Magazine

Gas station attendant or convenience store clerk. It’s a toss-up which was my all-time favorite job (besides being editor of this magazine, of course).

I worked at a Medina gas station during college break in the summer of 1979. It paid slightly more than minimum wage — a big selling point. I pumped gas, checked oil and washed windshields.

My boss was aggressively crazy but fiercely protective of her student employees. She encouraged us to make up cash shortages by “hanging the pumps” — dangling the handle in a way that didn’t reset the pump. The next customer’s sale then started at a slightly higher amount.

Tied for best job was my summer at the Stop N Go store in Hinckley. I worked the 3-to-11 p.m. shift; Slush Puppies and popcorn were free.

Never great at math, I soon got fast at figuring out change because the cash register tallied total sales but didn’t calculate cash back. A low point was when my underage brother and his friends came in just before closing, grabbed several cases of cheap beer from the back cooler and plunked a wad of cash on the counter. I spent weeks afraid that I’d be arrested and have to delay my return to Miami University.

I’ll save my worst jobs for another column, but cooking Roman Burgers at Mr. Hero is right up there.

Jobs, careers, whatever you call them, finding the right fit has a lot to do with luck, education and a certain amount of pluckiness. An open mind helps, too. Skills acquired from a job build on each other, putting together invaluable knowledge that comes in handy in unexpected ways.

If you’re looking for a change, regardless of the reason, check out our package of stories starting with our cover couple, Debbi and Rick Sands (page 22).

Here’s one for you: Remember when the Christmas season started the day after Thanksgiving and ended Jan. 1? My wife, Janice, and I track the first mention of Christmas every year (a Wal-Mart ad on Labor Day this year) and then see how long it takes before every last decoration is taken down. Even so, we love the holiday season and all the memories that come with it.

Local TV and radio gener – ated a lot of those memories. WEWS was the first TV station in Ohio, and its first broadcast in 1947 was the annual Cleveland Press Christmas Show from Public Hall. They brought out the big guns, too. Jimmy Stewart, the star of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” hosted, and word is it was a spectacular show.

A TREE AND A KEY Those were the days when people went to downtown Cleveland for first-run movies, nightlife and shopping; the Christmas season kicked it into high gear. You saw the giant tree at the Sterling-Lindner Davis department store, got lunch in a little toy stove at Higbee’s Silver Grille, and then a visit to the “Keeper of the Keys,” Mr. Jingeling on Halle’s seventh floor.

Starting in the mid ’50s, Halle’s ran a Mr. Jingeling segment on Captain Penny’s show on WEWS every day beginning the day after Thanksgiving and usually ending a day or two before Christmas with an hour-long special.

It was a daily story with Mr. Jingeling and the Play Lady spinning some sort of a tale that involved the latest toy. Remember, this was live TV, and after the show, Max Ellis, Earl Keyes or one of the other actors who played Mr. Jingeling headed back to Halle’s to meet fans and hand out special paper keys.

It was so cool to be a kid in Northeast Ohio back then.

As the holidays approach, people start thinking about making charitable donations. But take care with those well-meaning plans. Each year, crooks use scams to cheat people and to steal millions of dollars intended for charities.

The problem is that these scams are hard to identify. For example, the Federal Trade Commission in May filed a lawsuit against the Cancer Fund of America, the Children’s Cancer Fund of America and the Breast Cancer Society.

These charities, which have existed for years, have raised more than $200 million, yet only about 3 percent of their money went to cancer patients, research or treatment, according to the FTC. The trouble is that when someone gets a phone call from an organization such as the Children’s Cancer Fund of America, it sounds legitimate and well-meaning, so people donate money.

DOORSTEP SCAMS

Some scams are closer to home. A few years ago, a teenager along with an older gentleman, asked local business owners to contribute to a Muscular Dystrophy Association bike ride. In exchange, donors were promised discounted Cedar Point season passes. Instead, the scammers pocketed the cash.

This is a big problem with a solution. Look at the FTC and Ohio Attorney General websites to help identify scams targeting people who want to donate to charities. For example, the FTC recently issued a warning about charity scams in connection with recent floods in Louisiana.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO CHARITY?

Here are five steps to take to make sure your money goes to the charity you want

1 Research the Charity.

If you are not familiar with the charity you can research it on the FTC website, consumer .ftc.gov. You can also research on the Ohio Attorney General’s website, ohioattorneygeneral.gov, to find charities registered in the state.These websites have links to organizations such as Charity Navigator, Charity Watch and Guide Star, which provide valuable information about charities, including how much they spend on charitable activity versus payroll and other overhead.

QUESTION: Why does my leg hurt and feel numb sometimes? Is this related to my lower back?

•••

ANSWER: Numbness or tingling sensations in the legs could definitely be related to your back. What you are describing sounds like lumbar spinal stenosis, but it’s important that you have your spine evaluated to determine the exact cause and course of treatment.

Another problem that can cause numbness is neuropathy, which is a complication from diabetes, or peripheral vascular disease. Seeing a spine specialist can help pinpoint the problem.

Stenosis is a medical term simply meaning narrowing, so essentially this is “spine narrowing.” The nerves of the spine are getting pinched as they exit from the spinal canal through the center hole between the bones, which is called the foramen.

This nerve compression can result in sciatic pain that radiates down through your leg. You may also feel a loss of strength and fatigue in the legs as the sciatic nerve is pressed and becomes inflamed and irritated.

Many find that leaning forward may relieve the pressure and stop the pain — this is referred to as the “shopping cart sign.” It’s also common for this type of pain to happen during specific activities, or it can come and go rather than being a constant sensation.

A combination of conditions can lead to spinal stenosis, including facet arthritis and disc degeneration, which occurs in everyone to some extent, through aging. As we get older, the height between the vertebral bodies is decreased, thus reducing the space available for the nerves to exit from the spine. Pinched nerves are a very common occurrence.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

First, have your spine evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon to determine the severity of your condition. Although it is best to start with a surgeon, most cases will be treated non-surgically.