Balancing 4 Part Time jobs is a Full Time job!

So I never really thought that I would have a part time job after I graduated from college.   I mean I was off to set the world on fire and was sure that by the time I reached the age of 55 I would either be dead, or retired and living on some beautiful tropical island.  I had my share of part time jobs when I was in college.  I ran the infamous "Stan's Ice Cream" empire all through the summers of college.  Great work thanks to my freshman basketball coach, Stan Woerner, who basically paid my way through college.  I had to get up early, 6 AM, two days a week and receive the ice cream order for the trucks I packed daily.  And I would pack the trucks full of Popsicle, bomb pops, fudgesicles and other frozen treats.  Then send the drivers out for the day and meet them back at the shop at night to turn in their money and orders for the next day.  Not a bad job and all you can eat treats to boot!.

That job was great until one summer evening when someone pointed a gun between my eyes and wanted the day's money stash.  That was my last summer and I worked for my dad at Ford the next summer.  Night shift, cleaning the factory after a days worth of assembling T-birds.  Except for the fact this was an all night gig, it was great money and a good experience for me.  But within 6 months I graduated and was headed to the big time and big money.

That plan worked out OK until 2008.  Then the bottom fell out of the economy and especially the real estate market, my current trade.  So, it was either find a part time job, or turn over my house to the bank.  I chose the former.  I have always worked a sort of part time job, refereeing basketball since I was 18.  But that was a combination of the challenge of calling the perfect game and a little side money.  And frankly it wasn't enough to live on.  But I'll call that "part time job #1" during the past 4 year.

Part time job #2 was serving as executive secretary for our local Rotary club.  The position opened and I heard they paid a stipend of $400 a month to handle the duties, mostly collecting dues, processing checks for reimbursement and filing with the national organization.  I jumped at that one and am still doing this one.

Part time job #3 was running the local park district's youth theater program.  One of my buds at the district asked me to take over the management of the program, and  I did.  I produced 4 shows for them and even made them some extra money too.

Park time job #4 related to #3.  As had the keys to the theater and was trained in how to handle patrons, turn out the lights and replace the toilet paper, they asked me to help with event management.  So whenever there was a show, I got paid to be in the lobby and help get the folks in and out safely.  Another nice gig for sure, if you like wearing black, and I do!

So for about 2 years I was working 4 part time jobs and my full time job.   Sound like a time crunch?  It was and  I felt the wear and tear on my brain.  But, it got me through the rough times.  The economy is creeping back into shape and I was able to drop two of the part time jobs.  But I'm not opposed to adding them back if I have to.

I learned a great lesson during these years.  There are people out there who will help if you just let them.  All of these jobs were due to people I liked and trusted offering to help.  I'm lucky I wasn't too proud to say no.

What next?  Who knows.  I may be a greeter at Wal Mart.  But at least for now, things are good at my full time job and I'm paying the bills in a timely manner again.

Leaving a Legacy

leg·a·cy

   /ˈlɛgəsi/ [leg-uh-see] noun, plural leg·a·cies.

1. Law . a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.

2. anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of ancient Rome.

I have had a few people in my life who have died long before their time.  Some of them were very close friends, while others were just people I knew on the fringes.  Austin Cloyd falls into the latter category.  I met Austin a few times when I was refereeing basketball.  She played at Champaign Centennial High School and I remember talking to her a few times during warm ups.  Nothing noteworthy was said, just a few stories. 

Ironically two years later I would begin to know Austin very well.  Ironic, because Austin had passed away by then, and I have come to know her after that fact.  Here is what I know. Austin was devoted to community service.  She loved to work on empty tomb projects, scraping shingles off the roof, and loved working on Appalachian Service Projects.  She loved her friends and especially loved her family. 

Mostly I have come to appreciate that Austin Cloyd was a "typical" teenager.  With friends and neighbors and church commitments and an interest in helping other people. 

