did you make similar decisions when joining the military?

I wish you health, safety, and success. It sure is great being fifty plus going on fifteen.

Jay Patterson

Sometimes The Best Decision You Can Make Is Saying “Your Fired” – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Never Stop

It is tough as a manager or as an employee to decide to fire an employee that works for you, the company you work for, and/or a company you do business with.

Sure, you can always figure out a reason to not fire but in most situations, if the thought passed your mind, it is probably the right decision.

I have been in this position during my military and civilian careers and I want to again state that if you have thought it, firing is probably the right decision.

In the military, it was extremely difficult to fire someone even when you had the proper documentation and historical issues.

During my time in the military, one situation is still painful since I tried to get the sailor removed from submarine service and was unsuccessful.

The reason why the sailor needed to be fired from submarine duty was mental instability. Mental health experts nixed my request and sadly, the kid committed suicide a few months after he was stationed on a submarine.

While in the military, there were many situations where personnel needed to be fired and may or not have been for many reasons.

The primary reason personnel was not fired was that the goal fleet size was 500 ships, so all sailors were critical.
Firing sailors normally involved transferring an individual from an operational vessel to a vessel in the shipyards of similar.
Some sailors were fired but if they were it was normally due to drugs, alternate lifestyles, or similar situations.

Late in my military career, it became much easier to fire people when the Navy was being downsized after the end of the cold war but that is not to say the best people were maintained.

Twenty (20) plus years ago I joined the civilian workforce after retiring from Navy and I quickly learned it was just as difficult to fire someone on the outside as in the military. I also learned that you could fire the company you worked for an experienced customer/vendor firing.

My first civilian job was a computer monitor repair facility In South Dakota whose primary customer was Gateway Computers. I worked as the assistant plant manager and quickly realized that it was difficult to terminate crackheads that damaged thousands of dollars of inventory so after six (6) months decided to fire the company.
I next worked for an international sales and service company as a remote technician in Iowa and once again it became clear that firing technicians that did not want to work were nearly impossible. Later I was advanced to a district management position and the management team goal was to overwork those that worked and live with those that did not work After Y2K, I fired this company.
For the next sixteen (16) plus years, I worked for a sales and service company that had a goal to cover the entire US market. I started my career as a technician and ended it as the Senior Vice President Of Operations. We did a pretty good job of keeping our workforce cleaned up through firing and hiring until the company was placed on the market for sale in 2014. We were purchased in 2015 and challenges with new ownership and lack of scruples resulted in my firing them in early 2016.
In 2016, I started consulting for businesses and worked short term W2 jobs trying to find the right place for my third long-term career. I have fired several customers, vendors, employers, and employees during this timeframe and I still believe sometimes you need to say, “Your Fired”.

Saying “Your Fired” should be a two-way street between employers and employees much like between customers and businesses.

Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I have realized since leaving my second-long term career in 2016 is that if the relationship is not right in the first three (3) months, staying longer is not a recipe for success.
Furthermore, there have been many situations where I have run into individuals I have had to let go for various reasons and they thanked me because it helped them find a career that fits better.

Please leave comments and thoughts regarding this subject and specifically what are your thoughts on the following questions.

Have you ever fired an employer and was it best for you and the employer?
Have you ever been fired as an employee and was it best for you and the employer?

Appreciate your visiting my blog and wish you health, safety, and success. It is great being fifty plus going on fifteen.

Jay Patterson

I Would Love A Cheeseburger From A Local Diner – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

Come In We're Open Who doesn’t love a cheeseburger from a local diner with melted cheese, a toasted bun, and fresh, crisp onions.

There was a time when you had a choice of many local diners, cafes, and restaurants where you could get cheeseburgers named the bull wacker, the lumberjack, the conductor and each one of them had its own little twist.

Menu selections appeared endless and each location had its own twist. One thing for certain was that you could get a great cup of coffee and a piece of pie with ice cream.

