RECCE ROOM

This happened many years ago when I was working in the car rental field. Back in the '90's, when a renter wanted to rent without a credit card, they would have to: A) Fill out a cash qualification form. B) Bring two utility bills in their name, to their address. Bills had to be recent and not past-due. C) Pay a deposit equal to the amount of the rental, plus a $150 security deposit. I'm not sure how it is done these days, or even if it is done. But this is how it was done then. A renter walked in, and asked for a rental car which he had reserved using the 800 number for reservations. My coworker started helping the man. I was the manager on duty at the time. The conversation was pretty short: Coworker: "May I please see your driver's license and credit card?" Renter: "I don't have a credit card. I am paying in cash." Coworker: "OK. We can do that. Please fill out this cash qualification form and..." Renter interrupts Re...

A career in a customer-facing environment (sales) has given me many things in life. One of those things is a vast assortment of hilarious stories. This one comes from my days in car rental, more than a decade ago. A renter returns a rental car, slaps a piece of paper on the counter, and announces: "Ya'll's rental car got a speeding ticket." Yes, that's right - he blamed the ticket on the car, and wanted the company to pay for it! .

Found this via an old friend on Facebook: 10 things a man can do to fight hard for his son . In this day in age of wimpified men and an all-out assault on men in general by the media, it's good to know that some Christian organizations are standing up for the beauty of God's creation known as masculinity. Pops was guilty of all ten things. I can gladly say I fervently do 1-9 and try to do #10 as much as possible. How about you? .

Boobs - we all know what those are. Power - we all know who seeks it. Time - as in, Time Magazine. Yeah, Time Magazine has a boob on the front cover . Attached to said boob (which does look nice, as does its owner, BTW) is a child that looks about 4 or 5 years old - but the cover says is 3 years old. Speaking of attached, here comes the part about power - as in the power that attachment parenting bozos seek. Yeah - the Time article is about attachment parenting. Seems one blogger openly mocks attachment parenting. Get in line, buddy, I did so before you , haha! Seriously, though, the blogger draws some pretty good correlations between Marxism and attachment parenting, as well as socialism and attachment parenting. Thanks to my sister "K" for the article. Thanks to Say Uncle for the links. Post-edit: Thanks to Right Minded for a link to this article , which is a deconstruction of the photo. .

Embarrassing to say the least. When I was new to sales and customer service, working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Dyersburg, TN, I made a really bad error. This happened in 1999. I was reminded of this by recent conversation with the man who was my manager at the time - Rich. He was an excellent manager, and taught me a lot. However, at the time of this "incident," I simply had much to learn. A customer had locked a set of keys in a rental car, forcing us to get an additional set of keys cut. Rich informs me that I need to tell the customer that there is a charge for that, as the keys were not free to Enterprise, either. I think the charge was something minimal - $25 or so. I had trouble thinking of a good way to express this to the customer. Finally, I made up my mind (customer was on hold on the phone at the time): "Sir, don't be surprised if there is a $25 charge on your credit card to cover the price of the keys." Rich immediately chided me when I hu...

Discussing some recent and past "fun" I've had with tuxedo rental, and formal wear places with my newest brother-in-law, I've been urged to put down some thoughts, memories, and funny times. MJ, this one's for you! ABSTRACT Measurements: As I noted in my Guide for Groomsmen , a man should know his measurements . How does one come across his own measurements? Not by measuring oneself. Go to a professional and get measured. The Asian guy or lady at the local tailor shop that barely speaks English but gets your clothes right every time - good choice. The local "sales associate" at Men's Wearhouse (or similar chain store) - worst possible choice. Here's why: The local tailor has made a livelihood for the better part of two decades in making sure all his customers come back (because he does not get the benefit of $ millions in network advertising) will know exactly how to measure you correctly. The sales associate at a chain store has lik...

In Portland, a 9-1-1 call was made as a witness saw a man with a gun. Never mind the fact that he was at a gun store! Police had to respond to this, per local regulations. However, they soon realized the man was going to a gun store to sell a gun. Nothing illegal, hazardous, or otherwise worthy of note (unless he got a great deal!).

