To Be Frank, Fred

From August 1996-May 2004, I worked for a privately held chain called Meijer. Most people outside the states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky likely have no idea what that chain is. What even more people do not realize is without the goodness that was Meijer, the evil empire known as Wal-Mart would not exist across the globe. The concept of the "hypermarket" later to be known as the "supercenter" was invented by Hendrik Meijer and his son, Fred.

I just found out moments ago Fred Meijer passed away at the age of 91. I know I'm not going to put anything in more detail about his life and times than was already put into articles that aren't that hard to find through Uncle Google. I wanted to take a moment to talk about the tremendously positive impact Fred, his family and the empire they built through their extended family, which included me for the better part of eight years.

I can safely say that where I am personally and professionally in life I would not be without opportunities and life lessons provided to me in my time with the company. My end with Meijer was far from what I ever imagined it would be, but I try not to let that overshadow the great amounts of positives I gained from a summer job that turned into a reasonably successful career.

The Meijer family's principles for running a business were pretty much based on life's golden rule, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." It was simple. It was effective.

There was a time when Meijer put their trust in their people to do the right thing. It was okay to take risks here and there, as long as the decision was what's right for the customer or the employee. In my Michigan days, it was guys like Bill Altena, Tim Greenman and Al Buchko who would take a gamble on a kid named Kevin, giving him little bits of authority, a dash of guidance and the freedom to do it in his own way.

It the Illinois years, I would get the same from people like Vicki Evans, Rob Jager and Mark Klein. In those eight years, I learned so much about business from all standpoints. I learned operations. I learned profit and loss. I learned food safety. I learned how to drive a forklift. But, more importantly than all of that, I learned how to handle people, the customers and the employees.

I've been gone from the company almost as long as I was there. I still reference Meijer every day. I may not call it out, but something I say or do as it pertains to the two businesses I run to make my living comes from that background. Without Fred's crazy ideas and calculated risks, I never would have had any of that. It seems so simple, but man that's complex. If he hadn't done those things, I can't say I would be the person I am today in any sense. Would I be the person I am? Would I have achieved the professional successes, or at least in a similar timeline? Would I even live in the State of Illinois? After all, I moved out here to grand open my second Meijer store.

For years, Meijer's slogan was, "A Million Reasons, a Single Store." With Fred's story, I see, "A Million Positives, A Single Vision."

It wasn't just Fred that made Meijer a success. It was Fred's ability to lead and inspire others. It was vision and purpose. It was motivating others. It was dealing with ambiguity. And perhaps his most simple philosophy (in my own interpretation) was this:

"Take care of the people. Everything else falls into a distant second place."

Thank you, Fred for all you have done. This is one bag boy who came to you for a summer job and left with a lifetime of experience and knowledge.

If you'd like to learn more about Fred's story, you can find it here: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/11/west_michigan_grocery_magnate.html

Well, That Depends

Random memory to share before I drift into a failed attempt to sleep:

On the outside chance anyone reading this doesn't know me on some level, I'm a teeny, tiny bit obsessive about physical fitness, dieting, and other things that go along with that.

For a number of years, I've worked out at XSport Fitness in Downers Grove, IL. I love it there. It's a personal haven for me where I can always escape and work out the world's frustrations in a number of ways. Alas, as much as I love my XSport, the experience over the years at the Salon and Spa could be described as a little "hit-n-miss." It's a lot better now, but man it's come a long way!

A year or two ago, this girl (who had a rockin' bod by most malnourished standards) with the brain of an artichoke worked the desk for Spaland. She proved to me over time she had absolutely no recall whatsoever. You'd think after a year or so of tanning for the same amount of time in the same bed and signing in with the same person might trigger a memory for her, but it did not. I got to the point where I just wanted to have fun with her one day. I booked a massage with my favorite therapist and prayed I would be checked in by the bronzed toothpick queen of the western suburbs.

My prayers were answered, and I had the following conversation. If I use "..." that equates to about ten seconds of silence.

"Hi there, what brings you in today?"

"I'm here for a massage at 2:00. It's PAMPER DAY, " I said flapping my hands, not unlike a giddy schoolgirl who just got a note from handsome Jake.

"Spoiling ourselves today are we," she asked with a smile.

I replied, "No, I'm just really, REALLY sick of Huggies."

"... Are you serious?"

"Depends."

"..."

"My appointment is with Kathy."

"..."

"You can tell her I'm not wearing a diaper."

"...Ew, gross."

Every which way I interpret her last response, it gets funnier in my head every...single...time...

Goodnight!

Serious Lee

If you are here hoping for intelligent diatribe or a compelling argument, I'm afraid you have come to the wrong place. Once upon a time, I tried to maintain blogs, but they were always dictated by social media madness. I've more or less been without blogging since formally giving up on MySpace.

What can one expect here?

Every so often, I might use this as a poor-man's therapist, typing away and venting about what bothers me in the world. I don't see that happening too often. I know I'm not a fan of doing stuff like that on Facebook. Something just feels odd posting a note to the effect of, "Someone important to me died. I couldn't be more sad. I want to kill myself, but I'll go on living. My puppy who is dying of cancer needs me too much," and seeing John Pringlehopper "likes this."And shit, that summary quote alone doesn't even come close to fitting on Twitter.

Speaking of shit, I tend to use profanity...like, a lot. I like to think I take after my Grandmother when it comes to the fine art of proper seasoning of a word casserole with just the right amount of obscenity. If four-letter words startle or frighten you, you're following the wrong author.

Above all else, the intension of this blog is to have fun. I LOVE to log the overwhelming amount of stupid, silly or otherwise humorous things I both hear and say. That's probably going to be the bread and butter of this blog, officially titled, "It Takes a Village, Idiot." Why? Because that makes me laugh.

So much of life is funny to me. I hope, through this little window into my universe, some of you can find humor in the crazy shit that goes on inside and outside my mind and now, in either scenario, in this blog.

Let's have some fun. I want to laugh, and I want to make you laugh. I'd like to think this can conjure a chuckle or two whether someone knows me well or stumbled into my corner of the blogosphere by accident.

To close this blog, I welcome you by offering this little gem from my day:

Whilst driving through the campus of North Central College into the heart of downtown Naperville, IL, I came to a four-way stop. At this four-way stop, a black SUV with a vanity plate reading something to the effect of, "WENOTME," arrives last. However, the driver, who was alone in his rolling tribute to cohesive unions of like-minded people, pulls out ahead of everyone, nearly hitting another car. He rolls down his window, smart phone to his ear, raises his other hand (presumably now driving with his monster, all-powerful man-johnson), flips the other driver the bird (is the word) and says, "Fuck you, asshole," narrowly missing hitting a parked car.

Man, I love a team player!