How to Deliver Bad News

I’d like to give a hearty shout-out on the All Things Southern porch to our senior population. Y’all rock in my book. Did you know the number of Americans who are continuing to work past the age of 75 has skyrocketed over the last twenty years? It’s true. People over the age of 75 account for somewhere around 7% of the total work force. I find that amazing. No doubt, if given the choice, these folks would rather be kicking back at the golf course or traveling the country in a comfy RV checking off things on their bucket list and most of them have earned the privilege but, by golly, if anyone knows how to make the best of a bad situation, it’s our seniors.

A recent study even suggested that the majority of seniors aren’t all that dissatisfied with having to work longer than they anticipated, as long as they are healthy enough to do the job and it isn’t physically demanding.  Again, kudos to y’all. Let the record show that I wish it were different. I wish y’all had it easier, but your willingness to stick things out whenever possible sets a good example for all of us. And that goes double for your good humor, as illustrated by the following story.

One well-adjusted senior, we’ll call him Mr. Frank, told the following story about his last job. Seems the company he worked for was finding it necessary to tighten its belt yet another notch if it was going to stay afloat and keep the doors open. The boss was an older gentleman himself, which may account for the humorous way he delivered the bad news. He called Mr. Frank into his office and shot the breeze a few minutes before he took a deep breath and made his announcement.

“Frank,” he said, “I don’t how on earth we’re going to get along without you, but starting Monday, we’re going to try.”

Hugs, Shellie