Archives for Andy Andy

“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 7 Continued

“Jo, do you think I should’ve given Jerry the raise he asked for?”, I say back to Jo as we are sitting in my 1998 office on Main Street, several hours after my “meeting” with one of my best, but oldest home elevator mechanics. “look sweetie, I don’t want to ever Michele, ever appear as though I am telling you what to do, but you’ve got to get a grip on things around here! Michele, look at all those home elevator jobs on your board (Jo frantically points to the board on my wall where I keep the names of
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“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 6 Continued

“Jerry look, you just gotta figure out a way to get along with this contractor in Hilton Head and get out of him what you need because no ones saying y’all have to be best buds, you just gotta get the job done before the client comes at me raising hell”, I say back to Jerry, my head elevator technician,  in my best 1998 “coaching” voice. You see, Jerry, the winner of my “best elevator mechanic of 1998” award isn’t looking through my telescope, he’s looking through his binoculars; and although he can’t abide my contractor in Hilton Head SC,
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“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 5 Continued

As I’m driving up Lookout Mountain with my “buddies” this morning, I’m awe struck by how beautiful my lengthy mountain driveway is; how “privileged” I am to live up here; and how I’m reminded of the many folks among me who never experience such a beautiful serene setting as they go home after a hard long days work. Though I have truly come to understand some folks socioeconomic fears of what others might think or portray of them if they were to move to Lookout Mountain. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Im not special; I’m just saying
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Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 4 Continued

“Buddy, do you know what this song is about”?, JR says to me as I begin my morning F-150 climb up Ochs highway. “What buddy? (As I get choked on last night’s toothpaste) What, the song “beat-it” is about?”, I serve back to him with my morning hack, “Buddy, this song is about the Illuminati!” He says back to me with a great deal of certainty, “Huh?”, I say back in my best “what chu talkin about Willis” voice, “Listen buddy, it’s about the Illuminati, you know buddy, Jay-Z and Beyonce belong to the Illuminati”, I turn into Broad Street
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“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 3 Continued

“Hello”, says the voice at the other end of extension two hundred and three “Hey there, to whom am I speaking with please”, I say back in the most polite charm voice I can muster at 7:45am on this hot, Wednesday, ninth day of August, two thousand and eleven morning. “Uuum, you called me”, the soft-spoken, yet altruistic voice on the other end says back to me, as though his first cup of coffee is still marinating his morning vocal cord, “ha! I’m sorry, this is Michele Peterson, from Chattanooga, TN and I’m looking for someone up there at Devon
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“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Part 2 Continued

“Buddy?” one of my team buddy members curiously says to me two Sundays ago, “Yes buddy”, I say back, with my usual morning voice, as my two buddies hop in my pick-up truck and we start to head up to my properties on Lookout Mountain to do some yard work. I own several properties in and around Chattanooga TN, so my fellas (my young black guys who work with me almost every day and who help me take care of my real estate empire) and I came up with the name “Team Buddy” about three months ago, in early Spring
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“Treat em’ like shit, they’ll treat you like a King” Story 18 April 19, 2013

One Wednesday afternoon in early March of 2013, Randy, my head carpenter and I are having a conversation about business and “practical” business practices. Randy and I have been working together on and off for over five years; I’ve designed, he’s built. I suspect many business marriages are born out of the basic knowledge we need one-another in a sort of “necessary evil” kind of way. The only difference from my personal world and my business world is most of my “business partners” are men and most of my close family and friends are made up of women, gay men
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“The Conflict of Generational Acceptance” Story 13

“Sweetie, do you want another coca-cola?” my Ma-maw asks me, “It sure is a hot day for April so I guess I better have a glass of ice water because I have to rustle up some elevator sales this afternoon and Coke tends to make me a little high strung-fidgety, and I can’t sell anything to anyone if I don’t seem calm, you know how folks can be Ma-Maw, they’ll think I’m trying to rip them off, or up to no good, or giving them the shifty eye, or something”, I tell my Ma-Maw as I grab a bottle of
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“Guy the Builder” Story 12 December 16, 2012

Ya know, telling stories has always been my thing. Ever since I was a kid I can remember loving the expression on people’s faces when I’d come up with a tale (sometimes true/sometimes embellished as my Mommy Gah likes to say) that even surprised my two favorite people in the whole world, my Ma-Maw and my Nonnie. Both of my grandmothers loved to tell me stories and although you could not have found two more different people, both always found a way to bring their stories back to kindness, loyalty, tolerance, forgiveness and  love. On the other hand, writing stories
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“Lee Major’s Nephew” Story 11 December 2, 2012

“Guilt and shame is debilitating”, Oprah says back to the lovely brunette lady with the large brown eyes, as my brother from a different mother roommate, Bob,  hands me another cigarette and proclaims,   “Damn straight Buddy, now that is the Truth!” Oprah, now there’s a person with soul. Annoying at times, yes; self-riotous a lot, for sure; but no one can ever accuse Oprah of not having soul. They say in New Orleans “a person with soul, is a person who has the ability to make someone feel better about themselves, regardless of their condition”. My best friend Bob
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