In what seems like a totally unrelated post to RAWZ's mission, I have to share an experience from last week that almost brought me to tears: Not to worry though, these were happy tears! As you can probably tell from the above title, I'll be reflecting on a time I was receiving training from my Grampy, Jim Scott Sr. Although I use the word training, perhaps the term "life lesson" would fit better as I'm not describing some technical information, but rather Grampy trying to instill a set of values in me.
This particular lesson came on a day that I was fortunate to spend making sales calls with Grampy. I was on one of my seemingly frequent sabbaticals (I like the way that word sounds) from college when I went to work for his distribution business. To set the stage, I was pretty nervous and certainly hoped to make him proud, as we pulled into the first call. I was amazed that despite being nearly 80 years old at the time, Grampy had filled the hour car ride giving me this store owners full biography and a fairly comprehensive description of products pertinent to the call.
I carefully parked and opened my door glancing over at my grandfather expecting to see him following suit and exiting the vehicle only to see him frozen in place, not moving. Even more alarming was the look I saw on his face: His lips parsed as if tasting something sour and head tilted to one side beginning to shake back in forth conveying disapproval. Then he lowered the boom, "You caaan't park here!", the word can't drawn out in typical Grampy fashion! I'm sure all in the Scott family can picture the look on his face well.
After clearly telling me that he wouldn't get out of the car until I moved to a spot further away from the store's entrance, Grampy explained, "You never take a good spot, those are for paying customers!" Once I moved to the farthest spot I could find, we got out and began a day of visiting accounts. So what happened just the other day that spurred this fond memory of a day working with my grandfather...
I've been working with a Chiropractor in Portsmouth for some time now who recently moved to a new location. I just had my first appointment in his new spot and startled him when I appeared in the waiting room. "Oh, I didn't even see you pull in" said Dr. Shapiro, "I thought I'd be able to see you park from my office. Where the heck did you park? You had all those spots right in front to choose from." With that question, a smile crossed my face as I remembered Grampy's lesson!
Dr. Shapiro looked puzzled as he listened to my rationale for not parking close to the entrance. I seemed to notice a little grin on his face as he explained that I was indeed a paying customer! So although I may mix up the specifics, I hope Grampy knows the lesson was learned!
