After twenty years of paying rent, it was time to buy a building we could call our own. Upcycling … finding a tired building, that others might tear down, and giving it new life with an even higher purpose would be better for the environment – as well as for my bottom line. My 2002 search took me to an area in Charlotte that today is being branded as Queen’s Park.
John had made me feel important in our conversations leading up to that meeting and he was continuing to boost my confidence now. The plan he had presented made me feel good, even proud that I had chosen to meet with him. It was comforting to know my wife and young children would be taken care of if something dreadful happen to me. I also thought about how proud my father would be of my concern for my family …
The Cheshire cat asked where I wanted to go. Was he asking about a place, a destination? Yes, but maybe he was asking more. Maybe he was asking about a state of mind, of being. Maybe it was about an attitude that would help me make choices to steer my journey – things I needed to pack and have handy for the trip.
After 17 years, McIntyre and Company was a proud and established brand. Every one of our 30 professionals were positive about our future and it showed in their daily work ethic. Then, on a Friday in 1997, the unthinkable happened. We got fired.
Our young people are often criticized. “They always want more… They’re not grateful… They have their face in their phones…” But Generation Z, the iGens, are the first post 9/11 generation. They are the internet generation, the information generation. They access EVERYTHING faster, and they can move away just as quickly. They have inherited a new world in need of the unique rainbows only they will be able create. This story introduces you to one “iGen” rainbow maker …
“Let’s go for a ride,” Slugger would say. It was not a question – it meant we were going to have a meeting. Just the two of us riding around town in his 1969 green El Camino. My food brokerage business was earning much of its income by selling seafood from Gloucester to our Carolina Customers, so I visited often. Each trip expanded my client line-up.
Business was old school in 1963 … no calculators, no computers, no cell phones. Always at-the-ready was my monthly planner and my P&G mechanical pencil. The planner was for appointments, phone numbers…the pencil was for …well, you know what it was for. With no laptops or smart phones, we carried a Fact Book to organize everything. Think of it as a primitive Google ..
Like all great teachers, the disheveled Dr. William E. Parish was a storyteller. On the first day of each semester he gave us the rules. “You can buy the text, even read it if you want, but the exam questions will be from my lectures – attend class, take notes, and you will have all you need for a good grade.”
Every year at this time, I start thinking about making New Year’s resolutions. This year, rather than picking the usual resolutions like fitness challenges, weight loss, or more charitable donations, I want my choice to be different. For the next twelve months I will not buy another shirt, belt, jacket, t-shirt, pair of shoes, pants – or anything else to wear. I don’t need anymore stuff this year!
In every tradition: Christian, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikhism, Judaism, Baha’i, “Nones” and more – the message is the same – Peace.