The Friendly Competitor

“Dan” drops in periodically to try to sell me lumber. The problem is his prices are about the same as mine so I can’t really afford to buy from him. However he likes to talk and I hear the local gossip from cabinetmaking shops in the region. He recently offered me the company calendar. “I’ve got the flat one and the one that’s rolled up in a tube. You have a preference?”

“What’s the difference?”

“The flat one has Norman Rockwell pictures. The rolled up one they’ve never given me to hand out before. It’s….err…got girls in the pictures.”

“I better take the flat one, thanks.”

“They didn’t tell me this at the office but apparently they’ve been handing these out for years. So the other day I was up in the Amish/Mennonite area handing calendars out to woodworkers. I’d made three stops. Then the fourth—one of his three boys opened it up while I was still there. His jaw just about hit the floor, and so did mine. That was pretty sticky. I had to back track and apologize to everybody. One already ended up in the wood stove. He told me it was a good thing I came back. I almost lost a customer or three.”

“I’m sure I could have filled in for you.” I offered helpfully.