This past weekend we held the 5th Austin's Day of service.  Five years ago, about a week after the tragedy at Virgina Tech, Jordan Branham, then a junior at Centennial, approached me about the idea of paying tribute to Austin by serving in the community.  We had talked about donating money to empty tomb, or planting a tree or the kinds of things you do when someone passes.  You see Austin was in her French class in Norris Hall the day a madman chose to end the lives of 32 students.  And Jordan had read about her in a Chicago Tribune article.   The reporter talked about Austin's commitment to serving others.  And that her dream was to foster world peace.  Powerful story for sure. 

Fast forward 5 years to last week.  Austin's father Bryan was in Champaign for Austin's Day.  Over 200 volunteers had committed to serving 12 different agencies in Austin's memory.  In 5 years more than 500 people have served in Austin's name.  During the day, Bryan shared a wonderful story with me.  A few days after the shootings, a reporter asked him "what will Austin's legacy be?"  Bryan said he went numb a bit and didn't have an answer.  "How many 18 year olds have a Legacy?"  "I mean Austin was a wonderful girl, she had lots of friends, was a joy to be around, but a legacy?  She hadn't had time to build one."  Or so he thought at the time.

After spending the day in Champaign last weekend, Bryan said, "I think this may be her legacy.  Somewhere along the line she attached herself to a role model who inspired her to serve others."  He said, "and by spending time with this role model, Austin was starting to grow some roots embedded in community service. And those roots have taken hold in the students at Centennial who continue to carry the vision forward with Austin's Day."  I think this has given Bryan Cloyd a little closure on the pain he has held onto for all these years. 

Back to the central question though.  What legacy have we left?  For many people their children are their legacies.  Good or bad, they have brought them into the world and hope to have their values carried forward.  But for those of us who don't have children, or for those of us who's children have hardly lived up to the "legacy status" it becomes more about the what we have left behind.  It is an interesting question, and maybe the first question is, "is it important to leave a legacy?"


I suppose in a selfish kind of way I would like to think my time on earth mattered.   I think we all hope that we make a difference in the things we do and somehow impact others along the way.  I don't know if my actions have reached legacy status.  There are things I started many years ago that are still around.  The "Hometown Heroes" program at the U of I athletic dept is one of my babies.  Certainly being a co-founder of the Phi Kappa Psi chapter at the Univ of Michigan is important.  And I would guess some of the community service programs I have been involved with have seen some changes due to my input, the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival for example is significantly different than when I first got involved.  But is it a legacy?  I'll leave that for others to judge. 


In the end, maybe I hope people will say I invested my time and talents helping others succeed.  I can live with that legacy, and maybe others will look back and think they need to do the same when I'm gone. 

It's a rough life, but.,,

Here I am sitting in a recliner about 30 yards from the shoreline contemplating how I will spend my day. There are not many perks to being chapter advisor to a fraternity. Much time is spent helping the chapter set goals only to "set them aside" soon after the ink dries. And you are most needed when a member has done something stupid and he or the chapter is in seriously hot water. But today is different. Today I'm enjoying a beautiful sunrise as I wait for the American Leadership Academy to start their training.

The American Leadership Academy (ALA) is the brain child of two men, Jerry Nelson and Paul Wineman.  Both are members of my national fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, and both are dedicated the to proposition that the future of America lies on the hands of our 18-21 year olds and someone needs to make sure they are prepared to lead us all forward.

Jerry has started over 40 companies in his life.  Ticketmaster and Troon Golf may be the most notable.  Four or five of those companies went bankrupt but the rest survived and made considerable money.  One of my favorite "Jerry stories" is that he has built 132 golf courses in conjunction with such legends as Tom Weiskoff, and he HAS NEVER PLAYED GOLF!! 

I first met Jerry about 14 years ago when he invited several of us to his house in Tahoe.  We spent the weekend hearing about what it took to be successful in life and how to translate that message to today's youth.  It was the first of two weekend sessions with Jerry and frankly, these weekends changed my life in a dramatic way.  Jerry tends to do that to people, change their lives.  He has had a profound impact on hundreds if not thousands of lives with his message of "Winners and Losers".   An in your face presentation of the habits we all get into that lead us to success or failure in our lives.  He is passionate about changing the world and puts his money where his mouth is, preaching to thousands of college students annually. 

