Much of my morning was spent at the computer and running errands. It’s amazing how times have changed when in the old days, businesses would have to wait for the postman to deliver that day’s correspondence which then had to be sorted, and delivered to the proper departments.
Once they were read, the secretaries would have appropriate return letters dictated to them, and then off to their workstations they’d go to be typed. The final drafts would be reviewed and then signed by whomever had the authority, and then sent out in the late afternoon mail. I hope I’m giving you a more clear picture of how the business world operated before the arrival of computers and the internet? And to think all of this happened in less than a lifetime.
It sort of makes you wonder what types of general communication there’ll be in say 20 years when seeing the speed of change we’re experiencing. Since I’m a bit old-fashioned, I do try to keep up my cursive handwriting whenever possible. Just yesterday I sat down and wrote a short letter to gentleman out West who’d asked for a clarification on some information I’d sent him several weeks ago.
Yesterday, I was given some documents by an elderly lady, and when looking at them I asked, “Who’s handwriting is this?” She blushed a little and said, “It’s mine.” I couldn’t help profusely praising her for such beautiful penmanship. She laughed and said, “Some years ago, when my hand was more steady, I used to get many compliments.” I would say without a doubt, her penmanship is the most beautiful of any I’ve seen being written by someone who’s still alive.
It appears there’ll be a number of showings on my listings this weekend, so it looks like I’ll not be the only one with stacked showings. I did show a new listing of another Realtor’s twice today which is going to need a whole heck of a lot of money thrown at it, but I think if whomever buys it, watches their expenses and able to do much of the work themselves, it would make a good long-term investment.
One of my dear ones stopped by late this morning to give me two transplants from some rare and beautiful hostas. I greatly thanked her for them and told her they would be my remembrance of working with them and the home I sold them. They’re definitely going to be a good addition to their neighborhood.
A pleasant surprise took place when finding shortly after, a gentleman whom I’ve known for a very many years, walking into my office. He’d been to an auction and wanted to show me some of the items he purchased since he’s always known how much I enjoy looking at unusual items you’d likely never find in the average antique boutique.
He asked how life has been treating me, and I answered, “It’s been OK considering the amount of gossip and innuendos that are being passed around North Iowa regarding my brother and me.” Of course he was in full agreement of how poisonous such stories can be in small communities like ours.
He gave me the chills when relaying a story that was told him by an elderly nun he had as a teacher in a Catholic school. One day in class she said, “There was a little girl that felt bad about spreading gossip about a neighbor down the street, so she decided to go to confession and ask for absolution. After the priest heard her confession and meted out her penance, he went one step further and told her to run home, go upstairs to her room, grab her pillow, open a window, and release all the feathers, and then go back down and pick up all of them one by one. He then all the more sternly informed her that likely the number of people that would more sooner than be affected by her gossip, matched the number of feathers she picked up.” When he finished telling me that nun’s story, I got goosebumps, and likely because what that nun said so many years ago, was all the more relevant to these times.
The above photo is one I took of the old train station in Forest City while there this past weekend. One of the signs said something about the first train having passed thru back in 1879. Just today I happened to notice the old Milwaukee depot still standing and waiting for someone to do something with it. As far as I’m concerned, I’d put all the more hopes on moving that, and then creating a tourist attraction, rather than dumping more money into that dinosaur we call Music Man Square. Of course that’s just my humble opinion on the subject.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask from God.
