Coronavirus lessons: how one makes money

The Coronavirus pandemic is already disrupting our lives and seems likely to hurt in more unforeseen ways.  Will we learn anything?  There will be many things to learn such as how much we contribute to global warming or other ways to amuse ourselves besides the established entertainment platforms.

Many years ago I used to train newspaper carriers.  Many of them wanted to make a little extra money either for some immediate desire or for a long term savings project.  To me the core value they needed to learn was how one actually makes money.  We are now at a point where this will be of greater concern to more people as many jobs are going to disappear or be stressed as more people stay home.

A question is the best way to start a lesson.  A good one might be "How do you think you make money?"  The most common answer is to work hard.  Another is to work smart.  Another is to develop a skill or talent.  And of course another way might be luck.  Although they all can be helpful, none are the real answer.

My answer is that you have to find someone or someones who have money and want or need what you offer more than keeping the money or spending it somewhere else.  Of course society has organized our desires into patterns that we in some cases take for granted and sometimes make an effort to discover.

One of my favorite examples is a famous well paid athlete, at the time Wayne Gretzsky was a good one.  You could argue athletes work hard and smart, develop a skill, maybe have a little luck.  Individuals are always looking for ways to amuse themselves and often spend spare cash for entertainment.  Sports have an attraction and when focused on winning give motivation to those who crave being on top.  If they have money someone could organize a team to compete against other teams and to promote an audience to watch.  To attract money they need to identify players that can help the team.  How many and how much depends on resources that an individual might have or more likely today can stream from many sources such as television or inter-net audience.  If the numbers are right large numbers of athletes can make a living, some of them spectacularly.  From this, other supporting jobs can be generated.  It takes more than a wealthy individual as a paying audience is required provides the necessary leverage.  This all assumes there is money left over after the bare necessities are taken care of.

A curve thrown at me by a carrier's mother was to pay to help a severely physically disabled person.  The truth is still that someone has to convince some one else that it is worth while to help this person.  Unfortunately not everyone is successful in that effort.  But others have appealed to our conscience or fear that we might need help in the future.  Too often politicians heeding wants of taxpayers resist efforts to help those who cannot contribute to their well-being, but on the other hand they are anxious to cater to what voters are most concerned about.

What about "regular" jobs?  All jobs result from somebody willing to buy whatever product or service is available.  If for any reason less money is available there is less ability to buy anything.  This could happen as people are taken off work and also if people are not able to get out to buy.

We live in a consumer society that depends on economic growth to  provide jobs.  With the Covid 19 pandemic (panic) people are not spending money the way they used to which means they will not be providing money making opportunities the way they used to.  There probably will be new opportunities related to health and for the many adjustments of ordinary people.  Delivering food is one example that may have long range effects to avoid large crowds.  If money does not circulate with most people using money to meet their wants and needs then jobs will likely diminish.

The economy really spins around what masses of people do.  If they do not spend money, all jobs are precarious.  If they decide their (economic) priorities change, job opportunities will shift.  As a collective entity it is more important to encourage the people very much including those with limited resources to spend.  For that to happen they have to feel secure.  Unless large companies are willing to spend money to employ people there will not be economic activity that benefits us all.  Yes, this is a time when what the government decides to do can save the day or end up creating a jungle.

If you aren't willing to spend money then no one will benefit and no jobs will be created.  Jobs require many people spending a little or some spending a lot.  One night class instructor pointed out that everything starts with sales.

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

Brushes With Celebrities

We live in a celebrity worshipping society.  Most of the time it is from a distance, but whenever we get a little closer it can be quite an ego booster.  I am not immune.

Bobby Orr is still considered one of the greatest hockey players ever.  I had two advantages over others.  I lived in Oshawa when he played for the Oshawa Generals and I lived in Haliburton when he trained young hockey players at a local hockey summer camp.  In Oshawa looking back I believe a friend was just trying to impress me and literally introduced me to Bobby Orr while we were both in a long jump competition.  I remember that I jumped 17 feet 11 3/4 inches and that Bobby jumped something like 18 feet 3 inches.  He just missed the cut and I was ranked just below him.  A few years later I was in the local Haliburton hockey arena and another fellow also trying to impress me introduced me to Bobby again.  Unlike my image of most hockey heroes Bobby was very shy and modest, but obviously had a strong competitive spirit.

