Now I know you were likely expecting a joke of some kind, but stay with me anyway.
When I was 16 I inherited my older brother's job at the hardware store as he was bound for college.
It was a great job, and I met a lot of interesting people , plus I was out of the tobacco fields to boot!
Some of you may recall my posts about the Belknap Hardware salesman by the name of Horace Myers. I always assumed he was from Kentucky, but it turned out he was from the town I now live near. Also turned out he was a decorated WWII hero. We lost him a while back, but I was fortunate enough to re-connect with him, fix his computer for free a couple of times, and listen to some of yarns while doing so.
Another interesting character was this old fellow who sold brooms and other supplies out of his car. Hand-made in the USA quality brooms!
He was missing the bottom half of one leg and he used crutches to get around. He was old in 1976, or at least I thought he was. I guess most of the world is old to a 16 year old. Heck, I even thought that cute blonde girl was old until I showed up to pick her up for a date and her dad explained to me that she only 14 and that she wasn't going anywhere with me.
When I got married at 18, the hardware on the other side of town, about a ten minute walk, wooed me into to coming to work for them.
While they were not a Belknap dealer, other familiar salesmen did still come by every now and then, including the one-legged broom guy.
When I left the hardware game a few years later, of course I lost touch with these colorful and wholesome souls.
Fast forward to today, May 8, 2017, and I am doing some work for a local machine shop, when this one-legged OLD man on crutches comes in and asks the owner if he needs any brooms.
I am blown away. it's the same man!
The owner told he still had several new ones from last time, and he joked that the product is too good to generate any repeat business.
I followed the gentleman outside and a brief conversation confirmed that he has been selling brooms on the road for 41 years. Turns out I'd met him when he was just starting out, back in '76.
He didn't remember me, but he remembered some of the older fellows who worked at the stores back then.
I asked him if he had any good push brooms, explaining that I needed one for my garage and that the ones from Harbor Freight aren't worth throwing away. He smiled and said, "They're not made in the USA. Mine are made in TEXAS, and they're damned good brooms!"
We went to his van, which was stuffed to the ceiling with product, and he showed which carton to dig out. I climbed in and got the carton and pulled out a 24 inch high quality made in TEXAS broom head. He told me to grab one of those handles and one of those braces over there. "A lot of people don't realize how important that brace is to the life of the broom."
Yes sir!
I asked how much I owed him.
$18.50
I tendered $20 and told him I have hated change ever since 2009. He laughed and said, "Alright young man. You have a good day, and thanks for the business!"
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
I hope to see him again in another 40 years or so.
When I was 16 I inherited my older brother's job at the hardware store as he was bound for college.
It was a great job, and I met a lot of interesting people , plus I was out of the tobacco fields to boot!
Some of you may recall my posts about the Belknap Hardware salesman by the name of Horace Myers. I always assumed he was from Kentucky, but it turned out he was from the town I now live near. Also turned out he was a decorated WWII hero. We lost him a while back, but I was fortunate enough to re-connect with him, fix his computer for free a couple of times, and listen to some of yarns while doing so.
Another interesting character was this old fellow who sold brooms and other supplies out of his car. Hand-made in the USA quality brooms!
He was missing the bottom half of one leg and he used crutches to get around. He was old in 1976, or at least I thought he was. I guess most of the world is old to a 16 year old. Heck, I even thought that cute blonde girl was old until I showed up to pick her up for a date and her dad explained to me that she only 14 and that she wasn't going anywhere with me.
When I got married at 18, the hardware on the other side of town, about a ten minute walk, wooed me into to coming to work for them.
While they were not a Belknap dealer, other familiar salesmen did still come by every now and then, including the one-legged broom guy.
When I left the hardware game a few years later, of course I lost touch with these colorful and wholesome souls.
Fast forward to today, May 8, 2017, and I am doing some work for a local machine shop, when this one-legged OLD man on crutches comes in and asks the owner if he needs any brooms.
I am blown away. it's the same man!
The owner told he still had several new ones from last time, and he joked that the product is too good to generate any repeat business.
I followed the gentleman outside and a brief conversation confirmed that he has been selling brooms on the road for 41 years. Turns out I'd met him when he was just starting out, back in '76.
He didn't remember me, but he remembered some of the older fellows who worked at the stores back then.
I asked him if he had any good push brooms, explaining that I needed one for my garage and that the ones from Harbor Freight aren't worth throwing away. He smiled and said, "They're not made in the USA. Mine are made in TEXAS, and they're damned good brooms!"
We went to his van, which was stuffed to the ceiling with product, and he showed which carton to dig out. I climbed in and got the carton and pulled out a 24 inch high quality made in TEXAS broom head. He told me to grab one of those handles and one of those braces over there. "A lot of people don't realize how important that brace is to the life of the broom."
Yes sir!
I asked how much I owed him.
$18.50
I tendered $20 and told him I have hated change ever since 2009. He laughed and said, "Alright young man. You have a good day, and thanks for the business!"
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
I hope to see him again in another 40 years or so.
