Or Even Beelzebub

In spite of being up and at it early, I had some stops to make prior to my arrival at office, and when I finally got there, I found I had a number of emails which had come in over the night which needed my immediate attention, and one of them was a "request for repairs" on a recent sale which was subsequently inspected by a company of the buyer's choice. There were only two things the buyer wanted done, but one of them was out of the seller's control, and that being, the trimming up of branches from a nearby tree.

Just to make sure I was remembering correctly, I got in my car and drove over to the home and sure enough, that tree was standing between the public sidewalk and the curb which is City property. When I got back to office, I called the "tree man" of our City and explained the situation, and sure enough, the trimming of trees on City property, is the City's responsibility and not the homeowner's.

I then called the seller and went over the repair requests, and made sure to explain the tree trimming request not being an issue because it's the City's problem. Once we had those requests ironed out, I called the selling Realtor and explained the situation regarding trees planted on City property and their on-going maintenance. Of course I'd already suspected he had no idea about what one can and cannot do with those trees. At least he was thoughtful enough to thank me for following up with the City. There's many lessons to be learned before one can consider themselves a seasoned Realtor.

My first appointment was at the hour of eight which took me out to a property I'd recently sold which is scheduled to close next week, and the reason for today's visit, was because the buyer's sibling was in town from out of State and wanted to see it while here. We spent a good hour out there visiting and looking, and before we left, I assured my buyer that the property was a good buy considering how our market prices have been spiking since it went under contract. The national news mentioned today that our market is softening, but as of yet, I certainly don't see it happening in North Iowa.

Before Noon, I changed my clothes and went out and helped a client move some appliances, which certainly gave me a good lifting exercise for the day. After we got them loaded, I said, "Either I'm getting stronger, or these newer appliances are getting lighter." We both agreed that it's the cheap materials they're now using because there's more plastic than metal in most of them. I'm sure some of you remember those old General Electric single-door refrigerators which were small, but built like tanks and super heavy for their size. But you know what? There are a number of them still around which are working just as well as they did when new. Once in a while I'll see one in someone's basement or garage, and used to keep their beer, wine and soft drinks cooled. They sure don't make them like they used to.

While out, I stopped at Taco John's and picked up a bean burrito which I'd not had in months which was a welcome change from my regulars. For some reason, they don't seem to be getting the business they used to, so there must be another "go to" Mexican drive-thru that's become popular. Once I have my kitchenette finished in the back of my office, I'll be making my own lunch snacks. As much as I've been wanting to get it finished, there've been a near-constant number of diversions which were always more important. No matter what anyone else says, I'm still of the belief that I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel with my projects.

I don't know if you've noticed all the recent activity in our Downtown with the many preparations being made for those hundreds and possibly thousands of bicyclers who'll be showing up on Wednesday, and then leaving Thursday morning. You can be sure I'll have my camera readied for whatever shots I consider worth sharing with all of you. Those second and third floor access points I have available to me in the Downtown, will offer all the more opportunities.

Before heading out to do a walk-thru on a home that was recently listed, I stopped to get another fill-up at my favorite gas station, and when looking at the amount on that receipt, I estimated that long drive yesterday cost me around $45.00 in gas alone, which triggered thoughts about all these workers who're driving twenty, thirty and even more miles one-way to work every day,which must be eating into their disposable incomes, and especially when seeing those monster pickup trucks being driven into town every morning. If these gas prices don't go down soon, we'll be seeing more pickups on used car lots after they'd been traded-off for something far more fuel efficient.

I wasn't able to get to the drive-thru at my bank this afternoon, so I had to park and go in to do my banking. Oh, was I a wicked one with those newbie tellers. Of course I keep reminding them that since I worked at a bank many years ago, my standards are still high. What got them laughing is when I said, "I've finally trained the tellers at the bank across the street, so now it's your turn, and first of all, stop stealing my paper clips! Don't you know even those are getting expensive." Oh too funny to imagine.

As chance would have it, I happened to run into a young man today from out of a decade or more ago, who was with his young family, and of course I had to ask his two or three year old what his name was. Well he didn't answer, but his father did. Oh my goodness! They named him one of the many names given to the Devil, which of course I couldn't help telling them that the poor little guy is going to suffer greatly when he enters school. I dare not share the name they called him, but it's definitely recognizable. Now if they'd named him Apollyon, Azazel, Abaddon, or even Beelzebub, I would've been more understanding, but not the one they picked. I'm still in shock.

Tonight's One-liner is: Across professions, consistency is a direct product of work ethic.

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