The city I currently live in with 15,000 people, has less than ten (10) local places to eat that are not owned by regional or national chains. This is crazy in my opinion.

Occasionally, I travel back to my home town of Jamestown North Dakota. You can count local establishments on a hands and the population is 15,000 people. When I was a kid, there were more than 25 family owned locations. Some places that no longer exist include:

Big Jims Steakhouse
Ebertz Cafe
Wagon Masters Restaurant
Northwest Y
Lakeway Drive Inn
Blue Jay Inn
Randy’s
Pizza Palace
Continental Inn
Chuck Wagon

I travel the nation for work and it has become increasingly difficult to find local eateries and this is a real shame. When I travel into a new area, I look for new and interesting places to each and it can be tough to find.

At one time, you could estimate the quality of the diner, cafe, or restaurant by the number of calendars near the cash register.

If there was one calendar, you probably would not like the food.
Three (3) or more calendars identified great food.

The new local eatery trend has been food trucks. Although food trucks have existed since the invention of the automobile, the quality and variety has changed.

In the past, food trucks were known as few roach coaches and food quality was poor and variety was limited.
Today, food trucks are becoming the new place to eat that are clean and have excellent food with variety.

It is great that food trucks are meeting the needs of consumers that do not want to eat at chain restaurants.

Although there are locally owned diners, cafes and restaurants that you can enjoy, the majority of places you can eat are part of local, regional or national chains.

Branding is critical to chains, you will find limited variety and personality when a visit different locations but quality can vary.

When traveling for work, the primary place they would choose to meet was Applebees. Overall not a bad chain restaurant but you can only eat at Applebees so many times.

Recent news reports indicate that the company that owns Applebees also owns IHOP and they are closing 100 plus locations in 2017. This is sad for the employees.

Ruby Tuesdays has also been struggling recently and has closed locations nationwide. They were sold to an investment group in 2017 so we shall see what happens.

It seems like chain restaurants are similar to food and both have a shelf life since so many local, regional and national chains have closed down. A short list includes:

Happy Joes
Howard Johnsons
Country Kitchen
Chi-Chi’s
Steak & Ale

I have discussed full-service chain restaurants but have not touched on fast food restaurants because there have been a few that are always there and many that come and go.

This takes me back to I want a greasy cheeseburger from a local non-chain establishment and it is not going to happen unless I drive ten (10) miles into Springfield Missouri and that is not right.

Do you prefer chain restaurants or local restaurants?

What is your favorite chain restaurant that went out of business?

Wishing you health, safety, and success. It’s great being fifty plus going of fifteen (50 plus going on 15)

Thanks for visiting and please comment.

Jay Patterson

Expanding Your Horizons – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

I have always believed you can teach an old dog new tricks and sometimes you learn by choice and sometimes you ask what is going on when you run into something new.

Building websites, blogging, and writing articles is new to me but in 2017 my family and I have been expanding our horizons.

2017 has been a transitional year for me since it was my first full year not working for my long-term after leaving in 2016. During the last twenty (20) months I have learned what I don’t want to do for a living during my third long-term career and what I may want to do.

During the fall of 2017, I selected a mode of self-agony I never thought I would choose. That choice transitioned me from being an NFL football fan to becoming an NHL hockey fan.

I will not get into details since I have discussed in earlier articles but I will state I have not watched an NFL football game this year for the first time since 1969. This is very painful since my Vikings are doing well but I am not budging.
My family and I have been Predator fans for years but I was not the fan my wife and daughter is. I wanted to follow the expansion Las Vegas Golden Nights since I had followed the expansion draft and was impressed.

So, we are 25% through the hockey season and we watch NHL hockey most nights on center ice and have pretty much written off NFL football which is nearly 70% complete.

Yesterday, I was helping my bride of thirty (30) plus years clean before company arrived for our Thanksgiving feast and I went to mop the kitchen floor and became frantic because I could not find a mop.

