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An Honest Day’s Work What I Learned From My Earliest Jobs
My parents didn’t have much money when I was growing up. So, if I wanted something, I had to work for it. We lived in Indianapolis, and as a kid, I mowed lawns in the summer and shoveled driveways in the winter, but it wasn’t the same as having a boss and getting a weekly paycheck. My first official job was working at a pizzeria. You had to be 16 to work legally, and I was only 15. But I needed the money, so I lied about my age. I made $2.68 per hour — thankfully, my rate has gone up a little bit since then. One of the best things about the job was that we could take home a pizza at the end of our shift. My little sister and my parents would wait up at night for me to come home from work, and we ate a lot of good pizza over those years. Maybe a little too much; in fact, after we moved to Florida, it was a while until I wanted to eat pizza again. The job was hard work, but we had a lot of fun goofing around. A window overlooked the prep area, and we enjoyed flicking pepperoni at the kids who would press their faces against it. On my last day at work, the other staff tackled me and poured tomato sauce and watered-down pizza dough over my head. It probably seemed like a fun prank, but I couldn’t get it all out of my hair without shaving it off. I had to move to Florida with a crew cut back in the 1980s when no one wore them. I got a lot of strange looks! In Florida, I started working at Publix as a bag boy, and over the years, I moved up in seniority. We ran a wax machine over the floor every night, and the new employees would have to follow behind with a mop. Eventually, they’d let you run it yourself, which was fun. Or, at least, it was until I knocked over a whole display of cooking oil, and it shattered everywhere. I’ll never forget the awful time I had cleaning up that mess. I transferred to the Gainesville store while attending the University of Florida and eventually became the deli assistant manager while
carrying a full course load.
I think I was up to around $4 an hour by then! I became responsible for ordering the deli meats and vegetables, and I also had to manage other people for the first time.
It helped me learn some early lessons that I still carry today. First, I realized quickly that motivating people works a lot better than yelling at them when things go wrong. Being a good manager takes finesse, a good nature, and a positive attitude. Of course, I also learned money doesn’t grow on trees. Many teenagers this summer are working their first summer jobs and picking up those same lessons. Every kid has their own experience and will take different things away. My wife, Patti, likes to tell a story about working at McDonald’s as a teenager, when they asked her to clean the toilets. “I don’t do that at home,” she responded, “so why would I do it here?” Believe it or not, that worked! I’m not so sure it would fly today. But I know working from an early age made me a better and more resilient person. So, while my daughters never had to work for the same reasons I did, they all had jobs or volunteered when they were teenagers. I thought it was important; they needed to learn responsibility and the value of a dollar. I think it has served them well. Working young certainly taught me a thing or two — and thankfully, I’m long past my aversion to pizza.
–Craig Hersch
1 (239) 265-9779
JULY 2022
Time for a Gut Check 5 Ways to Naturally Improve the Health of Your Stomach
If you’ve ever attended
a healthy way. Fiber is also a great way to relieve or prevent constipation!
Drink plenty of water. Hydration plays a key role in both softening and bulking up stools, making them easier to pass through the digestive system. It should be noted that liquids that contain caffeine, such as coffee or tea, can actually have the opposite effect on your body. Take your probiotics. Probiotics occur naturally in your gut. They help to reduce adverse symptoms of digestion, such as pain, discomfort, bloating, and gas. Ask your doctor to recommend a beneficial probiotic to incorporate into your daily lifestyle. A healthy gut yields a stronger immune system, comfortable and effective digestion, and an overall better mood! With these tips, you’ll be on your way to a healthier digestive system!
an event with
older adults, digestion is bound to
Get moving. Exercising regularly helps to ensure that everything else in your digestive system moves along regularly too! Research shows that regular exercise promotes the growth of different types of beneficial bacteria within both animal and human digestive systems. Reduce stress levels. Did you know that when you’re stressed out, your mental state is affected as well as your stomach and gut, as they are intimately connected? By keeping your cortisol levels low, you can eliminate and prevent some uncomfortable gastrointestinal complications. Stress, research suggests, increases the risk of irritable bowel syndrome, so managing stress can lead to better intestinal health.
come up at some point! As we age, our guts sometimes have a difficult time keeping up, causing stomach issues and complications. When people talk about having a “healthy gut,” they are talking about having a good balance of beneficial bacteria and microbes within their digestive tract. Here are some natural ways to keep things healthy and moving along properly: Eat foods rich in fiber. Fiber, found naturally in many foods, including sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, fennel, beans, broccoli, berries, and whole grains, stimulates the growth of the good bacteria that keeps your gut performing in
p i n g E y e H e a l t h i n
Vision Loss Isn’t Just Part of Aging
Try though we might, no one can stay young forever. Gray hair and wrinkles are the prices we pay for living long. So, when many adults begin losing their vision, they take it in stride, thinking it’s all part of the aging process. After all, our bodies change as we get older, and our eyes are no exception. It’s normal for many people to need reading glasses as they enter their 40s and 50s. The cause is presbyopia, which naturally hardens our eye lenses with age. That makes it difficult to focus on books or other close materials and typically results in a prescription for reading glasses. It may feel tempting to go down to the store and pick up a pair of readers. But anytime you notice changes in your vision, you should visit an optometrist to rule out medical conditions. And beyond difficulty reading small types, there are other eye symptoms you should never ignore. Schedule an eye appointment if you experience cloudy vision, tunnel vision, a yellowish tint to your vision, or have trouble distinguishing between green and blue. The same is true if you experience excessive tearing or can’t produce tears, have a gritty sensation on your eyes, or experience eye pain, swelling, or twitching. These can be signs of glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, or other eye conditions. Glaucoma often has no symptoms until
it’s too late, making annual optometrist visits very important. We will all
eventually develop cataracts if we live long enough, but treatments are available to improve vision. And though macular degeneration
has no cure, early interventions can slow its development. Beyond regular eye appointments, you can also keep your eyes healthy by wearing sunglasses when it’s bright, eating well, not smoking, and maintaining healthy blood pressure and blood sugar. These practices won’t guarantee a life of 20/20 vision, but they’ll improve your chances of maintaining the health of your eyes and the rest of your body. Finally, always take abrupt changes in vision seriously. If you suddenly experience blurry vision, loss of sight, uncontrolled eye movements, or sharp pain behind the eyes, call 911. These signs can indicate a stroke or other neurological problem, and the sooner you seek help, the better off you’ll be.
