A secret back door and wise advice from a car dealer’s father leads to the ride of John Trybulec’s life.
——
“It is always nice to see you, my friend,” said the man who owns two car dealerships in suburban Detroit.
He grasped my out stretched hand, and covered it with his other hand.
I was visiting from Florida and was happy that I was seeing my old friend/client.
“Dave, I always enjoyed coming here. Our conversations have always been ‘meaty and interesting.’ You’ve always been a gentleman. Your employees love you and your customers keep coming back.”
Dave’s father respected all people, all the time. Dave’s father wasn’t a loud or overbearing man. Dave was just like his father, with his own subtle differences and nuances.
|
“My father taught me how to treat people, John. Thanks for the compliment,” said Dave as he motioned to the image of his father on his desk..
I sold Dave’s father advertising, then Dave, as he took over control of the dealership.
Dave’s father respected all people, all the time. Dave’s father wasn’t a loud or overbearing man. Dave was just like his father, with his own subtle differences and nuances.
“So, what else is new?” I said as we walked around the dealership, so I could say “hi” to some old acquaintances.
“I did have something that I wanted to show you, but I made a promise to my Dad… so, I can’t show it to you.”
“Dave, whatever it is – show it to me. Enlighten me”.
“John, my dad made me promise not to be a ‘show off’ when I was about 15 years old. He said that being a show-off was obnoxious and that he didn’t want me to be the obnoxious, show-off son of a car dealer.”
Dave’s father had been deceased for about two years.
“My dad made me promise not to be a ‘show off’ when I was about 15 years old. He said that being a show-off was obnoxious and that he didn’t want me to be the obnoxious, show-off son of a car dealer.”
|
“I know that you won’t break your promise with your Father. I also know that you are not a show off. So, how about you share something with me. You won’t be showing off and you will have kept your deal with your Dad.”
Dave spoke again.
“That makes sense. I will share something with you, not show off something to you”.
We walked to an out-of-the-way, closed, large, garage-type, roll-up door of the dealership.
“I know that you like muscle cars, so you can drive and that will be sharing — not showing off,” said Dave.
He unlocked and lifted the door.
There sat a rare, 550-horsepower Ford GT — a low-slung. incredible race car, finished in light blue — complete with a racing stripe. The car cost over six figures.
“Let’s go for a drive,” he said as he threw me the keys.
I threw the keys back to Dave and told him that I didn’t want to slam his car and us into a tree, a telephone pole or another car.
Dave kept his promise to his father.
I got the ride of my life.
I enjoyed reading your article today. I have been following your blog since last month. And I became a fan.
Nice article, thank you for sharing this bit of information! Will be looking forward to seeing more articles like these in the near future!