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This month’s What I Learned From… group writing project is under way, y’all! But don’t panic, you have plenty of time left. I’m accepting entries through Sunday, May 18th! So don’t just sit there - write somethin’!
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
[Note from the proprietor: this is my entry in this month’s What I Learned From… group writing project. If you’d care to participate (and you’re welcome to!), just click on that cute little link up there and read all about it.]
As you know, the Main Thing is to always keep the Main Thing the Main Thing, right? And the Main Thing here at the Middle Zone is lessons learned, from that universal schoolmaster we know as life. Not only that, we encourage you to tell your stories as well. After all, the whole point of our What I Learned From… series is there are lessons to be learned pretty much anywhere. All it really takes is to pay attention.
However, unlike “normal” writing projects (as if you can call anything we do around here normal), instead of a single topic, this month there’s lots to choose from. So as I began to ponder the list of topics above (in case you were wondering what that grinding noise was), it suddenly hit me (sound of dull thud): I’ve learned something from every one!
So, without further ado (because further do would be just plain silly) I give you: What I Learned From All Kinds of Stuff:
School
Well, it kinda goes without saying that we all learned something in school, right? Reading, writing, arithmetic - I mean, that’s the whole point. But what’cha might call an education is not the only things I learned, if you know what I mean. There were a few other pretty important things… such as: 1) Chalk does not taste good (don’t ask!), and 2) there’s an incredible amount of pressure put on kids to conform. My advice is to teach them early: it’s OK to be different. Wish I’d learned that one earlier.
Television
Honestly now, don’t you think Television has kinda gone to the dogs lately? (Er, no offense intended to dogs.) I mean, with all the so-called “reality” shows, crime dramas, brainless comedies and “news” shows - well, it ain’t pretty! But in my opinion, it’s also a somewhat disquieting indicator of where society is headed at the moment (shakes head sadly). Too bad.
Movies
Mrs. MZM and I love old movies. You know; the sort of thing you find on TCM. Despite the fact that these are all imaginary worlds, there are still plenty of powerful lessons that can be gleaned, if you just pay attention. For instance, if you’ve ever been caught between a rock and a hard place, watch (and take notes!) how Humphrey Bogart handles a humdinger of a pickle in Casablanca. Or, if your spouse were to come back from the dead (so to speak), you can learn how not to handle it from Cary Grant in My Favorite Wife.
Planes
When I was little, my first experience with air travel went something like this: I was taken to a place I’d never been before, followed a bunch of people into a long, narrow room with lots of seats, sat down, buckled in, and read a book. About an hour later, I got up, followed everyone out of that room and voila! I was in a completely different place! Amazing! It was like… a Star Trek transporter. (Except without the, you know, cool sound effects. And it took longer.) But still… on that day I discovered the whole world was within reach - and I wanted to see it all!
Trains
It’s actually one of my favorite ways to sightsee - to simply have a seat and let the scenery come to me. Man, you can’t beat that with a stick! The only problem is, when I see something interesting, it disappears pretty quickly and I can’t go back. *Sigh* I think it’s a good lesson, though. Life is like that train, and if you don’t get a good look at the scenery, you may miss something good.
Automobiles
I owned a car many years ago that developed an intermittent electrical problem that made getting anywhere a rather chancy thing: the entire electrical system would “flicker” on and off whenever the car went over a bumpy spot. (It also taught me the meaning of the phrase pray without ceasing!) I interrogated what few car-repair-related brain cells I had (which weren’t many, I’ll tell ya!) trying to solve it but never could. Then late one night I took it over to a friend’s house, and as I turned into his driveway he witnessed a shower of sparks shoot out from below the car! Well! That was all the clue I needed to finally track down the problem. Looking back, I realized there were two things I needed to solve this aggravating, problem: 1) the dark of night, and 2) a friend! Interesting metaphorical applications there, don’cha think?
Writing
This one’s easy. Early last year (2007) I discovered that telling stories was what I did best. That’s the point where I really began to, you know, write. But here’s the fun part: by daring to write, I learned that I could! How do I know that? Because you guys tell me so! Believe me; your wonderful support and encouragement is very much appreciated - so a big tip o’ the hat to ya!
