Even though we spend the majority of our lives with special
loved ones, sometimes they do things that simply amaze us and remind us just
how lucky we are and how much better our lives are because of them. That’s the
way it is with my wife. Amy is my hero; more than that, I have been reminded
that she is a real bulldog.
Amy didn’t appear that way when we first began dating in
1973. I was a senior in college, and she
was a freshman. Thanks to Rev. Bill
Menees’ persistence, I asked her out on a date. She was a sweet, quiet,
gracious girl who knocked my socks off. I asked her out at the end of the first
date, and she told me she’d think about it. Dejected and more than a little
embarrassed, I turned to leave. After taking a few steps she said, “I’ve
thought about it. Yes, I’ll go out again.” From that moment on, I decided she
was the one for whom I’d been looking.
We’ve spent a lifetime together, and much of it has run
smoothly. However, some situations have been just the least bit bumpy. I admit
that I’m an impulsive person who is known to make decisions and purchases in an
instant. Amy has been the rudder that guides our ship, even when I do things
that steer us off course. Regardless how much I gripe and complain, she has
made financial decisions that have made our live better.
We stopped buying new cars years ago. The prices for them
were too steep for our modest budget. When a new vehicle is needed, I go with
my dear wife to the car dealership. My jobs during these trips are to sign on
dotted lines and be absolutely quiet. Amy is the negotiator for us. She has researched
all aspects of the vehicle in which we are interested. Then she sits down to
talk with the salesman and immediately lets him know that we aren’t going to
play games. Then my spouse states the amount that we are willing to pay for the
car, and that price includes everything. Of course, the salesman plays the game
about the price being too low and that he’ll have to get the manager to sign
off on it. Even when the manager enters the office to squabble about the price,
Amy kindly tells the man what we are willing to pay. If he says he can’t sell
the car at our price, she thanks him as we rise and walk out. Eventually, we
find a vehicle at the price we will pay, not what the dealer wants.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Amy once again worked her magic.
My iPhone 7 had never worked correctly. I made multiple trips to the Verizon
store and one to the Apple store, all to no avail. On a Saturday evening, my
wife placed a call to customer service. For the next one hour and fifty-seven
minutes, she talked to three different persons, each one higher up than the
last.
Amy refused to allow the representatives to hang up on her. At
the same time, she wouldn’t allow them to recite the information on the screens
in front of them. One woman told her that I would need to go to the place where
I had no service in order to check out the problem. My wife mentioned that I
couldn’t call the company because the phone didn’t work there; she also pointed
out that I couldn’t spend multiple hours on another phone while I was at work.
Amy told the woman that what we expected was a “practical solution.” In the
end, the company replaced the phone, which was a defective when they sold it to
me. Amy simply wouldn’t give in and give up.
My wife has also helped my son deal with areas involved in
his buying a new home. Things have worked out simply because Amy refuses to let
people blow her off. That determination is something that most companies don’t
count on. They think that if customers are put through too much stuff, they
will simply hang up and give up on solving the problem. In our case, those
businesses are dead wrong. They discover that error when Amy is on the other
end of a conversation.
I’m blessed to have a loving wife. Additionally, I am lucky
to have in my life a person who so doggedly works to keep companies from taking
advantage of us. She is strong, smart, and wise. Yes, I know just how lucky I
am to have her in my life.
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