Normally, I would get on the floor with a bucket of soap and water taking me back to my submarine days but I am a bit stiff from all the driving I did in November so I asked why we don’t have a mop and bucket.
My bride informed me that we use something called a Swiffer now and I thought she was depraved.

So, I learned how to use a Swiffer and although it was not my preferred method of cleaning, I used the Swiffer and it worked pretty well. I guess my bride of thirty (30) plus years is pretty smart but I still cannot figure out what she sees in me.

Being in professional transition since early 2016, I decided to concentrate on sales during the summer of 2017. Sales were not new to me since it had always been part of my job which was multifaceted.

Jump-starting my professional path excites me since I am now able to provide solutions to devoted customers that I have total confidence in.
My bride of thirty (30) plus years shown courage and support in this decision.

So, all have not worked out as planned since I have been tied up in operations since I started my present position but you must crawl before you walk and I am still excited about moving in this direction.

My bride of thirty (30) plus years has also adjusted to our change in life and has been amazing. She could have fired me but instead has shown grit as we have rolled through our challenges. Renee has stepped up to the plate and has shown much heart working part-time and learning a craft to turn into a small business.

Renee returned to work part-time at the local school system which she loves. I believe working in the school system shows much bravery.
In addition to working part-time, Renee has been developing her para cord skills and we will be starting a small business and a website soon. She is addicted to para cording I believe.

This is a work in progress and I have examples of her work below. She also manufactures dog collars and leashes that are stunning. Wish her luck.

As you can see, we are in transition and there is truth to “You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks”. In fact, both of us are learning new tricks.

I am grateful that I have the ability to be fifty plus going on fifteen (50 plus going on 15) and it is uplifting that my bride has the courage to continue to be my partner through these changes.

How are you expanding your horizons?

Thanks for visiting this site and feel free to comment and make recommendations.

Wishing you health, safety, and success.

Jay Patterson

Paul Harvey Friend To Millions – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

One thing was certain as a kid growing up in Jamestown North Dakota and that was KSJB Radio 600 AM would broadcast Paul Harvey’s programs. Millions loved him for his straight forward style and I for one miss his daily broadcasts.

My mom hooked me on Paul Harvey as a child and I always stopped tuning the radio when I heard his unique voice until his death in 2009. My favorite broadcast series was “The Rest Of The Story” which was part of his daily program from World War Two (WWII) until the mid 1970s and became an independent series from 1976 until 2008.

The rest of the story was a mixture of history and mystery and as Paul Harvey read his notes, your mind would be working hard to guess who, what, or where his story was going to reference.

Paul Harvey may have been considered a bad boy for his time considering Paul Harvey was discharged from the military during World War Two (WWII) for questionable reasons that Paul Harvey would not address, Paul Harvey was arrested for attempting to break into a nuclear research facility in the 1950s, and was accused of misleading product endorsements late in his career.
Today, Paul Harvey’s style would not be considered politically correct (PC) and Paul Harvey would probably be considered right-wing in our current environment and I am sure his advertisers would have been targeted by boycotts.

It seems strange that someone that worried about national debt, big government, lack of common sense in government, and the permissiveness of parents could be so right about the future of our nation decades before it happened.

One of Paul Harvey’s most famous broadcasts and newspaper articles was “If I Were The Devil” which was penned in the early 1960s. This visionary piece identifies the steps the devil would take to corrupt the world and when a comparison between the early 1960s and 2010s is performed it is extremely accurate.

There are many websites that you can visit to learn about Paul Harvey or to actually listen to his broadcasts and I have attached one for your pleasure.

https://archive.org/details/Pa…
Paul Harvey belongs with many other greats that I enjoyed since childhood. John Wayne, Johnny Cash, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Michael Landon, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Paul Harvey with the list going on. It is great to watch the classics and see what we have lost. It makes you ask what is going on with each loss.

