PLAY WHILE YOU WORK

I am celebrating my eighth year of retirement. The phrase "just grin and bear it" described some days during my 40 years of working, but most times I really enjoyed my job. Especially some of the "perks"...... like these.

ROLLER COASTER - Over the years I visited amusement parks, where there always seemed to be a need for sound and video gear to supplement their entertainment.  During one of my visits I was invited to take in some of the rides. I suppose it looked a little strange to see a guy riding the roller coaster and speeding through the haunted house dressed in a suit and tie. Enjoyed all but the ride that goes through a working waterfall.

Anyway, after our playing we would discuss special cameras that electronically convert night time to daylight - which allowed their security folks to see visitors, even in pitch dark rides - like inside the haunted house.

WARM CHOCOLATE - I always enjoyed visiting the chocolate factory in Hershey since the warm peanut butter cups are really tasty right off the assembly line. Any time I would schedule a visit during the summer, I would throw a cooler in the car, since they often loaded me up with bags of chocolate candy. Our company supplied all kinds of systems for factories like this. 

BABY, BABY - Many years ago a hospital called and said they were looking for a way to announce births throughout the hospital.  So, I purchased some lullaby soundtracks and loaded them into an automated player, which we linked it to a special extension on the telephone system. 

The nurse now calls a telephone number Immediately after a baby is born, which automatically plays the lullaby through the overhead speakers in the hospital.  If twins are born, the nurse dials the extension twice and two lullabies are played.  I'm told this system is still being used, even though it is now 20 years old. (I thought about selling them another system to announce deaths, so I purchased two different sound tracks; one angelic and one not so angelic, but decided not to offer this idea to the hospital).   

HORSE BACK RIDING - A tour can be fun, but if it's noisy or you're far away from the tour leader it can be really hard to hear. Solution?  A completely self contained intercom that is worn by the guide and each participant.  It works, but of course I needed to demonstrate the system, by taking a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield on horses. This type of intercom system also worked well in large manufacturing tours in high noise areas.

REFLECTION - After working for more than 40 years the remaining memories are about people I met, not the sales won. Some of these friendships still continue during retirement.  If I had it to do over, I would not worry as much as I did about quotas. Instead, I would have taken more time to learn more about the story behind the person standing in front of me. Building relationships was not a waste of time. In fact, it often took care of the quotas.

If you are working now don't blink your eyes. Retirement arrives much quicker than you think; and the fleeting time continues. Where have these eight years gone?