Well, I guess everyone has at least one and I sure have a lot more than one but here is my worst and it is long, so be warned.
I could blame this on Clay Moore as in Clay and Cindy Moore but he probably doesn't even know he was part of this mess. Clay and Cindy lived in Yukon in the Westbury addition right down the street from us. They had three boys and went to church with us at Council Road Baptist Church and of course Chase, our oldest son, was close to their boys. Well, here is the deal. Clay was in the car business and working for Bob Moore at one of his dealerships and was on his way to buy some used vehicles. I think he was heading to Dallas on Southwest Airlines.
Anyway, Ernie Upton and I were working for FDMC, First Data Management Company, based in Oklahoma, downtown in the First National Bank Building. We were headed to St. Joseph, Missouri on Southwest Airlines. Can you see where this is going? Of course seeing Clay at the airport in OKC, I had to say hello and chat a little. I noticed the area seemed like the number of folks was thinning out so I looked over to see if my plane was boarding. IT WAS! I ran over to get on and the Southwest person shut the door right in front of me and said you were too late. I argued that I had a ticket and they had not announced they were boarding and he had to let me on and that Ernie was already on the plane. He refused.
Ernie thought I was playing a joke on him and once they got up in the air he started looking for me as he had saved me a seat. I had been known to be a little ornery on occasion. In fact when I worked in Chicago for EDS (the old Ross Perot company) my nickname was Ornery and sometimes Cowboy. Well, I called ahead and told them to inform Ernie I was on the next plain and I had our meeting in St. Joseph delayed a couple of hours as I caught the next plane to Kansas City where we had a rental car to drive to St. Joseph. We did not have cell phones back then a cassette tapes and floppy drives were common. If you don't know what those are then you are too young.
I met up with Ernie and we had our meeting in St. Joseph. From there we had a few choices. We were supposed to meet with a large data processing company in Des Moines, Iowa the next morning. We could drive back to Kansas City and catch a plane which was easy to do in those days or we could drive. I asked a lady at the bank in St. Joseph how far to Des Moines and she said about 3 hours or at least I thought that is what she said. So I informed Ernie and we decided to drive. After being on the road a while I noticed a sign that said something like 300 miles to Des Moines. Ernie was not pleased but being good natured as he was and is we laughed and went on. We checked into the hotel where we were planning to stay and I called our contact and asked where he wanted to meet for breakfast. He asked where we were staying and I informed him we were at a Holiday Inn by the airport. He suggested I was incorrect on the location. I said, no, I am a country boy and know my directions. Then he asked me the big question, "what city are you in?" I told him Des Moines and then informed me that the bank was in Des Moines but his office was in Sioux City, Iowa. I gasped and asked how far that was and he said about thee to four hours. We rescheduled for later the next morning. I dreaded calling Ernie in his room and telling him the situation.
One good thing about Ernie is that if you feed him really good and buy him a big piece of pie he will always be happy. He was one of those lucky folks that never gained a pound and ate like a horse. So I fed him real good and broke the news. He was roaring with laughter and as always called me "Olson" and then laughed some more. Well, the next day we made it to Sioux City, driving, and when we were done I asked him about how far back to Kansas City. He said about five hours.
To say the least Ernie has told that story on me a few times and still seems to enjoy it.
What do you learn in the Osage?
- a couple of big shot executives can screw up sometimes
- a little humility is good for your ego, it keeps you in check
- sometimes a few more questions can be real beneficial before you make your next move
- traveling with someone you like is very important
No comments:
Post a Comment