The Next Generation

Here's a senior moment we hope doesn't happen too often. Let me begin with a Rip Van Lee chair and ottoman which has graced our living room for forty years. It is medium blue, tough leather but not impervious to wear. Years ago, our esteemed son-in-law put his little daughter in the chair holding a sign IT'S MINE and took a picture.

We're not sure he still wants it, tired as it is, but he has the first right of refusal. This chair was purchased from a reputable family firm, proud of its heritage and workmanship (the chair has the signature of its craftsman still visible). This furniture company relocated some years ago and more recently went out of business as the subsequent generation(s) somehow failed to keep it going.

Over and over again we hear of family businesses going under through subsequent management by family members. Mom 'n Pop businesses are often threatened by a variety of factors including competition by behemoths and sons/daughters who are either uninterested or incompetent. Being a senior who has stepped aside and watched blood, sweat and tears vanish is tough.

Recently I read about Jerry Yang, one of the founders of Yahoo. He is not a senior by any means but their computer Internet business initially was a huge success. Here is a sentence that appeared: Yahoo, under fierce financial pressure, has begun a search to replace company co-founder Jerry Yang as chief executive, the company said Monday.

Why? After reporting a 64 percent drop in net income and a warning that the advertising market is softening, Yahoo announced a layoff of at least 1,430 by the end of 2008 in October. The problem Yahoo has now is they've got to redefine themselves in a different landscape than they were when Jerry built the company . . . A different landscape. It happens. Things change. Old methods have a way of wearing out. Competition gets stiffer and at times ruthless. Founders flounder.

Jerry Yang will stay with the company he co-founded but was ousted by his Board deemed essential earlier in the business. So, one doesn't have to be a senior, father, grandfather or even at one time a tycoon of sorts. Life moves on and sometimes we get in the way. When it affects us, salty and perhaps at one time a tycoon ourselves, it is tough to see what we once glamorized lose its luster. And it is even worse if we harbor some guilt for perhaps not envisioning the future or preparing adequately.

If you've passed on a well-lit torch and watch it grow dim, you'll identify with this kind of senior moment. But if you passed on a poorly lit torch and then watched it glow brightly, it could give you a memorable senior moment.

My wife and I are looking to possibly replace our Rip Van Lee but if we pass it on, it won't be the same as it was. The color in the leather is worn in places and the outlay to replace the leather would cost a mint. If we replace it and our son-in-law rescinds his request, it will find another place in our home, lesser to be sure, but the junk man will not inherit it.

To be sure, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. That's what bridges are for.