"Rooted" may be a better choice of words. What you see above is the top of an actual fence post that used to sit on my property.

The photograph above represents what I eventually came to see whenever I paid it a visit. So I brought it to life with my camera and some computer software simply as an exercise in creativity.

I can only attest for the 23 years I have lived here but local historians believe it's a good bet this post was probably placed in the ground over a hundred years ago. The general consensus is that it was set where it shouldn't of been; just outside my property line.

So last spring when the city of Alpine was reassessing it's property the location of my errant post was duly noted.

When I took down the fence [by demand] this post was so stubborn I had to pull it out with a tow chain hitched to the chassis of my truck. Apparently it was placed in the ground when it was still alive and as a result of an apparent "last gasp" effort, it sprouted roots. Seriously, a fence post with actual roots.

My wife has labeled me as a know-it-all (and as she is one herself she must certainly be correct). Know it or not it's her rhetoric reference to the the fact that my opinions are rooted in 62 years of experience. The fence post story illustrates the fact that right or wrong, in the end, even the most established and rooted of "whatever" can be dislodged with proper persuasion. So please feel free to attempt to dislodge any of my opinions that follow if deemed necessary.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

JW; An American’s View of Excellence

I don’t know if anyone else refers to John Wavell as JW but I do. And I’m not sure what stirred up my memories of him. I think it was the death of Ted Kennedy (see my tribute below) and the fact that I am currently unemployed and dreaming about past jobs. Now, make no mistake, John isn’t dead, I just don’t work for him anymore. Maybe one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life. Jeeze…even wide eyed Bubba had enough sense to stick around and as far as I know still works for the man.

John is a man who is not afraid to stand up and speak his mind; tell it like it is. When I worked for him, more than once, he gathered up all of us who worked for him and told us (each individual one of us) if we didn’t do a better job he was going to shut the business down.

Against his doctor’s orders he opened up his sandwich and put more salt on it, every time, to his tasting.

I asked him for a raise once and before he granted it to me he went into a rant about how he was thinking about firing me and later actually went through the motion of printing out a Christmas bonus check written out for exactly $0.00 (canceling out a loan I had with him).

JW is an entrepreneur and thrives in our capitalistic society, a man who knows how to make a buck and provided me and 20+ other people with a good paying job.

I sat in on meetings, as a middle manager, making decisions on health care issues as I had done before with other employers. The difference between John and my other experiences was that John wasn’t interested in screwing his employees and making more money for himself. He was seeking the best deal for all; trying to save a buck for all.

I subscribe to John’s view of excellence; his demand for excellence. Excellence costs what excellence delivers. Believe me, it’s well worth the cost.

I choose to live in JW’s America. When it comes to saving my life with quality health care, I’ll turn over my entire pot of gold.

I learned a lot from JW. I haven't spoken to him in years and wish him well.

- Larry

P.S. – Wavell-Huber Wood Products provides you with the highest quality level of wood products available on the planet, from your kitchen table to your entire corporate environment.
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