Young kids today, not only can't find jobs, many of them don't even want them. With liberal protectionism eliminating the potential for young kids (under 17) to gain work experience, we have deprived them of one of the most critical learning experience of Life!

 

Look at the Bernie Sander's rallies! Young people are screaming in support, not of the man, but all the free stuff he is offering. They aren't screaming for the opportunity to Work, earn money, they are screaming for free stuff!

 

Kids can't work, even if they wanted. They are prohibited from those jobs that made America Great because of liberal protectionist insanity. Kids need to work to prepare them for their future. They need to work for self worth and pride of accomplishment. They need to work because parents can't afford to fund them without going into massive debt.

 

Kids Need to work to help pay for college and continuing education. The loans that liberals almost force on them will keep them in debt worse than the indentured slaves of centuries past.

 

Kids need to work to be able to understand how to take orders well before they enter the work force expecting to give them. Liberal education has mislead the youth of America into believing that the World somehow owes them a living. That is NOT how the World Works.

 

In The Beginning – Working from Youth to Senior Citizen

 

I'm now over 77 years old and have been working continuously, at one thing or another, since I was 10 years old. That's over 65+ years in the labor force!

 

10? You say, yes, I started delivering 'free newspapers' in Ecorse Michigan then at about 11 started a TV Guide route. Bet you never knew TV Guide was that old or that it was offered as home delivery for 15 cents a copy! I learned early how to count by 15's. I think I earned 4 cents a copy when I sold them.

 

I soon learned what working was like. The newspaper was a weekly, so was the TV Guide, so I still have plenty of 'play time' available. I soon loved to have my own money (I never got an 'allowance'; I was too proud because I was earning my Own money). Soon, I wanted more, more comic books and more other 'stuff'. I got my first Detroit Newspaper route when I was 12. I had to BUY it from another kid for $100, which my father loaned me $25, I had saved the rest.

 

The margin was much better on a daily newspaper route. I rode my bike about 4 miles to the paper station, picked up my papers, folded them and strapped them on my handlebars and road about 6 miles to my route. I think I had 65 customers. I was making real money now!

 

I learned that a newspaper route was a real responsibility and rain or shine, sick, tired or just not feeling up to it was no excuse. Like the postman, the newspaper must be delivered! I had a responsibility to my customers and I loved having my own money.

 

Back then, it seems wonderful. Lots of my friends didn't or couldn't find a job. I always had money in my pocket and others were envious just a bit. I was 13 and a businessman!

 

It wasn’t all money and roses. It gets COLD in Michigan and sometimes you can't ride a bike in 2 feet of snow; still the papers must be delivered. I had an afternoon route and my Dad was at work and we only had one car, so no bike meant a long walk!

 

Walking those miles in the snow to the station, to my route and delivering the papers (to the door so they didn't get wet) was tough. But damn, my legs got strong, my back stronger and my sense of pride continued to grow. I got to know my customers, especially when I went round to 'collect' (usually weekly) and knocked on their doors every Saturday morning. You see, you had to purchase the papers then the margin was your profit! It is always about ROI!

 

High School

 

Like I said, I grew up 'downriver' of Detroit Michigan in Ecorse; right on the Detroit River. When it got time for High school, my Dad had me take an entrance exam for his Alma Mater, University of Detroit. They had a High School associated that was staffed by Jesuit Professors. I got in as did one of my best friends, Jim Monte. The trouble was that the school was about 18 miles away.

 

Each morning my Dad would drive Jimmy and me to a bus stop in River Rouge (about 8 miles) where we picked up a city bus for the ride to 7-Mile Road (about 12 miles); then we walked to the school about ½ mile; not bad really.

 

Each afternoon, Jim's brother would pick us up at the bus stop and take us home. I'd get home in time to rush to the paper station and pick up the evening edition, peddle my bike (on the non-snowy days) and make it back home in time for dinner.

