"A Tipping Point--a case study" or; Mark's 40th or; Lessons on Renting a Limo

Sometimes a very small event can change a life, or even in some cases several lives. A case in point was my brother in law, Mark's 40th birthday party. A little background. I married into a very competitive family where all the brothers and male inlaws revel in competing...well..in just about everything. During our 30's we competed on cars, mortgages, fishing, power boats...etc. In fact, the guys got together each year for an annual fishing trip which we billed as really a performance review. We held meetings with secret minutes where each of us could get awards for besting the others. I remember with fondness my special award for the lowest 15yr mtg rate, which was 4.375. I still treasure the award. Anyway....

For Mark's 40th birthday, his buddy, Mert, wanted to do something special. Like a gathering of all the guys in the company and a dinner out and nightclubing and to top it off, a special limo to take them from place to place, and expecially home.

Being competitive, Mert, wanted to impress Mark with how thrifty he was and negotiated real hard on the limo. He wanted the lowest rock bottom price in the world. Finally, thrilled, he got an unbelievable deal. An older stretch Lincoln limo with special suicide doors. It was a classic, not trendy, but at the right price.

It was truly a night to remember. The meal was great. The guys were in rare form. On the way home, however, the limo driver stopped at a gas station to use the rest rooms. When the guys in the limo tried to get out of the limo, they discovered that the door handles did not work. They could not get out.

I never did get the entire story, and that is rare for The Observer. What spiritual awakening really happened back in that limo of guys. I do know that Mark was heard telling Mert " I don't ever want to hear the word "deal" again. No "bargains". Never again. Ok?"

Mark now drives a Lexis. Has a huge home on a lake. And a huge powerboat. All the best. And, when he rents a limo, he always checks the doors first.