Mrs.
Greenberg’s Adventure
People
who are not accustomed to reading sections, ranges and townships in the country
really have no business being there in the first place. It’s definitely not the
same as the street names and addresses they are accustomed to. Time after time
you see them winding up within a five mile radius of their destination, not
knowing where in the world they are. How to get where they are going, and an
incredible fear they’ll never ever get home again.
Mrs.
Greenberg was such an agent. She was a dynamic force to be reckoned with in her
city property sales. Her powerful personality more or less intimidated people
into doing her bidding. In fact, I was in her home office one day and was
seated in what she called her ‘Real Estate’ chair. It was a large, comfortable leather recliner
that you sank into while listening to her invitation to sit. The problem was
getting out of it without her assistance. She laughed, saying that she was more
than willing to help as soon as the client signed the agreements she put before
them on her little portable table that was conveniently set beside the chair.
Actually, she was only half joking.
Well,
Mrs. Greenberg had met a traffic engineer somehow in her travels. She seemed
always to gravitate toward people with degrees after their name, having
introduced herself as a Real Estate agent (of note, I’m sure), Of course I
don’t know what conversation took place exactly, but it turned out that the
engineer, a member of the Manitoba Hunt Club was looking for a place in “horse
country” to pursue his hobbies, one of them being the apiary business.
“Oh,
how interesting,” she exclaimed, smelling a new buyer. “I’m sure with a little
research I’ll be able to find something for you. Leave it with me for a day or
so.”
What
could be so difficult about this, she thought. Real estate is real estate, and
she went through the office records to find suitable properties with
confidence. She did find several that she thought might be perfect for her new
friend and called him. They set up an appointment to view some vacant land.
Full
of confidence and anticipation she picked up the engineer in her big black
Lincoln and took off for the outskirts of the city. She got to the north/south
highway and was intimidated at the speed at which the cars were whizzing by.
Finally she roared across the intersection and into the northbound traffic. The
city now behind her, Mrs. Greenberg was viewing the vacant prairie, the trees
and bushes on either side of the road and everything in the world that was
alien to her. More than that, cars and big transport rigs were speeding past
her.
As
she sped along the highway she was losing her confidence. The Engineer suddenly
piped up and said they’d missed the turn off. WHAT? Oh well, she’s just take
the next turn off on the divided highway. That wasn’t as easy as she’s assumed.
It was five kilometers past before she could swing back. It took some driving
to maneuver out of the way of the gravel and transport trucks pulling up behind
her and honking her out of the road. The
engineer was yelling, “There it is! THERE IT IS!”
Mrs.
Greenberg barely made the corner with gravel trucks still on her trail. They
were going to the pits to fill up their loads and didn’t have much time for
meandering real estate agents. As she looked up the road to the trees on both
sides and the hill going up, Mrs. Greenberg had a sense of foreboding. What
would be on the other side of that hill? Still she drove on. Climbing the hill,
she suddenly saw a big gravel truck come bursting over the top. That must be a
steep hill. She hadn’t seen him approaching at all. By the time she reached the
summit, there was nothing but empty space staring at her. Fortunately she had
enough momentum to keep on a little further until she saw the bottom. It was a
long way down!
Finally
there was a road that led off from her path. She took it, swinging back around
to the one she had just left and powered up the hill. That’s when absolute
terror set in. All she could see was blue sky! Who knew what would be on the
other side of it. She was going too fast! Finally the ground leveled out and
she was on an even keel again. Her
terror dissolved into tears of relief. The engineer patted her on the shoulder
and offered to drive her home. “Oh please,” she whimpered.
Once
back in the city Mrs. Greenberg regained her confidence and took over the wheel
again. Before she dropped the engineer off, she promised she would find
somebody who could help him – which is where I came in to the picture. They had
been only two miles or so from where I lived when they turned around.
The
engineer was grateful to have found me and I delivered on my duty to find him a
place not far from my home. We did become friends and in fact, he put some
hives on my property. We saw each other quite regularly and even visited together
at the hunt club annual ball.
In
the end, I thanked Mrs. Greenberg for the referral and gave her a piece of the
commission which pleased her no end.
As
for the engineer, I must tell you what prompted him to move out to the country.
It’s quite a story. But in the meantime life went on.
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