I miss the days of rotating the tuning knob on the AM radio and stopping when I heard those famous words “Now For The Rest Of The Story“.

Do you remember Paul Harvey and what was your favorite story?

How were you exposed to Paul Harvey?

Do you remember when you could state your opinion and not be attacked for standing for something?

Wishing you health, safety and success. Its great being fifty plus going on fifteen (50 plus going on 15).

Please feel free to provide comments or opinions.

Jay Patterson

5 Reasons Why NHL Hockey Is Better Than NFL Football – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

2017 has been a transitional year for me considering Having been an ardent NFL Football fan since I was six (6) years old. Having lived through four (4) Minnesota Viking Superbowl losses and other football heartbreaks during my short life.

During my fifty plus going on fifteen, Having experienced football strikes, witnessed trades that sold a team out for years, and Having cried during drafts because we could have had a star but selected a nobody. Having asked on many occasions what is going on without receiving a real answer to my question.

In 2016, I took it on the chin when there was unrest in the NFL and curbed how many games I watched to a minimum. I 2017, the unrest became a revolt and Having not watched an NFL game this year and have no intention to start. Having discussed in other blogs, I am not going to discuss this issue anymore because it does not matter.

Being a true believer in “When One Door Closes, Another Door Will Open”, validates my transition from the NFL to the NHL. For years, my bride who is a lifelong hockey fan, tried to get me to watch hockey on a consistent basis. I did watch hockey during the playoffs and occasionally during the regular season but my choice was football.
So, this brings me to 5 Reasons NHL Hockey Is Better Than NFL Football:

NHL Hockey has regular season games almost every day of the week starting early fall and finishing early spring.
1. NFL Football has sixteen (16) regular season games a year normally on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.
NHL Hockey allows players to settle differences on the ice although players are penalized.
1. NFL Football does not allow players to settle differences on the field to the same level that the NHL does.
NHL Hockey players stand for both the United States and Canadian national anthem.
1. NFL Football players do what they want. This is a different topic of discussion.
NHL Hockey allows fan participation in the game, hats, squids, octopus, catfish, etc.
1. NFL Football frowns on similar participation.
NHL Hockey fans are nearly on the ice, banging on the glass, get hit by pucks.
1. NFL Football fans are normally segregated from the game and often in the nose bleed section.

I could go on about why NHL Hockey is better than NFL Football but believe Having addressed effectively. I was upset about the situation with NFL Football but now it is a small simmer and NFL Football has joined MLB Baseball after the 1994 strike.

Having adjusted to my new reality and we have purchased NHL Center Ice which made my bride of thirty (30) years happy. During the first two (2) weeks of the NHL Hockey season, Having learned much about the game since we watch from 6 until 12 each night. I anticipate watching over 1,000 hours of NHL Hockey this season and it is great watching the skill of these athletes.

You can teach an old dog new tricks and being fifty plus going on fifteen I am happy about this. Perhaps, in time I will return to NFL Football but I will never have the passion I once had for the game. I hope it does not take me as long to return to football as MLB Baseball since I went from 1994 to 2017 without going to a game.

One last item of interest. If a lifelong fan of NFL Football like me is willing to say screw it, how many more are out there with the same attitude?

In closing, thanks for reading this article and it is great being fifty plus going on fifteen (50 plus going on 15).

Wishing you health, safety, and success. Please feel free to provide comments.

Jay Patterson

I Love My CanCooker JR – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

I love a day when you need to ask what is going on here and 2017 has been a year when I have been able to say that quite often. The one thing for certain is that I Love My CanCooker.
As you may have read in earlier blogs, in early 2016 I left my career of sixteen (16) years when I truly loved the company. I left the company twelve (12) months after it was sold and of course the new owners knew best how to run the company so this used up manager moved on without a long term strategy.

