As My 60Th Birthday Approaches...........

[T BIRD]

Reflecting on my life's journey to date, I pause as my 60th birthday

approaches next week to briefly look back at what I have accomplished

in my previous world of work endeavors.

Working in the mental health and drug addiction field for over 20

years taught me valuable lessons in terms of being grateful for what I

have and never taking life for granted. Assisting the homeless who

also suffered with a major psychiatric illness as well as a drug or

alcohol problem attain a better way of living was so humbling and

inspiring to me in terms of watching each one of them grow and develop

a little each and every day. The ones that wanted to change worked

very hard each and every day to put their individual life back on

track, utilizing the supports that the program I managed offered them.

The other side of that were the ones who fell short, gave up, and

went back to the self defeating lifestyle that brought them to our

program's door to begin with. It was indeed very sad to witness an

individual pack their bags and leave our residence to go back into the

shelter system in NYC. But it was the successes that made this work

so worthwhile for me. The process of recovery is life long. It never

ends. That is really the most important fact for the these people to

remember.

I loved speaking to large groups of people about the world of

recovery. I was very animated and always came from my heart. Being

genuine and coming from one's heart was a necessity for these clients

to see, hear, and feel. That came easy for me as it reinforced my own

belief system, my own set of ethics and morals, and my own idea of

what right and healthy living was really about.

For years I fought with the CEO and Board of Directors to acknowledge

these individuals who graduated the long term program ( 24 months )

that was in place for them. Acknowledge by having an annual formal

graduation ceremony and program. Having this special day at an

expensive venue costing thousands of dollars was what I wanted for

them. For most of them, this was their first graduation experience.

Most had not finished school growing up. I was rebuffed for a long

time in being able to hold this ceremony in a special place. We had

to settle for whatever venues that were available that did not cost so

much money. And then the last three years of my employment we were

finally allowed to rent out a top shelf restaurant with an elaborate

and beautiful meeting room to celebrate the rebirth of these

individuals. A graduation ceremony consisted of approximately 20-30

client graduates and 350 guests. Caps and gowns and diplomas were the

order of the day. There wasn't a dry eye in the house during the

ceremony. And then they feasted and danced to their hearts content

for hours after. It was really a wonderful sight to behold and

witness.

And then I decided after so many years of this work to seek another

field of work. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Until I received a

biz op invitation to attend a vending presentation ( snack and soda )

at a local Hilton Hotel on Long Island. This was the summer of 2007.

Planet Anteras hosted it. I became very interested in vending from

that first presentation. I decided that snack and soda was for the

younger set of folks and not me......lol. Too much lifting etc. I

searched and researched on the net and found bulk vending very

interesting. So I started in the fall of 2007. And that was when I

also found Vendiscuss. I joined back in the fall of '07 and here I am

today. Vendiscuss helped me immensely in terms of helping me learn

the fundamentals of bulk vending. The products, the machines, the

book keeping, the route makeup, all of that I learned by being a

member of Vendiscuss. Steve's desire to help the new vendor is such a

gift for the newcomer in this field. The site has everything a new

vendor needs to start off plus the friendships of other new vendors to

help and assist day to day. It was great knowing I was not alone as I

set off in this new field.

And then I met Frank Parisi and Rob Reilly in 2009. I met them quite

accidentally at a storage facility. Well........what a gift from

above for me. They are two wonderful young men. They have years of

experience under their belt and were willing to take me under their

wing and teach me.

And so here I am today. Working for them now. They believe that

Vendiscuss serves the newcomer very well. I certainly believe that.

This is a very exciting time for me working for Parsal Vending. The

products and services they will offer moving forward, will certainly

benefit everyone on here. I will work very hard to help people here

be successful in their bulk vending endeavors.