Recently, I was able to review some instructor comments regarding the progress of some martial arts students. As I had observed the entire event, it was enlightening to see what other instructors thought of things. It was also eye-opening to me, as a teacher (of the martial arts primarily), to see how a single incorrect assumption developed into a major misunderstanding by the instructor, and by other instructors called on for suggestions. In this case, a student was having difficulty mastering a certain technique. The instructor mistakenly assumed he knew the answer, and that the student was simply not “getting it.” In fact, the student was not “getting it,” but the reason was completely opposite the instructor’s assumption. I remember seeing the misdiagnosis myself. When the event was happening, I remember thinking that the instructor’s diagnosis was wrong. Later, another instructor came along and offered advice that helped the student tremendously. Later still, I did some research o...

So I am at Wal-Mart with my brother today, picking up some sundry needed items. On a side note, this was the first time in the last two months that this particular Wal-Mart did not have any of my preferred brand of .22 cartridges available. We (my brother and I) are walking toward the refrigerated goods section, as I need milk. As we approach, a seemingly nice lady turns toward us and asks in a loud voice if we knew where the beer was in the store. I give her my blank look, as I do not drink, and have never purchased beer there. I hold out my hands and explain: "I simply don't know... I'm sorry." My brother's face matches mine. He lives on the other side of town and was just there with me. She walks on, in a huff. Then something dawns on me and my brother at the exact same time. There - to the immediate left of where the other shopper had been standing - was a very large stack of Miller Lite beer. We walked around to the other side of the display, and it was the r...

Story 4: One time, I had to physically restrain a student's mother. In the early 1990’s, I was teaching a home-school karate class. I was talking to several of the parents and adults as one of the top students (now my Brother-in-Law) led the class in warm ups. One portion of the warm up is to do 10 push-ups on the knuckles. Well, one of the students stepped out of line so BIL keeps on to 15 push ups. No big deal, I think - it will be good for them. In all fairness, it was nothing at all out of the ordinary. Well, one boy gets up on push-up number 12 holding his knuckles and jump/running toward his mom. I found out later he was in pain... the kind that ends in a minute or two and everything's all right. So mom runs toward him, looks at his knuckles that he is displaying prominently (didn't even look red from my point of view), and begins to waddle toward the class. Her husband (to whom I was speaking at the time) asked her where she was going. "To get [Usagi’s BIL]....

This story takes place when I was still learning karate – age 11 or so. A friend of my mom was having dinner with us. Her son (who appeared to never have missed a dinner) was talking to me. Eventually my mom (much to my chagrin - but hey, I was 11 at the time) told her friend's son, John (named changed to protect the "innocent") that I did karate. Immediately he asked what belt I was - and it just so happened to be Purple belt at the time. At this point, he began eating my dinner - but it was a buffet, so I figured I could go get more... but I digress. I asked if he had ever done MA. "Red belt ninja" he exclaimed through a mouthful of what had been my macaroni & cheese. "Oh, ninjitsu..." I began - but was rudely cut off by this lad who now was chewing a mouthful of what had been my roast beef. "NO! Ninja. I don't know what that other word is." He stated before going after my green beans. Hey, at least he did not discriminate! ...

Some years ago, I had a prospective student’s mom ask me if I took off my shoes before a real fight. When I responded that I probably would not have the time to do so, and that I would want the advantage of foot protection; she said she would not be signing junior up for classes. You see, she "knew for a fact" that a true Black Belt took off their shoes prior to any actual fight.

I have found a collection of about a dozen strange, funny, and interesting things that I have witnessed and observed in the martial arts. Mostly, these are stories about silly things parents and students have done. Be prepared as I will document these on my blog for your reading pleasure. Do understand, these stories come form over 25 years experience... not everybody is as eclectic as I will describe. This represents less than 1 out of 1000 regular full-time students. Story 1: I had a potential student’s mom observing a karate class I was teaching at a Chattanooga YMCA back in the mid 1990’s. As she was asking about classes (the assistant instructor was leading in drills), every count of "10" the students would Kiai (karate-shout). After the students had done this a couple of times, the mom asked: "Are they saying 'kill'?" I explained the students do not say "kill," they are just doing the karate shout. Then the students kiai again. "T...

In my most recent post: LINK I discussed some things I wish I could convey to parents of kids in the martial arts. I guess these things could be said for parents of kids in any sport or activity. Don't believe me? Let me invite you to Sunday School with me and Right Minded will agree with me. You should hear some of his baseball coaching stories!