 

That school was TOUGH and the Jesuits were tougher still. Remember they were college professors in their regular jobs for the most part. The demands were high and it took a lot of homework just to make decent grades. But I really Learned How to Learn!

 

Worked out great for a year and a half when my Dad was transferred to Terre Haute Indiana.

 

Real Hard Work

 

We moved to Indiana and one of the first things I did, after we got settled in a nice new home, was find the local paper station and buy a route. I had gone a while with no income and that hurt; big time!

 

That worked out for the next couple of years just fine. Afternoon routes were the best for school/work/home. My route was only about 6 miles from our house and the paper station about 5 so it was pretty doable. Winters weren't as bad in Indiana! That helped a bunch too!

 

When I got my driver's license at 17, it was great. Sunday's are always tough because of the size of the papers (now not so much). Advertisements, comic pages etc, really bulked up the paper. Dad let me use our station wagon on Sunday deliveries. I worked a deal with three other carriers where I'd drive all the routes and they would throw the papers. The wagon had a drop down back/hatch they could stand on. One on each side and the third guy would feed them the papers and they would throw as I drove down the middle of the street at 5 am. Today we would be arrested!

 

When I turned 17, more opportunities opened up. My Dad worked for a steel mill operation and the summers were their busy time. They usually closed down mostly in the Winter months, but Summer it was 24 X 7 operations. Not ashamed to use a bit of parental influence, I got a summer job as a laborer and joined the National Steel Workers Union!

 

Working in the Steel Mill

 

I thought those snowy/rainy days were rough with a paper route. Wrong, I was about to find out what a Real Job was like. Being a kid, working in a steel mill with tough guys was no picnic. The foreman knew my Dad but that only made him more critical; not nasty but he made sure I never embarrassed my Father; at least the first few weeks.

 

Being the low kid on the seniority list, gave you the worst of the worst available jobs and the lowest paying. Still I was making REAL adult wages and that was GREAT. I swept floors, ran errands and toted/fetched for the first month or so of the Summer. I realized that afternoons paid a bit of a premium and weekend work was time and a half! Lots of the men had families so didn't like weekend work so I was always first in line for that.

 

I wasn't qualified for much, but I was a quick learner and the word spread. As a Union Shop, all open jobs had to go up for 'bid'. As I said I worked all around, sweeping floors and got to know a lot of the men. They loved showing 'the kid' what they did, I learned a LOT.

 

My favorite helper job was a paint line (no use explaining it) and the older guy (probably 50?), John, befriended me. His son, worked a steel rolling line adjacent and they were some of the highest pay rate jobs in the mill. Well John would let me do a lot; actually instead of helping he trained me to do most everything. He would sit and watch, sipping his 'coffee', which had a strange aroma..., never to be discussed (Jim Beam I think).

 

Well, when John was ready for his Summer Vacation, he told me to bid the job. He said others wouldn't sacrifice their current bids for a two week stint on the paint line and most didn't really understand viscosity measurements and the chemical mixes; but he made sure I did!

 

Long story short, when John went on vacation or was out sick, I got the paint line job which paid four times my regular rate! Do you say loving the money?!

 

Winter Work

 

The mill slowed down in the Winter months, only working day shifts. Still they produced finished products that were shipping out constantly. When it was time to return to high school, I looked for another opportunity. As I said, my job as low man on the totem pole, had me working all over the place; wherever they needed a crap job done, I was there. During that time, I got to know the Chief Security Guard, talking to him on breaks. He said they needed some weekend and evening help when the plant was closed to weigh trucks picking up loads and walking security rounds (punching the clock – literally).

 

I asked for the job and he said he would try me out. Well that worked and I had a nice paying weekend job with 4 hours each weekday night. The job was mostly sitting around so I could study and even watch TV in the truckers lounge (if the bosses weren't around!). I was still making real money!

 

My First Car

 

No young man likes driving the family station wagon around, especially as a Senior. So I wanted to buy a car; my very first one. Dad, ever supportive, said we could see his cousin, a car dealer, the next time we drove up to Michigan to visit the Grandparents. Worked for me.

