Chapter 1

When people ask me about how I got to where I am today, and how I've done so well in life, I always look back to my seventeenth birthday, and put my finger on the day my life changed. My name is Don Powers. I have a twin brother Dan. We were born by the same mother on the same day, but if I didn't know better, I'd think that we had different fathers. We're total opposites in our personalities. We are both ambidextrous, but I write left-handed, and he writes right-handed, we both throw a baseball right-handed, but he bats lefty, and we're both tall, but I have blonde hair and blue eyes while he has brown hair and brown eyes. Dan studies like crazy, and gets straight A's. I copy his homework at the breakfast table, and receive B's.

We get along fine, and have common friends in the neighborhood, but he wants to become a doctor, and I want to spend my life as a surfer. Dan was born with straight teeth, but needed glasses. Due to a skateboard accident, and my genes, I was the one who got braces, but didn't need glasses. I'd worn the braces for almost two years, and the orthodontist said that he would take them off on my seventeenth birthday. Dad took the morning off, and took us both to breakfast. After dropping Dan at school, we hung out for a while before taking me to the office to have them remove my braces.

When we finished at the orthodontist, Dad told me that since it was almost 1:30 that I could take the rest of the day off. He dropped me at the country club to play golf, and he went into his office. It was a Thursday, and at that time of the day, it was slow at the country club. I went in, got my clubs from club storage, and went to the pro-shop for a start time. They told me that another member also wanted to play, so we'd play as a twosome in about fifteen minutes.

I met my playing partner on the first tee. His name was Stick. I don't think that was his real name, but that was how he introduced himself. I introduced myself, and we shook hands.

He looked at me, and said, "Shouldn't you be in school young man?"

"I'm playing hooky. Shouldn't you be in an office somewhere?" I rebutted.

Looking at him, he looked in his early thirties, and was tan and relaxed as if he played golf every day. He said, "I'm done with my work for this week. I'm in sales, and they pay me based on what I sell. I work hard for a couple of months a year, and then just take care of loose ends and processing orders the rest of the year."

"Sounds like a good job." I said, as I stepped up to the tee, and hit my smokin' driver two hundred and eighty yards to the center of the fairway. It was a perfect distance to turn the corner in the long, par five, dogleg left, first hole.

Stick stepped up, hit the same shot, and landed within five yards of where my ball came to rest. He smiled, and I told him, "Nice shot."

"You too," he replied.

We rode the cart to our second shots and both hit long irons to the green. He got a good bounce and it released to within fifteen feet of the cup. My shot grabbed the edge of the green, and stopped. I had a short chip remaining to land on the green.

Stick said, "Nice shot; you should skip some more school, and practice a bit more."

"I'll tell my parents you said so."

I hit a nice chip, and it rolled past the cup for a short tap in for birdie. Stick also missed his putt by a couple of inches, and tied the hole. We were close in our games, and although he beat me by five strokes, I'd have lost by a hundred, and been happy with everything else I obtained out of that day.

As we played, I learned that Stick was a dress salesman. During the year, he worked a couple of shows, and sold to large and small chain stores. They bought dresses and his clothes in huge orders. The rest of the year, he made a few phone calls, and took care of any problems that arose. He also started to teach me about selling. Over eighteen holes, I learned what it took to become a great salesman.

Number one: Find out what the customer needs, and show how your products can fit those needs.

Number two: Make sure that the transaction is mutually beneficial.

Number three: Under promise and over deliver.

I learned that if you're only competing on price then you're setting yourself up to fail. Either you won't make money or someone else will be cheaper. He talked about different materials, stitches, styles, exclusivity, and service to set his company apart from the competition. Price was the last thing that came up, and then it was just to make sure that the deal was profitable for both parties. Stick worked on a straight commission basis, so his boss never asked about his hours, just his sales.

He also explained that since they updated or replaced clothing annually, he always had a new sale to the same customer just around the corner. If he sold houses cars, the sales process would be somewhat longer. I was amazed at what he was telling me, and soaked it up like a sponge. He told me to sell the benefits not the features, and to focus on the needs and solutions for the customer. You can sell the great look of a log home to a customer, but if they're looking for low maintenance, then you aren't addressing their needs.

Stick was nice enough to drop me off at the end of my street on the way home, and I thanked him for a great lesson in sales. I stepped out of his Mercedes, and walked home. It was around 4:40, and the girl who lives three houses down from me with her mom, was out pulling weeds in the flowerbed around the mailbox.

I know her name is Courtney, but when we'd first moved in, I kept forgetting her name, so every time I saw her, to make sure that I didn't look like a dumb ass that couldn't remember a name, and I started to call her Cutie. I said, "Hey Cutie."

"Hey Don. What's up?"

"I just got done playing golf, and been dropped off at the end of the street."

"If you skip school you'll find yourself in trouble."

"I'm not the one being punished, and having to pull weeds."

"My mom thinks that chores build character, so I have to do a few things around the house every week. I vacuum, wash the car, and pull weeds."

I bent over, and helped her. In ten minutes, we were done, and she went in to find a trash bag for the small pile of weeds we'd made. I carried it to the can on the side of the house, after which she invited me in to wash my hands, and have a soda.

I always feel good to watch the water turn brown with dirt. It makes me feel like I did something. I came out, and Courtney handed me a Coke. The air conditioning felt good. She smiled at me, and then said, "You got your braces off."

"I wanted to start kissing girls."

