ShuttleDave: Life Coach

I was recently telling Jill Bakke about my shuttle gig and what a great time I am having.

Jill creates community and healing at the Atrium in Greendale. She's a life coach, trainer and more.

And, after listening to what I do with people during drive time, she said it sounds like I already have the basis for a coaching practice. I am already listening, holding space and encouraging others. Certainly there is much more that goes into it, however ...

I’ve been creating and distributing words of praise mostly to teachers of foreign language via GoodWorkCards.com since 1990. I created the Mini-Thanks cards a few years ago. I have written the first edition of Do Happy Better as a way to describe the benefits of giving thanks by actually GIVING thanks. A second edition is expected by Spring 2014 on Amazon and Kindle.

As much as I have lately thought to work in marketing communications for a car dealer ... maybe there’s a higher calling.

Okay, there’s always a higher calling.

What's calling you?

Fat Tire Rider

“Two hours after new kids arrive they have forgotten everything their mother ever told them about - well - almost everything.” he says. Ken is a custodian in a student housing facility near the river. He’s seen the devastation and fixed it.

He’s ridden his fat tire bike 5 minutes to work and back for over four years.
Riding gets tough at about three inches of snow he says. He’s geared up for it.

He lives in Riverwest with his bride - new since August last. A week into the honeymoon she broke her right ankle. She was off work for a month and a half. And now the car needs brakes. Or, has needed brakes for quite awhile. They are riding on metal and stopping on the squeal. And now he has to take a day off work to bring their one car in to the shop.

So many of us use of off-work time, our real life, to get the chores done. Often I ask how wonderful it would be to have an occasional day off with nothing to do but what you choose. (You know, the way they do in Europe?)

Deciding to own only one car was a bit of a stretch for a number of months especially when his mother was declining on the south side of town.

And although the bills are mounting up he seems to have a balanced attitude. Life in Riverwest is wonderful - almost everything within walking distance and great neighbors.

He has a particular shine to him when he mentions the Fat Tire Birkie and Bar Hop. Ken likes his bike.

What I like about this story is that, even though there’s so little story here ... for you and me ... it’s Ken’s story. That’s the way he tells it. And we all have a story or two especially when someone’s listening.

Drive Time

Someone said I should write a book. I love when people tell me what I should do. This is a person that did not realize I was already writing the stories down even though I’d already told him at least a couple times. Apparently he’s not online nearly as often as he’d like me to think he is.

Maybe the part I needed to hear from him is that the stories might see a larger audience if they were collected.

While I constantly think of the couple hundred notes I have not transcribed from my recorder I now see that I have gotten 84+ stories onto the blog spaces; ShuttleBug and ShuttleDave. There might be some duplicates.

Where else is free time like this available? This is in between time. Maybe the hair salon. Possibly visiting with the bartender.

If you go see your therapist or doctor you have to make your decisions sound plausible or defensible. There’s this barrier.

While we can and do talk about most things in the shuttle we rarely talk about their car service. I tell folks that my approach to car service and knowledge about cars goes like this: when I have a problem I open the hood, say a little prayer and call someone who knows more that I do.

A few people - very few actually - have needed to vent but most realize that I cannot make the process faster or cheaper. I am not trying to sell anything. We relax.

It’s not that I intentionally want to distract them but I am interested in what they are interested in talking about. Mostly we talk about the job. Their job. Sometimes they ask me about mine.

What did I do before I retired? I love that one. I’m in a white shirt and tie, driving them to work in a company vehicle. What part of this looks retired to you? - is what I think. It’s amazing what we do to the definition of words - I might say.

I do ask about exciting or new projects. I am now wondering about other questions. Here are the 10-questions from James Lipton’s “Inside the Actors Studio” program.

1. What is your favorite word?

2. What is your least favorite word?

3. What turns you on?

4. What turns you off?

5. What sound do you love?

6. What sound do you hate?

7. What is your favorite curse word?

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

9. What profession would you not like to do?

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Looks like I’m cooking a book.

36, 37, 38

On Wednesday I met JB. He’s originally from Haiti but considers Boston his home. He did spend six years in Portland and yes, if you haven’t been there, put it on your list. His wife was transferred to Milwaukee and he now works IS for Harley.

We talked about disaster, relief, helplessness and doing what you can with what you have. He has extended family there and visits every couple of years. And once again Harley is a great company to work for.

