Hot Summer Days

At Ocean Drive Associates, we have benefited tremendously by your friendship and business. This is perhaps, because, with you, we share passion for life and we share passion for our children. Together, we pay homage to our past and prepare for our future. We sell, deliver and enjoy vacations, an industry which centers around life’s beating heart. Every day we share a common pursuit, and it is quite an honorable one.

How could we not feel good?

That brings me to a story, one which speaks about the heart of our endeavors. One which began years ago…

It was a hot summer day at the beach. When I say hot, I don’t mean 120 degrees Las Vegas hot. I mean 98 degree Myrtle Beach hot. For those uninitiated, that means sweltering humidity that you can cut with a knife. It means no breeze. It means sand that is so hot you can’t walk to the water without a pair of shoes. It means so hot the seagulls and other animals don’t move. It means so hot that the hours between 3-5 pm take 5 hours. That’s what I mean by a hot summer day.

I was giving a presentation to a young couple, Jim and Sue, and their 4 year old son, Robbie. Jim was a newly commissioned Lieutenant in a Special Forces unit out of North Carolina. There were a lot of things happening in the world at that time, so Jim was fortunate to be able to get away and bring the family to the beach, if just for the afternoon. (Anyone who knows will tell you that a hot summer day at the beach is still infinitely better than a hot summer day in Fayetteville) Many times, when bad things happen around the world, our service men and women are placed on military alert. And depending upon the type of situation and subsequent notice, they are restricted in how far, if at all, they can travel from their base. In this particular situation, Jim had 8 hours left before he had to be within thirty minutes’ drive of Fayetteville at all times.

As we delved into the presentation, I could see that Jim was very fidgety. He was always looking at his watch and staring out at the water and surf. I must admit, Jim was even more hyped then their young son, Robbie. Usually, it’s the other way around. The 4 year olds are too much to handle. But in this case, Robbie was a saint compared to his old man. Meanwhile, during all of the playful interaction between the two and their obvious longing to get out on the beach, Sue was oblivious to them. She hung on every word that I said, asking a million questions. They were quite the paradox, my young family. They were fascinating. Never, during the entire time we were together, did any of them raise their voices or try to rush each other. The fellas never mentioned a word about Mom’s incessant questioning, and she did nothing but laugh at the antics of her boys.

This, I’ll have to admit, is not your ideal sales situation, particularly if you go by the “textbook”. Jim was paying little attention, which was fine with he and Robbie! That’s why we’re supposed to put the little ones in the nursery. Unfortunately, though, Jim and Sue would hear none of that! At the time, I knew taking him along wouldn’t sit too well with my superiors, but I had to go on my instincts. And having grown up in Hampton Roads, Virginia, a place rich in military history, my instincts said “Go for it!!!!”

Which I did. Thank God.

You see, folks, the military men and women in this country hold a special place in my heart. Of that, I must confess. And if, somewhere in this story you can take away some of my affinity for our fighting forces, then I’ll be happy. But more important is the story of a beautiful young family. You see, that was just the beginning of my career. I had no idea how cool selling timeshare really was, and how important our mission to re-create.

“Do you mind,” the young, well proportioned, newly commissioned Lt. asked, “if we walk out on the beach?” At this point in the presentation I finally had them outside, and we were facing the beach, staring out from under one of the patio umbrellas.

By now, everything was happening in slow motion. The heat and activity will do that to you. But, my mind was racing…. he doesn¹t know how hot the sand is…. I’ll lose their attention…. the presentation will go past our allotted time…. they’ll carry sand in the sales center. Such were my thoughts. By this time, though, there was no turning back. And, somewhere in the back of my head, I recalled one of our sales lessons: Get the customer involved. So, I rationalized, what is more involved than the beach?

“Why not?” I asked myself, out loud. Of course, that was all my young family needed to hear! Off they flew, with the little fella on Dad’s shoulders and Mom in tow.

They headed straight for the water. Ouch!

About ten steps into the jaunt, I gave up trying to keep pace, and let them race ahead. I’ve got to admit, I felt kind of awkward, strolling along in patent leathers, starch shirt, and silk tie. By the time I got to the water’s edge, with my eager family splashing around in the waves, I was soaking wet from the heat and humidity.

I stood there for probably only ten minutes. A part of me wished it would last forever, watching the pure joy, energy, and unabashed love of my beautiful young family. Another part of me felt like crawling under a rock. The other owners who were spread out on their towels and blankets watching seemed like they were laughing at me. And, I was probably going to get killed by my manager when we came tracking wet sand into the sales office!

Nervously, I looked at my watch. Sue, sensing my discomfort, motioned for the boys. Holding hands, they left the water and walked up to me. “You can tell us,” she said. “How much is one of your one bedroom units in the prime season? What is your very best price?”

