Mar 09 2008
Everybody Knows Somebody
(Note: Everyone reading “Bernie” may read Part Twelve to see what happens next.)
Doesn’t everybody have at least one connection?
Maybe it’s that guy from high school who became a mechanic and now owns a garage. You always trusted that guy, or maybe you didn’t. Either way, you have one more place you should or should not take your car for repair. Then, of course, there’s the matter of how lucky the guy is, because the professionals never seem to hear the same noise you did. “We drove it on Interstate 75 for a half hour, took it downtown and had some drinks, then drove through Wendy’s for a Frosty. Never made that noise for us. You might want to stop on your way home for gas, though.”
You marry a woman whose cousin is a mechanic, and he works for free if you can get the vehicle four hours up the road and bring the parts. At first it sounds like pure gold, but then you have a kid and the price of gas goes through the roof, so leisurely overnight jaunts for vehicle repair fall by the wayside. You get some advice from co-workers who have lived in the area a while and hope you get a fair shake. This lessens the sting only a little, however, when you unknowingly drive your minivan at least 300 miles without a drop of oil.
Or, there’s this woman you knew in high school. She became a doctor. But, you knew her in high school, so that pretty much rules out ever putting your life in her hands. This also counts for pharmacists whom you knew back when, without batting an eye, they would chug a beer from which they had just picked a ping-pong ball that had rolled all over a table and, most likely, a filthy floor.* The most you might do is send either of them an e-mail for a very informal second opinion. “Should removal of my spleen prevent me from tasting toothpaste?”
Speaking of toothpaste, say you have a dad who’s a dentist. He does great work, even a little minor cosmetic repair, for the cost of materials. Problem is, you still have pretty good teeth that require no more than the occasional scraping until the day he retires. His dental school buddies, almost always good for a massive discount, also are getting on with post-professional life. You install a dental chair, complete with that neat little automatic cup refiller sink, in your garage, and wonder whether you can get the right drill bits for your Ryobi. “Come on down, Dad. Could you bring a tank of nitrus oxide with you?”
Then there’s that guy, everybody wishes they had one, who knows computers. He saves you $50-60 per hour by troubleshooting for free over the phone, and sometimes even makes free house calls. No, wait, that’s you. Nevermind. You take solace in the fact that you are not a complete freeloader because you are someone else’s connection. (Plug into this paragraph whatever it is you help people with, and you can feel better, too.)
So, what are your connections?
* Yes, I know that a LOT of healthcare professionals have done and still do questionable things during their free time, but I’m just covering my ears singing, “I’m not listening, I’m not listening.”
Well, the “good friend” that’s working on my son’s car (engine seized from no oil) is still working on it since early October. It’s a problem that has 2 dealers stumped, and lots and lots of his connections.
My best friend is a plumber and great with wood too.
Other than that, not too many ‘connections’.
Oh, and I give away a LOT of free IT advice and time that could be charged for.
Hmmm…there are so many. My Mom the business owner/accountant who helps me every quarter to get my business taxes in order. My network admin, Trixalot…whom I’m about to loose as he takes a new job tomorrow :(
As for what I contribute? Wires basically. I can do electrical and home audio. They don’t come up often…but I’m the guy who gets the call when they do.
I have a brother who’s a welder, so those services don’t really come into call that often, but he did build and install a new gate for our dad’s fence last year.
I’ve been sitting here thinking and I don’t really have much else that I’d call a connection. Not in the way of services that I’d otherwise have to pay for.
Me… I’m the guy with the pickup truck who’ll help you move your stuff.
This is an interesting topic. I know I’ve called you many times about computers, and you’ve nailed the issue almost every time, with only a few bizarre ones that stumped you. No one probably could have helped with those.
We have all sorts of “help” around.
Here are a few:
My wife could be a professional event planner. Weddings, Baby Showers, Birthdays, etc.
Her Aunt Roxanne is a professional cake maker, and does everything from exotic birthday to wedding cakes. Oh…she’s also a master gardener, and knows everything about plants.
My buddy Marc is a car auction owner/body repair facility, and used to be in Arkansas…now in Texas (darnit).
My other buddy John’s wife is a Pediatrician, who swears that she doesn’t mind us calling…(though I’ve only done it twice in 4 years on weekends when we weren’t sure where to turn.)
My cousin J put us in touch with a flooring/kitchen guru who is working on our kitchen remodel. (Jury is still out on that one until the work starts and finishes though.)
My Aunt J has always been able to secure preferred appts for eyes at the Jones Eye Institute at UAMS.
My Father is a Dentist…retired of course, but can still work if he wanted to.
I think that covers most of it. I don’t think it’s the “freebies” that I care for nearly as much as just knowing that I can rely on those people for those functions.
I get called about home theater, and whenever it’s something even simple, I diagnose and try to fix it. That’s for the whole family on both sides from wiring, to mounting flat screens on the wall, to “why won’t my sound match my picture” calls. I enjoy it though…so no big deal. I also do a few minor computer issues, but when I can’t answer those, I call in the “big gun,” who is the creator of this Blog.
I have some pretty cool connections. My first and fave is my friend Kara who sells anything you would find in a store with lingerie on the store sign and blacked out windows.
I have two girlfriends who work for the city police and will have not problem showing my kids what happens to the bad guys. I know my kids are never going to need to see this but if they do, it will be a crash course in reality for them I am sure.
I have another friend who has a dayhome and if ever I need to take my kids there I am free to. I haven’t needed to yet but it is sure handy.
We have a neighbor who is a lawyer and signs passports. A great connection if both of your law enforcement friends are out of town on the day you are taking them in…
I have a friend who is a nurse. That is handy for obvious reasons.
I also have a friend who does my nails at her house.
I would really like a friend who knows why my DVD player has sound but no picture through the TV. Anyone???
My friends tell me that I am the Queen of swapping….
I have lots of connections and my photography comes in handy when swapping. I use it all the time. For instance I got half off of my daughters dance this year because I am going to take some photos for the place where she dances….and then they are going to let me sell them to parents! SWEET!
And I gladly get the benefit from others…I have friends that are electricians, web designers, plumbers, construction, graphic designers, hair dressers, etc…they seem to like to swap services with me so I am up for it!
I enjoyed this post Mark…it got me thinking!
Fun reading. I enjoyed everyone’s input. It reminded me that I need to do something nice for the people who have helped me in recent years.
I love to see people giving, and I am going to strive to be one of those people more than I have in recent years.