1938 Ford Hotrod

A few days ago, I got an email and two phone calls from the local Star Riders Motorcycle Club. I believe they were notified of our circumstances by Star Riders Don Shafer (Kelowna) and Robin Peterman (Grande Prairie). Jeff K and Michael V both called to see what they could do to help. It seems like we are being pretty well taken care of but Ed had a great idea. Layton is quite concerned about his computer, I am concerned about his passport and he arrived at the hospital here with pretty much the same assets he had the day he was born. Ed suggested that I ask the Star Riders if they could figure out a way to get his stuff to us from Ely, a five hour drive away. I don’t know how they are doing it but Saturday or Sunday night, it will be here. I talked with Jeff again today and the Star Rider ladies are also taking me for dinner Saturday evening. How nice is that! Jeff also made a point of talking to Layton on the phone today as well. I think it was difficult for him to understand Layton with the oxygen mask on, but that was a special touch that I really appreciated. Prior to this, I did not know how I would get the stuff and the writer is really concerned about his stories.

I finally connected last night with the “Angel with the Cell Phone”, Calvin Nelson from Pasco, WA. He explained how they met up (just a wave on the road), had lunch together, went to the Nevada Hotel (something important for bikers, I guess), and then shortly after, the accident. Calvin was able to stop some cars who called 911 and one lady in the second car seemed to know what she was doing and took charge making sure Layton could continue to breathe. I don’t have her contact information yet.

Some of the names to date include:

Trade Secrets – How the Chameleon helped Joe the plumber overcome relationship problems at home and work.

Blue Collars to Green Backs – The Chameleon helps Joe and his wife change colour so the business is more profitable and business relationships stronger

Trading secrets – building a business and saving your marriage

Chapter 1:

Fire the Wife?   1

“Fire Betty? You have to be kidding, how do you fire your wife? I’m not going to let a few unhappy employees create a problem in my marriage,” Joe said to himself.

“On the other hand, how can I run a successful company if all my good employees leave? I thought I had faced just about every problem that running a business can create, but this is unbelievable.”

These were the thoughts that kept Joe from appreciating the comfortable reed chair, its back to a white stucco wall that reflected the warmth of the early spring sun. A full palette of vibrant flowers surrounded the attractive deck at the Lakeview Resort. They sweetened the transition from the man-made structure to the soft and natural beauty of the surrounding grounds, lit now by sunlight filtering down though high pine trees.

The magnificent jewel-like lake reflected high hills and mountains in the distance, providing a surreal backdrop. The sunshine warming the deck had long since melted the ice in Joe’s tea. Oblivious to the magnificence of the world around him, he continued to mull over this latest business challenge.

Joe had never planned to own his own business, but when the pulp milled closed and he couldn’t find another job in town, he was faced with three options—find a different career, find a job in another community, or start his own shop.

Joe ruled out changing careers—he couldn’t think of anything he would rather do. He was a journeyman plumber by trade and enjoyed the work.

He had taken years to build a meaningful life with friends and family—people who depended on him—in a community he and Betty considered their own.

On top of that, there was no plumbing shop in town. Joe had always found it easy to moonlight, doing small jobs for extra money while working at the mill. In the past year or so, he had been so busy he’d had to refer work to his co-workers, so he felt the transition into his own plumbing business would be easy.

He talked it over with Betty, and together they decided to go into business.

Joe spent several days trying to think up a unique and catchy name, but in the end he registered Joe’s Plumbing and Heating. He painted “A flush always beats a full house” on the side of his old van, along with his name and phone number, and he was in business. Joe put in long hard days building the business and doing all the fieldwork while Betty still held down her job and spent the evenings doing the books and paying the bills.

The first few years presented more than their share of struggles, but Joe was sure the bumps in the road would smooth out and it would soon be clear sailing all the way to the bank.

Suddenly it was twelve years later, and although those first bumps had long since been smoothed out, and Betty now worked full time in the business as well, the challenges seemed to always be quickly replaced with new larger ones. Although they were becoming richer on paper, rising inventory, the need for more trucks, tools, and equipment and the ever-increasing receivables seemed to keep the cash at bay.

Occasionally, Joe thought he would sooner have his old job back with its regular hours, weekends off, paid holidays, routine work, steady paycheques and no worries about cash flow, customers, employees or suppliers.

But he realized that in reality, Joe’s Plumbing and Heating was providing them with a good life. The business had grown into a successful venture, thanks in large part to the life breathed into the town by a resort, convention centre, and a golf course, which had opened on the outskirts of the city ten years ago.

