June 24 '96
Volume 3
Grill Mix-Up
About two weeks ago we selected a new natural gas grill from the City Gas
Company. Barbara told me on Monday night that our grill had still not been
installed. She called the gas company Tuesday and found out that our job
and another installation were scheduled for Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon,
Barbara’s boss, Billy Haney, came over to help her with some monkey
grass for the flower bed, and to reset the plastic edging we had taken up
last fall in order to have the bed roto-tilled. Barbara was showing off the
new grill to Billy when he said, "I thought you were getting one like mine.
This one does not have the upper burner." Sure enough, there was no upper
burner. "I thought you were getting a Dukane, Barbara," Billy remarked. About
then they noticed it was a Grill Master brand. Barbara called the gas company
and informed them of the mistake. Men from the company came out after 5:00
p.m. and dug up the grill and left. They returned around 7:30 with the correct
grill and had it installed around 8:30. Barbara said they worked in the rain
to complete the work.
Thursday morning Barbara called the gas company and asked to speak to customer
service. After a couple of screening questions she had a lady in customer
service on the line. Barbara told the person how much she appreciated the
company working overtime to rectify the mistake. The representative asked
her to please tell her story to the man in charge of the service work. He
was elated to speak to a happy customer. I feel sure he was prepared for
a report on unsatisfactory performance. He thanked Barbara for taking time
to inform them of her satisfaction and promised to relay the information
to the men responsible for the actual installation. Her phone call made their
day.
Blondes Have More
Fun
I did not see
any
beautiful females in Florida, but I got lucky in Alabama. I arrived in Anniston
about 8:00 EST, checked in the motel, went to Wal Mart, then decided to go
to Waffle House to have some breakfast for supper. Soon after I began to
eat, a really nice looking blonde with gorgeous brown eyes stopped beside
my booth. Silently, she invited herself to have a seat. I was a little
overwhelmed by her forwardness when she slide alongside me. "Why did you
put butter on that?", she asked and pointed to the margarine I had spread
on top of my waffle. "Because that is the way I like to eat my waffle." I
replied, as I scanned her light brown skin. I asked her name, and she said
Jennifer, in a soft voice that I could hardly understand. I asked her to
repeat her name, and this time I clearly heard the name, Jennifer. Struggling
to maintain a conversation, I asked, "What do you like to eat at Waffle House."
"Hash browns and chili." was her smiling reply.
Looking intently into her face, I could see the innocence and charm of a
three year old. When I asked her how old she was, she confirmed my guess.
She really was three. I thought..... if I were only 3, instead of 3 with
a five in front of it.....Well, she probably would not have looked twice
at me. She looked like the type that preferred older men.
"Is that your mom over there?" I inquired. "Yeah and that’s my memaw
right there." she proclaimed as she directed my eye to a woman with the classic
features of a witch, and I wondered how such an inelegant looking grandmother
could have such a beautiful granddaughter. Adoption? Maybe. My wee friend,
wearing tennis shoes with Pocahontas emblems, slipped away to her mother
and grandmother.
The background jukebox music lulled me to yesteryear with Patsy Cline singing
"I Fall To Pieces." I tuned out the sounds of a couple of songs that I did
know either the song or the artist. I was jolted by the Rock-a-Billy sound
of "I Like It, I Love It". My blonde friend also picked up the lyrics and
sang the chorus, as she swayed on the back of her mother’s chair.
In a few moments she was gone. I finished eating, and returned to the motel
to retire from the long day of training and travel.
Note: The above article refers to Florida, where I attended a training class
with 12 other SUPERVALU specialists at ACR headquarters in Jacksonville,
Fl.
Hot
Traffic
Having stayed a week in Florida, I found the weather actually pleasant. It
was not nearly as hot as during my ten day stay last summer. The tropical
depression off the coast on the Carolinas may have contributed to the mild
temperatures.
Even though the weather was mild, the traffic was not. It has hot and heavy.
Some of the longest waits at red lights of anyplace I know, are right there
in the southern outskirts of Jacksonville. Every morning the traffic on the
2 1/2 mile stretch of Interstate 95, we traversed, was bumper to bumper,
at an average speed of 20-25 miles per hour. The 6 mile trip to the office
each morning would take around 25 minutes.
On the trip down to Jacksonville as well as the trip back today, the Interstate
traffic was very heavy. It did not ever really thin out. There were just
varying degrees of thickness, whether we were running 75 or 85, in two, three,
or four lanes in the same direction. I have had enough traffic for one w
eek. I look forward to the light to moderate Mississippi traffic.
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