 

I ended getting a little Peugeot. It was yellow with red wheels and burned as much oil as it did gas I think but I loved it. I think I paid $350 for it, tax title and license. I drove that little thing in the snow and rain to school, to events and yes, even on a few dates (few and far between).

 

My Next Cars

 

Upon graduating from High School in Terre Haute, I enrolled in Indiana State University, which was adjacent to downtown Terre Haute. It was convenient and I could live at home. I continued to work as a night watchman on weekends and then at the steel mill in summer I raked it in, now having some viable experience. They called me 'Slick' as I was usually covered in paint!

 

I traded in my little yellow car for a nice new 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. Great mileage, even though gas was still under 50 cents/gal. That lasted me about 8 months until a bus sideswiped me and I rolled it!

 

Figuring bigger was better, I upgraded, with the insurance money and savings, to a 1965 Chevy Biscayne, six cylinder manual shift. Much bigger and way better at the drive in! It was beige with a red interior. I kept that car for over 8 years, clocked about 150,000 miles before trading it in.

 

College and Career

 

When it was obvious that I was running out of money, paying the high hourly fees at Indiana State University, I had to seek an alternative. It never entered my mind that I wouldn't get some sort of degree.

 

I discovered that Texas State Colleges were virtually FREE. So I packed up my 1965 Chevy and headed to Houston. I got a job in a grocery store, got a Texas driver's license and established my Texas residency. BAM, I was a Texan.

 

I was on my own for the first time in my life.  Living in Houston was wonderful, new stuff everywhere you looked.  Wide streets, wonderful freeway system and great, well Fantastic people.  I worked in that grocery store and in the print shop on Campus until my friend Phil, who worked nights at the biggest bank in Houston, said there was an opening in the 'proof department' at nights.  I went in with him that night and the night supervisor asked if I could type and run a '10-key[' which (thanks to my mother's insistence had learned to type before high school) and I said sure.  He told me to go to personnel the next day and fill out the paper work.  YEA, I was going to be a 'banker'!

 

Well the next day, I showed up in my only suite (after all it was a bank!) but the nice folks in personnel said that the job had been filled, BUT did I know anything about 'computers'?  Since I was taking a Fortran course, I said sure.  THAT is how I got started in the Computer Business and for the next 7 years worked at First City National Bank, working through operations, programming, technical support and finally as Data Center & Programming Manager!

 

It too me 7 years but I finally graduated from the University of Houston, totally debt free and working full time in a career that I LOVE and still practice today. Funny how things work out. 

 

Since I finally got that degree, I figured it might pay off.  I went to my boss, the VP at the bank and let him know that I now had a full degree (albeit in Psychology, but still a degree).  I asked if that would get me a raise and he smiled and said I could keep my job!  Well, that made me re-think my Banker Career!  It was time to leave banking and venture into new areas.

 

From Banking to Garbage

 

While some may not see a lot of difference, I got a job in a very small shop with Browning Ferris Industries, a Waste Management Company just forming up.  On the ground floor, Tom Fatjo was creating the Nation's Largest Waste Management Corporation.  Previously to Tom's work, most garbage companies were pretty much Mom & Pop operations in every city.  Tom had the brilliant idea to collect all the best managed companies in the Nation's largest cities into one massive corporation. He centralized all accounting and business operations in our offices in Houston, while leaving the operational management to the founders and previous owners.  Brilliant move!  He later added some of the first recycling operations; mostly paper & cardboard. 

 

Tom often referred to me as his PIMP; no not what you think. It was for Project Implementer.  Tom acquired some of the first micro-computers from Sycor Industries.  They used dual cassette (like for music) as storage and had very little memory, storage or processing power and a unique programming language.  I was tasked with the job of writing an invoicing system that would print customer invoices for each of the offices in Canada and the USA and transmit the data to the home office in Houston.  That was a great time, providing me the opportunity to travel for the first time really.  I flew on the company jet (WOW) and worked from Buffalo New York to Montreal Quebec and on to San Francisco.

