When I was in college I went to Texas Tech and was taught probably by one of the slickest poker players in West Texas. For years I would hear stories about his class and one semester I had the balls to take it. He strictly forbid tape recording of his class, because “he was going to tell stories that one day he would compile in a book”.He did and he wowed me with stories of playing with Doyle and Amarillo Slim , mere characters to me, but made more than life in the stories by this professor. He told me that if I was ever at a game and a friend ran his finger across my back to collect my chips and leave, because something fishy was up.
I will always be honest with you, the listeners. It’s who I am. I drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t raise as much hell as I used to.
But I always run a fair game.
Recently a listener called me up and wanted to take me to the mat for the rules of a contest that we were running. The first freeze contest.
“Why four days in advance Sean, that’s kinda shitty,” the male caller started off with his rant. “I should be able to put my guess whenever I want.”
“Well, it is our contest and in the interest of fairness and not allowing people to snipe a trip we put these rules in place,” I replied.
“I think that it’s unfair. F&^*( you, Sean” and he hung up on me.
That was juvenile I thought and then I thought some more. I wanted to *69 him back and say “Hey %$*#()@#(), just because you tried to angle-shoot me and it didn’t work, don’t be ticked at me.” But I didn’t because no matter what happens he will have my opinion and I will never be right in his world.
That’s beyond my control.
What is my control is providing rules that are fair, explaining them and posting them on this website and also at our studios during contest periods for people to check. I always try and let someone pick the name , if it is a drawing, for I would rather not have everyone in the contest looking at me and saying ‘You didn’t draw my name you SOB.” I strive for fairness and honesty. When I make a mistake, I make it good as best as I can and try my best to make everyone happy, knowing however that I will be unable to.
For example, I know that in the morning that I will be surrounded by people that waited until after the First Freeze happens that people will put contest entries in and say that they are the winner, and I will be the one to disappoint them with the rules with the 4 day window rule.
Nothing is ever fair in life and there is nothing I can do, nor say that will please these people.
But the same people who complain, didn’t want to play fair in the first place.
Clarity is my friend right now. I do what I need to do right this second and I move on from there. Recently I made unhappy decisions for my family. But they had to be done. It is better to do what is unpopular and yet right than it is to do what is popular but will cause misery down the line. I’ve made the popular decisions in the past and I continue to pay for them. I say no when I mean no and sometimes even say I’ll try when I know the answer will be no. The easy yes is NEVER easy. There are always conditions, never an easy path. There is never a free lunch. I watched as people I have trusted blindside me as they have been blindsided by people that they have trusted.
I barely trust anyone. It’s sad that I don’t but trust is earned and I have watched people betray trust.
I have allowed more people to touch and enter my life. I have been enriched by their touch and I have been blessed by hopefully touching their lives poisitively.
I can’t allow myself to be negative. I allow myself to be realistic and not pessimistic.
My back isn’t great, and it will be better, maybe not as good as it was before the accident, but I am looking forward to the day that I get to pick up my son and daughter once again with all three of us crying with joy.
The day is coming and I leave it all in God’s hands. That’s all I can do.
We are so fortunate and friends like Shawn Sparks have gone and made a difference in Haiti.
I can only hope that when you come to that key fork in the road…
Every day I am amazed at the friends that I have but today is not a day for me. Today is a day for all of us. For us to rise up, to be strong for those of us that can't be. For us to stand up, and be guided for those of us who are lost. For us to smile, to laugh, for their are those around us who are weary. We can either take this day and lift a hand for another or we can wonder when no one comes to lift a hand for us.
Yesterday I had the time to go get a new set of glasses. I have a prescription but not for sunglasses. So I wanted to be able to look cool and see. So I went to a local eyeglass store in the mall. I wasn’t in a hurry because Joanna wanted to look at the different frames and do what is annoying to me but necessary. TRY EVERY DAMN FRAME IN THE PLACE!
So the manager, a young woman with stylish glasses, is helping an older couple, getting their glasses / contacts done. I went out to the car to get my spare prescription form and when I came back the fireworks began.
“I need to know where my glasses are,” the older woman started. “I left it with the man who works here.”
The manager asked for a receipt or some form of paperwork to show that they actually left it.
“He never gave me one. I just bought a $600 pair of glasses here, you should be able to find my glasses that you weren’t able to repair. They were $300,” the woman continued.
The manager went and tried to find the glasses but were unable to.
Joanna looked at me and I thought it was almost time to find mall security as the woman’s voice approached the tone where only small children and purse dogs could hear.
“My husband and I are physicians, are you calling me a liar,” the woman continued her rant as the manager scurried to the back to try and see if they were in the back.
Now this is where the husband, while more people are pouring into the store, quietly told his wife to just calm down, that everything would get straightened out.
But the woman ranted and ranted asking for the girls supervisor and then the number to the corporate office before ranting and raving out the door.
“We’ll be back, but not to buy glasses here.”
My wife’s first words as the manager started to turn red. “What a bitch!”
After apologizing for having to wait 38 minutes to be helped she took care of me and got my glasses ordered.
But let’s examine the problems here.
1. I don’t care if you and your husband are physicians. My wife wanted to know where you work so we NEVER, EVER have to visit your practice because if you treat people like you treated this manager, we’d end up dead! It doesn’t matter where you work, who you work for or how you work. What matters is a piece of paper that is a RECEIPT!
2. Husband, get control of your woman. If she wants to scream like a banshee, send her out into the mall to buy a new pair of shoes or go across the way to the pet store and buy her a MUZZLE! No person deserves to be yelled at like a child because your wife was a snooty irresponsible woman.
3. How would you like it if I walked into your place of business, telling you that you owe me something that you don’t. Evidence? Nope , don’t have any. All I have to do is raise my voice and make a scene.
“Where are the drugs you promised me? You’re a PHYSICIAN DAMMIT, where are my pain pills?”
Yeah that’ll work.
Look guys and gals. The economy sucks, money is tight and the only thing that is keeping us from total insanity is treating each other politely and with courtesy.
If you don’t like it, take your business elsewhere and stop RUINING/DELAYING my life.
Agree or disagree? Meet you in the comments!
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
Sean D -
June 27, 2011 at 8:27 am
@metsfan #Mets to announce Josh Lewin on radio for 2012 replacing Wayne Hagin Bad news U only get to hear him say BALL GAME 80 times this yr 13 hrs ago
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