Slim Randles' Home Country
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[April 26, 2008]
Ran into Herb Collins the other day down by the school.
He volunteers there, from time to time, helping kids with their math
homework and trying to recruit future members of The Great World of
Business. |
He loved business, back in the days when he lived in the city and
ran the pawn shop. For years now, ever since he hung up his
jeweler's loupe, he's told us that there was an excitement to making
the right deal. "It has to be right for the customer and for me,
or it isn't right at all," Herb always says. "You can do that and
make several people happy and earn a living. There's no need to take
unfair advantage of someone just to earn a living."
Our little town is a bit tame after city life, but it's Herb's
wife's hometown and she wanted to come back here to live after he
retired. So Herb turned to helping kids understand how wonderful
business can be. He's advised kids on the most effective way of
delivering newspapers on their bicycles, he's suggested advertising
gimmicks for kids with summer lemonade stands, and he's helped
several boys market their skills with a lawn mower. You can take the
man out of the business, I guess, but it's hard to take the business
out of the man.
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So after the shaking hands and the how-are-yous, we talked about
kids and business and the new crop of youngsters coming up this
year. I couldn't help thinking ol' Herb might jump at the chance to
dive back in the world of commerce again, but he disabused me of
that right away.
"All through with that," he said, shaking his head. "I was a
successful businessman and now I'm successfully retired."
Successfully retired?
"That's right," he grinned. "I have a wife and a television set,
and they both work."
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
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