Paul Wineman is a saint.  He was truly sent from God to be an angel to the students he meets.  Paul is a former Army Colonel.  He spent most of his life assigned to Lebanon, both in the military and as a civilian.  He is devoted to change in the Middle East.  So devoted in fact he was taken hostage in Lebanon and then returned after he was released.  Paul talks to thousands about the Art of Negotiation.  He is one of the world's authorities on the topic, serving now as a lead negotiator for Anheuser Busch and the American Dairy Council amongst others. 

Paul and Jerry host six or eight weeks of the ALA in Cabo, Mexico.  Jerry has a mansion on the beach where he hosts speakers and others like me who he invites to facilitate the program.  Down the beach is a hotel where 150+ students are hosted each week during the spring breaks periods across the country. 
The students get to stay for free, eat for free, but the must attend a 3 hour daily workshop, featuring guest speakers who have made and lost millions.  They offer their secrets to success.  Some speakers focus on life skills, some on setting big goals, some on how to find balance in your life.  As for me, I get to sit back and listen and learn and enjoy life.

The students mostly listen intently.  The majority come and take advantage of an amazing opportunity to network with an incredible group of speakers.  Some just take in the night life in downtown Cabo and spend the three hours propped in place.  And a few have life changing experiences, figuring out the first step to success and walk away with a plan to achieve it.  I think Paul and Jerry live for those few.  They have fun with the rest and do a great job of planting seeds that may or may not take root later, but it's the few who take root here they enjoy the most.

So I've got a full week.  Great food, excellent company, beautiful accommodations and a good restful working vacation.  Truly a perk worth having!

Illinois Fans.....YOU'RE FIRED

Ok,  we have finally cleaned house at Illinois  Athletic Director Mike Thomas finished the trifecta and fired basketball coach Bruce Weber today.  So in the span of just 4 months he has fired the head football coach, Ron Zook, the women's basketball coach, Jolette Law and now Weber.  You see none of them managed to win enough games, so they got fired.

Interesting development.  Sometime in the past few years the Illinois fans started expecting winning to be the highest priority.  Maybe it was the first trip to the Final 4 in about 60 years, or maybe it was the 6 wins in a row in football at the beginning of the season, or the Rose Bowl trip a few years back.  But somehow the Illini Nation got it in their heads that winning and playing for championships was the highest priority. 

Graduation rates? Sorry not important.  Helping young men and women prepare for their futures? Forget it.  Being good stewards of their respective programs, acting honestly, fairly, and decently to the alums, fans, press and the world?  Nope, sorry that doesn't cut it.  Playing for the title is all that matters.

Is this realistic at Illinois?  History says no.  Sure we have teams that win Big 10 titles.  Sure we have teams that finish in the top 20 and compete with the best in the country.  But sustained winning?  Not recently. 

So, I have a suggestion for AD Thomas.  You should fire the fans.  Not just some of them, all of them.  You can give them a release.  Maybe pay them for their orange shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, gloves, etc.  You have $7 million to pay the former coaches, tacking in another couple million won't matter.  Give them information on joining booster clubs with schools that win.  Football, send them the Buckeye booster info.  Basketball, send them Indiana or Kentucky or Kansas info.  Then we can start over with the fan base too. 

Now fans, I want to warn you that some of the schools I just mentioned will break your hearts.  Ohio State, is on serious probation for cheating.  Indiana, they have their issues too.  But they win!  And after all that's what matters isn't it?   Oh now, they don't win the title every year, so you may have to fire your coaches every other year or so.  But you'll get a boost from winning the big ones!

As for me, I think I'm going to find a program to root for where the kids graduate.  Where they are decent kids learning to be better men and women.  Where honor and honesty and decency come first.  And where the coaches know that being great teachers and role models is what gets you an extended contract.  I'll bet you that there is a good chances coaches Zook, Weber and Law might be coaching there.