On Friday I met Edjou. He looked a little surprised when I said his name - right - the first time. I absolutely love doing that. He’s from Cameroon. He came over on the US Diversity Lottery or something like that. You have to have some education, some work experience, some contacts and - it is a lottery - you have to play to win. In the year 2000 he won.

This is my America and it’s pretty much all I know. However things might have seemed to have changed and not necessarily for the better (he agrees) it is still better than where he came from. He brought up justice for instance. There is so much corruption there.

Mostly we talked about people and caring for one another. I’d love to have a coffee with him. There is so much I could learn.

On Thursday and Friday I have a chance to meet Eric B. He’s all homegrown. He works third shift at Miller-Coors on the bottling line. Not the can line.

Between the two of us and the traffic we could not really get all the arithmetic finished but suffice it to say that on a good day/shift he sees 350,000 bottles go by and that’s five semi-trailer loads of bottles. That's a lot of beer.

Better than that he’s off to load and deliver a thousand pounds of donated food to the food pantry he’s been volunteering at for the last ten years.

Ten years? Yahoo! I gave him a thanks and a pat on the back.

“Thanks,” I said, “We need you here.”

It turns out I might be of some service with his promotions.

Finding someone from somewhere else with a few minutes and a willingness to engage is wonderful.

P.S. I add the 36th & 37th countries to my international customer list with Haiti and Cameroon. Hmmm ... I just checked my list again and see that somewhere along the line I forgot to add South Africa. Amazing. 38.

Roots and Strings

Mary S. drives 45 miles into the city from La Grange between Elkhorn and Whitewater. She used to work downtown as a para-legal for a name brand firm. They were trying to turn her into a Republican she told me. Now she works in health care. Less stress; honestly.

Her real work is her homestead and garden. She grows, harvests, dehydrates, cans and freezes. In the non-growing season she studies, plans and prepares. Agri-business will be the death of us.

I try not to argue with my customers. No argument here anyway.

She was born in Lakeland Hospital as was I. She dabbled in Photoshop enough that she was tapped to create the cover art for the 25th anniversary compilation album for Piper Road Spring Band.

Apparently we were sitting together in the Sprague Theater 15 years ago, at one of the stops on the anniversary tour. We did not know that then.

Often I think I’d like to miss the exit, keep going, stop for breakfast, call in sick, or better yet, well.

Not Much Farther

JG was in from Newberry last Friday. I drove him home and back in one morning. His part was not in. The car would have to stay over. He couldn't have that.

We talked about his wife's degenerative neurology, Harvard Medical, an upcoming trip to Mayo and how to retrofit his auto to accommodate his darling dear.

On the way back he mentioned Mac and was not familiar with the local MUG that meets at UWM. His trips to the Genius Bar have been less than ... he had anticipated.

He was in again this morning. He had not found the monthly MUG meeting online - which was actually yesterday - even though I gave him the exact URL: double-click.org - he even wrote it down. I can't really peek over. I'm driving.

He googled something at home and was not able to find it. Hmm ... maybe it's not the Genius Bar after all.

Today, on our way back to his house, we talked about food; specifically vegetarian. He's eaten that way for 30 years. He's worried now about soy and GMO. He thinks he might go Paleo. Agribusiness crept boldly in to our conversation. I mentioned walnuts, Blue Diamond and the FDA.

He looked up Thrive while we crossed the Milwaukee River on North Ave. He has his iPad and a hotspot with him.  Founder Foster Gamble has passion and resources ... a great combination.

We also mentioned Zukav, the Dancing Wu Li Masters, Timothy Leary, what else?

I drop him at home and I am on my way on to the remainder of my 132 miles around town.

I pick him up shortly after my shift is over. On the way back we start in somewhere else in the conversation. He brings up chemtrails. Now it's starting to get a little out there for me.
 www.whyintheworldaretheyspraying.com

Chemtrails; the big brothers club is weaponizing the weather. I don't doubt it.

Anyway, the dashboard calculator says that, over weeks and weeks of time, the average around-town speed I achieve is 24 mph. Today I went 132 in 5.5 hours. That looks like 24 to me.
I have gone farther in a single day but not by much.

Light up. Move forward.

I meet folks in the shuttle that have answers to questions; plumbing, medical, design, nutrition, engineering, DOT road construction, weather radar, it’s actually quite a list. Apparently I have a lot of questions.

A couple months back I met Carrie Lou Who; a children’s book illustrator. Perfect timing.