“But we haven’t finished the tour yet!” I exclaimed. “You haven’t even seen the models!”

“I don’t care,” she said, as Dad and son seemed to ignore us.

Having just looked at my watch, I knew there was little time left before a slew of other prospects would be showing up in our reception center. And I knew it would probably not be wise to take my soaking, sand covered, half-naked family into the sales office. So I told her the price.

“We’ll take it,” she said.

When she said that, I was shocked. But my shock was nothing compared to Jim’s! Totally out of the blue, Jim came to attention as though a Five-Star General had just appeared. He went from not participating to full alert in the time an owl winks.

“There’s no way,” Jim commanded. “We don’t need to spend one dime in this frivolous manner. We have WAY more important things to spend our money on,” he added, as a matter of fact.

“I had a feeling you might feel that way, darling,” Sue replied. “And I respect your feelings on the subject. But the fact is, I want to buy, and I have a job, and I’ll pay for it.”

The Lt. and his son were motionless for the first time since I’d met them. The only sound you could hear were the waves lapping onto the shore and the other kids playing. It seemed like ages, until finally the Lieutenant spoke. “It’s your money, I promised you that, so do with it what you will. But, Robbie and I aren’t leaving this beach. You’ll have to put it in your name, if that’s what you feel you must do.”

And that’s what she did.

I tell you this story, my friends, for a variety of reasons, many of which are evident. But, not all of the reasons are apparent right away…..

“Time flies” is a popular expression. It is an expression which often applies to people, like us, who really enjoy their profession. I found myself a couple of years later, standing under the same patio umbrella, trying to avoid the heat, with more prospective owners. As I pointed out to the beach, my eye caught a slim, good looking young man. He gently held a young boy, who was timing the waves, learning how to ride the crest. “Do you see that?” I asked my prospective new owners. “That’s why I sell timeshare,” I said.

As we stood and admired the playful two, my eyes focused a little more onto their faces. They looked vaguely familiar. It was only after Mom walked up to them that I was sure: it was my Fayetteville family!

Well folks, I don’t know what came over me! I excused myself for a second and raced to the water’s edge. “Hi you guys!” I cried out, into the ocean. “How’s it going?”

To my surprise, it was Jim who stopped what he was doing and approached the water’s edge. “I’ve got to see you,” he said, earnestly.

So, without as much as a handshake, we made an appointment and off we went, each in our own direction.

Now folks, I’ll have to admit. I was expecting the worse. This was one family that had really been different! With very few exceptions, over the past two years they’d replied to little of my correspondence. And, to complicate the issue, they hadn’t been able to use their week the year before, due to his military responsibilities. They had had to “accrue” their week, in exchange vernacular. My defenses were up when they arrived for our visit.

It was Jim who spoke first. “We came to find out if you could get us another prime week in a one bedroom unit?” he asked.

I was amazed! I was shocked! But speechless I was not!

“No way,” I dead panned. “You, you want to buy another week? No way. We’re sold out. Military guys are banned from any further ownership.”

And we laughed, and my beautiful family bought another week.

“Jim has only been home a few short months in the whole two years,” Sue explained, as she and I waited for the documentation. “Earlier in the year, through the exchange network, we were able to get a week in Orlando. And now, we’ve been able to use our own unit this summer. It’s been great! One week is not enough.”

I could see tears welling up in her eyes. She paused and looked out the window, at the two boys who still refused to waste time with paperwork, frolicking at the shore.

“It’s been a long, hard road since we first met you,” Sue started. “Robbie and I don’t even know were Daddy is sometimes, or what he is doing. One minute he is here and the next minute he is gone. Who knows if he will ever return?” she lamented. “That’s why vacation ownership is so important for us. Jim is the kind of guy who, in the past, would never be here for a whole week. This is the first two weeks Jim and Robbie have ever spent that has truly been their own. Now, Jim understands…”

As she was speaking, her tears turned to laughter.

“…. and as for me,” she chuckled, a Mom secure in some grand knowledge that only Moms seem to possess, “they are truly mine, too, these two weeks with my boys.”

And then Sue became quiet again, patiently waiting, with her motherly gaze upon her men. Hours could have passed and Sue wouldn’t have batted an eye.

Like our service men and women, in every part of the globe, who never bat an eye when their time is called.

Thank you.

And to you, my friends who buy, sell, and use our re-creational products– remember this, if nothing else: use your imagination, use your God-given humanity, don’t be afraid to let people laugh at you, be open minded. Our business is people, and people do not come out of a cookie cutter.

Relish your, and everyone else’s, uniqueness.