The job

IN THIS LIFE, we are often defined by our jobs. Fair enough. But we put too much emphasize on careers, on making money, on being standards for our professions.

I was a journalist for 24 years. The music store was an 11-year adventure. In September of  2022, I took a job as a lab courier for Blessing Hospital.

Lab courier?

Blessing is a good place to work. They give me a vehicle, a gas card, a schedule and places to pick it up and bring it somewhere. A gall bladder in Hannibal? I'm your guy. Office supplies for 48th and Maine? That's me. An emergency trip to somewhere with oncology drugs? Yup.

It's not hard. It's a lot of responsibility, and stuff can go sideways in an instant. You can't forget to pick something up. You. Just. Can't. Plus people don't know how to drive. But the boss lets me do the job and 99 percent of the people I work with are amazing. It's 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week.

The days fly by. I've made some good friends. The pay is decent and benefits are really good.

I'm happy.

I wasn't looking for a job after we closed Second String Music in June 2022. But doing lessons out of the house just wasn't cutting it. I applied for the Blessing job on a whim and really didn't think about it. Then they called. I went into the interviews with a slightly cavalier attitude - this is who I am, this is why I think this would be a good fit, and whatever happens, happens.

Lo and behold, I had the job half an hour after my peer interview. And it's been a ride, literally, ever since. 

People who make marks often do it in their professions. And that's great. The pastor, the civil engineer, the doctor, the journalist, the small business owner .... More power to them. They chase their passion in their calling and it defines them, in a positive way.

But you don't have to work at a job you don't like. You can find your way. You can change careers. You can work for less money and be 100 times happier.  You can be .... you.

Gotta go get ready for ... work! It's sunny and the weather is warming up.

Life is good. So is work.

 

The missing glove

 I AM ALWAYS missing stuff. Keys, wallet, work badge, guitar capos, the meaning of life. It's not easy being so clueless all the time, you know.

Recently I lost a glove. A really nice ski glove, one that kept my hand warm. When you walk dogs every morning, it's important to protect the hands in cold weather. Of course I can't remember where I lost the glove.

So I went upstairs into a room full of junk and debris, also known as a "spare bedroom." I found another dark glove. It isn't even remotely a match for the missing ski glove. But it works. So I wear two completely different gloves.

A guy at work said, "Why do you have two different gloves?" I said, "The ski glove keeps my strumming hand warm." The guy was confused. Most people are after they talk to me. I just shrugged and kept going in circles.

The whole men not caring about two different gloves is actually Biblical in nature. Remember Abraham from the Old Testament? His wife, Sarah, gave him grief about losing his gloves when he left Ur. It's in the book of Genesis. 

"Yea and verily I sayeth unto you, Abraham, thou hast the brain of a sheep," Sarah said. "O Lord, my husband is a dumb ... well, you know."

The older I get the more I talk to God. Some people call it prayer. I call it therapy and conversation. So I asked God if it was OK to have two completely different gloves.

"Do they keep your hands warm, child?" God said. "And are they both dark in color?"

Uh, yup.

"Then don't worry about it," God said. "Although Sarah was right. About a lot of things."

I think what God is really trying to say is to not spend so much time looking for something so completely lost. Here I am, sitting in the pile of debris upstairs, and ..... Hey! I just found my checkbook! That sucker has been missing forever.

See how it all works out?

See ya judge

 BOB ADRIAN ISN'T a judge here anymore. What a sad, sad tale. Here is the story from Muddy River News, and here's his continuing oblivious reaction to the news. 

I wrote about the judge in one of my last posts before taking an extended hiatus. He was barely retained as a judge. He got less than 60 percent of the vote in Adams County. Once you are elected a judge in Adams County, it's really hard to screw it up.

He did. 

It would be interesting to hear from some former judges about the Adrian debacle. Back in my days patrolling the courthouse hallways, Mark Schuering, Dennis Cashman, Scott Walden and William Mays ruled the roost with effective and different approaches. It probably wouldn't make sense for them to publicly comment about this now .... but I'd love to hear what they have to say.

Adrian presided over some high-profile cases, and by all accounts did his job. That's all he had to do in this case - his job. He could have simply vacated the verdict of the young man accused of rape and moved on. He didn't have to say anything. When he did, the hole got deeper and deeper. Your shovel, your honor. Or, your former honor.

Blaming the media is old hat. Come up with something more original, your former honor. And we are still waiting for the name of the "public relations firm" that was hired to do a political hit job on him. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tough times at Fifth and Vermont right now - there's mold in the courthouse, the public defender's office is in shambles and the wheels of justice are slower than ever, by all accounts.There are still good people doing the work and eventually it works out. 

Not with Bob Adrian as a judge. Your honor, your former honor. Hopefully he hits them straight if golf is his game and maybe retirement will bring reflection.

I doubt it.

Been a while ....

 SO. IT'S BEEN a while. Longer than a while, actually. It's like anything else in life - if you don't stay on it and it slips away, it's very difficult to get back.

But. I'm back. We'll see how long it lasts.

Yesterday I was sitting in the sun and drinking a beer, one I haven't had before. It's a New Belgium creation and quite good, one of those "drink one and that's enough" beers. I thought, why don't I tell people about this beer? Why don't I blog about it? Why is blog a verb? So you can see what I deal with every day. It ain't easy being easy.

I miss writing. A lot. Not long ago a person I haven't seen in a long time said, "Why did you stop writing for the paper?" It was too long of a story to tell her. So I said, "It was just time." For another 10 years I stayed on the blog, mostly due to Sheryl's encouragement. It was a good way to promote the store and the bands. 

Much has changed. Life is good, but there are many things out there to write about. Inane, serious, informative, or just getting it out of the system. There is no bad reason to resume. And there is no good reason to not write. 

We will see where it takes us. Did I mention I've missed it? Also, there are some shows coming up I'm very excited about and worth detailing. 

Gotta go to work. Wait. Work? A job? A REAL job?

Lotsa stories out there to tell, friends.