Lessons Learned

Back in 1983 I got a job selling Lincolns in Beverly Hills. I knew nothing about cars but managed to parlay my sparkling personality and previous sales experience into a shot at a new career. I’ve had many but that’s a topic for another time. Soon after I started, I, along with several other people on the sales force, was told to attend Ford Motor Company’s unveiling of the 1984 lineup. It was to be held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim and started at 9AM sharp, breakfast included. I was partnered with a salesman named Dale and we decided to meet at the dealership at 7:30 and drive to the event. We would take my car.

I was uncharacteristically on time and we set off. Everything was going swimmingly until I saw the signs alerting us that Marina del Rey was coming up. It was then I realized that I had taken the freeway west instead of east and we were headed in the wrong direction. 

For those unfamiliar with the Los Angeles morning rush hour, there is only one word to describe it: horrific. By this time, it was nearing 8 AM, Anaheim was over forty miles away and traffic was crawling along at a snail’s pace.

I immediately went into panic mode.

Dale, on the other hand, remained serene. I found out that morning that he was a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for several years. He attempted (unsuccessfully) to calm me down by relating the techniques he’d learned in AA. It was like trying to hold back the tide. My fingers thrummed on the steering wheel, my entire body was rigid with rage – at the traffic, at myself for going the wrong way, at Dale for not noticing. Through it all, Dale remained calm, cool and collected.

We arrived in Anaheim at about 10:15 and I was in full meltdown mode, freaking out because we were so late. Dale spied a Winchell’s Donut Shop and told me to pull in there. I couldn’t believe him! We were so late and he wanted to stop for donuts? He merely smiled at me and said that by now, breakfast had been consumed, there probably wasn’t even any coffee left, he hadn’t eaten breakfast and was hungry. Had I stopped to eat that morning, because if not, I needed to get some food into me. I figured, oh, what the hell. We were already so late and I was hungry, so we pulled in, got some food and ate on the way to the hotel. I of course, was hyperventilating the entire time.

We finally arrived at the hotel just before 11. I dragged him in my wake as I rushed from the car to the concierge, desperately asked where the Ford Motor Company function was taking place, then ran to the auditorium and prayed that we could slip in unnoticed.

We opened the door to a darkened room. There was a movie playing – one of those rah-rah things they show at sales meetings, in this case, a movie touting the beauty and power of the 1984 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models. Dale took my hand and whispered “Come on!” We stepped into the crowded audience and Dale pulled me along behind him as he headed for the front row. I followed along, still hyperventilating, stepping on various feet and wincing at surprised grunts of pain from those who had been impaled by my high heels.

I’ll never know how he did it but Dale found two empty seats in the center front row and just as we sat down, the movie ended, the lights went up and the flash of a camera caught us laughing. We had just been photographed for the cover of The Ford Times. And the meeting was over.

I will never forget Dale or that day and the lesson I learned. Don’t sweat the small stuff! And always be ready for a photo op!