Recreation
You can learn a lot about “plays well with others” when you play team sports. Teamwork can be a powerful force - particularly when managed properly. I’m still putting to use the lessons I learned as a kid from playing little league baseball, volleyball, and my sadly short (not quite two days) soccer career. You’ll never understand the power of synergy without it.
Friends
“A true friend is one who is walking in the door as everyone else is walking out.” Don’t know where I first saw that, but it’s always stuck with me. C’mon now - who hasn’t realized that life can be pretty darned lonely without friends? (Although I have to admit; I was a slow learner on this one.) Luckily, I turned out to be teachable. In fact, I’m enjoying a double blessing on this one: my own best friend also happens to be Mrs. MZM!
Food
Could food just be one of those “penultimate” fundamental metaphors for people? (That means near-universally applicable, in case you’re wondering.) I mean, think about it (sound of grinding gears); there are just about an endless variety of colors, flavors, textures, looks, smells, and tastes; you can mix and match for new and enjoyable combinations (and some not-so-great); some are better when cooked, while some are perfect just as they are - I could go on and on. Quite a smorgasbord, wouldn’t you say? [Ed. - Thanks for the correction, Brad! I knew there was somethin’ I forgot to check!]
Time
When I was a kid I used to imagine what it would be like to be able to stop the flow of time at will. Silly idea, I know, but who knew there were other, more effective ways to alter the flow of time - and you don’t even need a fancy machine to do it, either! For instance, as we get older, time seems to accelerate. Also, isn’t the surest way to slow time down to a crawl is to have to wait for something really wonderful to happen? And surely you’ve noticed how quickly time can fly when you’re having fun? See? Turns out we’re all masters of time!
Technology
If there’s any ONE thing I’ve learned from technology, it’s to not be afraid of something you can’t understand. ‘Cause frankly, there’s a LOT I don’t understand! Alas, I’m almost strictly a user these days. But back when personal computers started to appear on the scene, I just started tinkering… and learning… and pretty soon I discovered how to do stuff with ‘em. And now look - they are literally everywhere! Good thing I wasn’t afraid to try something new.
Children
It comes full circle, doesn’t it? We spend all our time as a kid trying to grow up so we can be an adult. Then, when we become adults, we realize how much fun we used to have as a kid. But the truth is we can have the best of both worlds if we just “let ourselves go” even a tiny bit. Go ahead; try it: do something completely childlike. You might be surprised how much fun you’ll have.
Relatives
There’s an old saying: You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose; but you can’t pick your friend’s nose relatives. It’s always entertaining to take a look at the ol’ family tree, isn’t it? I mean, if you stop to think about it, there’s an awful lot of interesting stories in there. But unless we take the time to dig them out, they just sorta crumble away. I have to admit to falling somewhat short on this one, but I’ve learned that folks who have lived a few years, well, they have some interesting things to say. Might be worth lookin’ into, don’t you think?
Heroes
To be honest, I’ve never been one to really get into the comic superhero stuff. Even as a teenager, although I sometimes enjoyed reading comics featuring such superheroes as Superman, Batman or the Archie and the Gang, I knew these guys couldn’t be, you know, real. But then came Spiderman. Now here was a guy I could empathize with: he was a geek, he was too embarrassed to talk to girls, he had trouble finding balance in his life - and even after becoming Spiderman, he seemed to spend most of his time, not fighting crime, but just tryin’ to figure out how to make ends meet! In fact, he was a lot like me (other than the cool costume, and the ability to, you know, climb walls). I actually gained a measure of self-confidence from that.
Pets
If you’ve ever had a pet, then you’ve learned about the care and feeding of a creature that pretty much totally depends on you. Up until I was a college student, we usually shared our lives with a cat and/or a dog, and I can’t think of too many better lessons learned about responsibility. I learned a lot from those guys, like faithfulness, patience, acceptance… the list goes on and on.
Space
As a science fiction fan, I learned at least one thing: there’s room out there for almost anything! I just love the endless variety of possibilities you can find in sci-fi; it’s about my favorite brain stimulation exercise. Come to think of it, don’t you think endless possibilities is what life is all about, too?
