Thread: THE GINGHAM DRESS (nice story)

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You know Richard, I've always said it would be cool to have a billion dollars and go into a Ferrari dealership dressed like you didn't have two nickles to rub together and see how they treated you before you paid cash for a new car.

Got a taste of that years ago. We sold our house in Pennsylvania and made a nice profit, moved to Winston-Salem NC. My wife and I decided to buy all new furniture when we got to NC because that is where all the stuff is made and we figured we could save some money. After we got settled in the new house we were a little dirty from unpacking one day and decided to go shopping for the new pieces we needed. I put a wad of cash in the pocket of my cutoffs and the four of us went shopping.

Our kids were about 6 then, and the four of us probably looked like we were just out dreaming about stuff we couldn't afford to buy. The salesman who greeted us gave us a half hearted " and what can I do for you folks today?" and the insincere look on his face told me he thought we were just window shopping. We shopped around for a while and Mr Supersalesman kinda hung out nearby, but really didn't give much help.

Finally, my Wife and I decided we liked a living room outfit, a formal dining room outfit, furniture for the family room, a kitchen table and chairs, some lamps, etc. When we told him we had made up our mind and wanted those items he said in a very bored tone "and just how will you be paying for those items today?" That was when I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash that would choke a horse. "In cash" I said. At that point his eyes lit up and he suddenly became our best friend. He called the warehouse and said "we have some FINE FOLKS out here, get off your lazy butts and load a truck and follow them to their house.

On the way home my Wife said " Boy, his tone sure changed, didn't it!" Bottom line, you NEVER know who you are dealing with in life, so don't judge a book by it's cover.

Don

from the net:

"For what it is worth, there was a book written by the then Harvard president's son that may have started the twist on actual events. Leland Stanford Junior was just short of his 16th birthday when he died of typhoid fever in Florence, Italy on March 13, 1884. He had not spent a year at Harvard before his death, nor was he "accidentally killed." Following Leland Junior's death, the Stanfords determined to found an institution in his name that would serve the "children of California." Detained on the East Coast following their return from Europe, the Stanfords visited a number of universities and consulted with the presidents of each. The account of their visit with Charles W. Eliot at Harvard is actually recounted by Eliot himself in a letter sent to David Starr Jordan (Stanford's first president) in 1919. At the point the Stanfords met with Eliot, they apparently had not yet decided about whether to establish a university, a technical school or a museum. Eliot recommended a university and told them the endowment should be $5 million. Accepted accounts indicate that Jane and Leland looked at each other and agreed they could manage that amount. The thought of Leland and Jane, by this time quite wealthy, arriving at Harvard in a faded gingham dress and homespun threadbare suit is quite entertaining. And, as a former governor of California and well-known railroad baron, they likely were not knowingly kept waiting for too long outside Eliot's office. The Stanfords also visited Cornell, MIT and Johns Hopkins. The Stanfords established two institutions in Leland Junior's name -- the University and the Museum, which was originally planned for San Francisco, but moved to adjoin the university."

Nice story though