I was picking-up some electrical supplies from Farrey's Hardware in N. Miami FL today. I have done business w/them for close to 40 years. They have a long history of business in Miami, four generations owned by the same family going back 80 years.
So, I had ordered some lighting for my master bath re-do, the bath was original to the house, which is ~52 years old. It came-out great and my wife points out, "you spent less on this than you did your VMax! You could have bought a new one for what you've spent on that!" (Not-true, but I probably have spent $5K recently dealing with all the stuff I have done, and accumulating spare parts.) I did inform her that a new VMax Gen II is $20K.
Anyway, I hired a contractor to do the bulk of the work and I am doing the cabinetry for the Rx cabinets (two of 'em) and their surround. It's come out well, but I was waiting on the lighting to finish the wall-unit. I got the call that they were in, so I left work early and went to the showroom and warehouse to pick them up.
When I walked-in and got the fixtures, I loaded them into my truck, and then returned to the showroom, to see what they had for accent lighting for the bath. It's nothing I needed, but I had an idea for adding some LED strip lighting in a niche which is tiled with glass mosaic tiles and also above the elongated sink, which is 40" and white china.
So, I stepped-into the showroom, and there is a customer with a small short-legged terrier, it looked like. I love dogs, I've had them nearly all my life, and I bent-down to pet it, instinctively.
Suddenly, the dog's leash was jerked, and the dog was pulled-back out of my outstretched hand as I was squatting to greet the dog. I looked-up and the dog's owner was glaring at me while he held the dog away. The Canadian dog-owner was talking on the phone, and he dismissed any possible interaction by his behavior.
"How do you know he's Canadian?" you may wonder. Because from my position squatting next to the dog, I was looking into the face of Donald Sutherland.
So, I recovered, stood-up and walked-by the actor, into the showroom to speak to my sales person. Maybe the dog bites strangers. More-likely, the owner didn't want anyone touching his dog. From the looks of things, the dog was friendly, but the owner was not.
So, I placed my order for some 12 VDC & 24 VDC LED accent lighting, paid, and was about to exit the store when I noticed an older gentleman by the counter. He appeared to-be exceptionally physically-fit, and looked like a ex-military vet who carried his lessons-learned from the service into his civilian life.
He had a twinkle in his eye, he looked you directly in the eyes, stuck-out his hand, and said, "you look familiar."
I shook his hand, and said, "I was just wondering what you do to stay in such-excellent shape. I wish I had your waistline!" He looked to-be about 5'7", 150 lb and maybe a 30" waist, and a flat stomach, his clothes were pressed neatly, and he looked as if he cared about his appearance. Then I introduced myself.
He responded, and said, "I'm 'Bud' Farrey," (the owner of the business).
We spoke for probably 20 minutes, and he mentioned the longevity of the business and that he was just the caretaker of the family business, which had his children and now grandchildren also employed there. He mentioned he had been a fireman on the flight line in the USAF, and I mentioned my firefighting/paramedic background. He also said he laid-claim to being someone who had attended Gainesville (U of Florida), Tallahassee (FSU), and the University of Miami, which was where he graduated. Attending all three FL universities is unusual!
I asked him about his philanthropic good-deeds, as someone like that who is a successful businessman has the alumni association dunning him for $$$. He mentioned supporting a private Miami prep school, and a long-time Miami-area charity run by a Catholic order for Down's Syndrome people. He was on the Board of Directors of one of the institutions.
What a good-hearted man! He's probably worth many millions of dollars, and supports local charities. He takes the time to greet his company's customers, and to spread some goodwill because he knows the truth that "word-of-mouth is the best advertising." I am glad that I spend my money where the customer is valued.
As for my infringement on Donald Sutherland's space, maybe he saved me from being bitten by that l'il fellow, and ending up as a daily article on TMZ: "Sutherland's pooch punctures pushy person in lighting store in FL!":biglaugh:
So, I had ordered some lighting for my master bath re-do, the bath was original to the house, which is ~52 years old. It came-out great and my wife points out, "you spent less on this than you did your VMax! You could have bought a new one for what you've spent on that!" (Not-true, but I probably have spent $5K recently dealing with all the stuff I have done, and accumulating spare parts.) I did inform her that a new VMax Gen II is $20K.
Anyway, I hired a contractor to do the bulk of the work and I am doing the cabinetry for the Rx cabinets (two of 'em) and their surround. It's come out well, but I was waiting on the lighting to finish the wall-unit. I got the call that they were in, so I left work early and went to the showroom and warehouse to pick them up.
When I walked-in and got the fixtures, I loaded them into my truck, and then returned to the showroom, to see what they had for accent lighting for the bath. It's nothing I needed, but I had an idea for adding some LED strip lighting in a niche which is tiled with glass mosaic tiles and also above the elongated sink, which is 40" and white china.
So, I stepped-into the showroom, and there is a customer with a small short-legged terrier, it looked like. I love dogs, I've had them nearly all my life, and I bent-down to pet it, instinctively.
Suddenly, the dog's leash was jerked, and the dog was pulled-back out of my outstretched hand as I was squatting to greet the dog. I looked-up and the dog's owner was glaring at me while he held the dog away. The Canadian dog-owner was talking on the phone, and he dismissed any possible interaction by his behavior.
"How do you know he's Canadian?" you may wonder. Because from my position squatting next to the dog, I was looking into the face of Donald Sutherland.
So, I recovered, stood-up and walked-by the actor, into the showroom to speak to my sales person. Maybe the dog bites strangers. More-likely, the owner didn't want anyone touching his dog. From the looks of things, the dog was friendly, but the owner was not.
So, I placed my order for some 12 VDC & 24 VDC LED accent lighting, paid, and was about to exit the store when I noticed an older gentleman by the counter. He appeared to-be exceptionally physically-fit, and looked like a ex-military vet who carried his lessons-learned from the service into his civilian life.
He had a twinkle in his eye, he looked you directly in the eyes, stuck-out his hand, and said, "you look familiar."
I shook his hand, and said, "I was just wondering what you do to stay in such-excellent shape. I wish I had your waistline!" He looked to-be about 5'7", 150 lb and maybe a 30" waist, and a flat stomach, his clothes were pressed neatly, and he looked as if he cared about his appearance. Then I introduced myself.
He responded, and said, "I'm 'Bud' Farrey," (the owner of the business).
We spoke for probably 20 minutes, and he mentioned the longevity of the business and that he was just the caretaker of the family business, which had his children and now grandchildren also employed there. He mentioned he had been a fireman on the flight line in the USAF, and I mentioned my firefighting/paramedic background. He also said he laid-claim to being someone who had attended Gainesville (U of Florida), Tallahassee (FSU), and the University of Miami, which was where he graduated. Attending all three FL universities is unusual!
I asked him about his philanthropic good-deeds, as someone like that who is a successful businessman has the alumni association dunning him for $$$. He mentioned supporting a private Miami prep school, and a long-time Miami-area charity run by a Catholic order for Down's Syndrome people. He was on the Board of Directors of one of the institutions.
What a good-hearted man! He's probably worth many millions of dollars, and supports local charities. He takes the time to greet his company's customers, and to spread some goodwill because he knows the truth that "word-of-mouth is the best advertising." I am glad that I spend my money where the customer is valued.
As for my infringement on Donald Sutherland's space, maybe he saved me from being bitten by that l'il fellow, and ending up as a daily article on TMZ: "Sutherland's pooch punctures pushy person in lighting store in FL!":biglaugh:
