04. June.2021
Several orders of magnitude more than what you'd need
“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'”
— Mary Anne Radmacher
I assure you I’m not turning this into a “tales from the office” sort of newsletter. But if you’ll indulge me in one more story from my workplace, I want to share the story of my friend Richard Hulsizer.
The airlines were a second career for Richard. He joined us after having just retired from the United States Post Office. He and his husband dreamt of seeing the world; joining us at (then) Northwest was their way to do it.
If you’ve ever been a manager/supervisor/whatever you learn to quickly assess whether or not someone will be a good fit on your team. In a line station like mine, those good and bad qualities can be magnified— in case of conflict, there’s simply nowhere else to go.
He fit right in from the start and was the kind of person you are happy to see show up on your gate. Hardworking, sure, but also friendly, and frankly funny as hell. I should also note that he was a great baker and would bring cookies in often.
I should also note that I ate more than my share.
I’d like to have ended this story with another retirement party, replete with balloons, cake, and hugs. This isn’t that story, though. For Richard, there was no second retirement or years spent on exploring the Greek Isles. Instead, I am writing this on the 11th anniversary of his death due to a workplace accident. This was not a “good death” (whateverthehell that means), and it wasn’t quick, either.
I mention this to share a few points:
First, every action has a consequence. Sometimes they’re good, and sometimes not, but nothing happens in a vacuum.
Next, it’s easy to become complacent at work, and at home. Many of you may be going back to the office for the first time in a while. Even if you’ve been going in through the whole pandemic, please—if even just for today— make a concerted effort to move through your shift with intention. That extra second or two could make all the difference.
Third; dreams deferred are dreams unrealized. People re-prioritizing their life in the wake of COVID is a popular topic these days, and there are no shortage of think pieces and/or hot takes plastered all over the ‘net. It’s easy to let real life get in the way—I’m as guilty of it as anyone— but no one’s promised tomorrow.
Also: If someone in your office brings cookies in, make sure to thank them, even if you don’t eat them.
The Good Stuff:
As I write this, the #DeleteFacebook hashtag is again trending on Twitter. I’ve written before about the joy that comes from decoupling from the platform, and I still haven’t looked back.
I wrote about reclaiming time and an improved mood. In this 2019 article, Felicia Sullivan gets a lot more personal about why she deleted all of her social media accounts.
“Funny how we talk about the plastic nature of social media as if it were a thing removed from us. As if social media were an entity we didn’t actively shape and participate in. As if we aren’t the people perpetuating this false reality—regardless whether we’re conscious of it.”
As the line between “IRL” and our cyber lives becomes increasingly blurred, it’s easy to give away more and more of our information. Sometimes, we do it unwittingly, and sometimes it just easier. Does anyone read those Terms of Service agreements?
in their latest experiment, Amazon is banking on that complacency to build a global ISP. Sidewalk will allow your nearby neighbors to use your internet bandwidth and vice versa via connected devices such as Alexa and Echo. if you own these devices, you are by default already opted-in. Luckily, opting out is quick and easy to do.
The FAQ page cheerily frames this as a community builder (“bridge”) and reminds you that if you opt-out, you won’t be able to do things like help your neighbor find a lost pet.
Apparently, helping put up flyers and/or helping them walk the neighborhood no longer counts.
In The Air:
TSA over-a-million-people streak: 82 days. The Memorial Day holiday was the closest we've been yet to the 2M mark, with 1.95m people transiting through checkpoints on May 28th
As the road to recovery winds on, airlines have turned their focus to incentivizing vaccines. Some destinations remain open only for those that can provide proof of vaccination. United took it a step further and is running sweepstakes for vaccinated travelers. “Your Shot To Fly” will award five (5) travelers free travel for a year, in any class.
Looking to the future, United is also the launch customer for Boom Technologies’ supersonic “Overture” aircraft, ordering 15 of the type. The plane is expected to enter commercial service in 2019.
Did you know there was a cemetery at the Atlanta Airport?
Airplane vs. light pole. It’s worth noting that the video here is sped up slightly. Planes don’t generally taxi that fast. It’s also worth noting that most airfield equipment is frangible; that is, it’s designed to break to lessen the (potential) damage to an aircraft coming in contact with it. Sort of the same way crumple zones in cars absorbs the impact to protect us.
In Your Ears:
My Top 5 playlist for the week.
My friend Bruce is back with a playlist he makes with two other people up in the Twin Cities. As always, it’s fantastic.
One of the first concerts I went to was to see REM while they were out supporting their 1989 Green album. My friend Mark and I weren’t old enough to drive—and probably shouldn’t have been at a show by ourselves on the other side of the metro area— but our parents were both gracious enough to let us go and to drop us off/pick us up. The record remains one of my favorites by the band, my affinity driven in no small part by going to this show. That said, it still stands up. Paul Speed takes us through it, track-by-track.
Also This:
Two For The Road:
Has cancel culture finally hit the wall?
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
What caught your attention this week? Got a rant or rave? Let me know in the comments or send me an email. I read all the responses. You can also read more of my work on Medium, and connect with me on Twitter.