Joe’s Plumbing and Heating won a number of the resort’s ongoing maintenance contracts based on Joe’s competitive pricing due to the lower overhead of being local. He kept the contracts over the years because of his personal service and the relationships he developed with his clients, and because of Betty’s close attention to detail in controlling costs.

When the need for heating and air conditioning services in town increased, Joe had hired Bob, an old buddy with the necessary trade tickets, to expand the business. As the local economy improved, the demand for these services and other goods increased, so Joe bought the abandoned tire store at the end of Main Street and expanded again.

Using the back of the building for his shop, he began filling the front with related retail products such as fireplaces, barbeques, and specialty kitchen and bath fixtures—finally expanding into a line of spas and pools as well.

At this point, with almost two dozen trades people employed, Joe had promoted Frank, one of his plumbers, to manage the plumbing side, with Bob managing the heating and air conditioning side. They soon convinced Joe to hire Leigh as their first fulltime salesperson.

Leigh was present at every community event, especially anything to do with art or music. Leigh also made some changes in the front office. He built new displays that showed the products off better, making the place look more professional. He modified the small drab office he was given into a pleasant place to meet clients with some nicely placed local photos. Soon the sales were rolling in faster than Joe had imagined.

As retail sales and service increased, Joe promoted Leigh to the position of sales manager and put him in charge of finding new products as well as hiring and managing a new salesperson. As they continued to grow, a second salesperson was added under Leigh to take on some speciality products. Now the challenge was to keep all these people focused on the business and working as a team.

That was when something started to come to a head with Betty. Last year Joe became frustrated because a number of clients had expressed dissatisfaction with their service. He tried to make the division managers see the importance of keeping the customers happy, but they argued that they were so busy they had trouble keeping the bigger contracts running smoothly and could not take men away to deal with small warranty or repair issues.

This finally resulted in creating an independent service department focused only on service. The service department not only cleaned up the backlog of warranty items and performed service and repair work for their regular customers; they also added several large service contracts. The department soon became a significant profit center as well.

Joe’s Plumbing and Heating was still growing and successful, yet Joe occasionally resented the time the business demanded from him. Despite having good managers, he often spent sixty to seventy hours a week reviewing estimates, dealing with financial problems, checking on crews, meeting with owners and solving a never-ending stream of other challenges.

“Yes,” Joe said to himself as he soaked in the spring sunlight warming the deck, “The business is doing well, but is it really worth the price?”

Joe’s frown eased and a small smile broke on his lips as he thought back to some of the problems he had faced that had seemed at the time so fatal to his business. He had held on and overcome them. He remembered the particularly tough times in the first few years when he seemed to be constantly on the verge of bankruptcy.

He reflected on the stress he and Betty had experienced when they thought they were going to lose the house after a large customer had gone broke still owing them a substantial sum of money. He remembered how depressed he had become and how Betty’s faith in him and her hard work had helped them work through it.

Then the smile faded as his mind returned to the problem at hand. This was definitely the most difficult challenge he had faced. “How can I fire my wife and still maintain a good marriage?” She would be devastated and life would not be easy. He recalled the old adage, “happy wife, happy life” and the knot in the pit of his stomach got tighter.

Joe was the official sole owner of the business, but he considered Betty an equal partner as she had worked countless days and evenings. He had especially liked her ability to collect the outstanding bills; she was straightforward, tough-minded and assertive, so she didn’t mind asking for money, a part of the job Joe didn’t like.

Betty’s hard work and determination had been as instrumental in their success as his had been. She still managed the office and supervised a full-time qualified bookkeeper, a receptionist, and any other employee she thought was in need of some direction.

But it was Betty’s aggressiveness and the way she spoke her mind that had created tension between herself and the managers. The breaking point had come yesterday, culminating in Bob, Frank and Leigh taking Joe aside and stating that either Betty had to leave the company, or they would.

Joe felt cornered and could not see a clear way out. He tried to reason with the managers, but to no avail. And he knew if he approached Betty, she would confront the managers directly, making things even more difficult.

For the first time in all these years of business, Joe felt alone in deciding what he should do. He just wanted to run away and in fact had done just that. He came to the Lakeview Resort, supposedly to look at a renovation job, but the truth was he just wanted to spend the morning sitting alone on the patio.

He found it most serene here, as his mind came back to the pines and he looked out over the quiet lake. This was a place where he could think about the problem without interruption.

Joe was deep in thought when a stranger sat down at the next table and tried to strike up a conversation. Joe was annoyed, so his answers were curt. But the fellow had a gentle and pleasant manner and he soon had Joe engaged in a conversation about his business. Joe felt an immediate sense of trust, and before he realized it, he had relayed this entire story to the stranger.

