A Lot to be Thankful For

[Joe Marconi]

A Lot to be Thankful For

 

This past Monday morning, October 29, I sat in my office with my service advisors and manager planning the week. We had a packed schedule and just last Friday the buzz phrase for the day was, “We have turned the corner”. Business had picked up last week and it looked like this week would be a banner week. But, lurking around that “corner” was a storm, not a storm of cars, but Hurricane Sandy. Our plans shifted from business to safety.

 

We sent everyone home by noon on Monday and secured the shop for the storm. I was angry and disappointed. For the first time in months it looked like we would have, a much needed, banner week. But, it was as if an unknown force had other intentions than granting us those sales.

 

We were told it would be bad, but like past predictions, we thought this storm would not live up to the hype. We were all wrong. By late that afternoon, with winds nearing 100 miles per hour, I knew this was something I had never experienced in my 57 years. As I watched trees falling down around me, losing power was inevitable, the safety of my family become the only thing that mattered. That feeling of anger about losing sales became so insignificant that I became ashamed of what I thought was important just a few short hours before. As the lights went out around 7pm, and in the dark, my wife and I looked at each other and I said to her, “Well, here it is, are you ok?”

 

I started the generator and grabbed all the flashlights; we had dinner by candle light, and opened a bottle of wine. I could hear crashing around me and we made last minute plans to find refuge in the basement, if needed. As we sat there in the dark all we could think about was our family and friends. No thought of tire sales, ARO, car counts or part GP.

 

We tried sleeping that night, but the howling wind kept us awake. I received a number of phone calls during the night from the alarm company that there were numerous break-ins at the shop. I knew they were not break-ins but probably wind damage. It would be foolish to venture out in the storm, so I merely ignored the calls. Around 4am I finally dozed off for an hour. The wind had died down a little by then, but it was clear that the storm had wrought its wrath.

 

At 6am I heard knocking at my front door. It was a frantic neighbor. Everyone was without power and I was one of the few with a generator. She said that her daughter was having a mild asthma attack and needed to plug in her nebulizer. She tried calling 911, but it would be a while for help to arrive with all the roads blocked from fallen trees. I welcomed her and her daughter into my home. The daughter plugged her nebulizer into one of the kitchen counter outlets. A minute later she was breathing normally. I offered the mother coffee as we watched the daughter continued to breathe into the devise. The feelings of calm and serene from helping a neighbor were feelings you could not put a price on; feelings that transcended the storm. Those feelings stayed with me for days.

 

It would be days before we got power back or phone service. We were helpless without our man-made devises. No lights, no water, no heat, no internet, no phone, no IATN, Alldata or Identifix. How could we survive?

 

Well, we did survive, but not without casualties. Thankfully, my family is ok and we experienced minimal damage to the shop and my home. We were lucky, but not everyone was granted this luck. People lost homes, their cars, businesses were destroyed and for some, a life time of hard work was literally washed away. Some lost their lives.

 

So, here I am, Friday night, thinking about this past week and realizing that I am a much different person than what I was just a few days ago, thankful for what I have and thankful for the things that we sometimes take for granted.

 

This week’s business tip has little to do with business; rather, it has EVERTHING to do with business. We put so much emphasis sometimes on the daily ordeals we encounter as business people. What we learn from Mother Nature we cannot learn from a book. Sometimes Mother Nature reminds us that life itself is fleeting and we need to value each and every minute of it.

[xrac]

Joe, I am glad that you pulled through. Remember the pilgrims celebrated thanksgiving despite the fact that about 50% of their group had died during the previous winter. Only five women survived the winter and one of them died once the weather warmed up. The lesson to me is be thankful for what you have. Do not focus on what you may have lost.

[Jeff]

Wise words. Thanks Joe.

[Gonzo]

Joe, you definetly have your priorities in line. Business and family, family and business. We all have to bow to Mother Nature. Well put my friend...

[lindasui19]

Thanks for informing Joe..Keep it up..

 

 

 

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[Gary A]

Great post Joe. I too was on my way to a better October than last year. I was without power all week at home and the shop. I managed to finish a couple cars that were in the shop with the air left in the compressor. Nobody was really around all week anyway with all the chaos that this storm caused. I am very thankful, the inconvenience was the worst of it for me. My family is safe and I have great employees to be thankful for. I am also thankful for the many friends that gathered together and offered their homes (those that had power). Joe I would also like to say God only knows what may have happened if you were not there to help your neighbor. Asthma can be deadly. A friend of mine had lost his wife from an asthma attack. It is really great when people reach out and help their fellow man in times of trouble. I love these stories....

[Joe Marconi]

Great post Joe. I too was on my way to a better October than last year. I was without power all week at home and the shop. I managed to finish a couple cars that were in the shop with the air left in the compressor. Nobody was really around all week anyway with all the chaos that this storm caused. I am very thankful, the inconvenience was the worst of it for me. My family is safe and I have great employees to be thankful for. I am also thankful for the many friends that gathered together and offered their homes (those that had power). Joe I would also like to say God only knows what may have happened if you were not there to help your neighbor. Asthma can be deadly. A friend of mine had lost his wife from an asthma attack. It is really great when people reach out and help their fellow man in times of trouble. I love these stories....

 

Yes, it really made me feel good to help a neighbor in need.

[xrac]

Yes, it really made me feel good to help a neighbor in need.

 

Just goes to show the truth of these words: "the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” NIV

[lindasui19]

I ado agree on that xrac that's a true saying...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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