Hold A Lighted Lantern

Considering how chilled I was most of the day, I’ll certainly be wearing my long johns tomorrow because it’s gonna be even colder than it was today. Tonight’s frost will definitely change how our landscapes appear the coming days, because there’ll be more trees turning and leaves falling. I personally can’t wait until those evil locust trees outside my office have dropped all their leaves because it’s become at least a daily if not two times out, where I have to go and sweep those tiny leaves to the curb, and only because every time my front door opens, they manage to either drift inside or stick to the bottom of someone’s shoes. I begged our City not to plant them, but my pleas ended up falling on deaf ears. How true that saying is that goes, “A prophet is never a prophet in his own land.”

I arrived earlier than normal at office, and only to get the last of my bank statements balanced, and wouldn’t you know, one of them was off by five cents, so I had to go looking for it. It didn’t take me long to find it, and luckily it was the fault of another bank that had micr-encoded the last digit of the amount of a check I wrote that was supposed to be a three, but they coded it as an eight. There was the five cents. Yes, banks do make mistakes.

While out sweeping my sidewalk, my cellphone rang, and it just happened to be someone wanting to take a look at my new listing at 224 – 12th St. SE. He wanted to see it as soon as possible, so I agreed to meet him there in fifteen minutes, and when I arrived, he was already there waiting.

He got a good look at it, and for some reason, I could tell he wasn’t taken by it, but before we walked out, he asked about my listing over at 617 – 1st St. SE, and since he wasn’t sure exactly where it was, I mentioned several landmarks which helped to guide his memory, and since he knew the general area, he asked if we could take a look at it. So off we drove.

When we got there, I walked over to him and soulfully said, “Because of where this home is situated, every dollar you put into it, you’ll get two back.” Being a seasoned investor, he knew exactly what I was talking about, which is why the showing was much longer and more thorough.

Not to be boring you with details, I’ll simply announce that it was fully under contract before the day was over. I did tell the sellers that even though it’s being purchased by an investor, I’m quite confident they’ll not recognize it in six months because the buyer isn’t afraid of spending money on upgrades. He’s even planning on having a new garage built which will definitely up the value on it. Good for him, and good for that neighborhood because I’ve always had a soft spot for that street. How can anyone go wrong when there are $200K – $300K+ homes in its general area?

My afternoon was shortened due to my having spent a good hour and a half with an attorney, but fortunately all ended up better than I’d expected, and just to make sure he knew how much I appreciated his work, I paused a moment to thank him for all he’d done. While driving away, I was once again reminded how so many in our world, believe they can willfully do nasty things to others and think it’s just OK. Well, the perpetrator on the other side of the fence, found out today that there are those who will make them accountable. If only more people would stand up and fight against the wrongs and evils that are being committed in this world, perhaps the word would get out and such mindsets would finally learn that they will have to tow the line for their wrongful acts.

I got a good laugh out of an old gent who insisted that he’s long past his wandering-eye years when saying, “Truthfully, I normally don’t even notice anything about a woman other than her face.” Of course wicked me then said with a wink and whisper, “But, I’m sure you still hold close your heavily-guarded impure thoughts.” Oh did I get a good belly-laugh out of him. Well, sometimes you just gotta have fun.

After listening to clip from one of Ben Sasse’s speeches, I was shocked when hearing that there’s such a small percentage of our middle-aged and younger generation here in America, who listen to, and or read legitimate news on a daily basis. Hearing such, sent a chill down my spine because whenever there’s rampant ignorance, that’s when such minds get propagandized by those loud-mouthed politicians who post some of the craziest of ideas on their social media platforms.

Over these past twenty years, I’ve noticed how few people have a broad general knowledge where they can intelligently discuss and debate current issues and events. Many years ago a dear friend who’s long-passed once soulfully said to me, “As long as you continue to hold a lighted lantern for those who’ve come after you and looking for direction, you will have created positive impacts on them, which will sometimes take years for them to fully understand and conduct themselves accordingly.”

It wasn’t until years later when I’d start getting positive comments from those whom I’d held up my “lantern” for during their periods of mental distress, and being thanked for what I thought at the time, were words having been lightly taken. Well I was wrong, so with that said, I encourage all of you to selflessly advise and direct those who come to you looking for direction, because if you’re advice is good and true, it’ll be taken to heart. In these troubling tribal times, I think it’s even more important for the gentle hearts to be given the floor.

Tonight’s One-liner is: Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.

Related Property:
224 12th St. SE Mason City 617 1st SE Mason City
Joe Chodur

About the Author | Joe Chodur

First of all....Joe Chodur really doesn't like talking about himself but this is what we have found out about him. Joe Chodur began his real estate career in 1981 during the height of the savings and loan crisis. It's hard to imagine how difficult it was to sell homes when…

View page.