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Having been unemployed for 10 months, I learned some simple lessons that I think are worthy of sharing. Here they are: 1. A skilled and experienced instructor does not equate to being a good teacher. 2. Sometimes, a struggling student has an inexperienced, unskilled, or ineffective teacher, or a combination of those qualities. 3. A good teacher is always a good student too. 4. Sometimes, we are better off redire

I didn’t shake hands, hug, or talk to all of my classmates at our 30th high school reunion last night. I will admit there were a few people in attendance whom I did not recognize. I had to covertly ask someone I did know, “Do you know who that is?” I will also freely admit that I stayed pretty close to my comfort zone of well-established friendships. And many of the others gravitated toward their fa

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and is credited for this gem of a phrase: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Oftentimes, we consider a door closing as an action that was brought upon us by someone else. For example: “They chose somebody else.” “They decid

June 21, 2017 The iPhone in my pocket vibrated and startled me. The notification read: 1 missed call and voicemail. Oh, it was Lynn. Maybe she needs us to take Tux for a few days. Meet AKC Champion Mystic Oz’s Formal Affair (Tux, for short.)   Lynn’s voice was choppy and filled with despair. “Peter, please give me a call as soon as you can. We are at the vet with Tux right now.” I called

I enrolled in a 10-week long class to learn how to weld. Why not? I’m still unemployed and the state of Connecticut will pay for the training, so what have I got to lose. Electric Boat/General Dynamics is hiring literally hundreds of welders. They offer great pay, full benefits, and year-round employment. That’s a trifecta that I haven’t had in nearly 20 years. I was told that I would almo