Whenever I look, the TV’s on a different channel. My husband doesn’t surf; he flips. And flips and flips and flips. When the king of the remote falls asleep, I try to steal it out of his hand, which he holds in a death grip, close to his heart. He awakes with a start and says, “Hey! I was watching that!”
One flip landed on the Bay Hill Golf Classic (Orlando) and Arnold Palmer’s interview. I’ve never actually met the legend, but Bay Hill (once called Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill) is on my resume. Seriously. His wife hired me for.my first job after college; my dream job. Pool manager was my title, which included concessionaire, swim teacher/coach, maintenance man, lifeguard supervisor and unofficial concierge. When I resigned, all I could remember about the job was that I was tired of being sweaty and basically, being a well paid janitor. I would, however, miss giggling with the staff at the golf manager’s name, Dick Tiddy. It was funny because his daughter was very tiddy.
Having been out of resort work for years, I reminisced, “If I had a do-over at Bay Hill – assuming I’m wiser now than I was at 21, this’d be a great gig!”
What I’d do if I worked for Arnie now:
• Introduce myself to Arnie. (I’m more assertive.)
• Hire staff who’d change the chlorine tanks (although technology has undoubtedly improved that system). In other words, delegate.
• Save the money from soda and ice cream sales. Bankers used to ask me, “Where’d you get all these quarters?!?” (Today, it’d be dollars!) Savvier now.
• Hire night security during the golf academy, so I wouldn’t have to clean feces off the locker room walls after 700 pre-adolescent boys ran amok. Yep, big, burly bouncers to keep those spoiled brats in line. I’d be more proactive.(Did I really say “dream job” above? Hardly!)
• Design “Bobbe’s Best Bets for dining, shopping, and amusements” for the resort guests. In other words, be more creative.
• Park my car next to Arnie’s Limo and schmooze with the driver when he was polishing the chrome. (I did it then; I’d do it now.) Because I could.
• Wear a hat, long sleeves and sunscreen instead of a swimsuit. Because, you know why.
While we all wish there were do-overs in life, there aren’t. Some things are put in our path on somebody else’s time line. Right job. Wrong decade. Or was the job, the kids, the boyfriend/girlfriend the marriage, the anything put in our path for us to learn? Hindsight is for dreamers, but also for learners. Look back for a moment; then look forward and appreciate how far you’ve come. It’s a lot like the fact that while writing this article, my delete key broke. Yep, just popped off the keyboard. NOW I CANNOT GO BACK! Just like life.
And I think It would be great fun to sit in the same room with Arnold Palmer, and say, “Hey Arnie – give me the remote for a minute. And he would. Without a fight. Because he seems like a really nice guy. bw
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