Tried and True

"Shhhhhhhhhh! Don’t let her catch you at it. She’ll whip your butt!” These words still echo in my mind years after the fact. Just kids looking for something to keep us occupied while we waited (im)patiently for our Mothers.

I remember sitting in the waiting room of the eye doctor’s office on the fifth? Floor of the old Murchison Building in downtown Wilmington. My Mother and my Grandmother both had appointments to see the doctor. As kids, we had nothing to do to amuse ourselves in the waiting room. I was 6 and my aunt was 7, (that’s a southern thing) No TV, No I pad, no cell phone.

One game we consistently played and never tired of was "See how many people you can get to yawn”. Sounds simple. It was. Had 1 rule. Don’t let the grown-ups catch you or "else”. (You never, ever, ever played this game in church and got caught. If so you would probably go straight to hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200 but go directly to hell. ) Whoever got the most people to yawn, present company accepted, won the game. The prize??? Bragging rights till we played again.

I remember vividly playing at the eye doctor’s office. As we giggled, and yawned, the score was tied at 8 people each. One old guy in the far left corner was not buying our subliminal messages. He simply would not yawn. (See you’re stifling a yawn now, just reading about it) We tried everything. We walked in front of him, auspiciously trading the magazine we were reading for a different one. We talked about how very tired we were. We stretched to our full 4 ft. 2 in height, nothing worked. Everyone else in the waiting room, including our Mother, Grandmother and the doctor’s receptionist had yawned.

We were troupers if nothing else. We did not give up. An hour and a half later when the last adult accompanying us on this outing had finished her appointment, as we were being hurried out the door, still yawning and glancing over our shoulders in his direction, I heard my Mother remark, "Isn’t it sad about poor Mr. XXXXXX, even though he is totally blind he still comes with his wife, once a year for her annual eye check-up; while nodding toward our intended target.

Now what pray tell does this have to do with a real estate blog? . . . . well it simply points out that you should never stop trying the tried and true principles even if occasionally you lose one. Make an offer, put all of your effort and expertise in it make the very best offer you can, get an experienced friend (agent) to help you with your strategy and go for it. If occasionally one gets away, that’s OK maybe it’s for the best.

 Cathy Medlin is the owner/broker of Island Real Estate, located at 405 Roland Ave., Surf City, NC. She speaks Southern without a funny accent. Selling and renting beach property without the need of a translator has been her lifelong pursuit