As Joe spoke, the old fellow sat silently, stroking his short white beard, until Joe finished his narration. After some time the stranger spoke.

“So you are afraid that if you don’t get Betty out of the office, your managers will leave the company. You believe that if that happens, you will not be able to handle the extra work load, and they could take a lot of your business with them and become your competition, is that right?”

“Yes,” Joe said, still staring out at the lake.

“On the other hand, Betty will feel betrayed and hurt if you tell her they want her to leave since she is as much a part of the company as you are. Is that right?”

“That about sums it up.” Again Joe’s gaze did not stray from the distant vista. He thought the stranger had summarized the problem so succinctly that it almost trivialized it.

“It sounds to me like you need a consultant or to at least be part of a mastermind group,” the older man said quietly.

That snapped Joe’s eyes free of the horizon and they seemed to smoulder as he turned to the old man. “Sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but I work very hard in my business, and I’ve been very successful over the years. I don’t know what you know about business, but I resent someone telling me that I need someone else or a mastermind group, whatever that is to tell me what to do.”

Joe rose from his chair and slid it back against the wall. “I want to thank you for your time, but I must be going now.”  With that, Joe started to walk away.

In his same thoughtful tone, the old man said, “I wish you well with this dilemma. Just remember, the seed of your success lies in the heart of your weakness.”

Joe felt anxious as he suddenly realized how much he had shared about his business with a stranger. That white-haired old man probably did not know the first thing about plumbing or running a company. He was probably just some tourist here on his three-week vacation from a large union job and didn’t have the foggiest idea what it is like to be front and center on the firing line.

“I bet he never had to make a payroll,” Joe muttered to himself, upset for letting his guard down so easily with someone he had never met before.

Joe was still steaming two miles down the road and cursing the old man under his breath. Rocks shot out from the tires as he brought the pickup to a halt on the gravel shoulder.

Checking for traffic, he turned the truck around and headed back to the resort. Joe was not sure if he should give the old man a piece of his mind or apologize for his rudeness, but it was the last comment the old fellow had made that piqued his interest.

Joe let the small smile creep across his face again when he saw the old man still sitting on the patio. He opted for a quick apology for his abruptness, then, without sitting, asked what the man had meant by his last comment.

“Remember the old saying, ‘Dance with the girl who brung ya’?” the old man smiled up at Joe.

Joe nodded, concluding that perhaps not all the kindly old gentleman’s pipes were connected. He tried to smile again, but it was weak. Joe was too tired to run and too scared to sit, so he just stood there looking down at the stranger.

“So if I understand you,” Joe paused, “I should stand by Betty. But how do I do that without it costing me all my managers?  And just what is a mastermind group anyway?”

The old man continued smiling and looked up at him. “Sit down I will tell you.” He said.

Today’s message is short but I have a ton of material to write future article about and I hope you will continue to read them.  I currently have two books being edited and two that should be ready to edit by year end so I hope you will find something there that interests you.

For the most part life is good and the support we received unbelievable but now it is time to deal with administrators.  When the Doctors from the US delivered me to the Kelowna staff they gave them two large files one for them and a copy.  Myrna needs a copy before the insurance company will pay but the hospital seems to have lost the files. So still no support from the insurance company.

In the mean time according to the insurance company for the bike, the three day old motorcycle is worth $4,000 less than what I paid for it as they don’t cover accessories.

So I must be getting back to normal listen to me whine and it is only money, the important things are all well.  I promised myself I would not do that anymore.  Thank god for all the support workers, police, respond workers, hospital staff, friends, family and you, this has been a journey and I am now looking forward to the future.

Talk to you soon.

It is with great regret that I am sending this e-mail

For those of you that haven’t heard Ray Seely(Rayzor) our second officer was the downed rider in the fatal accident just north of Lake Louise Thursday afternoon.

The memorial service will be Friday 10:30 at Olivers funeral home.

He and Louis were on their way home from the Western Canada meet in Port Alberni. He made quite an impact with everyone he met and will be greatly missed

At this time we are rallying our support for Ray’s family

Thanks Dave Tremaine

I cannot drive yet but if anyone is planning to attend the service from central BC and has room, I would like to tag along.

Layton

Layton came home Tuesday afternoon, 31 days after the accident.  He got all his “tubes” taken out, including the the cute “thing” all the nurses had to see, aka a unique GI insert; he got to practise walking up stairs with the physio, and while we got organized at home, he had a lovely visit with our friend, Janet Longmate, from Grande Prairie.