Mountains
So many metaphors, so little time… but let’s try this one. While on a ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, one evening I stepped outside and found myself looking down at the town below us. (Our condo was on the side of the mountain above the town, so we had a great view.) The night was spectacularly clear under a star-filled sky. Off to one side, the moon’s gentle light gave the snow a soft, mysterious glow. Below us, the little town looked exactly like a string of multi-colored Christmas lights dropped into the snow. It was incredibly beautiful… and it made me realize something. “Up here”, one could find peace, quiet, tranquility and time to think. “Down there”, one had restaurants, clubs, shops, people and activity. What you experienced depended entirely on where you happened to be standing. The fact is we need both points of view.
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So there ya go; lessons learned from just about everything! Come to think of it, writing this post has been fun, and it sparked so many memories, well, don’t be surprised if you see some full-fledged posts on these topics over the next few weeks and months.
Well whaddayaknow; yet another lesson: how to brainstorm blog topics!
[Hey, if you’d like to participate in this month’s What I Learned From… group writing project, well, we’d love to have ya! The good news is, there’s still plenty of time - unlike the usual WILF project, this time you have two weeks to write your entry! That’s right; we’ll be open for entries through Sunday night May 18. So don’t just sit there like a bump on a pickle; read the kickoff post for all the details, then come join us!]
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
Howdy, y’all! Today is the first Monday of the month - and we all know what that means, right! Yep; it’s WILF day (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically)! And as promised, this time we’re tossing in yet another bit of a challenge, just to keep you on your toes.
OK, this is going to take a bit of background, so bear with me a bit. But I just want to say right up front; it’s Mike DeWitt’s fault. See, it’s sorta like this…
Not long ago (April 2th) I published a post titled Peace… and Quiet, a story about my discovery of The Quietest Place on Earth (I think its somewhere in Germany). Within moments, the blogosphere erupted in a frenzy of activity as the ramifications of my obvious genius completely flummoxed experts round the world. No doubt someone’s already built a shrine there.
Well… what actually happened was (I’ve always considered myself a legend in my own time mind), er, it picked up a few comments, including this thought from Mr. Mike:
“It’s not often you get Godzilla and Get Smart in the same post…” [Ed. - you’ll just have to read it]
OK, so sometimes Mike and I get to exchanging quips back and forth. It’s like, as Liz Strauss put it once, “playing in the sandbox”. Anyway, I responded that all we needed was “Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips”, and the picture would be complete. Which sorta initiated the germ of an idea, and I told him so. (Mike’s comment: “Better hide the wimmen and childrens”!)
I said to myself, “You know, Self, he’s right! You don’t often get such diametrically opposed topics in the same room, much less the same post!” Well naturally it made me think of a mashup!
You know what a mashup is, don’t you? (No, silly; It’s not like mashed potatoes, where you take one thing and, well, mash it.) Naw; it’s where somebody combines two or more things together and produces something really really good. Like how Google Earth enables you or me to upload photos, and tie them to their actual locations on the globe. Or something really practical, like putting peanut butter on my chocolate.
So this month, we’re going to mash it up!
I’ll warn you now, though; this one might cause you to exercise a few extra little gray cells than previous WILFs (sound of audience stampeding for the door).
Gee, that went well, don’t you think?
OK; for those of you unable to escape still here, now we get to the challenge (and don’t worry; it’s easy). Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write your usual What I Learned From… entry, except this time, you get to pick two, three, or as many topics as you like from the list below! And, just to make it a real challenge, special bonus points go to those of you who use multiple topics in your post.
See? I told you it was easy! Here’s the topics (there are 18, in no order whatsoever):
Heck; why not really impress me and go for a bunch - or maybe all of ‘em? In fact, as a bonus, the outstanding participant who incorporates the most topics will earn a special place of honor in the WILF Hall of Fame.
Now, you can decide how you want to do it; as you know, I’m pretty easy-going. For instance, you can write a post that includes one or more of the above topics in it. Or, you can go the other way and write something about any number of ‘em (hint: that’s the direction I took for mine - you’ll see it tomorrow). As long as the end result illustrates “lessons learned”, then ya got it!
