By Lori Silverman
It was one of those days where I had a couple errands to run before an afternoon appointment. Like usual, I was running behind schedule.
I pulled out of my garage and eerily felt like something wasn’t right. But being in a hurry, I zoomed out the gate of my condo community. As soon as I turned left across three lanes of traffic I knew something was wrong. But where to pull over? I was already at a major intersection. I decided to turn left a block later, into a newly built strip shopping mall parking lot. I got out of my Honda CRV and turned to my left to walk around the vehicle. And then I saw it. A tire that was flatter than a pancake.
“Darn. I don’t have time for this. I’m gonna miss my appointment. Huh . . . I wonder if the spare’s a full tire? Yikes. Maybe I’ll have to replace all the tires. There’s almost 40,000 miles on them. Man, I didn’t plan for that sort of expense this summer . . .
I got back into my truck, turned it around and proceeded slower than a turtle to return home. It had already hit 107 degrees outside. I figured having the vehicle in an internal covered area would be a blessing to the person who’d repair it. It certainly wasn’t going to be me! I’ve no idea where to even place a jack to raise a vehicle, let alone how to get the lug nuts off the tire.
My first call was to AAA. The road saviors. It’s been years since I’d had to use the service. The last time was when my stepmom’s Cadillac stalled in the middle of three lanes of traffic during rush hour in Madison, Wisconsin. The entire electric system had shut down. Ah, yes, now that was a fun evening!
“Hello? This is Lori Silverman. I have a flat tire. Can you send someone to my home?”
“Absolutely, ma’am. Where’s the vehicle?
“In the garage. The address is . . . “
“Perfect. We’ll have someone there within the hour. Will that work for you?”
My second call was to my nail tech’s salon. There’s no way I was going to miss my monthly pedicure and manicure.
Within 30 minutes, I got a return call from AAA. “Ma’am, the repair truck is at the gate. Can you let it in?” Hallelujah. This was all moving ahead quite well.
Up pulled the truck. Out jumped a sun-darkened guy in his 50’s. No more than about 5 feet six inches in height. “Hey, I’m Nacho. I’m gonna help get you back on the road. All I need is the lock opener for the tire.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“Nah. I’m fine.”
With that, I went back in the house. No more than a few minutes later I heard, “Whoo hoo! Yes! Yeah! Ei yi yi! Yeow! Ewwwww!”
I stopped what I was doing. “Man if I didn’t know better, I’d think two people were having sex out there. Oh my gosh, I wonder if something happened to the guy?” I rushed outside. “You ok?”
“Oh yeah. It’s a beautiful day! I’m have’n a good time. ”
“Would you like a cold bottle of water?”
“Now that would be nice.”
I went back inside and the sounds continued. You’d think he was standing next to me singing directly into my right ear.
I went back outside, two water bottles in hand. One for me and one for him. After he had a swig, he set his bottle on the floor and returned to working on the tire.
“Thank you ma’am. Ahhhhhhhhh, life is good!”
“Really? You like what you’re doing?
““Ah, you bet I do! He he he!”
I love it! Yes, I love it! He he he! I started doin’ it in November, after I lost my job. Used to drive truck. Delivered computer parts all ‘round the state. Now, that was a good job. But this is good, too!
Nacho’s enthusiasm was infectious. How could I go back inside? I couldn’t. I watched him work and he taught me a few things about changing a tire.
After he left, I continued to marvel at his passion. While I love what I do, I don’t usually express it outwardly as I work. But, then again, maybe I should.
Maybe we all should. “Whistle while we work,” that is. Nacho had brought new meaning to the song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Think about it. What would it be like if everyone in your organization whistled while they worked?
PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint this story as long as you include the following attribution. “Learn more about Lori Silverman’s work as a strategist and keynote speaker at http://www.partnersforprogress.com. Her latest book, Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over, debuted in the top 100 books on Amazon.com. Check it out at http://www.wakeupmycompany.com. She can be reached at 800 253 6398 or lori@partnersforprogress.com.”
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