Prescott Valley News from the Fain Group

HELLO EVERYONE:

"That kid is hopping from one thing to another ."  "Can't stick to any job.  He's going to have a tough time in life if he doesn't buckle down and stay with one thing."  That kid was me!  Is it you?

Education...yep I got one..I was never really good in school.  Grades, behavior, attention span, less than expected.  I always hugged the C's and D's and occasionally flirted with F's.  I thought "F" stood for Friends-and I wanted all I could get.

I wasn't voted most likely to succeed, most popular, certainly not most attractive, but I was happy.  A short little guy with a buzz haircut that ran around in shorts, a t-shirt, and most times bare-footed (in the summertime, in Phoenix).

I wasn't popular or smart, but even as a kid, I knew the value of hard work.  I figured if I worked hard and was happy, it would be a pretty dang good life.  My Achilles heel.  I was fast-paced, leapfrogged from one thing to another, over-active brain cells, extreme curiosity.

The big people always told me you can't hop around in life. People won't hire you.  You will be considered unstable, and your resume will end up in file 13, the dreaded circular file.

Well, I am here to tell the big people and those little people who are like me, that it's all good.  There is always a place for happy people who work hard.  Even if you don't stick and stay...it's OK.  I'm living proof that a rambling boy without the greatest credentials in the world can make a living and laugh a lot.

I've done just about everything in life, and have always make a buck.  So, to you kids that ramble a bit in life-and to their parents....Jonnny and Susie will be just fine.  They may not be the doctor, lawyer, or corporate executive that you wanted, but then it's their life..let them live it.

Here is a peek into my work life.  The jobs are in no particular order, but I think it makes my point.  Lew's resume - would you hire him?

•-         Paper route (found some roofs)

•-         Pool boy (Clean and fun)

•-         Mower of yards (push mover)

•-         Carry-out boy (lots of tips)

•-         Meat Dept. clean-up boy (yucky, messy)

•-         Pad changer for evaporated cooler company (hot and sweaty)

•-         Plant attendant - Nursery (dirty)

•-         Owner, Lew's Landscape and Maintenance (went broke).

•-         Owner Days-ese Cleaning Service (you should have seen some of these houses)

•-         Employment Counselor, Snelling & Snelling (knew how to find work)

•-         Salesman, Carnation Co. Grocery Products Division (top salesman)

•-         Cigarette Salesman - Tareyton, Salem, Kent, etc. (hack, hack)

•-         Car Salesman, Valley Dodge, Phoenix (high-pressure)

•-         Grocery manager, Basha's & Lucky's (lots of $$)

•-         Radio DJ, Phoenix, Branson, Prescott, Williams (a gas)

•-         Owner, Luigi's Singing Telegrams (fun, no dough)

•-         Newspaper Reporter, Sports Editor (lots of hours, little pay)

•-         General manager, Old Prescott Firehouse Restaurant 9difficult)

•-         Lead Singer, "Natural High" rock band (rock on)

•-         Co-Hose, television talk show (love it

•-         In-Arena Host, Sundogs (it just got hotter)

•-         Comedian, Branson, Arizona Jamboree, Arizona Revue (funny)

•-         Assistant Golf Professional, Moon Valley Country Club (+2)

I am sure there are a few job stations that I've occupied, but may be just choose to forget.  Some would say, "How could you leap frog so many times in life and still land on the lily pad?"  Well, I've had lots of experience in life, and that's the greatest teacher of all.  I have gained a storehouse of practical knowledge.  I'm happy, and I don't fear change.  I will always find work.

To those wonderful young people who haven't discovered their niche...you are terrific people, and don't let anyone tell you different.  Understand that life is an endless search, and the adventure is worth the risk.  Every moment makes you better than you were the day before.  Do not despair, even if you weren't voted most likely to succeed...cause you will, and you will have experienced a whole lot of life along the way.

Try being a frog before you croak, you might just find a beautiful lily pad pond that was always there, but you never hopped.  Rrrbbit, rabbit.

Enjoy the E-Press.

Lew Rees