Outside England's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1.40), £5 for buses (about $7).
Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility. The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee. The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.
Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (or some such scenario), is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own; and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years.
Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars!
And no one even knows his name ... Oh MY!!!
I just found this interesting survey on the Workplace Law Network ...
New research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reveals that many baby boomers fear being held back in various areas of life by ageism. The Commission defines baby boomers as those aged between 49 and 63.
The poll, carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Commission, reveals that three-quarters of baby boomers think they will face discrimination in employment as they get older.Survey respondents also reported feeling discriminated against outside of work, in areas such as:
- taking part in sports
- shopping, particularly for electronics
- going to pubs and bars
- healthcare
- insurance
Nine out of ten baby boomers agree with proposals to end ageism in the Government’s Equality Bill. The anti-discrimination rules aim to protect older consumers from unequal treatment by providers of goods, facilities or services such as High Street shops, sports clubs, holiday resorts and health centers.
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission, said:
“There are more than 11 million people in the boomer generation who aren’t planning on slowing down for a long time yet, but they clearly fear that they will be stopped in their tracks by ageism.
“If they are right, not only would this be grossly unfair to a generation that helped to make our country prosperous; it would be a criminal waste of the talent and experience we need to dig us out of our current economic hole.”
Interesting information on the baby boom generation ... how do YOU feel?
Susan Boyle's, a Scottish baby boomer is taking the world by storm. With only one song and an unforgettable YouTube clip, this obscure woman from a small Scottish village has in less than a week become nearly a household name around the world.
Talking about her journey so far, she told the morning show that she reacted to the titters in the audience during her audition by focusing on the performance "You have to take yourself seriously, so what I did was concentrate on the song."
As a way of explanation for why she went on the show, Boyle said: "I wanted to make this a tribute to my mother, so it was something I wanted to do, so I had to get on with it. That's where the courage came from, my mother."
The 47-year-old unemployed church worker from Scotland's West Lothian district has captured hearts with her back story of "having never been kissed." She now lives alone with her cat, Pebbles, and previously cared for her ill mother, who died a couple of years ago.
Susan Boyle ... you ROCK!
