After graduating North Cobb in 1982, I left home for the University of Georgia. Athens was a great place, and after spending a little time in that college town, Acworth didn’t seem to hold much for me anymore. But one particular weekend in 1985, I was back at home to mow the grass and visit family when the four-speed transmission in my Chevy went out for good. I grabbed a copy of the Atlanta Advertiser and found a replacement transmission for sale only an hour away. Problem was, it was after noon by this time and all the banks were closed. The seller would not accept my parents’ check and I did not have the $275 cash needed to buy the transmission. I called my favorite Acworth icon, Junior Cook at Day’s Chevrolet, and asked for help. Junior said no problem; all I had to do was carry my check up to Eaton’s Department Store where they would be happy to cash it for me. I did just that, but Junior was wrong – when I walked in off the street and asked them to cash a check my parents had given me for almost $300, they looked at me like I had two heads. I fumbled for a minute, not knowing what to do, when a fellow working there spoke up on my behalf. I immediately recognized him from shopping at the “old” Eaton’s just down the street. He was a young fellow (older than me of course), and I didn’t know even know his name, but we frequently saw him working there while shopping for school clothes - years earlier. Standing by the cash register on that Saturday, this fellow said that he remembered me from coming into the store and that he would vouch for me that the check was good. So they handed me the cash and by 10 pm that night, I had the “new” transmission installed and my old Chevy was back on the street. A couple years later, after college, I went to work at the local UPS office and made daily deliveries to Eaton’s for awhile but I never saw that fellow again. Regardless, I will always remember what he did for me that day in 1985. Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to pursue career advancements in other cities and states, but you just can’t walk away from the benefits of a small town where there seems to always be someone who knows you and trusts you.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 23:19:36 +0000
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