Sometimes I thank God for Unanswered Prayers! Merry Christmas

First, I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and holiday season.  And while Christmas is THE time to be with family, this year I won't be.  I'm not complaining, not one single bit.  But my family really comes together every other year, and this is the off year.  I could have gotten together with some family for sure, but it just seemed like this year, being in my home was going to be a good thing.  For one, I'm working tonight at the Virginia Theater where I'm one of the event managers.  The 1st. Presbyterian Church has a service there tonight and I will be one of the "hosts."  I'm happy I can help someone else take the night off and enjoy.  And after that my own church has 5 services, three tonight and two tomorrow.  I'm going to volunteer at two at least and maybe 3 or 4.  One of the downsides of always "going away" for Christmas is that I miss the services with my church family.  There are many there I love dearly and I'm just happy I can share this special time with them.  Tomorrow I have dinner plans with another special family in town and I know that will be fun as well.

So, this has been an amazing past 30 days for me.  I refinanced my house and credit card debt, thanks largely to the full time status I enjoy at work.  All in all I moved from over 6.75+ in interest alone to 3.5% interest.  Most importantly, the payments are 1/3 of what I was paying just last month.  Freeing up that cash allowed me to buy a new car.  I know, I should just save some money for a change, but truth be told, I have nursed my old car for 3 years longer than it should have run.  I got 195,000 from the Mountaineer in 14 years.  I drove it to Maine, and Texas, and Louisiana, and Georgia and many states in between.  It was a wonderful car, but it needed to retire!

In it's' place I got a new...yes new, Ford Fusion.  I had planned to buy used, but again, the offers for a new car are so good it's hard to pass up.  100,000/7 year warranty, 0% interest and no money down.  Oh, and free oil changes and tire rotation for 3 years.  That's amazing.  Just shows how the auto industry has to work hard to make deals.  I love the car and I'm know that my dad is smiling in heaven as I'll continue to drive a Ford for several more years.

I got a paycheck yesterday, and don't have any bills to pay.  I don't remember the last time that happened.  I'll have mortgage payments and car payments again next month, but for now...I'll just enjoy having money in my bank account.

So, this year will end on an up note and I'll thank God for answering my prayers.  There were a few unanswered ones in the past few years, but I see now that was just a lesson in patience God was teaching me .  Reminds me of one of my favorite Garth Brooks songs:

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Merry Christmas everyone. 



You know your life is back together when you can afford new underwear!

"Itch" Jones was the baseball coach at Southern Illinois University and at the University of Illinois for over 30 years.  I had the true pleasure of working for Itch for 3 years at Illinois.  One of the things he would say to the players when things weren't going right was "you think playing a game, like baseball is hard?  Hard is when you have a house with a mortgage, a family with bills and you have lost your job."  "Hard is figuring out how you are going to get your next meal when you only have pennies in your pocket."  "Hitting a baseball is not hard."

I didn't really get that when he said it.  I mean at the time I had always had a job.  Always been able to pay my bills.  Pretty much always been able to do whatever I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it.  Not working was a function of not wanting to work, and not making enough money meant you weren't trying hard enough. 

And then the year 2007 hit me square in the face.  I started the year working for a residential management company that was building a new dorm on campus.  It was a great job, and add to that I was working part time in real estate and making extra cash as a referee.  About April my father's condition deteriorated.  This weighed on my mind constantly as our family tried to decide the proper care going forward.   I had a few other distractions as well, and eventually the company decided to "go another direction."  So I went back to real estate full time. 

A few weeks later my father passed away.  A month after that the stock market collapsed.  And by Christmas it became evident the real estate business was headed into a tailspin.  And so began a nearly 3 year change of lifestyle.  It's amazing when you really have to "watch your pennies" how some things just don't become important anymore.  Over the next two years I would cancel home phone service, Internet, subsciptions, and find a way where ever I could to cut back my expenses.  I had some good months and some bad months.  The bad months were often funding with my credit cards, and like a Vegas gambler I thought my next big sale would pay off the debt.

