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View From The Corner Booth
Good Thursday to you,
Looks like some of us are going to be shoveling in a little while. By the time you are reading this article, some of you will have already started shoveling, snow blowing or plowing; others will have completed the task that so many of us do not look forward to performing. I don't mind snow blowing with my tractor or plowing with our truck, but shoveling - let's just say I'll leave that up to Derek and Kyle. I knew there would be a time in my life that the boys would add value above and beyond that of just making me proud to be their father!
Unlike a painting or a craft that you create, which can last a lifetime, there is little to show for all the effort of snow removal, certainly after the next snowfall occurs.
I see why my father-in-law dislikes maintenance type work or cleaning up his garage - nothing to show for all the effort once some time passes. He would much rather be building something out of wood, remodeling his house or restoring old tractors, windmills and farm equipment. He is an engineer by trade and one of the most talented men I know when it comes to building or restoring something.
I was never clever enough to build things. Oh wait - in Mr. D's 7th grade industrial arts class I did build a small corner shelf that I still have to this day. I can remember Mr. D. inspecting our pieces each week; he always wanted more sanding to get rid of all of the saw marks from the cuts we made. He then wanted us to use steel wool on the pieces we were finishing to remove the marks left from the sand paper. Being all of 13 years old at the time, I just didn't see why all that effort should go into removing a couple scratches that in my mind, no one would even notice. The teacher was right and I was wrong; it was important to have everything look just right.
My 7th grade corner shelf project!
I just wanted to get to the next step, which was assembling the three pieces of wood, and then onto finishing with stain. I learned more than I realized that year. I knew I did not have an aptitude for building things, but I did not realize that it wasn't necessary to build things to use the skills I learned from Mr. D's class. I learned that whatever I was doing was worth doing right. What a valuable lesson that I have carried with me through my entire adult life. What a contrast from my younger years; today, I want everything to look and be just right!
Once my father-in-law said to me, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you ever have time to fix it?" I could not agree more. These are principles in life I have found very valuable as I build organizations. Never really looked at myself as a builder of anything, but I guess I am.
Last night was our first ever China Dine-ah Wednesday Night Trivia. This event is the brainchild of our Lead Waitress Michelle Glidden, who did all the research to put the night together. She enlisted Jon James of 92 Moose as our emcee, and Jon brought along questions with him. We had 33 players representing 8 teams, started promptly at 6:30 and were all wrapped up by 8:15.
The winning team, Elizabeth and the All Stars, scored 22 out of a possible 30. Great job! The team consisted of captain Elizabeth Andrews, her husband Dan Andrews, Todd Tolhurst, Tiffany Glidden, Beth Dyer and Bill Conklin. As a prize the group received a $25 gift card to the Dine-ah. With 16.5 points each, there was a tie for second place between Al's Angels and Big & Little. These 2 teams each received four Sam Adams beer glasses. It was a fun evening. Trivia Night will be a regular event each Wednesday night throughout the winter and into early spring. It will be in our back room starting at 6:30.
Winning team tallying their score!
Sam Adams beer glass prize!
Thinking about the answer...
Come next week and challenge the champs while enjoying "food, friends, family and fun" while testing your knowledge at the same time! THANK YOU to those that attended. We look forward to seeing you all again, hopefully with some new faces.
Hope to see you soon!
Norm
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