CHICAGO -- True Value Co. CEO Lyle Heidemann spends a lot of his time shopping these days -- and that's a good thing for a chain that had lost its way in retail.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Denise Rivera spends her workdays waving in jets, unloading baggage and pushing planes around with a tractor. But on this day, the lead ramp servicewoman for United Airlines at Miami International Airport was struggling to remove five lug nuts from a Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Norm Schreifels is building a 5,500 square-foot dream home with unimpeded views of the Sandia Mountains, an outdoor dining room that faces the city lights and a handful of plazas and portals that take advantage of New Mexico's weather.

NEW YORK -- Suing. It's the American way.