Captain Greybeard’s Novel Ideas: 2017

Like many people, I couldn't wait for the end of 2016. I won't harp on the many celebrity deaths or the election season that put a pall over the entire year, the latter of which will be discussed ad nauseam for months and years to come; but I will say the death of local celebrity, Prince, was when I really started to feel there was something "not right" about 2016. Everything after that proved it.

On a more personal note, the last three months of the year were especially exhausting, so much so I was starting to develop feelings of anxiety. During the early part of my current role, I felt I wasn't quite the right person for the job, and even told my boss as much during a moment of exasperation. Now, I feel perfectly capable of doing my job, but there are so many things that need doing and not nearly enough time to do them.

Much of my time is spent being reactive and putting out fires (fortunately, I work in air conditioning, so this hasn't been a literal problem), but my primary responsibility is to be PROACTIVE in driving sales in aftermarket parts. This requires me to be on site at distributor locations in the southern and western parts of the country to conduct business reviews. This is especially important now as the summer (peak cooling season) was not as lucrative for my regions as it was last year, and down considerably against other regions. Our General Manager insisted I visit the underperformers to develop countermeasures to get them to plan, or at least flat from last year. So, I had multiple business trips in the lead-up to the holiday season. I have learned that business travel is a young man's game and I'm no longer a young man.

I had a few more vacations days I hadn't used, only recently earning an extra week from passing a milestone anniversary, and was looking forward to taking the last week of December "off from work." I knew I wasn't going to be fully away from the office, as I would have my cell phone (mobile office) with me. My First Mate and I made one more trip to Wisconsin to finish out the year. Her grandparents moved into a condo in Racine to be closer to family who could care for them. They stopped just a street short from actually moving in with them. We were going to be reinforcements to spell MFM's aunt and uncle from the constant care they had been providing the last few months. We would only be there a couple nights, but the break was welcomed.

As one can imagine, this wasn't a relaxing trip. What should have been a five-hour car ride was extended by over an hour as I envisioned Racine much further south of Milwaukee than it actually is. Two clues we made a wrong turn were 1.) highway signs we were approaching Rockford, IL; and 2.) sporadic time checks of Google maps on a cell phone said we were 45 minutes away at one point, then 90 minutes away some time later. We brought our dogs, Jack and Jill, with us and Jill, as usual, spent most of the trip on my lap as I drove.

Our accommodations at the condo were fine, although we were relegated to the chilly, somewhat furnished basement. Turns out, this is where My First Mate's aunt and uncle would stay so as to be responsive immediately to Grandpa's needs. They had a great system set-up, too. Grandpa had a call button that would activate an alarm in the basement. The tone of the alarm was the Star Spangled Banner.

We went to bed just short of midnight after some dinner, TV watching and getting Grandpa settled for the night. Our heads barely hit the pillow when the first alarm sounded.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

My First Mate is a nurse and she immediately sprang out of bed to see what was the matter. The issue was a small one and she returned a few minutes later. Over the next hour, we heard the alarm sound three more times; one of which I went upstairs as well to help re-position Grandpa in the bed. There were no more alarms after one in the morning.

Now, Jill has us trained to let her outside to go to the bathroom every two to three hours during the night. Jack can probably wait until morning, but he takes advantage of the opportunity. I'm the lighter sleeper, so I'm usually the first to her Jill softly growl to be taken outside. I've tried to put her off in the past, but she will continue to growl with increasing intensity until they become little yips. About three in the morning, Jill decided she needed to go. I stood outside in the cold for a few minutes as the dogs did their business. Once done, I took them downstairs, crawled back into bed and closed my eyes.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, . . .

F*CK!!

"Hey, Honey? Grandpa needs you."

Those were long couple of days and by Friday we were ready to head home. The next day, we were going to Treasure Island with our established ringers in of the New Year (a tradition almost 12 years in the making), then eating and drinking at our house. We paced and behaved ourselves at the casino, and I was able to break even at the blackjack table. I could have left $100 up, but I couldn't recognize the heater I was on was cooling. We finished the night playing the card game El Presidente to about three in the morning - a time I'm used to being awake thanks to Jill.

Here's hoping for a wonderful 2017 filled with great times, good humor, and pictures capturing every day!

Image 001: 01.01.2017