What to Do
Hey, you know the drill. Like I said; you can pretty much write anything you like, as long as it illustrates a lesson (or lessons) learned, and in this case incorporates at least two or more of the topics above. Be specific. Be non-specific. And, since I never impose a restriction on length, be as eloquent as you like (you don’t have to write a book - although you can if you want to!)
But most of all, be yourself - and write something! And don’t forget the details…
Now, normally, WILF projects are open to contributions for only one week. However, in consideration of the fact that a) the challenge is a bit harder this time, and b) some of you (myself included) just got back from a very full weekend at SOBCon08, I’m going to give you TWO WHOLE WEEKS for this one (sound of crowd going, “whew!”) Yep; that means we’re open for business from now thru midnight, Sunday night, May 18.
[Let’s not forget the disclaimer, though: As usual, should you or any of your team be caught or killed, or, you know, break a fingernail or something during the execution of this project, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your existence.]
To participate, here’s all you have to do:
(By the way; help me out - make it obvious which topics you used. I may be slow… but at least I’m dense!)
That’s all there is to it! Next Monday, May 19, I will post the entire list of entries right here at the Middle Zone, so be sure and drop by to check ‘em all out.
As always, we have just two simple rules around here:
All right, ladies and gentlemen; you know what to do! Grab the writing instrument of your choice and start writing!
[Note from the Proprietor - I realize it takes a little time to write your entries, but would you mind too terribly not waiting until midnight on Sunday night, May 18, to notify me? Sometimes it can be difficult to get them all compiled by Monday’s 6 am post time! I surely thank you, and as a token of my appreciation - have yourself a cookie!]
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
[Note from the Proprietor: I just switched to WP 2.5 (thanks, Tully!), but now I can’t figure out how to insert photos stored on my own hard drive! Is it just me, or did they leave out the doohickey thingie for that? The only way to insert an image seems to be with a URL, and these photos aren’t stored “out there”. Anybody got a solution for that? To get these images here, I had to copy and paste them from a previous entry using cut/paste from the HTML code. Cumbersome at best!][UPDATE: Success! Mr. T. came through again!]
[FURTHER NOTE: THIS MONTH’S PROJECT HAS NO END DATE! IF YOU STILL WANT TO GET AN ODD JOB LISTED HERE, WELL, Y’ALL KEEP ‘EM COMIN! I’LL UPDATE THE LIST PERIODICALLY.]
A big giant round of applause and a big ol’ Yee-Haw! for all the folks who decided to participate in this month’s What I Learned From… group writing project: What I Learned From… Odd Jobs!
Talk about a great bunch of entries; it was absolutely amazing hearing about all the, um, unusual things we’ve all done to earn a buck or two. Thanks again for choosing to share your stories and lessons with the rest of us!
Also special thanks to Marcus Goodyear and our fellow community at the High Callings Blog who shared this writing challenge.
Because of our combined projects this month, we’ve collected a whopping total of 43 entries in all! [last updated 4/19/08] Below you’ll find the entire list of entries, in no particular order (except maybe that’s how I found ‘em).
Do yourself a favor and check them all out. Heck, start a conversation, why don’cha! Every one shares an amazing lesson learned (and sometimes more than one!)
What I Learned From Odd Jobs:
Also, here’s one I picked up from the comment box:
And finally - last, but hopefully not least,
Once again, a big ol’ Yee-Haw! to all who participated this month! Y’all give yourselves a big hand, and as usual, a big tip o’ the hat to ya!
(By the way, I apologize if I missed someone’s entry - we had a bunch more than usual due to the combined project and all. Also, this challenge doesn’t actually have a real end date, since Marcus is running it as a meme over at High Callings Blog, so if you want to add your own odd job, just drop me a note and I’ll make sure it gets on the list. I’ll try to keep this list updated from time to time.)
Be sure to tune in next month for another exciting edition of What I Learned From… So, what’s the subject going to be, you ask? Well… that would be telling; you’ll just have to stay tuned!
However… I will tell you this - expect yet another interesting twist!