A while back, I was teaching an individual self defense class. I do this from time to time. This "class" was a nice lady almost my mom's age, her daughter who was about my age, and her husband. The lady, whom I will refer to as "student" in this post, had come across one of my old business cards that read "free trial class." Although I no longer taught regular classes, she was insistent upon receiving her free trial class... so a free trial class she got! Husband sat in the corner of the living room (yes, we were in a private residence that was the domicile of a third party mutual acquaintance - long story). Student and daughter were very "into" the class. They caught on quite well. At this point, I must inform the reader that I was carrying my GLOCK, as I always do. It was early spring, and still cold out - so I was wearing a large pullover that doubled as my concealment for my GLOCK. Our mutual acquaintance had full knowledge of my carry pi...

Sorry, no guns involved this time. Link to story . "CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga police say a couple they believe was trying to steal a cart full of TVs and a computer caused chaos at a local Wal-Mart. According to a news release, Officer Josh Wright was off duty when he saw a man trying to force his way past a greeter with about $2,000 worth of stolen goods Sunday night. Wright displayed his badge, but Joseph Anthony Hill said it was fake and tried to force his way by Wright as well. Wright then tackled Hill and arrested him. Then Hill’s wife, Lisa Hill, feigned a heart attack and said she did not know her husband. After a witness told Wright the couple had been together in the store, Lisa Hill followed the witness into the parking lot and attacked her. The witness stabbed her in the arm with a pocketknife, and Lisa Hill had to be treated at a local hospital. Joseph Anthony Hill is charged with theft over $1,000 and assault on a police officer. Charges against Lisa Hill a...

Everybody has their horror story. I could tell some good ones. I call this one the worst I've had because of the number of red-flags, not because any one red-flag was that severe. Over the years, I have had an interview or two. At this point I consider myself pretty good at weeding out the positions that are really going nowhere by the email stage, if not the phone interview stage. This one slipped through due to some pretty interesting circumstances. I won't go into detail on the circumstances, but here's the list of red flags: 1. Not in the best section of town. 2. This company was the only company in the corporate office building they called home. 3. There was carpet construction going on the entire time. 4. Too many young, attractive females worked there. This indicates that a job is not a career place - just a place for one of the managers there to find dates. 5. An interesting questionnaire about me & sales (I have never interviewed at a place that had a paper que...

A few years ago, I was teaching a jiu-jitsu class at a local YMCA. We had an incident with a parent that really sticks out in my mind. The father of a somewhat larger boy approached me regarding a difficulty his son was expressing about practice. The boy, about 9 years old, was closing in on 200 pounds and had some difficulty with some of the warm ups we did. The father never knew of these problems before the boy told him, because he dropped off his son so he (the father) could go work out there at the YMCA. Like many grappling classes, we incorporated some basic tumbling and breakfalls into the warmups. This boy was having difficulty with forward and backward rolls. So the father asks me if the son can skip this part of the exercise, or if some other accomodations can be made due to his weight issue. "You of all people should understand," the father said. Note to all readers - I am no small man. At the time, I was about 285 pounds. I am 6'2". I ponder the statement ...

As Halloween is now over, and we are in to the month of November, I am reminded by the incessant commercials and advertisements that the Holiday season is upon us. I'd like to go on record here. When I say "Holiday Season," I mean the general 6-week time of year when we have: - Thanksgiving - Christmas (yes - I said it!) - New Years' Day - and, for my three Jewish friends, Hanukkah Other so-called "holidays" I do not personally recognize. - Winter solstice is not a holiday - it is a time of year when the daytime is at its shortest. - Kwanzaa is a racist celebration created within the last 45 years by a racist idiot and is not worthy of recognition. So - to all my friends out there: Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

At Enterprise, the management encourages all employees at all branches to "run tight." That lingo means to rent out the majority of the cars you have. It is a sound business principle, as the more rented cars there are, the more money the branch makes. The goal is to always have 90% of the cars on rent at any given time. For example, at a branch with 100 cars in its fleet (this is a medium sized location), you would want 90 cars on rent at any given time. Naturally there are peaks and valleys, but a good manager keeps the on-rent percentage over 85%, even in the valleys. By default, this means that during certain times, there are 95% or more of the cars on rent. Take out a few for routing maintenance and repairs, and that means there are no more cars for now. This happens weekly - usually in the middle of the week. Sometimes, it will happen on a weekend in certain places when there is a big event going on. Jackson, TN in the fall of 2000 provides me with one such a place and ...