The View From My Window

[Peggy Milam Creighton]

*This is cross-posted from my personal blog, Infactory.blogspot.com.

When we woke up this morning, there was a goat on our front porch. That’s right—a goat. Now, a goat is not something you see every day, particularly when he’s camped out all night at your door.
Not knowing what else to do, we befriended him and named him Billy Boy. He ate dog treats and lots of leaves, we discovered. And he wasn’t exactly shy.

Pretty soon, we were the main topic of the local rumor mill. Neighbors greeted us, “Hey, I heard you adopted a goat.” And within a few hours, some of our friends called, “Can we bring the kids by to see the goat?”

People were full of suggestions. “Did you call Animal Control?” or “I have a friend who raises goats. I can call him to catch him for you.” Finally someone suggested that Billy Boy had been “let go” on purpose and should be “taken down.” But Billy had become a sort of pet for us by now. I hated the thought of “taking him down” and wondered what other alternatives there were. He did, after all, eat leaves and grass. Perhaps he could be trained to keep the grass cut.

As I reflected on this event later, I realized that I could learn a few things from the experience. Some people I know are like Billy Boy. They have camped out where they don’t belong. It is time for them to move on. Or they are just “Old goats” who aggravate folks around them. People around them think they should be “taken down.” Perhaps their usefulness is questionable to some. Perhaps others think they should move on, or that someone else should take them in.

Maybe you know some folks like that. Perhaps they are neighbors, or, worse, co-workers. In this age of productivity and data collection, Billy goats are no better than weeds or dead wood, even if their main function is as weed-eaters and hoppers.

If you are like me, considering retirement in the not so distant future, you have probably given your productivity an occasional thought. You have tried to keep the pace. You would cringe if someone considered you to be an “old goat.”

I challenge you to consider a rebirth of sorts. Take on a new skill and teach others. Dive in headfirst into the vast ocean of Web 2.0 tools and master at least one. Toot your horn a bit. What have you go to lose?