Reinventing the Will

Reinventing the Will

I am at the age where I am older than everyone I work with. It's not that they are very young, it's just that I am at the age when most people retire. No big deal, excerpt when I chat with my co-workers. I will talk about when I drove truck for Pepsi or was radio announcer in New Mexico or managed a book store in Dallas. Eventually they look at me like I am making things up. I am amazed at how many different fields in which I have worked and how many different locations. I like to tell people I have had three careers, one for fun (radio), one for money (retail, even though it paid worse than radio) and one for wanting to make a little difference (mental health work).

But even that's not accurate. I have to stop and think of how many different jobs I have had. I forget a lot of them until something reminds me. I was baker in high school in a privately owned grocery store. I worked as a stock car announcer one summer. I hauled hay in California. I managed a bookstore. I was a route salesman and truck driver for Pepsi in Salt Lake City in the winter (I hate driving in snow). I was a disc jockey in Montana. I worked twice for the V.A. I bunched radishes and picked peas. I was a radio program director in Idaho. I was a merchandise manager in one of the big discount chain stores. I have been a mental health liaison to the jails. I was a substitute paperboy (I was terrible. Sorry Joel). I washed pots and pans. I worked as a behavior health tech at an involuntary mental health facility. I worked in the deli at a grocery store. I was a disc jockey and radio ad salesman in Wyoming. I announced Blue Lights Specials for Kmart. I mowed lawns. I was an assistant manger and acting store manager for a national clothing chain. I recorded music tapes with commercials for a ski resort. I worked at an AM/FM station in Seattle as a weekend announcer. I was a dry goods manager for a small chain of grocery stores. I did voice over work for TV ads. Now I am a Court Liaison/Mental Health Professional at an involuntary mental health facility.

I did some of these jobs for a long time, some of these jobs for a very short time. Some of these jobs I was good at, others I was lousy at. I will let you guess which ones are which. But each job was a little different. It gave me a different persona. I have always been me but my job titles have been all over the place. People treated me different in each job.

It surprises me to think of all these jobs and all the people I have worked with, and for. Its been a long ride and it isn't over yet. Who knows where I will be and who I will be next. I don't feel like retiring. I don't feel old. I just feel experienced.