A Customer brought me FLOWERS!!!

[Melalvai]

Cash is king!

Not to hijack the thread, but isn't that a Dave Ramsey line?

[Mr. Bloom]

Not to hijack the thread, but isn't that a Dave Ramsey line?

Yep...

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/stupid...ContentID=4405

And just for the record: Dave Ramsey has a great perspective and learned the hard way...

I have one of those and I'd have to agree.

Jorn, my mechanic, told someone I know the other day what a great guy I am

Well, duh! I was 15% of his revenues last year!

[Wahine]

Jorn, my mechanic, told someone I know the other day what a great guy I am

Well, duh! I was 15% of his revenues last year!

Not to thread hijack, but we had to have a valve job done on an eight cylinder engine last year.....

Maybe we should start a support group?

OK - back to the scheduled program.

[Melalvai]

WARNING: Thread hijack ahead!!

And just for the record: Dave Ramsey has a great perspective and learned the hard way...

I wouldn't call myself a diehard fan, but I did get inspired to pay off and get rid of the credit cards. Now we're making headway on my husband's student loans, even as he accrues more each year. His scholarships went a long way to reducing that but my meager postdoc salary doesn't quite pay everything that needs paid without his student loans.

The best feeling was being able to replace the clutch with our emergency fund instead of having to "figure out" how to deal (=use a credit card). In my ideal world we'd just get rid of the car and have far fewer dips into the emergency fund!

<<Thread hijack complete. Returning you to your regularly scheduled topic.>>

[Running Mommy]

But as said.... She is so dang CUTE!
You see I grew up in a mercedes family. My grandfather being German, that is all he drove. I always said that one day I would have one.
I haven't yet, but I'm close. I have a bmw 5 series. But I do have a special place in my heart for the older mercedes.
I remember driving with my grandparents once. I was in the back seat and my Grandpa was at the wheel. We were speeding through the countryside of western sonoma county, and my Grandmother was admonishing him for driving too fast with "the grand daughter in the car".. He liked to think of those roads as the autobahn I guess..

Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming...

[Running Mommy]

I'm going to send handmade thank you cards to my customers who bought bikes from me. I'm thinking of using the rubber stamp that I used to make my Christmas cards. So some of you TE'rs will know what I'm talking about.
Inside the card I'm going to enclose some tips on keeping your bike in good running order, and fit reminders.
Of course I'll also enclose a coupon for them to use on accessories. (the hook to bring em back in )...
How does that sound??

Ok, on to my next topic... The homeless guy...
Last week a man came in with a wheel in pretty bad shape. He needed the cassette removed so he could replace some spokes. Tony wasn't in, so I told him to come back the next day. This man appears to be homeless. His bright yellow jacket is black with dirt, his face is blistered from being in the elements, and he has what appears to be all his belongings on his bike. But he is a very soft spoken man, and very polite. He asked what we would charge. I told him as long as it was something easy- then not to worry about it. He told me the shop down the street wanted 10.00, and you could tell that 10.00 was a LOT to him.
So the next morning I was driving down with Spencer when I saw him cruising down the street about a mile from here. He had the wheel in his basket, so I told Spencer the story. Sure enough he came in that day and Tony helped him out. Spencer said he felt sorry for him because he was so nice, and he pondered out loud how one comes to be homeless. I explained that unfortunately it can happen very easily.
A few days later the man returned. He had repaired the broken spokes and asked Tony if he could true up the wheel. Tony did the best he could, but the wheel's in pretty bad shape. The man pulled out a couple of crumpled dollar bills, but Tony told him not to worry about it.
Well this morning the man came back with a bike. He came in and asked in a very soft voice if Tony was in, as he didn't see him right away. He had a frame that he had salvaged and was trying to fix it up. Tony is back there with him as I write this trying to help him. The man is so soft spoken it's kind of sad. It's like life has just beat him down. And you can tell by talking to him that he's a very kind man.
So anyway, they are back there toiling away, and I'm here appreciating all that I have been given in life. We really are a blessed family. And I really am blessed to have all of you in my life.
Have a happy valentines day, hope you get to get out for a ride and enjoy the day.
Ciao!
Denise

[Tri Girl]

Regarding the thank you cards. Oh MAN that's a great idea!!!! Talk about great service to keep them coming back to you for many years! I wish my shop had done that for me. Would've really made my purchase feel really special. I LOVE it!!!!! Dang- why aren't you closer to me or me closer to you????

About the homeless man. That story made me so sad. Made me feel suddenly very guilty for having so many bikes in my house, and so sad that I don't ride them all more often, and so thankful that I can have all the things I do. I'm glad you were so kind to him, and I think that maybe it'll be one bright spot in his day when he knows someone cares for him enough to help him out. I hope you get to see him every so often so you can help lighten the load that life has put on his shoulders. I hope he brightens your days just as much.

[Melalvai]

I hope you can find extra parts lying around to help him out. I'd contribute bike parts if I lived in the area.

I feel guilty sometimes because one of the bike shops guys gives me stuff frequently, which I can not afford otherwise. I just keep telling myself that one day I'll pass it all along to the next poor but happy cyclist (maybe not these parts specifically, but bike parts in general).