I actually had an appointmet about a potential contract (YEAH!) so once we got him in the vehicle, Carson and my brother, Wayne, got him home and safely up the stairs.  I was really comfortable with that-the two most qualified with First Aid, Carson being almost big enough to catch Layton if he needed to and my belief that Wayne missed his calling and should have been a nurse.

Layton is loving his big chair, reigning over the family room and just being home.  Night 1, he only woke up once and last night, he decided to forego the Tylenol 3 as the side effects were not worth it and he had a comfortable eight consecutive hours of sleep.  I kept waking up to make sure he was asleep and denied myself the delight of doing the nighttime “maintenance” he has become so accustomed to.  “I need to wake you to give you this pill.”  “The x-ray people will be here at 5:00 am, let’s get you bathed.”  “We need a sample of your blood.”  “Let’s re-do your dressings.”  I preferred to sleep next to my honey.  It is now about 8:30 so he is snoozing again, pretending he is the Lone (note, if you are interested, I had typoed this as “Long”-he has lost so much weight, he looks like he is 6’6″ tall!) Ranger, wearing an eye mask so he can keep sleeping!  How sweet it is!

The hospital didn’t tell us but yesterday we got a call and a visit from a nurse who will come by 2-3 times per week to change dressings and check on him.  We may also have a physio call to get his arm more mobile.  That is nice and much, much better than being in the hospital.  Dorothy, his mom, caught a ride to Kelowna with long-time family friend, Donna Johnson, and they too had a nice visit.

Layton has been trying to type something for the blog but between the emotion and the weak left arm, it is still not quite ready.  Carson has football try-outs for the Okanagan Sun this weekend so we are going to try to get out to see some of that.  Meals are getting made, laundry is being done, I started bootcamp again, tick-tock, tick-tock, we are getting back into our routine.  We had a chat last night about how this event will change our lives…and we are unsure.  We have had no “bolt of lightning” revelations, but on the other hand, I think we can just ease into change with new consciousness, taking note of what is important and what actions we take that will lead us to what is important.

I continue to be so appreciative to have such an essentially unchanged version of Layton in my life.  Someone asked me this weekend how long it took to get to the appreciative part, after processing the injury and all that it implied.  The question so puzzled me because I had gone there instantly.  At least I think I did.  I don’t know if that is the “red” (results-oriented) part of me (“Bottom line is he will be himself again so I don’t even consider how we get there.”) or just the trusting I have developed that every experience brings an opportunity to learn and the learning may not be in the moment, in the thick of it, but it is there.   And I have an innate curiosity as to what the learning will be.

This is Myrna, signing off again…getting my honey a high protein shake so he can re-build his muscle and give Carson and Liam a run for their money in the physique department!

“What!  How did he do that?”

“He brought me a ginger ale.  And I was so thirsty and my blood sugar was low.  It was sooooo good.  I wouldn’t have made it without the ginger ale!”

Trevor and Katherine are in the process of becoming master renovators.  As Kathy puts it, when they met, all Trevor had was a drill.  Now they have all kinds of tools and Trevor knows how to use them!  This proved to be helpful this week.  The toilet in the main bathroom finally died after about thirty years of reliable service.  Trevor and Kathy have done all kinds of research on makes, models, features and benefits so when we paraded into Home Depot at 7:00 am, we knew what we were buying.  Carson had no idea what he would be learning.  So, in spite of coming home at 2:30 am, Trevor convinced Carson to get up and install a toilet while he supervised.  Carson did a great job and now that he knows this, he is going to assume Trevor’s role and get Liam to install the next toilet, and then Liam is going to have to find a friend and teach him to install the final toilet!  I guess we really learn it when we teach it.

We continue to get casseroles, muffins and food for Layton (thank you, Marilynne!).  It is greatly appreciated as so much of the day is spent at the hospital!

So, this is a rather rambly post to the blog-but Trevor has never saved anyone’s life before and he really liked the sound of the title so here it is!  It was great to have them visit over Canada Day.  Tomorrow Dennis and Tina from Grande Prairie arrive so that will be great for Layton to see his buddy!

Remember how Snow White laid sleeping for years and then was awakened with a kiss, immediately sprang to life and all was good. I think I thought getting back to Kelowna, getting off the ventilator would be the equivalent of a “prince’s kiss” for Layton. He continues to get better each day, albeit slowly. He is weak, but getting stronger each day. Snow White’s body did not atrophy! His big day is now two laps around the ward.

