“SPRING”ING AHEAD… Better days? (Part 170e)
After supper Elle
explained why she was in such a good mood. To start her day the
principal greeted her at the door and told her he was really pleased
that she would be there for a while. Next, he told her the school board
had voted to increase the per-diem for the substitute teachers by 10%.
Then, later that day, one of the mothers came in and told Elle she was
going to be a “teacher’s aid” for the class. Elle told me she wasn’t
expecting any of it which made it special. Then, to close out the day,
Beth came in and told her that her mother was really looking forward to
watching Kaye, our youngest, the next day. Elle had approved of the
arrangement but wasn’t sure Beth’s mother was “all in” about it. But the
words from Beth allayed her concerns. The end result… all of that led
up to it being a good evening for me. The earlier word of “later…” from
Elle was only a hint of what was to come. It brought back memories of
our times before kids. If there was a regret it was that I knew reality
would probably return the following day.
The week was busy but there was
nothing to really set it apart and worthy of writing about with one
exception… I came up with an idea of how to use the family homestead. I
called Alex, the town Supervisor and caught him at a bad moment. He
suggested that I stop on my way home on Friday. He told me he liked to stay
late with no one around to get a handle on what was coming for the
following week. He told me where to go to get in. The building had been
a grocery market. The company had left the area thinking it wasn’t
profitable enough. The loading dock was still out in the back and there
was a door that wasn’t regularly used. He told me he’d leave it open for
me. It was dark with absolutely no lighting so I had to let my eyes get
accustomed to it. When I found the door it was ajar. Calling his name
once I was inside, the answer I got didn’t sound like Alex. Then, like a
light at the end of a tunnel, one appeared and I could see his
silhouette in a doorway at the end of a long hallway. He greeted me with
a beer in his hand and asked if I wanted one. I declined and, wanting
to get home, told him about a lady I’d met that might be a solution.
Mary
was an “artsy” type that had been living in the area for about a year.
When she opened an account she’d asked if I could identify some local
people who believed in promoting the “arts”. I knew a couple of the
Trustee’s had wives who had been involved in promoting a couple of
events that were considered “artsy” and arranged for her to meet them.
One thing led to another and they and some others had gotten together
and created a non-profit group called “EEAHC”. (It takes too much space
to type that in each time I bring them up so I’ll leave it at that.)
Initially, they operated out of various members homes. Then, a small
space became available at the old school in town. It had been a storage
space when the school was built but had become useless as things in the
school changed. I’d see Mary about once a month as she would make a
deposit. I’d wave and ask how things were going and would usually get a
thumbs-up in return. It was around Christmas that her response had not
been positive. I made a point of asking what was wrong. Her answer was
but one word… “Space…”. I had nothing to offer and she went on her way.
She’d
been in during the week but I’d not had an opportunity to speak to her.
But, after she was out of the building it came to me… the two houses
Alex was trying to find a use for. Body language, if one knows what to
do with it, can be a useful tool in dealing with people. I had no
training in it but, in waiting on people at the bank I’d learned some
signs that helped in the relationship. As I told Alex about the EEAHC I
noticed him move forward in his chair and, on a couple of occasions,
start to ask a question. He waited until I was finished and then stood up
and proclaimed something like “We’ve got a winner!” He was ‘off
and running’ at that point. He had a bunch of questions about the group
but the only thing I knew as fact was that they were a bona-fide, tax
exempt, non-profit. That seemed to energize him and the one thing I
definitely remember him saying was he knew just who to see to move the
idea forward. By then it was approaching 7pm. I asked if I could call
home and as I did he got his overcoat and then waited for me. As we
walked out he put his arm around me and thanked me a couple of times.
His parting words to me were that I was now a part of “something big”
for the town. I didn’t dare ask what it was.
The week continued to go in a positive manner for Elle. Kaye had adapted well to Beth’s mother’s care and the
lady who’d come in as a teacher’s aid seemed to work well with her and
the class. Mae and I put in about 3 hours in the bank cellar on Saturday.
Nothing was found that had any value other than making space. I was
almost ready to bring Hobie down to show him our progress. We had about
half the first bin cleared and about one third of the middle bin. It was
slow progress but it was progress. From the bank I headed for the
garage where the race car was kept and where Cliffy worked. They were
open on Saturdays until 1pm and I definitely wanted to catch up with him
about the promised $500 from Cliff, the restaurant owner. I hadn’t
understood the doubt that Cliffy had shown to receiving the money. I had
no doubt but, then again, I’d known Cliff as a boss and a friend and
he’d always been a ‘stand-up guy’. There was the possibility that Cliffy
had a bad experience at one of Cliff’s restaurants. I had to wait until
Cliffy finished up with a customer picking up his car. When he turned
towards me he asked if I had the money. I was puzzled by his attitude.
Here it was, only early March, and we hadn’t even started to get the car
ready for the season.
Long story short… over the years he and
his father had been promised all kinds of sponsorship money but it
hadn’t come through. When I’d told him that all Cliff wanted from us was
to hand out cards he thought it was just another empty promise. It took
me a while to try and get him to understand Cliff’s concept. Over the
years Cliff had come up with a number of successful but ‘off the wall’
marketing ideas including the first “Pennysaver”, a free newspaper filled
with want-ads. Cliff’s coupon idea was certainly new in our area and,
to Cliffy, wouldn’t work. I was getting a bit upset and finally told
Cliffy it wasn’t up to him to decide if it was a good idea or not… and I
knew Cliff well enough to feel sure we’d see the money. So as not to
prolong the ‘discussion’, I got back in my car and headed home.
I
still had my weekend chores to do but when I walked in the kitchen I
smelled something that I hadn’t in a long time… an apple pie cooking in
the oven. I was still benefiting from Elle’s good mood. Not that my life
at home had been bad but it had been a while since it had been as good as it was this week. The only thing was that I hadn’t given Elle my schedule
for the upcoming week. The meeting of the four ‘local’ banks to monitor
branching activities within the county was to be on Tuesday night. It
was also to be held as a dinner meeting and Elle hated that. Then, the
monthly meeting of the statewide banking association was on Thursday and
in the city. That was the one where I’d go in to the city the night
prior. I wanted to delay telling her until Sunday night to prolong the
good ‘vibes’ as long as possible.
To be continued…
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