A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO. . . Oh, wait, that was a
successful Broadway play and movie. But, I did have a funny thing
happen yesterday on the way to buy a suit which caused me to remember a
1971 event. A day in 1971 when I was taught that "Words have meaning!"
My granddaughter, Elyssa, is getting married on June 19th and I need to buy a new suit for the occasion. For some reason, since I left the computer sales world about seventeen years ago and begin to spend all my time doing Christian writing - all the computer sales suits hanging in my closet seem to have shrunk. How does that happen? Must be the material.
Anyway, Dory and I decided I need to buy a new suit and Dory told me about a store she found which had tons of suits. After she told me about the store, I decided to check them out and went online to their web site. Immediately trepidation began to set in as I watched their web site automated video begin to show their line of suits.
The store web site uses two models. One actually looks somewhat like a model - and the other looks more like the owner's son or grandson. The suits worn by the model-looking guy look pretty good. But, the other guy, who had twice the number of appearances in this repeating video (you remember, owner's son or grandson) did nothing to make me feel like going to that store. This guy committed every fashion faux pas imaginable - blue suit with brown shoes, brown suit with black shoes, suit pants and jacket three sizes too small, etc., He brought to memory the old saying, "Stuffing ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag!" Yep, that is what he looked like in the suits he was modeling.
But, nevertheless, the price of the suits was intriguing - so, off Dory, Lana, and I go to visit this Men's Suit Store. Looking over the stock, I found several suits made of material which looked pretty good. But, in almost every case, looking at the suit itself, it looked to have been made in a "come and learn to be a suit maker" class - by first year students. Nevertheless, I tried on several suits and in each case found that the crotch to waist distance was very similar to the "below the waist" blue jeans found in most stores for young folks. Personally, when I put on my pants, I do not want to feel like I am being sliced and diced.
When I asked the salesman about the cut of the pants, he told me, "You have them too high." "No, this is my waist." Then he pulled back his jacket to show me where he wore his pants - and I suggested he needed to pull his pants up and tighten his belt a wee bit. He looked down and replied, "Oh, yeah."
At this point Dory, Lana, and I decided this was not the store for me. As we walked to our car, Lana said, "Well, at least their suits were inexpensive."
To which I replied, "No, love, their suits are not inexpensive. Their suits are cheap!"
"What's the difference?" you may ask.
Glad you asked. And, this is where I had my flashback. In 1970, I joined Computer Automation as their west coast Sales Manager. The only person I had to manage was myself, but that was my title. We were selling Computer Automation's Alpha-16 MiniComputer. At our national sales meeting in 1971, we were introduced to the company's new product, the Naked Mini.
Let me digress just a wee bit. Dave Methvin, founder and president of the company, had left Varian Data Machines in 1967 and founded Computer Automation. He was a very good engineer and a decent company executive. He was smart enough to hire Jack Washington as his Executive Vice President. Jack was an older, seasoned technology executive who had been president of Robertshaw Controls in Anaheim until his heart attack. His doctors advised him to find a job with less stress - so he became second in command at Computer Automation where his extensive experience and knowledge could be utilized without the stress of having to be the final go-to man.
So, in 1971, we had our week-long national sales meeting at the prestigious Balboa Bay Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California, where Jack Washington was a member. On the first day, our president, Dave Methvin, proudly stood and introduced our newest product, the Naked Mini - which was a board only version of our successful Alpha-16 minicomputer. It was intended for those customers who wanted to build our computer into their product as an integral component. Dave proudly announced, "We now have the cheapest computer on the market."
And, wise old Jack Washington, Executive Vice President, interrupted Dave and told him, "No, Dave, we do not have the cheapest computer on the market, we have the least expensive computer on the market." His emphasis on "less expensive" versus "cheapest" was not lost on Dave nor on any of us.
And, that is what I mean when I say that "Words have meaning" - and using the right word at the right time could mean success or failure in your endeavor.
Over the many years that I have been doing Christian apologetic writing, I have learned to use the word or phrase which is most appropriate to my reading audience. Let me give you an example:
To a Christian believer, I might say, "The moment you were saved, the Holy Spirit indwelled you."
Whereas, to a non-believer, especially those antagonistic to our Christian faith, I would say, "The moment we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit within us."
Same meaning, totally different perception. Moral of the story: Match your words to your audience for greater effect. Especially when sharing the Gospel with a non-believer - for our goal is to point that person toward Jesus Christ and eternal life.
I pray that my Flash Back, or as some may call it, my Thursday Throw Back, will encourage you to share the Gospel at every opportunity. And, please feel free to share this writing with all your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors) - for, after all, we want all of us to be getting the right words and phases out to all who are not yet in the Family of God.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
My granddaughter, Elyssa, is getting married on June 19th and I need to buy a new suit for the occasion. For some reason, since I left the computer sales world about seventeen years ago and begin to spend all my time doing Christian writing - all the computer sales suits hanging in my closet seem to have shrunk. How does that happen? Must be the material.
Anyway, Dory and I decided I need to buy a new suit and Dory told me about a store she found which had tons of suits. After she told me about the store, I decided to check them out and went online to their web site. Immediately trepidation began to set in as I watched their web site automated video begin to show their line of suits.
The store web site uses two models. One actually looks somewhat like a model - and the other looks more like the owner's son or grandson. The suits worn by the model-looking guy look pretty good. But, the other guy, who had twice the number of appearances in this repeating video (you remember, owner's son or grandson) did nothing to make me feel like going to that store. This guy committed every fashion faux pas imaginable - blue suit with brown shoes, brown suit with black shoes, suit pants and jacket three sizes too small, etc., He brought to memory the old saying, "Stuffing ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag!" Yep, that is what he looked like in the suits he was modeling.
But, nevertheless, the price of the suits was intriguing - so, off Dory, Lana, and I go to visit this Men's Suit Store. Looking over the stock, I found several suits made of material which looked pretty good. But, in almost every case, looking at the suit itself, it looked to have been made in a "come and learn to be a suit maker" class - by first year students. Nevertheless, I tried on several suits and in each case found that the crotch to waist distance was very similar to the "below the waist" blue jeans found in most stores for young folks. Personally, when I put on my pants, I do not want to feel like I am being sliced and diced.
When I asked the salesman about the cut of the pants, he told me, "You have them too high." "No, this is my waist." Then he pulled back his jacket to show me where he wore his pants - and I suggested he needed to pull his pants up and tighten his belt a wee bit. He looked down and replied, "Oh, yeah."
At this point Dory, Lana, and I decided this was not the store for me. As we walked to our car, Lana said, "Well, at least their suits were inexpensive."
To which I replied, "No, love, their suits are not inexpensive. Their suits are cheap!"
"What's the difference?" you may ask.
Glad you asked. And, this is where I had my flashback. In 1970, I joined Computer Automation as their west coast Sales Manager. The only person I had to manage was myself, but that was my title. We were selling Computer Automation's Alpha-16 MiniComputer. At our national sales meeting in 1971, we were introduced to the company's new product, the Naked Mini.
Let me digress just a wee bit. Dave Methvin, founder and president of the company, had left Varian Data Machines in 1967 and founded Computer Automation. He was a very good engineer and a decent company executive. He was smart enough to hire Jack Washington as his Executive Vice President. Jack was an older, seasoned technology executive who had been president of Robertshaw Controls in Anaheim until his heart attack. His doctors advised him to find a job with less stress - so he became second in command at Computer Automation where his extensive experience and knowledge could be utilized without the stress of having to be the final go-to man.
So, in 1971, we had our week-long national sales meeting at the prestigious Balboa Bay Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California, where Jack Washington was a member. On the first day, our president, Dave Methvin, proudly stood and introduced our newest product, the Naked Mini - which was a board only version of our successful Alpha-16 minicomputer. It was intended for those customers who wanted to build our computer into their product as an integral component. Dave proudly announced, "We now have the cheapest computer on the market."
And, wise old Jack Washington, Executive Vice President, interrupted Dave and told him, "No, Dave, we do not have the cheapest computer on the market, we have the least expensive computer on the market." His emphasis on "less expensive" versus "cheapest" was not lost on Dave nor on any of us.
And, that is what I mean when I say that "Words have meaning" - and using the right word at the right time could mean success or failure in your endeavor.
Over the many years that I have been doing Christian apologetic writing, I have learned to use the word or phrase which is most appropriate to my reading audience. Let me give you an example:
To a Christian believer, I might say, "The moment you were saved, the Holy Spirit indwelled you."
Whereas, to a non-believer, especially those antagonistic to our Christian faith, I would say, "The moment we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit within us."
Same meaning, totally different perception. Moral of the story: Match your words to your audience for greater effect. Especially when sharing the Gospel with a non-believer - for our goal is to point that person toward Jesus Christ and eternal life.
I pray that my Flash Back, or as some may call it, my Thursday Throw Back, will encourage you to share the Gospel at every opportunity. And, please feel free to share this writing with all your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors) - for, after all, we want all of us to be getting the right words and phases out to all who are not yet in the Family of God.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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