The other day, he did a lap, sat outside for about an hour visiting with me, the boys and Kathy and Trevor, then got more company. By night, he was exhausted and ached all over. Snow White got right at it and planned a royal wedding! How does that work? One of the nurses, Michelle, who now owes a bike ride to, suggested that rather than comparing himself to how he was a few weeks ago, a more realistic comparison is how he was before the accident. That perception should help him manage the expectations he has of himself.

Our optimism continues. Layton got his trach removed today and once it is healed over, he is another step closer to being home. He just has a piece of gauze over his trach now and Liam says he sounds like a leaky air mattress!

Layton is exerting his usual charm. He had a parade of nurses, experienced and nurses, checking out his “thing” today. His “thing”, you might ask? This relates to raising his hospital gown to show off the site of his GI tube. Again, I don’t know the jargon, but what it seems like to me is it is like springy thing that opened up when we put a hook in the ceiling for our macrame plant hangers…so for now, he has a really interesting piece of work on his stomach! And everyone wants to see it! They are tentatively planning to remove it mid-July. Until then, we can arrange private viewings at 11:45 am, 4:45 pm, and 7:45 pm daily:)

Layton is still in ICU but should be moved to the next less intense ward some time soon-I think it is called Surgical.  He continues to need moderate oxygen support at night but is OK for that most of the day.  He got his trach down-sized yesterday so his voice is weaker than before but that will improve.

Layton’s mom, Dorothy, and his sister, Lori, stopped by for a visit yesterday and that too was a relief for all parties.  Layton’s nurse the night before, Christy, had graciously offered to help him shave and shampoo and he looked like a million bucks instead of a prospector with no gold!

I have found some really nice casserole dishes and containers at my house, compliments of friends and neighbours who helped feed the boys while we were gone.  This is in stark contrast to twelve empty cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup lined up by the sink, waiting to be washed for recycling.  Oh, and I think we could track the Domino’s pizza boxes to the day I transferred money into their accounts and to the day the phone books got delivered with the “buy one, get one free” coupon.  Carson bought the first one and gave Liam a pizza.  A few days later, Liam had friends over and one of them paid.  Carson wanted to share in the “spoils’ (aka pizza) but Liam told him he couldn’t have any since Carson had already used “his” coupon.  Good thing we get four phone books!

Layton has really wanted a DQ Blizzard!  My compromise is a small serving of ice cream each night.  I may have to start bringing a dish for his nurse as well.

Back to the real world for me a bit-paying bills, seeing what has been going on in our lives for the past three plus weeks…I, or Layton, will keep you posted.  I thought he would be up to this, but still pretty weak.  Thanks for the notes and calls.

The jet ride home was amazing!  Two pilots, an ER doctor, a specialty Respiratory Therapist, and a highly skilled ICU/Trauma nurse.  Tarmac to tarmac, we were home in one hour and twenty five minutes!  We climbed at a rate of 6000 feet per minute, compared to 2000 feet per minute for most planes.  We cruised at 43,000 feet.  It was smooth as silk in every way!  The only thing that was missing was the red carpet when we landed and Canadian embassy flags on the ambulance. We felt so important!

Layton had a good night.  He called me at 3:30 am to tell me how good he was doing.  I think he is relishing in his ability to talk and his gratitude for having a good night and some deep sleep.  He suggested that I do something for me this morning so I did.  Nyla, the fluffball dog, and I went for our usual hike.  The familiarity was great.

I did a lot of thinking during our hike.  I thought about how the support we got from Ed was so representative of all the support we got from all our friends, new and old.  I thought about how the support we got from my Mom was so representative of all the support from our vast families.

I usually hike these hills a certain way.  If you visualize, one trail going up and around the crest of the hill, and joining back to the original trail-sort of like licking up one edge of a lollipop and licking down the other.  Today, to symbolize the fact that we need to consciously choose our paths, I went up my usual “down” side and down my “up” side.  I want to remember this as Layton and I go forward.

I was about one-third the way down the hill when I realized that I had been so pre-occupied that I forgot to stop at the top and look over the hills, across the lake at the rapidly moving clouds.  Stop and smell the roses, Myrna!

I am always surprised by how much I learn on my walks.  I am surprised by how much I have learned through this experience and we are just beginning….  I hope our experience and the sharing of it has brought some value, some insight into your own lives.  I am thinking that tomorrow Layton will pick up with the blog posts.  I will plan to pick up with my blog that I started last fall when I did the Camino de Santiago Trail in N Spain.  I am pretty sure there is a link on this site to it.  This has been good for me, too.  Hope to see you all over the next few months.