Everybody knows someone like him. It may be an uncle or a grandfather or even your own father for which phrases such as, “he’s so tight, he squeaks when he walks” or “he’s still got 9 cents of the first dime he ever made” are used to describe him. In my case, he’s a neighbor and good friend that I will call ‘Don.’
Don is at the coffee shop every morning at 7:15. To save money, he brings his own thermos mug of coffee from home, and drinks it while spending about an hour visiting with neighbors and friends before starting his day. Don is always ready to lend a helping hand, offer advice or just ride along to check cows or go for parts, as long as he doesn’t have to spend any of his own money on the trip… and he is always ready to go, since he retired from his own business a few years back. He still runs a few cows and spends most of his days keeping his farm in a constant condition of obsessive, immaculate neatness.
Because I enjoy his company and find I can still learn a lot from the old man, I invited him to go with me on a cow-buying trip last fall. He was eager to ride along and we arrived at the sale barn a couple of hours before sale time to look over the offerings and visit with the consigners. Since the auction has a nice café, I asked him if he wanted to have a quick supper before the sale began. He agreed and, as frugal as he is, he amazingly grabbed the ticket from the waitress when she brought it after our meal. Of course, the next morning at the coffee shop found him complaining that I had threatened to leave him at the sale barn if he wouldn’t pay for the meal. After all, he did have an image to uphold.
Earlier this spring, I once again invited Don to ride along to a huge farm sale that I was attending. He jumped at the opportunity and we left for what would be an all-day affair. By mid-morning on an unseasonable warm day, I went to the concession trailer and bought cold drinks for the both of us. At lunchtime, Don realized what I had done and it now put him in position to be the one that would need to offer to pay for lunch. He did, but only after reminding me that he had now paid for meals twice in a row. I smiled and thanked him.
A couple of weeks later, I invited him to go with me to another cow sale at the same location that got this all started. Before agreeing to go along this time, he asked who would be paying for supper. I agreed that it was my turn to spring for the food.
Once we had looked over the cattle, we headed for the café. After enjoying the meal, the waitress brought the ticket and I quickly grabbed it and put it by my plate. Don smiled and stated, “I’ll get the tip.”
While we sat and talked, the owner of the sale barn came over and visited with us for a while. We’ve both known the owner for many years and before he moved on to get the sale started, he grabbed the meal ticket and said, “This one’s on me, boys.”
Don’s jaw dropped as he stared at me and stated, “You’re the luckiest son-of-a-gun I’ve ever been around.”
I just smiled and asked, “You’re still getting the tip. Right?”