She blushed a bit. Courtney was only fourteen and a freshman at the same high school where I was a junior. We had been friends and neighbors for the last eight years. On the block, there was always kickball and other games going on when I was growing up. All the kids played some were older, some younger. She was a cute girl, and she was just starting to blossom into a young woman. She was skinny and blonde, and at about five foot tall, she wasn't short or tall for her age.

She was quiet for a minute, and then blurted out, "If you need any help with that, I could use some practice and lessons."

I raised my eyebrow, and said, "Would you want to practice with an old guy like me?"

"You've always called me Cutie, and it always makes me feel good when you do. I've never had a boyfriend, and haven't had a date except for school dances. I'd be happy to kiss you, and wouldn't expect to become your girlfriend or anything."

"At the moment, I'm kind of hot and sweaty, so why don't I have a quick kiss before I go home for today. Maybe tomorrow after school, I can come over to go swimming, and we can have a short lesson?"

"Really? That would be cool. Emily was coming over to spend the night tomorrow. Will you still come over or do you want me to tell her not to come?"

"Courtney, I wouldn't want to ruin your weekend, and start to make demands on you. If you both wear your bikinis, I'll come over, and swim for a bit. If you both want to practice kissing some then I'll see if I can help out."

"Cool. Thanks Don."

I took her in my arms, and we kissed. I hadn't had a girlfriend since I'd gotten braces, and before that, I was fourteen so you could really consider my experience limited. Although the kiss started out friendly, we didn't break apart anytime soon. Our lips came apart, but we started a second, and then a third kiss before either of us tried to stop the other. It felt great. When we started to lose control, she pulled back, and smiled. I smiled back, and said, "That was great. I look forward to the lessons."

"Me too," was her reply. She walked me to the door, and I went home.

Dan was home, and his girlfriend Christy Malone was with him. They were doing homework. Dan and Christy had been dating for a little over a year, and I think they'd gone, as far as I had with Courtney, but they were both happy, so I was happy for them. Dan looked up when he heard me enter, and asked where I'd been.

"I had my braces taken off, and it took a little longer than expected, so Dad let me take the rest of the day off, and I went golfing at the club. I wish you could've come with me."

"I had an AP physics test this afternoon. I couldn't miss it anyways."

"Hey Christy, how was your day?", I asked.

"It was school. I had the same test, and now we have plenty of homework. Happy birthday by the way."

"Thanks."

When I left them, I went in to take a shower. Afterwards, I sat on my bed, and read some of The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux. I was taking my time getting through it, but I was almost done. I heard the garage door motor, so I went in to see my mom. Dad (Roger) is an engineer at Martin Marietta, and Mom (Carole) is an Emergency Room doctor. She loves the variety, and not having to run an office. Her schedule fluctuates, but she has enough seniority that she only works a few nights, and one weekend a month. She likes the 12-hour shifts, and working three of four days a week.

I was happy to see that she had brought home pizza from our favorite pizza place. Dad was home shortly after Mom, and we dug into the pizza while it was still hot. Christy stayed, and ate with us as she often did. It was weird that way. Kids had no problem eating or sleeping at someone else house after a quick phone call to let the parents in on the plan. Christy didn't spend the night, but she and Dan ate together three or four nights a week at our house or hers. As always, the pizza was good.

For birthday presents, I received a book called TWICE SHY, by Dick Francis. Dan received a copy of AT DAWN WE SLEPT, by Gordon W. Prange about the attack on Pearl Harbor. We both got some new clothes, and then they gave us each an envelope. It contained a check for $5,000.

We looked at dad, and he said, "We think that you're both responsible enough to have a car. This is money towards that car. We'll pay for your insurance, but you'll pay for your own gas. You can buy something cheap and pocket the rest. You can use your own money to buy something more expensive. It's up to you how you want to handle it. We'll help you if you want help."

I thanked both Mom and Dad, and gave them each hugs. Dan followed behind me, and did the same thing. I knew what I wanted to buy. I had a copy of the latest auto trader up in my room and knew that I wanted a Datsun 4x4 with a topper on the back, so I could lock up my surfboard. Dan would probably buy something cheap, and pocket the difference. Mom and Dad had set aside money for our college, but not Dan's medical school. He'd be living off student loans for that part of his life.

To celebrate our birthday further, we had some cake and ice cream. It was May 10th 1982. Dan, Christy, and I'd be finishing our 11th grade year in a couple of weeks. We had moved to Orlando eight years earlier.

I went up to my room, returned with a copy of the Auto Trader, and while going through the paper, I showed Mom and Dad what I wanted. We found a couple of trucks in the $3500 to $4500 range that would meet my needs. I didn't need those big off-road tires, but wanted to make sure that when I drove off-road at the beach that I didn't end up stuck in the sand at the beach. I surfed with a couple of kids who lived around the neighborhood, and whom I knew from school. Most of them had cars, but it would be nice to have a ride of my own. Dad said that he'd take me to look at a couple of the trucks on Saturday.

While Dan borrowed Mom's car to take Christy home, I went back in, and read my book before rolling over to try to fall asleep. I only hit snooze three times in the morning before dragging myself to the shower. When I went outside, I found my friend Steve had stopped by to give me a ride to school. As we were driving to school, I told him that I was going to skip surfing on Saturday to go look at trucks with my dad. As we entered the school parking lot, he wished me luck, before we went our separate ways.

Chapter 2 »