I floated around in the industry I had been affiliated with for the last twenty (20) years but at the end of 2016 I was offered an opportunity with a company in a different industry. Why not try something new right. In December 2016, I started my new job and actually received a gift card for the holidays for Bass Pro. Well, you can never go wrong with a gift card from Bass Pro right.

After multiple trips to the main Bass Pro in town and the clearance center since Bass Pro is based out of the local area. I found a few things that I liked but could not make a decision. Finally, I went to the lower level and seen the CanCooker JR and it was love at first site.

Grabbing the CanCooker JR, I made my way to the checkout line. Once there, I whipped out my gift card and cha-ching, I was the owner of a brand new CanCooker JR. I rushed to my truck and went home stopping by the market so get some yummy ingredients to cook in my CanCooker JR.

I arrived at home with my ingredients and prepared as described in my abbreviated CanCooker JR cooking guide. Traveled to put the ingredients in the CanCooker JR and the grates on the box were not included. My heart did a double beat and I did a quick Google to determine what is going on here. My answer was instantly posted on Google that the grates were not included.

With the CanCooker JR and ingredients in hand, I had to think fast how to cook supper without the grates. I looked in the pantry and in the cupboards and I seen some aluminum pie tins that just might work. Using the scissors, and good old fashion sweat, I fabricated temporary grates and ordered the correct ones on Amazon.

Back in service, I cooked up a CanCooker JR smorgasbord and immediately fell in love. I have had pots, pans, grills, broilers, etc., and never have I found a self-contained cooker that I could use at home or when camping. Never have I found a cooking device that locked in the taste and moisture like my CanCooker JR.

I purchased a small CanCooker Cook Book On Amazon to supplement my abbreviated recipes that were included and since December 2016 I have used existing recipes, modified recipes, and developed new recipes and every meal has been scrupulous. If you want to learn more about what you can cook with the CanCooker JR, let me know.

The CanCooker and I became best friends in December 2016 and my time with the company that was responsible for our meeting was short-lived. I always smile and chuckle a bit when I use my CanCooker JR because through this relationship, my CanCooker JR was the best thing that happened to me other that having some great employees work for me.

What cooking device do you have a special relationship with?

Great to be fifty plus going on fifteen (50 plus going on 15).

Wishing you heath, safety, and success.

Jay Patterson

10 Symptoms Of Shingles – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

I have been dragging all week thinking I have not been this run down since I had mononucleosis back in 1980. I was falling asleep early, I was getting up late and no matter how much coffee I drank, I was not hitting first gear let alone second or third gear.

Being in my early fifties and I normally exist on no more than six (6) hours of sleep per night I had to ask what was up. By the way, the picture above is not of me but is one of the models we use for these types of articles.

Friday rolled around and I was thankful the end of the week happened which is again not like me and my bride told me I have shingles. I of course told her I was not old enough to have shingles. Of course at than point, my bride told me the symptoms of shingles so here they are.

Pain – During the past week, my body has hurt everywhere. Joints, muscles, you name it, it has hurt and over the counter drugs have done nothing to dull the pain. Once the rash finally hit and as I move towards blisters, my torso hurts as well.
Fevers – I was lucky, I only had a low grade fever so I did not have to deal with this.
Itchiness – I had numbness initially around the area the rash occurred on my torso but now it itches and hurts as it goes from rash to blister.
Fatigue – I have been the walking dead all week and a bit on the grumpy side. I could not get enough sleep and I did not want to get out of bed. Coffee did little to wake me up.
Sensitive Skin – It was numb before the rash but now it is sensitive as ever and hurts to no end.
No Rash Only Pain – I have rash spots but I also have areas than hurt in between rash spots than meet this requirement.
Light Sensitivity With Migraines – All week long, I had issues working with the shade up. I had to close the shade and turn down the lighting.
Headaches – Aspirin, Tylenol, Motrin, etc… would not touch the headache.
Blisters – Just started enjoying the lovely blisters. Not sure if the pain was worse before I had blisters or after.
Rash – After the numbness, the rash came but I also have areas where there is no rash.