 

As my time and skills improved, it soon became apparent that this relatively small IT operation was not going to satisfy me.  Interestingly enough, my boss at BFI invited me to lunch with our accounting firm, Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (now KPMG) and a partner, Don Charmichael.  We hit it off and my boss, advised me that I should consider a position with PMM & Co. as he had recommended me.  Now THAT is not something you hear every day but he was a true mentor/advisor.

 

I accepted a position with PMM & Co. as a Consulting Manager, having some 10 years of IT experience in programming, operations, accounting and management.  Again, on the road and traveling, mostly regionally but still always on the road.  I learned tremendously during this period.  Don Charmichael and John Booth (Senior Partner and Partner in Charge of Consulting) taught me more in those years than any formal education could ever do.  I learned how to Write, give presentations to boards of directors and understand a host of industries that I previously had no knowledge.  I was a Senior Manager and on my way to a possible Partnership.  But I saw some, not so great, things happen that, to me at least, just were not ethical.  I had to re-think my future.

 

That time came again when I wanted to do more and something else with my life and career.  I decided to try my hand at the IT Consulting game and worked independently with several National Firms; again learning, traveling and experiencing LIFE.  I learned about running a consulting practice and had several senior IT Consultants working for our Office.  I really didn't love managing an office; preferring to do Real Work in client offices and keeping my hand in the IT details.  So I set up myself as a Sole Proprietor calling myself HJS Enterprises. 

 

During one of these consulting adventures, I found myself right back in Detroit where I grew up; doing a big data center project for the Michigan Conference of Teamsters Welfare Fund; right downtown opposite Tiger Stadium.  Surrounded by drug houses and houses of ill repute it was an experience having armed guards everywhere.  Not the best location to work and definitely NOT at night.  Commuting from Houston to Detroit Metro every week, I met my soul mate, Nancy.  I fell madly in Love with, not only her, but her mother and daughter.  We married, and after a 4 year stint with The Limited where I worked from our home in Novi Michigan, I traveled between Columbus Ohio, New York, Boston, Indianapolis and Hong Kong for the next 4 years.

 

When Nancy was offered a position at the new Delta Airlines base in Orlando Florida (OIA), we decided that Nancy should accept a promotion and transfer with Delta Airlines to relocate to Orlando, Florida.  I resigned from The Limited, where I had been the IT Audit Manager for 14 divisions, and decided to go full Free Agent. We bought/built a lovely new home for the four of us on the South Side of Orlando and connivent to OIA for both Nancy and I.  Since we had 'Gram' (Nancy's mom) living with us, she would care for Nicole (teenage daughter) while Nancy was at work and I might be out of town.  What a plan!

 

I set up my own operation in Orlando, which a bit later formed Management Consulting, Inc., a Sub-S corporation.  From this new base of operations I did consulting gigs across the USA and the EU with a variety of companies. Orlando International was a great place to be based as Nancy worked there and I was able to travel anywhere from OIA.

 

Adventure in Construction

 

Our home in Orlando was lovely; we ended up living there some 25+ years.  Nicole grew up, got married and started having kids (our lovely Grandkids, now numbering SEVEN!).  Nancy and I started attending the Orlando International Builder's show and got interested in several new building techniques and started thinking about building a new house.  During that time we purchased a 5 acre tract in St. Cloud Florida in a 'Fly In' community that had a grass airstrip. I had earned my pilot's license long before when living in Houston and I had a wild idea of getting a plane and building a new home on that land.

 

During this time,  Nancy became interested in design and actually learned an Auto-Cad program and we bought a commercial plotter for home plans.  We went through several iterations and even designed a home for our property that would have been all steel construction (red-iron).  The builder backed out at the last minute due to personal issues so we were left hanging.

