Country Roads, Take Me Home

"Almost heaven, West Virginia. This is the way I feel about my native state. This song takes me there.

On certain summer mornings when conditions are just right, mists from the river far below rise to the mountaintops and create a soft, silvery light. This is the memory I have painted."

I wrote these words as a result of having to do a painting of a favorite song for an upcoming art exhibit entitled The Music in Me.

After rejecting such favorites as Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat, Crazy by Patsy Cline, and Beethoven's Adagio as too difficult to paint, I was in a real quandary. I could have done such things as Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley or Yellow Submarine by the Beatles in a heartbeat but they weren't among my favorites. Likewise such songs as You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog and Jambalaya. I thought of my Dad's favorites, Wildwood Flower and Red River Valley but decided not many members of the current generation would recognize them. I briefly considered Moonlight Sonata and Moon River but no inspiration struck.

I was stuck. Then I watched a PBS special on John Denver and suddenly everything clicked. What could be more perfect than Country Roads, Take Me Home? I love the song and, after all, I am from West Virginia.

The painting you see above is my interpretation of John Denver's song. I painted it with a very limited palette: Yellow, purple, blue, umber, and white. Then, at the end I used a splash of red for the shirt.

If you live in the Atlanta area, you are invited to the opening reception at Tannery Row on October 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The address is 554 West Main Street, Building C, Buford, GA.

For Want Of A Nail

OUR NEW FLAT SCREEN TV

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

The Atkins family recently experienced a modern-day example of the above situation.

We have been in the market for a new TV for quite awhile now. Our current TV belonged to my mother for a long time before she passed away in 1999. It is showing signs of fatigue.

After a long winter and spring of medical situations that have kept us mostly at home, we finally felt like shopping last Sunday. So after researching the many various options available for flat screen TVs, off we went to our favorite Best Buy store.

The sales associate was wonderful and, with his help, we chose a 40" Samsung LED TV that totaled out to $998.99. The helpful sales associate told us about a current offer of free delivery and set-up on purchases of $999.00 and above. Since it was only a penny difference, he was certain we could take advantage of that offer. I always dread having to program new TVs so this was great news. But the computer wouldn't accept it.

After a consultation with his manager, he came back to regretfully tell us that his manager said, "If the computer won't take it, we can't do it." It was such a ludicrous decision that we promptly walked out of the store without buying the TV or the external hard drive we had also planned to purchase for my new I-MAC computer. And I fumed all the way home that any manager worth the title could make such a stupendously poor decision.

After a great deal of thought, I decided that I should listen to what I always preached to my former employees at IBM: "Management can't know all of the problems unless you tell them. Don't complain if you haven't taken the time to tell the person who has the power to fix the problem and given him or her the opportunity to solve it."

So, on Monday morning, I went to speak with the Best Buy store manager. I explained to him that we have been satisfied Best Buy customers for more than fifteen years, that his store had lost over $1,100 in sales the previous day and that we had almost become ex-Best Buy customers because of a penny.

Needless to say, the problem was taken care of. I was escorted to the hard-drive department where I was given all the support I needed to purchase the correct drive. We then visited the TV department where my order was entered with a delivery cost of one penny ($998.99 plus .01 = $999.00). I purchased an extended warranty, bringing my total expenditure to a little more than $1,300.00. Best Buy is happy. We are happy. And I was thanked profusely for giving them a second chance. Our new TV was delivered and set up shortly afterward.

Concerning the manager who made such a stupendously poor decision? I'm perfectly sure he has learned a very important life lesson.

For want of a penny a customer was lost.

For want of a customer a sale was lost.............You get the drift.