Moderation is for cowards, when in doubt overload

“Moderation is for cowards, when in doubt overload” WWII Frogman

I have recently taken on the position of Texas Regional Manager for High Sierra Chemicals. I didn’t really know a lot about surfactants/cleaners and degreasers except that the citrus based surfactants will kill insects by separating the bonds between hydrocarbons which when mixed with water will getting into their exoskeletons bursting their internal organs and gumming up their foli they use to breath and suffocate them.  Then I ran into a Food Safety Manager for one of the produce processing companies here in the valley with a masters degree in chemistry. He took me to school.

The first thing he explained to me is “There is no such thing as a Cleaner/Disinfectant” That was interesting for me to hear. High Sierra Group doesn’t claim that we have any Cleaner/Disinfectant product but we have a highly concentrated Cleaner which dilutes 40/1 with water and our quad sanitizer combined kills pathogens like Listeria. Then he explained to me that the germ killing duration of Clorox bleach is 30 to 40 seconds. All of this information was of great interest to me.

High Sierra Group has two heavy duty cleaners/degreasers, 14 Karat and Green Power. Both are highly concentrated. 14 Karat is an industrial strength cleaner/degreaser which can be used on everything and has a five minute residence time where it’s scrubbing bubbles will get up grime and forklift tire marks. Green Power works best diluted 40/1 with water and can even be used to strip floors when used at a 5/1 dilution.

High Sierra Group’s Sanitizer is Discide which is a quat sanitizer capable of killing Listeria. Listeria is an evil pathogen which is deadly and can actually get into the structure of a building and keep contaminating products stored in a facility. It is also a Non-Rinse solution.

Then High Sierra Group has the Micro-B Sealer which after cleaning the facility and letting it dry will kill pathogens like Listeria that may already be in the structure and keep any new contamination from getting into the building for one year with just one coat and up to three years when two coats are applied.

It feels really good to have confidence in a product I represent. WIth the high concentration of these products it makes the price very competitive too.

I am very excited to finally break into this community of agricultural producers. I have been looking for them ever since I got to the valley almost two years ago. They don’t go where I go, the boxing gyms, Toastmasters or any of the churches I attend but these are my kind of people. A lot of former military personnel, they like shooting and I even walked into one facility with model cars all over their walls. I loved model cars when I was a kid.

This morning I completed the Child Abuse Awareness training to the the Trail Life organization at Center Church in Pharr Texas. Trail Life is an outdoor activity for boys formed by Scout Masters who weren’t willing to compromise when the Boy Scouts caved into social pressures. I thought it was a good cause and helped them find a church in the Rio Grande Valley to sponsor a Trail Life Troop and it just so happened that the Senior Pastor at Center Church in Pharr where my wife and I attend is an outdoor enthusiast. He and a few of the other pastors brought it to the board and they agreed to sponsor a troop but they needed a volunteer to run the program. When the boxing gym I trained at every night moved I now had my evenings opened so I volunteered to fill the position.

The first night we had 26 boys show up between the ages of six and 14. It was exciting! Then the second week had 11 show up but I had things for them to do. I started off with a power test. I just had them do push-ups and did them with the boys. I got a surprise when one of the boys didn’t quit until we had done 75 push-ups and then another group of boys came in late and we did 50 more. I am glad I am in decent shape. I wouldn’t have wanted to look bad.

Then I had them doing Kim’s Game. It is a observation/memorization game where I put 10 or 11 items on a table and cover them with a handkerchief and when I remove the handkerchief I gave the boys two minutes to study the items. Then I covered them back up and removed one item. After two minutes I had them turn back around and try and figure out what items were missing. Then did it again and then is time I didn’t remove any items but rearranged two of the items and they had to figure out which ones were moved. Then we did it again with three items. I was amazed at how the boys honed in and focused during this exercise. This next Monday were will incorporate more memorization with the boys having to list the items and then drawing them and if there is time we will do a scanning exercise outside.  

The funny thing is that I never had to consider as a Navy SEAL and that is this exercise keeps the boys focused and not running around getting crazy. They learn sometime too. It is all going to build up to the first camping trip.

I also have been asked to be the spokesperson for Giddy Up Energy. I will be able to get energy drinks and power bars at no cost for the boys to sell as a fundraiser to pay for camping trips. I am starting to explore the possibility of a 5K race to generate awareness and raise money for the Trail Life Troop the first part of the year.

I am hoping my new association with a bunch of manly men in the food processing industry here in the Rio Grande Valley might turn on their children and grandchildren to the Trail Life troop at Center Church. There is also a sister organization for the girls called American Heritage Girls. There is one volunteer already for that group but we will need five more ladies to charter that group.