MERRY CHRISTMAS
By Duncan
MY ANNUAL CHRISTMAS VISIT.
Each December, about this time, Mr. Garrity puts up his Christmas tree. I’m encouraged to drive the million-dollar miles to his home and “Ooh and Ah” his decorations.
It’s about an hour's drive in the “Mean Yellow,” but I will say, Mr. Garriety does it right with the Ho, Ho, Ho! It’s always a pleasure to bask in the season.
Oh, the million-dollar miles? The state of Indiana needed to finish Interstate Highway 69 from the south side of Indianapolis to Evansville. In 2003, the 172 miles had a price tag of 1.5 Billion dollars.
Mr. Garrity lives in Martinsville, and that stretch of new highway (Indy to Martinsville) was budgeted to cost 64 million dollars.
However, the latest estimate on the road to Evansville is now over budget and the cost is estimated at 3 billion.
In any event, I had no control over what the State of Indiana wants to do with its money. I will know driving south on the NEW I-69 is well over a million dollars a mile.
I first met Mr. Garrity back in the mid to late 80s. I operated a mortgage loan office in Greenwood, Indiana, for a Savings and Loan out of Seymour, Indiana. One of the gals walked into my office and said there was a guy in the lobby who wanted to talk to me.
“Salesman?”
“I think so … “
“What’s he selling, any idea?”
“Haven’t a clue.”
“Okay, give me a minute, and then send him in.”
Mr. Garrity was selling beepers. And, as he began giving me the features and benefits of his company's beepers. (Cell phones were not being sold at that time) I sat back in my chair, for I knew it would be futile to try and interrupt this charismatic personality. He was on a roll, so let him have his head.
When he finally decided to take a breath, I asked him how long he had been with the beeper company. I asked him what commission he was receiving if he sold a half dozen beepers. Of course, he was reluctant to disclose that kind of information. I asked him if he knew what we did in a mortgage loan office. Do you know anything about our business? Or am I simply a cold call for the day.
Mr. Garrity had a basic understanding of what our business was all about. So, I asked him this question …
“You want to work for me and make some real money, or do you want to continue selling beepers.”
At that point, there was a change in his attitude. He was asking me to sell him to work for me. Having him say something like, “Tell me more, " didn't take much.”
In fact, our beginning was right out of a Hollywood sound stage. It reminds me of “Rick” (Humphrey Bogart) and “Captain Louis Renault” (Claude Rains) walking across the tarmac toward the plane in the last scene of the movie Casablanca.
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
Mr. Garrity
Mr. Duncan
Mr. Garrity
MERRY CHRISTMAS
