Are You Ready?

Well, friends, it's been a while. Things have been very busy at work, which is good considering it's the end of the quarter. The end of the quarter can be very exciting or very disappointing depending on how well things are going. If sales are good, then you can see a direct correlation between the amount of paint you sell & the money you stand to make. Things are going well.

Enough of that, though. Nobody likes to talk about money, especially not me. Money it doesn't talk, it swears.

I'd like to talk to you about a customer of mine named Jose. He's a short stocky latino gentlemen about the age of 45, I'd guess. He is usually only around in the summertime, but he makes his presence known. I met him a few years ago, & to be honest, when I first met him I thought him to be quite nuts. He usually comes into the store brimming to the top with energy. He's very picky about the things that he buys but he always has kind things to say about just about everything. After a while I started to like the little fella.

The next summer a lady called me up looking to have her cottage painted. She lives in Texas during the rest of the year & also only comes to Grand Haven during the summer months. She wanted me to look at her house to see what it would need, & I went & looked at it & told her what kind of work would be involved in painting it. When she asked for names of painters I gave her Jose's name. She seemed to be quite nuts herself, I thought, & figured the two of them would be a good fit. Jose did the job, of course, & she was thrilled with the job that he did. The next summer she stopped in for a visit & treated us at the store as though we were close relatives of hers. It turns out that she referred Jose to a friend of hers & Jose has done several houses in the neighborhood. I've since referred Jose to other jobs that have turned into lots of business for him & us.

What I'm about to tell you is no embellishment & is certainly not meant for me to be propping myself up as any great human being, far from it, I'm quite humbled by the whole thing. Some time later Jose told me that after he first met me, he was driving through town to a job when the Lord told him the name Andrew. He then came in & we set him up an account & business has been good for him ever since.

When he first told me this, I thought it to be quite strange, & I thought him to be more nuts than I ever did. I've often been put off by the extremely religious types, thinking that the Lord has always worked best for me through upbringing & subtle suggestion. My cynical mind can't comprehend the fact that somebody could be that zealous without being phony, until Jose. As I talked to him, he's told me all sorts of stories that led me to realize that I was wrong. I've since figured out that Jose's the genuine article. He's told me stories about the places he's been & about how large medical bills that have been relieved, all as a result of Jose following what the Lord has told him. Recently, Junior was in the office telling a buddy of his that he needed a ride to Lansing. Jose overheard & immediately offered to give him a ride.

Let's hope Jose can keep on working on me so I'm not so cynical.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Poor Boy Blues-Ramblin' Thomas

Standin' Round Cryin'-Muddy Waters

Are You Ready-the Fairfield Four

Cry A While-Bob Dylan, Wembley, 2003

St James Infirmary Blues-the White Stripes

Someday Baby-Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew