Joe and his cars 11-11-11

Most of you have met our chief assistant by now. His name is Joe, and I tell everyone that he is the "glue that holds this business together." He has poise and tact and foresight well beyond his 18 years. In a pinch, he can take someone through their entire workout, mapping it out like a trainer would. Until recently, I used to think that those WWJD bumper stickers on some cars meant What Would Joe Do? Joe has a car. He calls it Bambi. The moniker fits because the paint is fawn and gold and primer colored and the big round headlights give it a doe-eyed look. The car is a 1989 Mercedes Benz. It is a classic if one looks beyond the occasional dent and the loud exhaust system. Speaking of systems, feel free to ask Joe how he goes about putting the windows down. The speedo stopped working years ago at 160,000. There is no heat or air conditioning right now, but the brake pedal has not gone to the floor all week and I think Joe said the wipers are working again. One of our clients decided Joe needed a new vehicle forthwith, and started checking the classifieds for Joe. He also offered to FINANCE this new/used vehicle at ZERO percent interest! Very, very classy. Then Norma (a sweetheart of an afternoon client) took up the cause. Through her church, she knows a guy with a repair garage. One of his regular customers drove a 1995 Ford Taurus. She passed away. Her offspring saw the maintenence receipts in the glove box and turned the Taurus over to him to sell. Then they flew back to California. By now the astute reader is probably thinking..."Mark, Norma, why do you think Joe should get rid of his 21 year old car and buy a 16 year old one? Do you have dementia?" The answer is simple: Because this particular 16 year old Taurus has 25,749 miles on it!! Sue and I fronted the money and picked up the car with Joe yesterday.  Stay tuned.