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floridaestateplanning.com
Last Time for Everything Life moves on whether we like it or not, and Craig recently received a bittersweet reminder at his daughter’s graduation. You can read the full version of “Last Time for Everything” at FloridaEstatePlanning.com. Craig Reflects on Fond Memories
I love the energy of college campus, and despite qualifying for 55-plus housing, I still consider myself young. Looking in the mirror every morning
My daughter, Courtney, recently earned her doctorate degree in physical therapy from the University of Florida. As I watched the graduation proceedings with a lump in my throat, my mind wandered to Brad Paisley’s touching song, “Last Time for Everything.” Some of the lyrics go: Throwing the ball with the first dog you ever had/ Spending all day on the lake with your grandad/ Watching Glenn Frey sing “Already Gone” at the Forum in L.A./ There’s a last time for everything Walking around the Gainesville campus, I remembered many good times during my years there. The campus has changed considerably. The dilapidated houses students rented have become luxury mid-rise condominiums. The bars we frequented, including the one where I met Patti, are no more, replaced by cleaner, newer venues. Gleaming new buildings stand in the empty lots where my fraternity brothers and I played flag football. Using a fake ID at a college bar/ Getting caught with a girl in the backseat of a car/ Running out on the field for the senior game wearing number 17/ There’s a last time for everything
while brushing my teeth challenges that mindset. My oldest daughter will marry
her longtime fiancé this summer. I’m looking forward to the celebration and am excited for Gabi and Benji as they embark on their married lives together. Kissing goodbye on her porch and driving away/ Introducing her as your fiancé/ Getting woke up at 5 a.m. to see if Santa came/ There’s a last time for everything After graduation, Courtney and her boyfriend, Phil, scampered off to Atlanta while I drove home with my wife and youngest daughter. In a little more than a year, she plans to attend dental school, and I’m reminded that there’s a last time for everything.
INGREDIENTS
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3 lbs boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
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18 oz barbecue sauce
• • • •
1 cup water 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp pepper
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2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp hot pepper sauce 10 hamburger buns, split Deli coleslaw (optional)
• • •
1/4 cup brown sugar
Referrals are the lifeblood of our office. If you had a tremendous experience, please do share it as a five-star Google Review, adding a few words as a description. It takes less than a couple of minutes. We appreciate our clients so much and hope our new clients are just like the ones we commonly attract. You can also leave us a review at FloridaEstatePlanning.com/review.
DIRECTIONS 1. In a 4-quart slow cooker, add the roast and 1 cup of water. 2. Cover and cook the roast on high for 7 hours or until tender. 3. Once tender, shred the meat. 4. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker. Stir in salt, pepper, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, and hot pepper sauce. 5. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for an hour. 6. When finished, serve barbecue on buns with coleslaw (optional). (239) 265-9779
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9100 College Pointe Court Fort Myers, FL 33919 (239) 265-9779
INSIDE this issue
Craig Shares His Teenage Work Lessons PAGE 1 Naturally Improve Your Digestive Health PAGE 2 Are Vision Changes Normal as We Age? PAGE 2
A Last Time for Everything PAGE 3
Mouthwatering Southern BBQ PAGE 3
A True Canine Hero PAGE 4
The best compliments we receive are your referrals. When you refer us to your loved ones, we do all we can to exceed expectations.
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This Amazing Pup Saves the Day — Twice! Heroes don’t always wear capes or stand on two legs — and in a specific case with a German shepherd, this is exceptionally true! A dog noticed that one of his favorite tiny humans was in some serious danger, so he saved the day, two times! A little boy and girl enjoyed the day, tossing a ball back and forth in their backyard. When the girl overthrew the ball, it unfortunately fell into a small pond behind the boy. The girl rushed inside the house to get help, but the boy stayed outside and even ended up leaning over the edge of the pond as he tried to retrieve the ball on his own. This is when a protective German shepherd, lying nearby in the grass, saw everything and immediately sprung into action. The dog first looked into the pond to locate the ball. Then, knowing the boy was in danger as he teetered on the edge, the dog tugged on the little boy’s vest with his teeth, pulling him backward to safety near the back patio of the home. Once the little boy was in a safe
location, the dog located a pole net that had been
leaning against the house and brought it over to the pond. While his tail wagged with pride, the dog fished the ball out of the pond.
The dog then put the net down on the ground near the pond and brought the ball over to the boy. This German shepherd saved the day for this little boy and girl — and also saved the boy from injury and needing a dry set of clothes! What an amazing canine. He deserves a treat and a round of a-paws!
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