I own a large, commercial construction company. Before I was an owner I was a manager of a similar company as far back as my late 20’s. I was on the board of my church. Now I’m the president of our cycling club.
Being on the board of my church sucked. We got a new pastor and things went downhill fast. It went from a legit spiritual sanctuary to a ridiculous far left extremist parody. My wife and I quit the whole thing, or rather, we were run out. Lesson one.
Owning a construction company is a lot tougher than managing one. Lesson number two.
The cycling club is a labor of love. I was asked to be the president and I accepted. Everything was great for two years. Then the bureaucrats rolled in… Lesson number three.
Somehow I always manage to find my way to the top of whatever I do (my wife is so afflicted as well). This doesn’t have anything to do with an egotistical, “because we’re so awesome”, either. No, it’s more because we’re willing to take the job – because anyone who knows anything about being a leader of people, it’s not all that glamorous. You have to be willing to be the chief floor sweeper and the lead paperwork completer… as a bonus, everyone gets to point their finger at you when things get tough – and you, being at the top, have to figure that $#!+ out. Better, everyone above you is looking to pay you less and most below you are looking for ways to get the most money for the least amount of work (and then come up with excuses for why that’s your fault when they get caught). In other words, being at the top usually isn’t as “at the top” as you think, and it’s a lot less glamorous than you think.
I have been a fan of hotdogs for more than 42 years. I have ADD (or ADHD, take your pick), so when I was just five years-old, to get me to slow down long enough to eat lunch, my mom would cut up a hotdog and set the plate on the living room coffee table. I would do laps around the table, picking up a piece of glorious hotdog every two laps… and that’s how I ate lunch. Decades ago, people tried to turn me off to hotdogs because of “how they’re made”. Later it was the “processed food” crowd. I still love ’em. Grilled or nuked with my wife’s chili on them… I love those little tubes of goodness.
Running things is a lot like a hotdog. It only looks fun from the outside. Once you realize how those dogs are made, it takes a little of the tastiness away. And that’s a crying shame.
What’s the lesson, though?
I don’t give a f*** how hotdogs are made. Those bastards taste great.
Fit Recovery 
I hope that doesn’t mean you’ve given up on church entirely!! There are some good one’s out there still
Definitely not, Dan. Fear not, brother.
LMAO! I don’t eat hotdogs often, but there’s nothing a good hotdog anyway you want to have it!
As for the other… Russ and I got lassoed into doing that in Colorado, only it was the Mountain Club. He had the newsletter and I was “the president”. It was a nightmare. Most of our members are environmentalist types and one in particular thought no one but honest hikers should be anywhere on those mountains. Russ and I lean conservative, so… again, I wasn’t go to Denver and protest or petition all that they wanted me to. Every. night. I. got. a. call. I did my year and was outa there. I am environmentally conscious and feel strongly about the hiker (or cyclist) that doesn’t respect the terrain, but I’m against exclusivity. Bureaucrats!
Oh, you had it WAY worse than I do! Holy cats!
I know huh? We still laugh about it.
In the meantime, Dang! I want to apologize for all my grammatical errors, but you understood me. I knew I was tired, but good grief, my comment could’ve used a little proof reading before posting. lol
Meh, no worries. We all fall of the grammatical rails now and again. I didn’t think a second thought about it. I understood easily.
If someone called me to try to get me to a protest or some meeting… oh, I could only hope for that to happen. Ballistic. Instantly.
Yup!
You can’t make everyone happy most of the time. Any decision pisses someone off.
True enough. I think we came to an arrangement. If they want to turn their rides into funeral processions, I’m perfectly happy to let them. We are going to work an amendment into the bylaws that says only a subgroup majority can change any ride rules governing that subgroup. They can have their feel-good walk in the park and they can’t change our wild west. Perfect!
Great post! We too love a good hotdog, but instead of in a bun, we fry them and put them in with pasta or rice and loads of veg with a great big dollop of mayonnaise. I think the veg is a feeble attempt at trying to negate the bad stuff, but hey … it’s delicious! Katie