If you have been reading my Eyewatch articles, you know that there has been a common theme over the last several years.  As I have been moving into my senior years, I’ve been working to make sense of the changes facing me as I age… moving from parent to grandparent role, from “go, go 24/7 energy” to not as much energy, full time work life to reduced schedule to eventual retirement and the biggest one of all, coping with the question, “As an older person, can I have as much impact and value as I did when I was young and hard charging?” 

I think I found an answer.  Every Spring I struggle with tree pollen allergies (a gardener’s curse for sure), and this year they were particularly bad.  Normally, I treat myself, but this time I ended up with a sinus and ear infection. When I finally called to make an appointment, I asked for the next available doctor.  This was the same Nose, Ear and Throat clinic that our daughter, Stacey, had used when she had her terrible ear and subsequent brain infection over a year ago.  By coincidence I got the, still practicing, head doctor, the same one who so quickly and intuitively recognized that Stacey’s problem was more than a simple earache.  Dr. Rabinowitz is sixty-nine years old (he no longer performs surgery, but does see patients on a reduced schedule, and proudly wears photo buttons of his grandchildren on his lab coat).  He didn’t recognize me until I mentioned Stacey’s name.  “Stacey,” he said as he lit up.  He reviewed the whole process and how pleased he was with his ability to see things that others — perhaps younger, less experienced could not see.  In Stacey’s case his lightening, intuitive decisions saved her life.  I asked him, “How did you know?”   He said, “By some of the things she said, by some of the things I saw and being able to leverage my many years as a surgeon.” 

He even told me that if he or any other doctor would have missed those hard to spot “invisibles,” nobody would have faulted him or them.  He just knew!

I, too, find it easier to read things than I once did.  I’m sure that’s it, my experience, contacts and understanding of our industry allows me to see things others can’t — at least as quickly.  There is one other thing about Dr. Rabinowitz.  He is a people person.  He listens to people and thus reads them very well.  To sum up his gift — he looks people right in the eye, feels them (empathy) and with his years of hard work and experience is able to make fast life saving decisions.  I might suggest that even with his reduced work schedule, he shines at least equal to the other bright, hard working and energetic doctors in his clinic.

While I doubt that I’ll ever be making any life or death decisions solving shop floor problems, my goal is to be the Dr. Rabinowitz of Machinery Systems.

Sincerely,