A 21st Century Dinosaur

This is Lucille. Ain't she gorgeous?

Lucille is a 1965 Ford Mustang. Like anyone her age, she is not as spry as she once was. And, she has a few bad habits. (Who doesn't?) She drinks too much and occasionally her 289 V8 omits some noxious odors and impolite sounds.

She is nothing like the Mercedes Benz that carries my candy ass to work every day. She is missing a few modern conveniences. She has no shoulder harnesses or air bags. No windshield washers, no right side rear view mirror. No air conditioning or satellite radio. No digital displays of outside temperature, average fuel economy or miles remaining till you run out of gas.

289 V8

When Lucille let's me peak under her hood (she's that kind of girl), I know how everything works. There are no computers to ensure I don't skid if I brake too hard, shift gears at the wrong time or wander outside my lane. There are no exhaust gas recirculators or pollution control valves. Indeed there is no pollution control of any kind. Lucille was manufactured before government regulators started sucking the soul out of the American automobile.

She is kind of like a Manwich or a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. You know it's not good for you but just can't resist.

2012 Ford Mustang

The truth is a new Mustang with a 6 cylinder engine would run circles around Lucille. It would take you from here to there faster, more comfortably and quieter. And, it would get double the gas mileage. But you don't connect with modern cars in the same way. That's why auto manufacturers today have platoons of engineers trying to capture the essence of the high performance car from days of yore. The new Lexus GS350 has a 6 cylinder engine and a resonator under the hood that makes it sound like a V8. Ya gotta be kiddin' me!

I am not alone. You don't have to watch the auctions on the Velocity channel or the Speed network to know how much old guys like me love old cars like Lucille. Just type 1965 Mustang into the search box on eBay and hundreds of them will come up.

But, I think there's more to it than that. People of all ages connect to the objects, communities and even ideas that they grew up with. Just listen to modern political speech. References to traditional values abound.

Gas is no longer 29.9 cents per gallon. Middle aged baby boomers buy cars for their safety and reliability. The environment is threatened by green house gases.

And, Lucille's days are numbered.

Sigh!

Occupy This!

When last I left off, your intrepid explorer (that’s me) was trying to figure out what to “Occupy” in 2012.  You may recall that I challenged myself to "Occupy" something this year.  Not occupy as Webster might define it but Occupy as 2011 defined it.  To become subsumed by something that I believe in.

The number of replies was overwhelming.  Some were whimsical.  Harold Bernaert replied that  he “will be preventing everybody from occupying me.”  Stewart Lenox declared that he hopes “to occupy about 10 to 15% less space via diet and exercise.”

Others were more serious.  My old high school chum, Bruce Scottow, suggested that I “always strive to Occupy Fact….  We simply can never have meaningful progress in any field…  if we can’t have meaningful dialog.  And we can’t have meaningful dialog unless we deal in facts.”

Perhaps the most thoughtful reply came from Professor Leilani Baumanis.  Her recommendation:  “Occupy your mind with something that will fulfill you and make you the better version of you.… something that will give to the world more than you ever imagine.... Sounds like an impossible dream, I know. But for people who are very capable, only accomplishing impossible dreams will fulfill you.”

Professor Baumanis

She’s right, I thought.  I must find something fulfilling that will make me a better version of myself.  So…  I have decided to Occupy the idea of helping jobless veterans. 

It will not be easy.  The US Department of Labor estimates that there are already more than 235,000 unemployed veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  When I was discharged from the military, most hiring managers were veterans themselves.  Today, most are not.  And, they don’t understand the value of a military background. 

Military veterans are mission oriented, focused and exact in executing their jobs.  What commercial enterprise wouldn’t benefit from more than that?  Moreover, Congress and the President have provided a tax break to businesses who hire vets. 

So, I have decided to do whatever I can to help.  “What can I do?”, you might think.  Well, I can do a lot.  In the last few years, I have helped a half dozen C-level executives find work.  I have spent many years in professional services in S. Florida and I have an extensive network.

By help I don’t mean the usual..  an email or a phone call.  I plan to get to know each one of my clients so I can vouch for them.  I will reach out to everyone I can think of who will be sympathetic and who might be able to help. 

Where will I find the time?  I don’t know.  Where did I find the time to learn to ski and play golf?  What’s more important?  Skiing, golf or helping a veteran?  The question answers itself. 

My first project is Tommy Pearce.  Tommy is a Marine Corps veteran who fought in the Battle of Fallujah.  He has a background in logistics, a field that easily translates into a civilian job.  Tommy worked in a civilian company in that same field until the company went bankrupt.  He and his wife have two kids.  She is a Miami-Dade County school teacher who was laid off last year.  Tommy will do anything to keep a roof over their heads.  Do any of you have contacts that might help Tommy and his family?

What about the rest of you?  Won’t you join me.

WHO WILL LEAD?