My wife Pat is assembling a career’s worth of games, puzzles and activities for sale online. She’s got the data smashing and forms layout  down cold. She’s particularly facile with combinations and permutations. What she’s been missing is the graphical elements; clip art. She wants her own stylistically similar sets of pics to go with vocabulary words; clothing, table setting, farm animals, zoo animals, body parts, etc. And she does not want to get into the copyright legal arena. It has been a creative sticking point.

I’m so excited that my dear wife might continue with the most passionate aspect of her teacher career: the creation.

So, one day a couple months ago I met Carrie. A few weeks later the two of them met. Pat said here’s a gal that gets the idea right off the bat. Contract signed, deposit down and sketches in a few days.

...

While Ken’s car is being serviced I’m driving him to Cudahy where he’s been busy cleaning out his mother’s house. There’s been a member of his family in that town since 1908 and soon, whenever his niece moves on, that will be the end of that. Sad times.

He’d taught Social Studies in Waukesha for so long that he’d had my boss in class once upon a time. That has been awhile. “He was kind of different.” he said.

I do not know my boss very well, but I’d have to agree.

Ken’s now retired from public school teaching mostly because of the political fiasco with the governor.

I’ve said this before and I will say it again. The right to bargain means - the right to bargain. It does not mean you get everything you want. For instance, and for teachers, a lunch hour is not an hour. It might be somewhere in the vicinity of 22 minutes in which time you may answer student questions, be a hall monitor or break up a fight. Now try to actually eat, get to the bathroom and make any calls you need to make. By the way, teacher might have phones in their rooms but their personal use of them is obviously restricted to break time. There is - in some years - no break time.

Ken wasn’t ready to retire but he was able to get out before they stripped everything from him. Anyway, he’s now teaching online economics to Chinese students through One World School. And I shared the TeacherPayTeachers site with him.

Where there’s a will there’s a way. And the portal might be found near your best creative self. Shine your light. Move forward.

Average Speed - 24mph

Only in the past four or five months have I begun to keep track of mileage. The dealer knows that we're going to offer the service anyway so, why bother to collect data?

And, there is so much data kept by the vehicle anyway.

I work the six-hour morning shift and am done at 1 p.m. I start driving at 7:30. That's 5.5 hours of drive time per day.

The dashboard on the van calculates that we are averaging 24 mph. I do some highway miles if I am going across town for parts. Going downtown in morning rush hardly counts as highway driving.

Occasionally I might go to Glendale, Racine, Vernon or Waterford. Even so: 24 mph. Average.

I do have to stop for passengers, of course: in and out.

Today I drove 119.9 miles in 5.5 hours and today was one of the top three days for mileage ever.
That is 21.8 mph up, down and all around town.

I came home and took a nap today.

Hope Springs and Bluegrass Chicken Feed

Along with his briefcase David was carrying an old-school lunch box decked out in Fender guitar decals. That sort of kicked off the conversation.

By day he’s a microbiologist. He's the guy I mentioned in the Microbial Hog Feed story.

One of the other projects his firm is working on is chicken feed. Rather than feeding standard and ever-increasing amounts of antibiotics, they are working on pro-biotic chicken feed. Hope springs eternal.

However, as we turned the corner in the van, the sun glinted off the chrome handle of his Fender lunchbox. We talked music, people we might know and where things happen.

Turns out he plays bass in a three piece bluegrass band. They’re on Facebook as Backroads BDR.

Further, there an open bluegrass jam from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights at Marty’s in Waterford. I went last night. It’s a lovely facility for this type of event with plenty of room for practice before you get onstage. Even if you’re not performing you can just come, bring your instrument and play along in the audience.

Or just come to listen. The kitchen is open till 8 and the bar till 10 I’d guess. Marty’s Diamond Waterford WI.

I didn’t stay that long. I got a date with an early morning shuttle.

My latest little joke

Occasionally, as I deem appropriate, I tell people that this shuttle job is the kind of job I'd do for free.

And it is. It is right up there in the top three to five gigs I've ever had.

I get a new car a couple times a year.

I do not have a desk, a phone, or a computer login.

I have reasonable autonomy.

I have no one to manage.

I have no one to report to.

When the day is going reasonably well, I am not actually there at the auto dealership.

The time I tell this part of the story is usually on the heels of someone asking me what I did before I retired.  What I think is this: Are you kidding me? It's seven-thirty a.m., I am wearing a tie and driving you downtown in a brand new van with my boss's name on it. How does this look retired to you?

However, I usually take the conversation in the direction of changing word definitions.
"Isn't it funny what retired used to mean?" And, there we go.

And then, one day I heard myself say ...