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
Some stories are short and sweet. Some, however, just need to be told long…
A traveling salesman was out in the rural areas of the country one day and managed to get himself totally lost. To make matters worse, his car started acting up. By midafternoon, he began to wonder if he’d ever make it back to civilization again.
As the day drew to a close, the car’s engine suddenly decided it had had enough, stranding him in what appeared to be the proverbial “middle of nowhere”. He grabbed his briefcase, got out of the car and gave the recalcitrant object of his distress a well-deserved kick (hurting his foot in the process). The car, however, remained unmoved.
With no sense of intuition whatsoever, he chose a direction and limped off into the sunset. The evening fell with a silent crash, revealing an immense sky full of stars. Luckily, the evening was cool and pleasant, and after an hour of walking (he was getting pretty tired by then), he finally spotted a light in the distance.
Picking up the pace a bit (although still limping), within a few more minutes he finally reached what turned out to be a farmhouse. A knock on the door produced a surprised but welcoming hand into the house from the occupants (a somewhat elderly couple), who kindly offered him a seat in a remarkably comfortable overstuffed chair in the living room.
After making sure he was well-situated, the farmer asked affably, “Now, how can we help you, Mister?”
“Well, my car broke down, up the road a ways,” the salesman told him around a plateful of fried chicken that had mysteriously appeared in his lap. “I was wondering if I could use your phone to call for help?”
The old man glanced at the Missus and slowly replied, “Well, young feller; we ain’t got no phone, I’m afraid. And Billy-Bob’s Garage is already closed for the evenin’ - I think he’s gone over to Waller’s Corner for the big dance this evenin’, anyways. But we’d be pleased to let you sleep here tonight, and we’ll take you to see him in the mornin’. He’s got one of them there tow-trucks, and should be able to fix you right up.”
The salesman was impressed by (and very grateful for) their hospitality for a total stranger. “I’d be honored to stay with you folks, and thanks for the help,” he told them with sincerity. “If you’ll just show me where to sleep, I’m rather tired from the long walk.”
The Missus led him upstairs, showing him a well-furnished and comfortable bedroom. The sight of the bed made him realize how tired he was, and he immediately turned in. His last coherent thought as he drifted off to sleep was, “What nice people…”
The next morning dawned brightly and, as was normal for farmer folk, early. Just after daybreak, the smell of freshly brewed coffee woke the salesman from a wonderful, restful sleep. He climbed out of bed and looked out the window, enjoying the typical farmhouse view: green fields of… whatever…, a largish pond, ducks and chickens wandering around, a three-legged pig…
Suddenly brought up short, he looked again. Sure enough, it was definitely a three-legged pig walking - no, make that hobbling - around out there. Intrigued, he made his way to the kitchen. But when he saw the amazing things being done by the Missus, he forgot about everything else except how incredibly hungry he was.
“Good mornin’, Mister,” she greeted him, indicating a beautifully-carved wooden chair. “Have a seat right here and I’ll get your breakfast.”
For a brief moment, he thought about protesting, but the remarkable spread was just too good to pass up, so he had a seat. Less than a minute later, the back door opened and the farmer came in and joined him. It was an amazing meal: hotcakes with rich country butter and dripping with maple syrup, a huge bowl of grits, three kinds of eggs - not to mention thick slabs of ham, fried to perfection and juicy-hot.
After ingesting what was perhaps the best meal of his entire life (including that over-the-top meal at Chez… Gomez’s, yeah that was it, back in 1997), he finally pushed the chair back with a contented sigh.
“You folks sure know how to eat around here,” he told them with a grateful smile. “Good thing I’m not staying, though, or in a week I’d weigh about a thousand pounds!”
“Only too happy to help,” the farmer told him. “Besides, you looked like you needed a rest.”
Suddenly the pig came back to mind, and the salesman just had to ask. “Say,” he said as he poured himself a third cup of coffee. “I thought I saw a three-legged pig this morning out by the pond. What happened to him?”
