When my dad was in his mid-50s, after having served as president of the divisions of major corporations, he found himself out of work.

Couldn& #39;t find a job.

Didn& #39;t complain. Now about ageism, or any type of "ism."

I never once heard him complain.

1/
He couldn& #39;t find a job...but you know what?

He was what we today call an "essential worker" (used today as a totally bullshit term).

If he didn& #39;t work. We didn& #39;t eat.

So you know what he did?

Mid-50s former company president...

He got f**king newspaper route.

2/
I was about 9 years old at the time. He and my mom would wake me up at 3 or 4 a.m. and we& #39;d head to the newspaper distribution place.

I hated it.

Folding up newspaper and putting them in bags.

Before sunrise.

Then hitting the road in the station wagon.

3/
My dad would drive. My mom would navigate.

I& #39;d sit in the back in a sea of newspapers, throwing them out the back window on to peoples& #39; driveways.

I hated it.

But it was the single best educational experience I ever had.

4/
And still...

I never heard my dad complain.

But he also knew he had a choice.

So in his mid-50& #39;s, he reinvented himself as an entrepreneur.

Didn& #39;t complain. Knew he had a choice.

So he made the choice to thrive.

5/
He went on to have a 25-ish year career after that doing incredible things...

Including having a patent on all the electric switches on the Boeing 777 while leading a team at the Illinois Tool Works Switches division.

6/
You always have a choice.

You can whine.

You can complain.

You can buy into the "powers that be" who want you to believe you don& #39;t have a choice.

Or...

7/
You can choose to create.

You can choose to ask, "how can I do this?"

Instead of saying, "I can& #39;t do this. I have no choice."

8/
Complain or create.

Whine or choose.

Let others define who is "essential" and "non-essential."

It& #39;s up to you.

9/
But know this...

If you& #39;re in a job you hate and you feel unsafe and you& #39;re mad you& #39;ve been designed "essential."

Be a true hero.

Step aside for one of those people in the food lines who WANTS to work.

You& #39;re essential if you want to be.

You have a choice.

10/10
Addendum: Sorry about typos. This was an unplanned tweetstorm and flowed out of me this morning. Apologies for my fat fingers https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit FreudentrĂ€nen">

11/10 (yes I wrote that...)
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