It was quite the busy bee day with several closings, visiting with a couple about the sale of their home, and professional meetings in between. I could tell by the traffic that Mason City is in full swing for Band Festival and Memorial Day weekend which this year falls on the same weekend. Actually I’m happy they’re together this year and wish they would have it every year on the same weekend as I believe it allows for one extra day where visitors can spend a little time becoming more familiar with our city. It’s important to find people traveling here to shop and take in some of our sights and recreation, because of the likelihood they’ll return. Some years ago when I had more free time, I fell into a habit of visiting a city perhaps once a year to take in its sights and do a little shopping simply because I grew fondly familiar with the city and its surrounding areas. People do return if they’ve had good experiences with a community. This why each and every one of our residents should keep a “best foot forward” attitude about maintaining a clean and well kept appearance of our city. It’s almost like the old saying, “First impressions are the lasting impressions.” Absolutely above all, we must be kind and courteous towards visitors. Smiling much and going the extra mile will certainly be remembered. I’ve learned long ago that whether I’m having a good day or bad, clients and customers consider me to be suffering from a chronic good day syndrome. People don’t like being pulled into the mood swings of others. There are endless stories to be told of service people as well as professionals who’ve been far less than kind or considerate. Over these past several days I’ve made phone calls, texts, and sent e-mails to an agent who must find it funny in a sick sort of way in not responding to me. I now have a customer whom I must communicate the news of an inconsiderate person not responding to my inquiries. What’s most unfortunate, is I now have a customer who’ll tell others of this not so professional behavior. Every time this happens I think, “This is how Realtors get a bad rap with the general public.” Working in this business for years, I’ve come to expect weak levels of professionalism with some of my colleagues simply learning from past experiences. Any time someone emphatically says they would never do this or that, I back away thinking, “Why are you stopping now?”
Being out quite early this morning with errands, I happened to notice movement high up on the north side of Trinity Lutheran Church. Since I just caught a glimpse, I went around the block and slowly drove to where I noticed the activity. There I saw several men working on the north stone wall where they were tuck-pointing the mortar joints. It must have been nearing 7:30 AM and they appeared to have already been at work for some time. The way the light was striking the north side of what I call the “flagship” church of our Lutheran community, I decided this similar busy little bee deserved to unknowingly have his photo taken with that stone wall as a backdrop. It pleases me much to see young people learning specific trades that will likely always be in demand. Limestone buildings and homes are my favorite because of the random coloring and textures of the stone which offers a more rich exterior appearance. Today I’m sharing with you the photo I managed to snap of a worker getting a Trinity high.
