LeRoy

When I first started out in the business, one of my first contacts was LeRoy. LeRoy was a sales rep for the Old Northwest Company....but we are not going there. LeRoy taught me my work ethic. We worked our butts off making calls. We would take an occasional "coffee break" and when we stopped at the Colony Inn for one of those breaks, I ordered a Pepsi. He was aghast that I did not drink coffee. I was 18 years old at the time and had not yet acquired the taste for coffee. He proceeds to tell me that if I am going to be successful in business I need to drink coffee....and don't be a sissy and doctor it up with cream and sugar! Well due to his prompting...I now have a coffee habit.

He taught me how to write upside down so when sitting across from a prospect it would be readable for them. We called on business after business telling our story. Long after I wanted to call it a day, it was LeRoy who wanted to continue the calls. God Bless.

LeRoy was driving a huge Oldsmobile 98 ( they don't make them anymore) with more whistles and bells than I had ever had on anything I owned. He is responsible for me wanting a similar machine. Soon I went out and bought a butter yellow Plymouth Fury III loaded with every option there was to have.

Sometimes after a hard day working it was prudent to have an adult beverage after work. We were in my basement and I removed my clip on tie. Once again he was taken aback and told me I had to learn how to tie a tie and not wear the clipons. He had me go upstairs to get a real tie so he could show me how to do the knot. It didn't take me long to catch on and I was properly outfitted the next time we went out on calls.


At the time my poison was probably whiskey and seven or scotch and soda and Lee suggested that I ought to try martinis....no kid stuff Vodka Martinis...but the proper Gin Martinis...... I still remember the evening at his house when he explained that one would not be enough and three would be too many...sort of like women's breasts. The first one was gawd awful and the second was slightly better, but by the time for the third they were quite tasty. I never made it home that night upon the insistence of his wife who very diplomatically called my wife to explain my plight.

When my first Mini Cooper needed painting it was LeRoy who came to the rescue with his spray gun. He bought the first 240Z in the area and after he had a little fun with it "let" me buy it from him. At that time they were still called Datsun's! It was a 1970 model.

There are way more instances where took me under his arm and showed me the ropes and thats a good thing. Somethings you just can't blog about.

Today is his birthday. Happy Birthday, Lee! Don't drink your bath water.

Sweetheart Ball

Sunday evenings we usually go over to the Crippe apartment to visit with Billy. Otto, Priscilla, and granny will all be burning their Raleigh cigarettes and Billy will be watching America Funniest Videos or the like. His favorite show is Desperate Housewives......but since the writers strike it has been nothing but re-runs. This Sunday, we did not go over to the Crippes because we were comped in to the Sweetheart Ball at the Ponderosa. This is always a great event, because Craig Boche sings with the Rod Pierson Band and we can go dancing and be one of the younger couples on the dance floor.

Before we went to the Ponderosa, we stopped at Super Dave's for a little lubrication. The mercury on the thermometer indicated it was 2 degrees Fahrenheit, but we hearty Iowans took it in stride.

The valet parking guy for the Ponderosa was no where to be found and we self parked and found our reserved table. Our table was graced with the executives of KMRY and Babbling Bob Brooks the long time sportscaster in the Cedar Rapids area. I quickly got his autograph for Billy. Billy listens to BB's color when he listens to his transistor radio for the Iowa Buckeye games.

Its obvious that they did not have to check any ID's at the bar since the average age was somewhere near triple the drinking age...well except for the guys that brought their daughters and I suspect they are exempt.

The tunes were delightful and the company was cordial and we are looking forward to doing it all over again next week at the big Casino. Stay tuned.

Also attending the event, from Billy's extended family were Papa & Mama Marco and the Bickersons.

Unloading the Camera

We are back from our recent visit to Flori-DAH. In addition to seeing a large number of squirrels and one alligator, we couldn't help but notice that the state is filled with a lot of elderly people. Of course I hope to be one of these someday, myself. After doing some important things like shoveling the snow and replenishing the contents of the fridge, I downloaded the pictures I took during our travels. I thought I would use this venue to share. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words....so I'll quit now.

Billy Loves You Tube

While we were gone Billy spent most of the time laying under his computer. He sends me links to the ones he likes. Some of them will not pass my PG 13 rating because of the violence factor. But here is one he wanted me to share with you bloggies.

Enough is Enough Already

We are sick and tired of this place. Its getting to be too much. Too much of the same weather day after day. Its no fun listening to the morning Conrad Johnson wannabe. He is like a broken record. Highs in the 80s lows in the 60s. How hard is that. We are tired of hanging by the resort pool every day, seeing the same cocktail waitresses hawking their foo foo drinks. The background sound of the two story waterfall is getting annoying.

The morning walks to get the newspaper at 25 cents a copy (50 cents on Sunday) is excruciating. You could break out into a sweat. I'm looking forward to my "morning friend" being at by box at my front door or maybe in the shrubs.

We are tired of the endless cocktail parties that start on Tuesdays and end on Sundays. (Mondays we fill in on our own). The nightlife in the club makes me stay up past my bedtime. Speaking of bedtime, the water fountain in the lake outside our bedroom lulls me to sleep before David Letterman finishes his monolog.

Well that is ending. We are headed home today and not a minute too soon. We miss not being able to wear our new jacket and gloves. We haven't seen snow for what seems like forever. We are worried it will be all gone by the time we arrive. Later today we are kissing this place good bye for awhile. Ah home sweet home...where we can argue about how high to set the thermostat.