LM, Episode 1112, 1/2/23, Management Monday

I was on a 6 am, Saturday morning flight to Dickinson, ND because I’ve made some bad choices. All I want to do is go back to sleep, but when the flight attendant asks the young man sitting next to me how old he is and he replies 14, she proceeds to do the entire safety lecture just for him. I was once a 14 year old boy, the last thing he wants is to be treated like a child.

When she finishes, she wakes me up, saying, “Sir, fix your oxygen mask first before assisting him.”

I tell the young man, “Son, you know you’re on your own, right?”

He thought that was hilarious. She did not. “Sir, we take safety very seriously.”

I go, “Listen, my Granddad Rader had to quit school when he was 11 years old to go to work six days a week, twelve hours a day to support his family, I think this young man can figure out an oxygen mask. And if he can’t, wouldn’t America be better off without him?”

She walks away and he thanks me. I go, “Let me give you some advice. Next time you’re flying alone and someone asks your age, tell them you’re 17.”

He says, “But I’m 14.”

“She doesn’t know that. Unless you want to be treated like a child, tell them you’re 17.”

And a smile broke out on his face. You know he’s thinking, “Yes, lying is good,” but all he says is, “Word.”

I now know why, when I talked with my grandparents, they said stuff like, “That boy ain’t right,” because every generation has its own slang. We said cool and square. Today they say word and GOAT, greatest of all time, I’m always surprised when my niece says dope and she’s not talking about my cousin Roger.

As America continues experiencing a shortage of workers, I want to encourage you to hire older workers. Research shows that older workers bring vast experience to their job, they stay on the job longer and have few days off, they have a strong work ethic, and whatever technological gap exists can be overcome, but the two biggest benefits are they are critical in training younger workers and multigenerational teams are more productive. And it’s cool because everyone can learn each other’s slang.

When I told my wife, Twyla, this story, she says, “You taught a 14 year old to lie?”

I go, “I’m pretty sure he knew how to lie, I just gave him permission.”

“Oh, yes, that’s so much better.”

Thank you for listening and always remember laughter matters.