No Crybabies Allowed
Hey, anybody out there wanna work?
Baby Boomers are beatin’ it out of Dodge in record numbers because of COVID and political divisions. Reminds me of Roberto Duran. No mas.
Losing that generation now is not good. We’re the ones with the institutional wisdom and experience who are supposed to be handing it off to the next generations the way the Big Band generation did for us.
The other thing is the “no show” factor is higher than ever. And I’m not talkin’ about George Jones. I’m talkin’ about people just not showing up for work. Try doing business today short staffed. Everybody will be yelling at ya. I’ll bet those “no shows” show up on payday, though.
Reminds me of a campaign we did for Joe Sibilia at Al’s Beverage Company when he was trying to recruit help. We branded it No Crybabies Allowed and handed out buttons to get the word out. Christ, if anything applies today that message does. The American fabric is fraying, Jimmy Jack.
But wait …here’s a good one. A story of somebody who ain’t afraid of workin’. At 101 years old, Virginia Oliver is still lobstering off the coast of Maine. Her lobster boat is named Virginia. As it should be.
Virginia is the oldest licensed lobster fisher in Maine and probably in the world. She’s up at 3 am and on the boat before 5, hauling trap with her son Max, a young lad of 78.
When her doctor asked why she was still out there lobstering, Virginia looked that bloke straight in the kisser and said, “Because I want to.” Sounds like a true Mainer. In fact, her other son Bill, who is 79, has his own lobstering business and when somebody asked him why he hasn’t retired, he said, “Because my mother would break my neck.”
So old Virginia she ain’t ever going to retire. She’s gonna die with her boots on. And you better believe she wears boots. Big rubber bastards. You wanna know why Virginia, Max and Billy are happy, healthy and having fun? Because they’ve got a purpose in life and they work at it. Keep your dukes up.