Beech Tree News Network

“Your retired?” a fellow asked me. I know this guy from years back, I wasn’t particularly fond of him even when we were kids. He was a blow-hard then--- still was.
“Yeah, I’m retired.” I said
“What do you do?” he asked
“Do?” 
“Yeah you know… you play golf?”
“Well no… I…”
“I play golf,” he went on
“Well that’s fine I…”
“I’m retired too.” He informed me. “Play golf about half the year- we go to Florida in the winter.”
“That’s fine…I…”
“We leave just after Christmas.”
“Well, that’s good… I…”
“We spent the winter down there during the cold weather, you people are going through here.”
“That’s fine…I…”
“What did you say you did?”
“I… ahh… nothing much.”
“Ok,” he said. “Talk to you later.” 
“Not if I see you first.” I thought.
We southerners like to be asked about us. We don’t take that as nosy. Of course this guy only cared about “it-me-and-my” It’s kind of like “I’m glad you got to see me. I hope you were impressed.”
I learned early on if you want to be liked, let others impress you; instead of the other way around. Once I was a sales rep for a fertilizer company. In my training I learned 90% of people buy from you because they like you.  I once heard nurses at a hospital say “We like Dr so in so very much. He asks our opinion. He respects us and our knowledge. “
Buck was often whipped for fighting at his county school. A new teacher came. Soon the kids came and told the teacher Buck was fighting on the playground again. “It’s Bucks fault, he started it.” The kids all chimed in. The teacher quelled the uproar, to everyone’s surprise he said, “ I want to hear Bucks side.” With this Buck began to cry, and blurted out through his sobs, “I never knew I had a side!”
Because of fair minded teacher Buck became a likeable kid’s andgrew into a good citizen.
Kindest Regards.