Gordie Howe was a hero from an earlier era, a time when I watched the NHL religiously but mostly cheered for the Boston Bruins and mostly watched the Toronto Maple Leafs.  It happened that he was an endorser for a product that my employer, OKD Marketing handled the marketing for.  He visited our office with his wife and for some reason I just barged into a small meeting and shook his hand.  I remembered a story I had read about how he met his wife at a bowling alley and asked her if it was true.  She said that in reality he had "stalked" her.

Someone, probably Len Olynyk suggested I might get Gordie involved in some sort of fund raising event.  Eventually I teamed up with a Canadian manager and talking to Bill Tufts, Jr a member of the Rotary Club got quite excited about the opportunity.  Eventually an agreement was made for Gordie Howe to come to Hamilton, make a speech and sign autographed books for which a part went to the Rotary Club.  One of my jobs was to book his hotel room and was amazed at how easy it was to get a free room for a celebrity.  I worked with the Canadian agent and learned that Gordie's wife was the key person and a lot of adjustments were made to suit her.  One person who impressed me was Steve Ruddick, the CHCH sports reporter who understood the situation perfectly and got a great interview with Gord and Colleen Howe.  A lot of enthusiasm and I ended up buying two books, one for my father and one for my wife's step father.  Afterwards my job was to escort Gord and Colleen to their hotel room.  My father in law had been born in Saskatchewan and that was one of our topics of conversation.

I had an indirect connection to Wayne Gretzsky.  It took me awhile to realize that Rheta Cornish who was a secretary for the circulation department where I worked had  been a legal guardian for Wayne Gretzsky when he played minor league hockey in Toronto.   Even as my interest in sports shifted to basketball I was a great admirer of Wayne, not only for his skills, but also for his broadcasted comments which always seemed thoughtful and diplomatic.  Rheta with her husband Bill attended Wayne's wedding, talked about his previous girl friend and also housed Wayne's sister when she attended a local college.  Rheta had a strong influence on me, some of which I am sure was shared by Wayne.  Read one of my more popular blogs http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/06/why-i-love-opera-wayne-gretzky.html

Coming back from a Florida vacation met and talked with Murray Dryden who had made a connection from Haiti where he was involved in a program to give poor children beds to sleep in.  For those who don't recognize the name, Murray is father to Dave Dryden, an NHL goal keeper and Ken Dryden, NHL goalie, author and politician.  As it happens I was delivering newspapers in Etobicoke for routes without a regular carrier and had met Murray while making collections, but didn't know of any connections at the time.

I also had a sort of indirect contact with a man who combined sports excellence and a strong political path.  When I was researching a book on basketball I had read that Bill Bradley had spent some time in Canada and on impulse wrote to him.  He responded with a thoughtful letter.  His New York Knicks played in Toronto against the Buffalo Braves, but it was an inopportune time for me to follow up.

Not on such a big scale, but also while researching my basketball book I got to interview Jack Donohue, Bill Robinson and Garney Henley amongst many who I greatly admired.   They were all happy to share their experience and joy of basketball.

The University of Guelph with a very strong agricultural (and veterinarian) base was trying to  boost its academic credentials.  I was lured by the tri semester system and the enthusiasm of a spokesperson at my high school.  My friends who went elsewhere laughed that I was going to a cow college, but when they visited they all asked to be taken to see the cows.  I ended up at Lambton Hall and unknown to me one the residence rooms on my floor had been set aside for the student president.  It happened that they were able to persuade a famous Canadian poet, Irving Layton (a common guest on tv shows for his provocative views and art).  One of the first events was for the residents on my floor to meet him.  What I remember is that he didn't believe in censorship and he was provocative.  As a college student his ideas weren't radical for me, but pointed the way to a better future.  In many ways he would not seem so outrageous today. but we  enjoyed the notoriety.

