Social media helps owner connect after parts store, warehouse fire

I’m using a lot of social media these days. Due to our recent parts store and warehouse fire and rebuilding process, I feel it’s very important for us to keep a pulse on our customer base and community. Not to mention the fact that we want to remind everyone that we are rebuilding, and coming back better and stronger.

My sudden interest in social media has come with some pleasant, and unpleasant discoveries. Rekindling friendships, making new friends, and promoting our business has been nice. Political rants, food porn and everyone sharing pass-it-on posters have been somewhat distasteful at times. That is unless it’s a poster of a cat or kitten doing something stupid, or if the poster has an unusually poignant message. It’s a fact I’ve came to terms with, but may fully never understand.

 During one of my social media updates, I received a message from one of my old high school friends. It seems that he and his wife of 28 years were having a vow renewal, and they invited my wife and I to attend. Why 28 years?  Why not wait until 30 years because 28 seems like an odd number.

Well, I’ve never been to one of these, and was somewhat confounded why anyone in their right mind would do “that” over again. What was the need? A vow is something that is a solemn promise, right? Did a vow somehow get broken? That had to be it. Somebody did something to somebody else that was not mentioned within the constraints of the original vows, and the overpowering guilt of such a thing has promoted the belief that if they just said the vows again, possibly with more feeling and tears this time, absolution would result, and they’d live happily ever after.

 I didn’t prod my buddy too much about the rationale for fear of being possibly culpable, but suggested that this time they both change the vows a little to reflect the state that 28 years of marriage bequeaths. I wrote his vows, and my wife wrote his wife’s vows. His vows were: “I promise to love, honor, and cherish you. Furthermore, I will not get mad when you go shopping, and will occasionally accompany you without whining. I will lift the seat, and close on completion. I will not complain (much) when you feed me low-fat, fat-free, new age food as if I’m a 16-year-old girl trying to fit into a prom dress two sizes too small. I will not forget your birthday, our anniversary, or something you asked me to pick up from the store on my way home. In sickness and in health, till death do us part, unless a really good football game is on. After all, I’m a man.” 

Now for her vows: “I promise to love, honor, and obey my mother. I will not buy something really expensive every time you go play golf, yet reserve the right to do so in extreme situations. In sickness and in health, till death do us part, unless a really good football game interferes with a “Murder She Wrote” marathon.

While thinking what an awesome vow renewal service that would be, my mind wandered to our situation with our business. Our business had been very good to us, but somehow our stewardship had faltered, and the fire resulted for whatever reason. 

Since I’m too young to retire, still have debt, and love what I do, maybe I should consider making a few vow changes of my own. The old vows were fine, mind you, but a fresh new set seems to be in order. Much like my friends’ vow renewal, it’s an opportunity to look at the past while looking forward to the future. Renewing my commitment to my business, my customers and my employees, while not as humbling as what my buddy went through, does indeed provide a measure of absolution for our past business transgressions, or poor decisions.

 So our grand re-opening ceremony is just a few weeks away, we plan to celebrate our new identity, with renewed passion, pomp and circumstance – then, once more into the fray.

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