“Well, there’s a story behind that,” laughed the old farmer. He settled into his chair a bit. “See, one day - oh, I guess it was about a year ago last February, wasn’t it Mother? I was in the barn workin’ late one night, and the wind was blowin’ so hard it was shakin’ the walls.
“Well, I had this lantern hangin’ on a hook on the wall, and all of a sudden-like, it got shook right off the wall and into the hay piled up in the corner! In no time at all, there was a big ol’ fire, spreadin’ all over the place. I couldn’t get out and nearly got overcome with smoke pretty quick. In fact, I nearly died that night!”
His wife moved over and stood behind him, her hands resting gently on his shoulders as he related the story. I could see she was tearing up a bit at the remembered event. He put one of his big, rough hands softly on one of hers.
“Well sir, that there pig ran right into the barn, clamped his teeth on the shoulder of my coveralls, and dragged me from the barn! Saved my life, he did!” He stopped and looked at me with an inscrutable expression on his face.
The salesman marveled. “That’s amazing! I didn’t know pigs could do that. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know pigs had teeth!” But after a few puzzled moments, he asked again, “But… uh, why does he only have three legs?”
“Oh! There’s a story behind that,” the old farmer said in a strangely déjà vu moment. “See, one day, oh, I guess it was a couple of months later, I was out on the boat in that there pond, doin’ my best to catch dinner.” He shook his head ruefully. “Danged things are right sneaky ‘bout gettin’ themselves hooked, I’ll tell ya.”
“Anyway, I happened to catch a pretty fair-sized one for a change, and just as I was takin’ him off the hook, the slippery little rascal slipped right out of my hand. Well, I wasn’t about to let that feller go without a fight, so I reached over to grab him before it was too late. Only problem was, I ended up in the water instead of the fish!”
The missus squeezed her husband’s hand as he related the story. Clearly, yet another emotional moment.
“Well,” he continued, “Somehow, I managed to get all tangled up in the tackle, and I could hardly keep my head above the water. I was just about to breathe my last when ol’ pig over there jumped into the water, swam over to me, clamped his little teeth on my 
shirt sleeve, and pulled me back to shore. Saved my life again, he did!”
There was an extended pause, during which the salesman could distinctly hear brain cells literally screaming for more information. “Gee, pigs can swim, too? That’s some pig,” the salesman exclaimed. “But… I still don’t understand. Why does he only have three legs?”
“Well, that’s what I’m tryin’ to explain to you, young man,” the farmer replied, in as close to exasperation as he probably got. “See, you don’t eat a pig that valuable all at once.”
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OK; so it’s an old joke. But what can I say - it’s a Friday. At least I got to practice my writing skills. (Preparing for that Great American Novel I’m going to start working on. Any day now.)
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
Hey, just in case you’re planning to join us this month for our group writing project, What I Learned From Odd Jobs, well, you should know that time’s running out!
Yep; only a little over three days left (sound of screaming)! All entries (including the ones from our co-conspirators at High Calling Blog) will be listed right here on Monday morning.
For all the details, click on the links above and read all about it!
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
[Note from the proprietor: This here post is my entry for this month’s What I Learned From… writing project. This month’s topic is “Odd Jobs”, and if you’d care to enter (we’d love to have ya!), just click that cute little link there and check it out!]
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… (Well, actually, it was right here in Houston, but since I was just a teen-ager at the time, it might as well have been a completely different universe.)
Anyway, ever since my very first job (behind the counter at Dairy Queen), I’ve done quite a few things to earn a dollar or two (and in some cases, that’s pretty much all I got!) It’s no surprise that most of the more esoteric things were pretty much during my sad, misspent youth (hey, when you’re still in high school, you’ll do pretty much anything to earn date money). Things like, let’s see now…
… and many, many more. But probably the most unusual of my many jobs, and the one that stands out the most was that time I spent as a Fuller Brush Salesman.
Does anybody still remember Fuller Brush? They used to sell door-to-door, and yes, that was my job. I had this little kit of samples and things we had to carry around, hitting every house on a selected number of blocks. I was one of a team of young fellows who hit the Houston neighborhoods every Saturday.
