It wasn’t a bit surprising to find a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning, so our month of March ended up going out with a reminder to us all, that we’re still not completely out of the grips of winter. I’m sure many of you can remember not too long ago, our having a measurable amount of snow in May which is yet a month away.
We did manage to get that home sale closed after all, but not without having to rattle a few cages to get it done. I personally despise such last minute jockeying around to get a simple sale transaction to close. Fortunately the seller did make the right choice to take today off, so at least it wasn’t for naught. I’m sure there’s going to be one particular banker who’s going to be angry at me for calling a superior, but what does one do when there’s no accountability? Regardless of what that banker thinks about what I did, it certainly wasn’t on me or my buyers and seller, because we were all prepared well in advance for that closing to happen today.
The main reason we wanted to get it closed today, was because the buyers wanted to get started with the yard clean-up and old landscape removal before the grass started growing and trees began leafing out. When on the cusp of Spring, I fully understand the idea of getting brush cut down before it starts growing because it always makes for a bigger mess. Late Fall and early Spring is the best time to get rid of unwanted trees and shrubs.
I did have a nice visit with my dear friend this morning, and when talking about the death and destruction going on in Ukraine, we both agreed there’s a great lack of true empathy for those who’re suffering in this world. I couldn’t help adding that such selfish people are the first to scream bloody murder if something happens to them. I understand being indifferent towards those who’ve said and done nasty things to you, but when that mindset spills over into our society as a whole, that’s when we have a very big problem.
There’s another one of my listings closing tomorrow, so I readied that file to the point where I’ll just grab it and head over to the bank. I’ve yet to hear from the selling agent as to whether the buyers will be doing a final walk-thru, so it looks like I’ll be having to wait until the last half hour before closing to run over and get my lockbox off the door handle and pull my yard sign. It’s been a long journey with that particular estate since last year, because there were a number of homes to be sold, and nearly all of them had tenants living in them, so we started selling them one by one, and tomorrow’s is the last.
I was visiting with a colleague today about how unprofessional so many in our business world have grown, which causes me to bristle from time to time. If it’s not the free use of profanity, it’s the sloppy clothes they’re wearing, to the way in which they don’t follow specific instructions. Just for example, another Realtor showed one of my listings earlier this week, left a light on in the basement, and a rear door not fully closed and locked. Thank goodness I discovered it before the sellers because I would’ve been the first to be blamed. Did I call and chastise that agent? No, because I’ve been there and done that too many times, and nearly always I get the answer, “I didn’t do that.” Even if I’d printed out the lockbox reports and handed it to them, they’d still be in denial.
We all make mistakes, but when there are the growing many who don’t take ownership of them, they continue on as though nothing had ever happened. Unfortunately, most don’t realize that taking ownership of a failure, creates a more conscientious person. Yes, there are a number of loose cannons out running around in public, so beware.
When reading the news today, I discovered India and China are benefiting from Putin’s war with Ukraine because he’s now selling Russia’s gas at a deep discount to both countries and they’re buying it up with a vengeance. So how can that be fair when the European Union has had to pay far more, yet those two countries get it dirt cheap? It comes as no surprise Europe is now finding every way possible to get away from any sort of reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Mr. Xi of China is definitely walking a tight rope with his close relationship with Putin, which is why I’m hoping and praying the Ukrainians will drive that Russian army out of their territories, and that includes the Donbas and Crimea. Unfortunately the European Union and the United States didn’t severely sanction Russia to the extent they are now.
Each day I’m coming more into the realization that Putin will be a person of the past because the longer that war goes on, the less likely he’ll be held in any sort of esteem by any Democratic nation in the world. For sure he’ll be a pariah attempting to lead the largest landmass country in the world. We’ll see how he holds on.
I did read today where Lukashenko has refused to send any Belarusian troops to Ukraine, and if Putin does press him to do so, and he caves, then that’ll be the beginning of the end of him in his Country. There was one short video I watched of a Belarusian arming himself along with his close friends, and heading into Ukraine. The reporter pressed him about why he was doing it, and his straight-forward answer was, “Our two countries have had close ties for centuries. Wouldn’t you say that guy knows more history of Ukraine than Putin does?
Tonight’s photo is of a little bird I first thought to be a sparrow, but when looking closer, I realized it wasn’t. I do love birds, but I’m not that much into their names. Tonight’s is one I actually don’t remember seeing in these parts. It must be spending the night, and tomorrow it’ll likely be continuing on its long journey north. Isn’t it cute?
Tonight’s One-liner is: In the end, injustice gives birth to independence.
