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23 November 2004
Lugging home a large-scale purchase
A three ton buy
By Terry Riley
I've found that business travel offers me the opportunity to do a
little shopping. You know, a nice golf shirt or a spiffy pair of running
shorts. But on a recent trip, I went overboard.
For years, I've enjoyed tinkering with cars and an occasional boat.
After dealing with people all day in my weight-management seminars, I find
the company of machines that follow the strict rules of physics to be
enjoyable.
I've restored a Model A, a Triumph and a Porsche. Once my projects are
finished, I sell them and latch on to another one. It's just like travel
should be: you enjoy the journey as much as the destination. So I always
have my eye out for another project.
Which brings me to my recent shopping adventure. After a seminar in
Phoenix, I changed clothes, hopped in my rental car and headed south to
Tucson. I had heard about a "vintage Dodge Power Wagon" for sale. I'd been
casually interested in finding an old truck as my next project, thinking
that I might even keep it to tool around my hometown, Santa Cruz, Calif.,
and to carry my surfboard to the beach.
Two and a half hours later, I found myself standing in a desert plot
on the city's outskirts, looking at something much more than I had
imagined as "an old truck." It was a World War II-era 4X4 ambulance.
Lights, siren, big honking red crosses—the whole parade.
I bought it on the spot.
Of course, that brought up the problem of getting a 6,000 pound,
17-foot long, 8 1/2 foot tall, unlicensed vehicle back home. I solved it
by having my new set of wheels shipped to California.
The matter of getting my wife to fully appreciate what an intelligent
decision I made by buying a military ambulance while traveling 1,000 miles
from our home was more of a challenge. But once I repainted the bathroom,
repaired the fence, and cleaned out the garage, my case for "another
project" became much more persuasive.
My wife now has even seen the brilliance of making large-scale
purchases while traveling to distant locales. And she's even taken a page
out of my proverbial hymnal, so to speak. While we were traveling through
Smicksburg, Pa., recently, Linda bought a church pew for only half as much
as the cost to ship it home. She's definitely with the program now.
And the ambulance? Well, it makes a great marketing tool. When I
introduce my programs to potential clients, I include a picture of me
beside the ambulance and explain that I'm prepared to assist them
regardless of the outcome. I can either help their employees to better
manage their health, or if that doesn't work, I'm prepared to cart them
off to the hospital.
© 2004 Applied Psychology
As told to Christopher Elliott
New York Times
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