I am now 47 years old and many people told me that the best time of my life is pretty much over. Their opinions were verified after I lost my job two months ago. I was working for an advertising agency in San Diego, but the management decided to replace me by a recent graduate, he’s 24. I don’t know why the whole world has the idea that people over 40 are not able to be creative or to understand and interpret the current trends. They forget that trends are not just created and introduced by young people who are, by far, the minority in our society. Over 50 per cent of all people in the Western countries are over 45 but unfortunately totally neglected by the commercials, where just models and athletes are shown.

I don’t want to sound embittered and of course I do like to watch a commercial where hot girls are presenting the new Victoria’s Secret magazine. But I cannot understand why a 25 aged girl is advertising a BMW. Seriously, what is the target group of cars like BMW or Mercedes? Young girls, who don’t even have the money to pay their own bills? I don’t think so. To sum it up, I think a commercial has the task to convince the customers of the product’s quality. And therefore you need the actors in the advertisement to know what they are talking about so that the customer can trust him or her and therefore trust the product. For instance, if there is a commercial for lawyers, I want to see O.J. Simpson on the screen. This guy was at the court of justice more often than on the football field, so he knows what he is talking about. But when I see Paris Hilton in the commercial talking about the quality of colleges or libraries in L.A., I ask myself “What is going on?"

But back to me, a man who was supposed to be done with life. I am not like many older men who have accepted their fate after losing something in their lives. I would never give up. Why should I? I have a great wife and two adorable sons. There is still so much to do for me in my life and losing a job is no reason to change this thinking. But what opportunities do I have as a man at my age who has always worked in creative jobs. As I mentioned, unfortunately this kind of business, where only young people have the chance to be successful, seems to be part of my past. So I searched in the local newspapers for offered jobs that fit my resume and strengths. But after twenty calls to the different personal managers of local companies I had to accept that there were not any suitable jobs for me at all.

But two weeks ago, my cousin gave me some advice concerning a good job. It is a job that does not have the best reputation, but the payment is better than everyone thinks. I am talking about my career as garbage man. Many people likely think that this job is just for the lower class in our society, but the paycheck will prove that it is not like this. So I have decided to become a garbage man. I will start in three weeks and want to be prepared for my new job. But what is the best training for this kind of job? Exactly! - Standing on a driving car and learning how to jump off. So I purchased a car accessory recently that allows me this kind of training – Nerf bars. This purchase is the beginning of my new career as a garbage man and no one can argue me out of this.