"This is the kind of job I'd do for free ... and if you look at my check you'd see how close I already am."

That almost always gets the chuckle I'm looking for.

And, as you well know, chuckling is what it's all about.

Connections: Theology - Philanthropy

Last Thursday, I think, I met Chris, an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Marquette. He’s dismayed at the current crop of undergrads. He blames the iPad. I told him I saw it coming three seconds after Steve Jobs launched the iPod a dozen years ago; the breakdown of community.

He sees very little enthusiasm, curiosity, or interest from his students. He seems sad. Maybe it’s not an elective course. We did not cover that aspect. He thinks they don’t want to be there. Maybe he’s right.

I did toss out a few names just to show him that all is not lost. Borg, Bruggemann, Rohr, Spong and a name he’d not heard; Thomas Hora -  Metapsychiatrist.

And, as far as young student types go, Pam sees a young crop of doctors coming up that want a raise and detailed career path advise after a year.

“You haven’t done anything for me yet.” she says.

Pam works for the Medical College and calls herself a fundraiser. I am sure that is the least of what she does. It must be interesting work meeting and greeting philanthropists. She also has concerns with the upcoming younger professionals and their idea about giving back.

We talked about billable increments for doctors and the new empathy training regimen for hospital staff. She said Malcolm Gladwell brought to light a study that indicate nice doctors are sued less often than less-nice doctors regardless of their medical skills.


I am the morning drive guy. It’s relatively rare for me to be able to bring someone back and continue a conversation that we’d started earlier in the day. It’s often a genuine pleasure.

What do people want? I offered what I’ve discovered. I spell it RARE because we don’t seem to get enough of it.

Recognition. Attention. Respect. Encouragement. You can make that connection with another. You have to let go of yourself for a moment. And a moment is all it takes.

Another Great Gratuity

saddled with
satchel,
purse,
umbrella

her arms wide
in autumn jacket
I got a quick kiss
on the right cheek

That's a
happy camper
and all
I can share

World: Small and Larger

I took John - who apparently calls himself Terry - and his wife Diane, home near Howard and South Lake Drive to a street that is two blocks long.

Terry used to teach reading to fifth graders in MPS. He started talking local history and I told him I'd heard about a guy that wrote a book due out early this December about the Town of Lake. (Check with the Tippecanoe Library for details.)

“Yeah, that's Ron Wilson.” Terry said.  “He was a student of mine.”

Small world.

The next day I meet Kris and recognized the street name on the slip of paper I'm given.

“I can probably drive you right there without any help. I went there yesterday with John and Diane. He was a school teacher for MPS.” I said.

“I didn’t know Terry’s name was John.” Kris said in surprise. “They live across the street for me.”

Kris is graduating from UWM with a degree in urban geography.

“Welcome aboard.” I said. “Never heard of urban geography.”

We talked about Milwaukee park land and green space, socialist mayors in Milwaukee, cemeteries, Doors Open Milwaukee and, what was once known as, the Town of Lake.

I do not collect or even notice all the paradoxes that pop up. The small world / larger world is one that haunts me. It probably does not even rank on the official list.

 

Gussie the Clown

I met Gussie the Clown late last week. My first clown ride ... so to speak. She was dressed in her Housing Authority, day-job clothes, but still, wow, Gussie the Clown, balloon sculpturing, parades, fun and games.

I wonder about the time line overlap between her job and her side-job. Did she become a clown to relieve the pressure of the day job?

Gussie does not do many birthday parties. She says the expectations are just too high. She does work with a group at Family Day Games in Miller Park.

Her group from Waukesha is giving lessons in clowning soon. I asked her to send me the link. She said they have a Facebook page and she’d email it to me. I’ve not seen it yet. I did a little - unsuccessful - search. Busy weekend.

We talked about fun and games and the general lack thereof. Most of us have given that up by the time we’re in third grade. Fun and games is just not worth it for all the whining and moaning by authority figures.

I guess if you want to be a clown you’ll have to try harder than I did. It’s not all fun and games.

Thirty-five Countries Plus

On Friday last, Maria, the nanny from Nicaragua, came into the service drive and remembered my name BEFORE she saw my badge. I was impressed.

Then I checked my list and saw that I had forgotten to enter her country in my count. And then I saw that I had also forgotten to list Brazil. It is the home country of Claudio, the chemist, from Carmex.

Here is the list to date. See if you can find the word that indicates more than one country.

Albania, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Hmong, India, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, South Vietnam, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Zambia.


Gratefully, I am traveling the world right here in metro Milwaukee.