Not too many literary contacts, but I enjoyed talking with John Lawrence Reynolds who had done some writing work for my employer, OKD Marketing and I encountered him a number of times and have read most of his books.  I was also thrilled to get a signed copy of book I had bought from James A Michener whose book had been read.  I had also met Lawrence Hill (winner of two Canada Reads contests) at a Human Library put on in Hamilton.

Perhaps the most impactful celebrity I met was Ziauddin Yousafzai who is best known as the father of Malala, his daughter who had been shot in the head by a Taliban.  She attributes her character to her father who taught both girls and boys in Pakistan where it attracted violence.

It seems everyone has had an encounter with some one of celebrity status and they seem to remember  them in more detail than most of their other contacts.  How about you?

Why I love Opera--the Wayne Gretzky connection

A little background. At my Grandmother's funeral my father thought it would be a great idea if I would grab all the family records and do a family tree. This was a short time after "Roots" had its tv run. I had not thought of that, but unknown to my father my wife was pregnant with our first child and that gave me another motive.

I enjoyed the process a lot more than I expected. At some point I realized that my now newborn daughter had another side of her family. Part of that family was Italian. I anticipated having to go through Italian records and decided to learn Italian. As part of the process I thought I would take in a little culture and developed an interest in modern popular Italian music.

One day I came into work a little earlier than usual and our secretary, Rheta Cornish at the Etobicoke Guardian was playing some classical music on the radio and apologized if it offended me. Actually I easily accepted classical music, but couldn't help uttering, "But I can't stand opera."

It turned out that offended her, but she didn't show it. Merely uttered that it was her favorite. At that exact moment I realized that a lot of opera was Italian and maybe I should give it some consideration. I got to talking to Rheta about it and she made a suggestion or two. I decided to get some tapes at the library near where I worked in Etobicoke and put them on while driving (I commuted from Hamilton to Toronto and quite a bit on the job). Every now and then I would hear something quite enjoyable between parts that mostly bored me.

I mentioned this to Rheta and she explained that was normal, but that after awhile I would appreciate the parts in between. I reached the stage where I listened to more and more operas and read about them and even attended a few. At another stage I realized that opera was sung in many different languages and although my favorites are Italian I came to appreciate German, French and other languages. I never did master Italian, but did realize Italians have given the rest of us a lot of culture from music, cuisine and style.

You've waited long enough--the Wayne Gretzky connection is Rheta. I am pretty certain Wayne got to hear a lot of opera and classical music and Rheta's opinions as he lived with her for a year or two while he pursued his hockey career. At one time Wayne's parents had decided that Wayne needed a higher level of competition than he could get in Brantford. They knew Bill Cornish was a president in Toronto Minor Hockey and got to know him as a very trustworthy person who eventually agreed to be a guardian of Wayne.

A few years later, Rheta and Bill also took Wayne's sister into her home while she attended a community college. When Wayne had his big wedding Rheta was invited. Over a few years I got to know Rheta whose interests and connections went from hockey to music. Her son, Bill Jr was the funniest co-worker I ever had. I knew Bill Sr at a distance, but realized he also shared an interest in classical music. I was caught off guard phoning Bill Sr to learn Rheta had died. I will always remember her for getting me interested in opera which I still think is the highest art (except for a film version of opera).

Rheta got me at the right time, not only with my interest in Italian culture, but also my interest in dramatic music. As a youngster I loved to watch the big musicals on tv. South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, State Fair, Carousel and Cabaret are some that I remember. In a dramatic context the music was more emotional. You felt happy that the boy and girl were getting together and sad that things weren't working out. You could feel patriotic. The song by itself could evoke some of these emotions, but not as much as if the context could be remembered.

If you have never liked opera before don't expect to fall in love right away, but if you are open minded about it the effort is worth it. I once heard Wayne talk on the radio about his support for the National Ballet Company of Canada.