I am not an impulsive decision maker. “You plan your work, you work your plan” best describes my business career. I was responsible for multi-year projects that required monitoring and adapting. A five year project became a series of sixty monthly status meetings. In contrast, after retiring, I find pleasure in planning meals twelve to twenty-four hours in advance. My culinary decisions are based on the weather, the occasion and what recipe has peaked my interest. I rarely second guess myself and always take a long term view. For example:
In March 1999, I found my son his first car. He was eight years old. I had worked with A for seven years and watched her turn over two leased cars. She was meticulous in both business and personal affairs. A commuted forty miles round trip daily. Arriving at home each day she would wipe down her dashboard with a clean rag before exiting the vehicle. Once a year, A had her engine steam cleaned because she thought the road tar residue was unsightly. That March, she came to work with a 1999 Volvo S-80; a large heavy well protected car. I told her I would buy it 39 months hence.
In June 2002, I purchased the Volvo. My son was eleven years old. Over the next six years, I had all required maintenance performed by a Volvo dealer. My son turned 17 in August 2008. Within several weeks he had dented the door hitting a retaining wall pulling into a tight parking spot and blown out a tire by hitting a curb while reaching for his GPS which had fallen off the dash. Last May, while driving home from Indiana, he saw the car bumper on the highway with no time to avoid it. He drove over it. The Volvo was unscathed! In August, we’ll be driving the Volvo back to Indiana for another school year. The huge heavy heaven-sent vehicle with 135,000 miles will continue to surround my son with 2 tons of protection. Its purchase was a good decision if I do say so myself!
kongoboken 