Random Events Change Lives - a Personal Story

 

Do you have a random event in your life that totally altered your trajectory? I do.

It happened in early 1976. I was a senior at the University of California at Berkeley. I was born & raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, my parents lived there as did all of my friends. I played the trombone in local funk bands in my spare time. I loved the ocean. Northern California was my home sweet home.

I faced a dilemma, however. I was graduating from UC Berkeley with my econ major and music minor. I needed to transition into something new, either work or graduate school.  I was a broke-ass college student from a lower middle-class family, so work was my first choice. There was a problem, however - the unemployment rate in 1976 was 7.8%. The current unemployment rate in the U.S., in the middle of this Covid-19 pandemic, is 6.2%.  I couldn't find a decent job, one with reasonable pay that I could imagine doing every day. I didn't have any money to pay for graduate school, although I did apply to several econ PhD programs and was admitted to a couple of places (They told me to bring my checkbook to pay enormous amounts of tuition). I was nervous about borrowing shit-pots of money to pay for school (and loans weren't easy to get back then), so I was in an uncomfortable spot. No decent job prospects, no affordable grad school option, future at risk.

It was a Wednesday, I think.  I had a couple of hours between classes.  I had just gotten another rejection letter from a prospective employer the previous day, so I was wandering around the Student Union Building in a funk. I stopped in front of the bulletin board that had sign-up sheets for job interviews and was trying to get excited about an opportunity to become a life insurance salesman (the only employer with open interview slots). I wasn't feeling very happy at that moment.

Someone behind me said "Excuse me" and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a tall woman in a 1970's "dress for success" female executive outfit. She definitely wasn't from Berkeley. "Hi - I'm Mary from Northwestern University's Graduate School of Management. I'm recruiting candidates for our MBA program, and no one has signed up for interviews. Are you graduating soon?" I told her yes, I would be graduating in June. "Great - do you have 30 minutes? I would like to interview you for our program."  I had the time, so I went with Mary into her conference room for an interview.

So she told me about Northwestern University. I thought it was up in Oregon, but was surprised to learn that it was just north of Chicago IL. Very confusing - Chicago is not in the northwestern part of the country. She asked me about my GPA and my Graduate Management Admissions Test scores (I took every grad school admissions test - LCAT, MCAT, GREs. etc. etc.). Once she got that info, she told me that if I applied to Northwestern's MBA program, I would be admitted and the university would figure out a way to finance it for me via grants, work-study and a little debt. Northwestern was trying to get more students from big western universities to enhance its credibility as a high-quality MBA program with a geographically diverse student body. Most students as of 1976 were from the Midwest.

I filled out the application that day. I arrived in Evanston Illinois on September 5, 1976 and received my Kellogg MBA a couple of years later.  I am still in Evanston Illinois after a 42 year career, two failed marriages, 4 children (all adults now), 4 grandchildren, etc. etc. etc. 

If Mary hadn't tapped me on the shoulder back in 1976, my life would have ended up much differently.  This is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but demonstrates how a chance encounter can totally alter the direction of a life. 

That is my random event story. What's yours?

First wet, then dry - the not so hot, not so long summer

Elmore Leonard  passed away recently.  The number one rule on his list, "10 Rules of Writing" is "Never open a book with weather."  Well, I am writing a stinking blog post, not a book, so I am going to talk about the weather.  RIP, Mr. Leonard - at least you didn't live to see this post.  Of course, you wouldn't see this post even if you were alive and well.

Here in Chicago, we had the wettest six months on record (since 1882) from January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2013.  We had 28.46 inches of rain, which is more than Chicago received for the entire year in 2012.  Then on July 1, some Cosmic Hand turned off the Big Sprinkler.  We have had 3.24 inches of rain from July 1 through August 21, the least amount of rain to have fallen over that time in 69 years.  The vegetation is browning out, the guys out in the Corn Belt are grousing a bit.  And now we are expecting the temps to ascend to the 90's again - we had a cool stretch, but that is probably over.  It feels like summer started late and now is cranking up trying to make up for last time.

The weather always grabs our attention because we experience it everyday and we can't control it. 

Warning - metaphor approaching! 

Have you ever had something that was impacting you every waking second, gnawing on your psyche, something you were adjusting to, trying to prepare for but couldn't really change in any way?  We wander around with personal weather in our heads.

You can't change the way someone else thinks and behaves, really.  You can't control any of random events that wash over you every day.  Through preparation and attitude, you can avoid some of frustrations caused by lack of control, but many outcomes are not in our hands.  We hate that, and most of us can't accept it.