From the time I arrived at the office, and up until late morning, I was working at getting a home closing to have a soft landing. Most of that time was spent dealing with the removal of “stuff” the sellers had decided to leave behind. Now I’ve seen a good deal of “stuff” left behind, but what I saw yesterday was more than I’d encountered in a long time. Oh well, the sellers’ agent was good enough to line up a crew to get it all out of there before closing time.
As I mentioned before, I have no clue what’s getting in the heads of sellers when it comes to leaving their homes noticeably dirty along with refuse to be removed. Now I could see if they were bank foreclosures or some unctuous rental properties, but homes that were owner-occupied, creates a bit of a jaw-drop with me. Oh well, the junk is out, the home is closed, and the buyer is happy.
I’m not sure what’s going on with the building material suppliers, but I’m beginning to think these trade wars are having an effect on the supply chains of lumber companies. It was a shocker to find that nearly every lumber supplier within a 45 mile radius of Mason City was out of a certain type of plywood, and that included Menard’s. But, for some reason, Woodford Lumber Company in Clear Lake popped into my mind, so I gave them a call. All I needed were three sheets, and believe it or not, they had only three sheets remaining. Wow! You can be sure I drove over there and paid for it and ordered the delivery.
I guess I’ll be checking with them more often whenever needing materials I can’t easily find here in Mason City. While over there, I was teasing the clerk about how I always remembered their buildings being painted a babyish blue, but now they’re all a taupe color. While walking back, I said, “Your lumber company must be at least a 100 years old.” He laughed and said, “No, it’s been going strong for over 150 years.” Now that’s a tribute to good business practices and loyal customers.
While driving back I was thinking about how much more we as residents of North Iowa can do to keep our local businesses afloat. Yes, it’s a two-way street with keeping local businesses alive, because they must remain competitive to a certain degree, but above all, stand behind their companies by providing quality products and stellar service. I found both of those key ingredients while at Woodford Lumber Company. Even though I’d not been there for many years, they treated me like one of their regulars. Thank you Woodford Lumber Company for living up to your 150 years of service.
One of my calls this afternoon was to a client who I worked with last year, just to see how things were going with them and visit about this and that, but one of the big questions was how they liked living in their new home. When hearing they’ve not yet moved in because of chronic delays on the builder’s part, I was in shock because the last time I spoke with them, they were supposed to be moved in by the 1st of May. Oh Mercy! Even though he didn’t go into detail, I could sense a deep frustration in his voice. Once again I became internally angry because those two are the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.
I’m now beginning to wonder if there are any reputable contractors left in our area. Of course those that’ve been taken, oft times don’t even want to talk about it because of the shame they have towards themselves for hiring such charlatans. All I could do was encourage him to stay strong and persistent with getting his new home finished up so they can move in and get back to having normal lives.
Just this morning I had a good chat with a young man who mentioned several months ago his desire to turn a large piece of rough-cut wood into a tabletop. I admitted to him today how I didn’t think he could do it, but after showing me a photo of his finished product, I said to him, “I will never again question your ability to follow-thru on anything you tell me you’re going to do because you’ve now proved to me you’re one of those people who do what they say they’re going to do.” Oh how I wish I could clone him and have him sprinkled across North Iowa because I’m discovering all the more recreants of dependably good work living in our midst.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.