The next big sale didn't come, although I had enough smaller sales to pay the bills.  Over time I took on 4 part time jobs.  I was very fortunate that people with whom I had volunteered in the past offered me part time positions, getting paid, in areas of they controlled.  And it was enough to get by. 

So here I am four years later, head still above water, and still managing to get by.  A few weeks ago our managing broker offered me a salary position with benefits.  It truly was the answer to my prayers.  In fact I had prayed often during this time, putting my full faith in God that things would work out.  And they did.

So, a few weeks ago I did something I haven't done in more than 3 years.  I went out an bought some new underwear.  My old stuff, and trust me I had a lot of it, was finally wearing out.  And I was down to my last 5 or 6 pair.  There is something now about opening a new package of boxers that makes me feel things are ok now.  Funny, because in the past, I took it for granted.  When you take time to step back and really look at where you life as led you, the things that seem like a given can become a celebration.

Some people just have it figured out. Cub's starter Randy Wells Give Back

Randy Wells



char·i·ty (chr-t)
n. pl. char·i·ties
1. Provision of help or relief to the poor; almsgiving.
2. Something given to help the needy; alms.
3. An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy.

If you aren't a baseball fan, or maybe a casual fan you may not recognize the name Randy Wells.  He is the third or fourth starter for the Chicago Cubs.  He posted the definition of charity on a Facebook page yesterday.  I think we all need a reminder that no matter how far we rise in our lives, we need to remember there are many who need help just to get by.  Randy remembers this, and demonstrates it on a regular basis.

I first met Randy when he was about 8 years old.  His older brother Forry played for the University of Illinois in both football, where he was a qb/punter and pitcher, 1st base, catcher, outfielder in baseball.  Forry was no doubt one of my favorite players I worked with and came from a family deeply rooted in the values you would hope all young men and women display.  Forry is a true "older" brother, 10 or 12 years older than Randy.  And like many younger brothers, Randy loved to watch Forry play, love to come to the park and play catch and hit in the batting cages and loved it when we asked him to be in the dugout as bat boy. 

Here's a photo with Randy on the far right, and his grandmother, mom, dad and brothers at senior day.

When Randy was called up to the Cubs, one of the first things he did was send out a note to all his friends inviting them to Belleville after the season for a fund raiser.  A friend of his has a sister with juvenile diabetes, and he was committed to helping.  He did, and has held a similar outing each of the past 3 years.  Several hundred thousand have been raised to date with more certainly to come. 

But he hasn't just made a commitment to this project.  The Randy Wells Foundation has fund raisers throughout the year for many causes.  He held Boot Bash in October along with country music pal Stoney LaRue, supporting vets returning from battle.  He has raised money for the Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital, the Wounded Warriors Project and lent a hand to many other events showing up or donating to the cause.  I'm going to borrow a paragraph from his foundation website because it captures Randy's heart better than I could ever hope to.

Playing for the major leagues is a dream that Randy Wells lives out every day.  On the mound, Wells' main focus is concentrated on strikeouts. Off the mound, the major leaguer makes it a priority to strikeout obstacles that prevent children from achieving their dreams. He was forever changed after meeting five-year old brain cancer patient Carter Kettner. “Here was this boy who showed no signs of what he was going through.  His perseverance against these physical struggles was such an inspiration,” says Wells of the encounter with Kettner. “The fact that the team was able to brighten his day just touched me in a special way.” Randy developed a friendship with the Kettners. Sadly, things were put into perspective for Wells after Carter lost his battle to cancer in May of 2010. “I just realized there were a lot of kids out there like Carter who needed support and care day in and day out,” says Wells.

Here is a link to his foundation website:  http://www.randywellsfoundation.org/

A long time ago, maybe just maybe I helped 8 year old Randy touch his dreams for a day when we suited him up in a batboy uniform.  And while that doesn't even come close to the kind of things Randy has done for young men like Carter, it's a reminder that each of us have a obligation to do what we can, when we can. 

Thank you Randy for reminding us all that not every professional athlete is self centered and uncaring.  You are a hero to many, especially me!