But there was this one summer Saturday I remember…
It was especially hot that day (remember, this was Houston in the summertime - miserably sultry at the best times), and I had several very long blocks to cover before the guy with the car came back to pick us up. (That was the genius of the system - they dropped us off in a neighborhood nowhere near home, and we HAD to get to the finish point before getting picked up at the end of the day. Downright sneaky!)
All morning long, I worked my way up one side of this really long street and down the other, proudly showing off our home and personal care products to whoever would open the door. (I can’t imagine a door-to-door business being too successful today, considering how our cultures have, um, declined over the years, but at the time it was quite a viable business model.)
I stopped for lunch under a handy shade tree, and went over to the next street for the afternoon slog. Now it was getting starting to get really hot. The case of samples was getting heavier and heavier as time wore on, and I began to wonder if I was going to make it. On top of that, my feet were really starting to get warm; downright steamy, even. Ugh!
It finally got so all I wanted to do was take my shoes off and let the ol’ dogs get a breather! I looked around for a resting spot, and ended up sitting on the curb for a few minutes in front of one of the houses. I set my case down and proceeded to remove my shoes and socks, and then had a moment of brilliance.
By an amazing coincidence, one of the items in my case was a can of aerosol foot spray! How about that? So I took the can out and sprayed the soles of both feet. Wow, it was like… like fresh summer dew on a cool morning… dipping my feet in a cool, clear stream… walking in the surf at Galveston (er, without the gritty sand, that is)… well, you get the picture, right?
Man, I have no idea what that stuff was, but I would have bought a case of it myself right about then!
After a few minutes of this, though, I knew I had to get going. So I reluctantly put on my shoes and proceeded on my way. Since I was already in front of this house, I went on up to the front door and rang the doorbell.
A nice lady came to the door, and before I even managed to get a word out, she said, “Honey, I saw you use that foot spray, and it looked like it really helped you. I’ll take 10 cans of it! What else ya got?”
Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather! (Sound of me, being knocked over with a feather.) I’d been talking myself blue in the face all the way up one street and down another (and doing fairly well, I must say), but here I’d made a sale without saying a word! Naturally, not being willing to just leave it at that, I started showing her some of the other products she might want. And she listened. And bought.
It was a glorious moment, I’ll tell ya!
Well, my Fuller Brush career fell on hard times before too long (I couldn’t stand it anymore!), but I’ve never forgotten that day, nor that nice lady. Thinking back on that experience, I’d say there were some pretty valuable lessons to be learned, and since this is WILF week, well, why don’t I just list a few of the P’s and Q’s here? (Well, maybe just the P’s. We’ll save the Q’s for another day.)
Perseverance - I have no idea how far I really had to walk that day, but I know that, what with the ol’ knees and feet not bein’ what they used ta be, well, it’s probably farther than I could comfortably walk today! But at the time, I knew I had to keep going, no matter what. Hey, it was the job.
Pride - To be honest, I was proud to be selling these products - they were really very good! The thing is, though; no matter how good your product or service, there is no better testimonial than when it’s something you’d use yourself! I didn’t have to tell her how good the foot spray was; I showed her.
Public - If nothing else, understand this one thing, and this one thing only: everything you do is being observed by someone. Whether you know it or not, people are watching you (which will probably make you either aware - or paranoid). But (and here’s the good part), you can turn it into an opportunity as well.
Potential - Having opened the door with one product, I used the opportunity to make the sale even bigger with other items. By the time I was finished, I’d sold several cans of paneling polish (many homes those days had wood paneling), spot removers, and of course, several brushes (they used to be the best). I think it might have been some kind of one-day record or something.
Possible - One of the things I learned from doing so many odd jobs over the years of my youth was that there are literally no limits to what the possibilities are out there in the world! If you can imagine it, you can probably figure out a way to get paid for it - if you’re willing to do your homework first.
Well, a lot of other jobs have come and gone, and even what I do now may not be the final one; who really knows? All I can say is, the world is full of opportunity, and if you’re not afraid to do the 
sometimes menial stuff, well Bubba, you just might stumble across something really interesting!
[Hey, if you think you’ve got something you’d like to share about an odd job you’ve had, why not join us this month? Just click on this link for all the details.]
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