Trade-Offs
By Todd A. Tucker, Publisher

Whenever I might have occasional deep, introspective thoughts (usually fleeting and not very deep), I find myself counting my blessings in life. It just took a group of 38 fifth graders on a field trip to our offices earlier this week to reinforce and drive this important point home once again.

I always welcome these types of visits and outside speaking engagements to groups of nice folks in a wide variety of settings, and I find them to be inspirational — maybe not to them but certainly to me.

I have spoken over the last 10 years to every conceivable civic, university, retiree, not even semi-awake audience you can imagine. Without fail, no matter how busy I think I am, over-committed, over-scheduled, or over-grouchy (note to staff: obviously not grouchy) when I am asked to speak about my personal life, family life, how I make my living, and my opinion on a multitude of different topics (OK, maybe my opinion is not asked for but still is offered), I am forced to reflect on the answers, and I always find that to be a good thing.

Back to the fifth graders and the field trip. A powerful observation that will be etched in my memory for some time is this: Putting boxes of donuts in front of 38 kids was like watching piranhas on Animal Planet devour a chicken carcass lowered into a South American river — not a pretty sight.

The questions the kids asked were not out of the ordinary but made me think. It went something like this:

Q: What is it like working with Mrs. Tucker every day?
A: Terrific 95 percent of the time. Mrs. Tucker needs to realize she is wrong 5 percent of the time.

Q: Where do your story ideas come from?

Q: How did you get into the magazine business?

Q: What do you really do all day, Mr. Tucker?

Q: Mr. Tucker, what’s up with your shoes?

So when you are having tough times, worn out from life, or not enjoying your daily existence as much as you should, I encourage you to take stock of what is really important, perhaps how much you enjoy your co-workers. Do you have happy and healthy kids? Mine (one or both, depending on who you ask) have literally broken a small glass-topped table this morning. Is it really that critical? Ask yourself, “Am I fortunate enough right now to have a good job and make a fair living?” As I said earlier, my thoughts don’t go too deep, but as we have weathered difficult times together this last year, appreciate what you have — that always works for me. And the next group of fifth graders will be welcomed to Tucker Publishing Group.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you.


Todd A. Tucker, Publisher