 

During one of those Home Shows we stumbled across a company called Deltec, a sort of panalized construction technology with pre-fabricated panels and full span roofing systems requiring no internal support. So we could arrange rooms and interior without worrying about structural walls anywhere.  It was intriguing so we flew up to Ashville N.C. to inspect the plant and learn about the design/construction techniques.  Nancy was excited as was I so she started out to design a new place for our 5-acre property.

 

About the same time, again at a Builder's Show (this time in Las Vegas) I found a 'smart home' company and with my computer background I wanted to learn more.  The Company was Colorado vNet and was totally unique and on the bleeding edge of Smart Home Technology.  So, Nancy and I started a new Company, called IQ-Home and built The Mouse House.  It was a totally unique structure of three sections in the shape of a Micky Mouse head.  We lived in it for a couple of years but the housing crash caught us up and we lost it all.  I still have a video of it up at The Mouse-House Project.

 

Overcoming Cancer

 

While I cover this on one of my other web sites, I need to point out that in May of 2010, I was diagnosed with deadly Prostate Cancer.  They gave me just 3 to 5 years to live but I refused to accept the 'expert' advice and am healthy and ALIVE today over 14 years later.  I even wrote a book about it called "Collected Essays of a cancer Survivor: A Nutritional Holistic Survivor's Story: and have a web site: and a subsequent book called "I Beat Prostate Cancer - Without Radiation, Surgery or Chemotherapy". Visit my web site:  'Nutritional Holiistic Survivor'. 

 

New Writing Careers

 

Learning to deal with my prostate cancer took Nancy and I into a totally different direction; one neither of us EVER expected.  The field of Health, Healing, &Longevity.  We both began intense study and diety changes; TOGETHER.  Nancy went on to study and become certified in Plant Based Nutrition and has become known as 'Chef Nancy'. We began to write books and Nancy held classes and conducted lecture series in the Orlando area. We decided to devote much of our lives to educating people about the Power of Nutrition and formed a new company, Whole Foods 4 Healthy Living.  It now includes some 18 different web sites, full of information.

 

We now manage several on-line sites about Health, Wellness and Longevity and I now have some 15 different web sites focused on different aspects of nutrition, healing and longevity. My writings cover a very wide arena of topics from Health, Travel, Hiking, Seniors and Tech.  See: Freelance Writing.

 

Travel and Adventures in Hiking

 

The thing that amazes both Nancy and I is the amount of energy we continue to have. Not ones to sit idle, we also started cross-country travel adventures and I recently published our first Travel Picture Book, "Our First Road Trip". We found a new love of Hiking and Adventure and just love exploring the Great National/State parks across our Great Nation.  And yes, I have a web site for that too called Road Tripping USA.

 

Today and Beyond

 

As I said in the opening, I am now over 78+ years old. We own our home, free and clear (just built a new smart home in Winter Haven Florida), and I am sort of semi-retired; but only because no one wants to employ an old fart consultant. I know too much!

 

I've always worked and just wouldn't know what to do if I didn't. I have started and currently sort of run companies involved in IT/Tech, Web Services and Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle with my lovely and talented wife Chef Nancy.  We formed Whole Foods 4 Healthy Living to try to help people stay healthy.

 

Since we plan to live to 130 and beyond, I figure I still have a lot of work to do and look forward to exploring opportunities long into our future. Heck, the way I figure it, I'm just middle age, so why not!

 

Our Books, pictured below are available on Amazon in print and kindle formats.  While I have a 'resume' posted on this site, it is a mear mention of my true experience and talent.  You have to read my Autobiography for the rest!

 

Note: in grade-school, I really did walk a mile, often in the snow, to/from school each day!

 

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We write and publish a variety of books dealing with Health, Wellness and Longevity.

 

Healing Series

Cancer Series

 

Restoring America's Health Series

 

Marketing Booklets

 

Skip Stein is a lifestyle consultant, based in Winter Haven, Florida. He is COO of Whole Foods 4 Healthy Living with his lovely wife Chef Nancy and manages several ancillary/supporting business enterprises.