Thursday, July 30, 2009

Hunting Dogs and Buicks

After years of roaming, my parents settled down in a then small mountain town. In this town was a proud Buick owner who got a new car every two or three years and took great pleasure in showing off his relative, to his neighbors, better financial status. He was also thoroughly unpleasant and haughty. One winter night, two high school students jacked up the rear of his car and put blocks under the axle near each wheel so that the tires were barely off the ground. He gets off work, starts the Buick and tries to back up. When it didn't move, he floored the accelerator. Either the spinning tires made ground contact or the Buick fell off the blocks. In any case, the Buick ended up across the street buried in a snowbank.

New to the town was a Southerner with hunting dogs. To train them, he had a crippled bobcat. He would take the bobcat outside of town, let it loose, and recapture the cat after his dogs treed it. Great fun for everyone but the bobcat. One day the bobcat got treed in the rafters of Buick owner's garage. Buick owner, investigating the commotion, finds a half dozen dogs jumping on his Buick trying to get the bobcat in the rafters. While he wasn't amused, the rest of the town was. The combinations of dog bites, fist fights, police, Game and Fish, lawyers, city fathers, and insurance adjusters involvement's took the town through the winter doldrums all the way to spring.

Recently, a bear was found wandering the town streets. Ah, the potential of a bear, dogs, and the trust funders who now populate the town makes my imagination go wild.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Sometimes Life Kicks You In The Gut

Just learned the wife of a good high school friend/classmate was killed yesterday. She was run over by a truck while she was at her mailbox. A great woman dead because of "inattentive driving". Years ago an aunt was hit and killed in the breakdown lane of I-80 while trying to help a stranded motorist. In another state, a favorite cousin was mowed down by a drunk driver. Such a waste.

Seems we should be grateful for those blue lights behind us. Not only is the general public being protected, we are being guided away from behaviors that can lead to a lifetime of regret.

Rest in Peace L.F.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lookout Kansas!


High Plains, Eastern Colorado, early afternoon producing lightning and starting prairie fires.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Train Pictures


I've always liked trains and have tried many times to take a decent train photo. I like this one, The Cheyenne Frontier Days Special, just North of Platteville, CO at Mile 37.

Friday, July 17, 2009

How to Lose a Sale

Piss off a deputy sheriff. He had me drive a manual transmission Dodge Diesel as his right arm ended in a hook. I knew he was a deputy but forgot on the test drive and did my usual slow roll through a stop sign. He yelled, "I can't believe you did that in front of a police officer!" "Sorry", I replied, "That was stupid".

He didn't buy the truck. I felt bad, not because I didn't make the sale, because he was a customer looking for a truck and I spoiled his visit by hurting his feelings. It wasn't a personal slight on my part; I am a traffic law scofflaw. Perhaps he was a wee bit too sensitive?

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Evil Car Sellers

Another car lot story has been requested. Balloons! Lots use hundreds of balloons and many tanks of helium each month trying to attract customers and create excitement. They have other, sinister, uses.

We had an asshat manager who needed spinning. He was required to return to the store whenever a burglar alarm was tripped. One cold night we turned the heat up in the service department until it was nice and toasty. Just before closing we inflated and released a few white balloons in the service bays to float against the white ceiling. Then the heat was turned down. A couple of hours later the heaters with fans kicked on, the balloons started moving, and the alarm sounded.

His wife had to drive him to the store. With two DUIs and half in the bag, he couldn't be caught driving. His wife was angry and the police who responded weren't in a good mood, especially on the third call early in the morning.

Strangely, I was accused. My defense, that I wasn't smart enough to come up with the idea, wasn't completely accepted. The waste of police time was regretable but they did have an opportunity to charge him with being an asshat, drunk and disorderly, or other creative ideas.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

NEW BLOG

A new blog devoted to buying and selling cars. Several past associates are very unhappy with me. No reason to feel that way as most people don't have the moxie to help themselves.

http://consumercommandocentral.blogspot.com

D.O.T. Approved????

Sunday, July 5, 2009

VAST Right Wing Conspiracy???

Seems the leftist and their favored elected officials see a "vast right wing conspiracy". Isn't a conspiracy something organized? If not a conspiracy, the people opposing their agenda are "dumb" or "stupid". Must be easier for them to accept than to acknowledge most of their fellow citizens find them to be pompous assholes. Your milage may vary.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Weasels and Other Gutless Wonders

Many people I encounter want to "unload" their frustrations on someone else; usually someone not empowered to do anything. These unfortunates must accept being dumped on to keep their jobs. The gutless wonder dumper hasn't the courage to take their complaint up the chain of responsibility. At some level they must know they are weasels, that their actions diminish them, and the person they are dumping on quietly holds them in utter contempt.

Years ago a POS got into my blank checks and spread some $3,200 worth around town. Standing in line at the bank customer service counter with others having the same problem, the woman in front of me was loudly and vulgarly complaining to everyone in earshot. She turned to me and said, "Well, aren't you angry? This is terrible"! My reply, "If this is the worst thing that ever happens to me, I will be truly blessed. Terrible is death, illness, house fires and the like. This is an inconvenience. Given time, I'm sure the bank will correct the problem" received nearly hidden smiles from the two young entry level ladies catching the heat. The young ladies have won several promotions. I get superb service at that bank. One son's first car loan was approved there. All but $200 of my money was restored in five days. Good luck to the woman in front of me. The loss of the checks was on me for not securing them and my home; not the bank.

People who won't own their own problems anger me. My mistake is my problem. I own it and deal with it. That being said, I am not a willing or complacent victim. Taking action up the chain of responsibility gives those folks catching heat a perfect reason to get stupid policies changed. They don't need to confront their superiors with a "hey, stupid"; they are "dealing" with a citizen/customer complaint. When I unload, I want to unload on the s.o.b. responsible, not the insulating underlings. When I can't get it done, I call my little sister. Trust me, you don't want to deal with her.

In sales, the rule is 80% of sales are made by 20% of salespeople. Is this the case in other area? 80% of problems are solved by 20% of the people who care? For sure, I want to be among the 20%.