She also showed me a picture and guess what, my bride is correct for the millionth time since we were married thirty years (30) ago. They look like this and they hurt – OUCH.

I would like to confirm that I have been right a few times in thirty years of marriage but I am normally wrong. When it comes to medical issues, I am always wrong.

So, we went through the list of symptoms and I scored a perfect 10 which is great since I am well beyond my athletic prime. I agreed with my bride that I am old enough for shingles so we will deal with it and asked her how long it lasts.

Well, now for the great news. Shingles will normally be active for a few weeks and after effects can last for months. This was definitely the news I needed to hear. Not only was I old enough to get shingles but we were going steady for an extended period.

So on Friday night it was clear to my bride and myself that I wasn’t going to be my normal cheery self since I am terrible at being sick. Yes, on a scale of 1 to 10, I am probably an 8 in drama when I am sick and I am certain others will give me a perfect 10.

It is now Saturday, I feel a bit better since I am putting some over the counter medicine on the rash/blister area on my torso and although tired, I am trying to control my whine so my drama score is maybe a 5.

Its great being Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen (50 Plus Going On 15) but I still think I am to young for shingles.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and successful day.

Jay Patterson

Too Big To Care – Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen

I am a believer and a naysayer in certain business concepts and one of the business concepts I have always had a hard time wrapping my head around is “Too Big To Fail“. What is the rough definition of this concept?

Specific corporations so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the greater economic system, must be supported by government when they face potential failure.

The concept was officially coined in the 1980s and was in reference to big banks and financial institutions. One notable early government bailout was for the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company in the early 1980s.

There have been numerous occasions during the last fifty (50) years when this has in fact occurred having expanded beyond the financial realm with GM about ten (10) years ago.

You can agree or disagree with the concept of “Too Big To Fail” and whether government intervention should occur but I am concerned about a new issue that is occurring that may result in more “Too Big To Fail” situations that taxpayers will need to clean up.

The new issue that appears to be occurring more and more is a corporate attitude of “Too Big To Care“. A few examples of this attitude are shown below but this is an extremely short list.

Lack of empathy when customer service issues occur.
Willingness to disregard customer concerns regarding direction of company.
Assumption that historical record of company will carry them through all business challenges.
Belief that company is above normal rules of business or law.

We have observed this happen with many businesses over the years when the writing was on the wall but “Too Big To Care” happened. Again a short list of those that failed or those that are failing.

Sears and K Mart.
Toys R Us.
Circuit City.
Quiznos.

Recently we have experienced a twist to the “Too Big To Care” issue that includes corporations taking political positions and alienating customers instead of being above the issue. I must ask if there is an ulterior motive, are the corporations political hostages, or are the corporations just willing to take the chance of alienating customers.

I scratch my head in regard to this problem and question how any company can turn away customers without regard to impact to its employee base, shareholder, etc.

Most recently, there are reports of law enforcement agencies canceling orders for vehicles from a major manufacturer that has taken a political stand that will result in nearly $750,000 in lost revenue for the local dealership and the vehicle manufacturer. Where there is one occurrence, there will be more in the long run.

Think about the lives impacted because we cannot keep sports, business, family and politics compartmentalized. It is a sad situation and owners and senior staff of the corporations will not feel the pain much like the multimillionaires that have a beef do not feel the pain.

I have a real concern that this mixture of “Too Big To Fail” and “Too Big To Care” will cause significant damage to innocent people watching on the sidelines and we need to take a time out and draw lines in the sand on what is and isn’t acceptable behavior as a corporation.

I am not saying that corporations should not be involved in causes or projects but I am saying that corporations should remain neutral to its customer base.

What are your thoughts and please share them?

Fifty Plus Going On Fifteen (50 Plus Going On Fifteen)

Jay Patterson