Selling Cars

In the summer of 2008, I found myself looking for a job. I took a position at Advantage Chevrolet even though car sales was a career I had little though of in the past. I liked the fact that I would be selling American cars in a minority-owned dealership. I felt comfortable that the company was willing to invest in me, by taking me out for a month of paid training with a charismatic training manager.

The month of training started in early September. I worked hard and diligently, as I considered the training crucial. The other three men and I learned about the selling process the company used, and we learned about the automobiles we were selling and about the competition. That month was one of the more intense classes I have ever taken.

That month also coincided with one of the most intense drops in the national economy. By the time training was over, I was ready and prepared to sell some cars and to make some money. A week went by without me selling any cars. I sold my first car on Saturday. I thought it would be the first of many. As the economy dropped, and there was news of bailouts for the industry, less and less people came to the dealership. We had to fight and claw to work with the few customers who would come in. The time when there were no customers, I would make phone calls from a database of everyone who had ever been to the dealership; I would send out flyers to advertise myself.

Even doing that did not take up the fifty hours a week we were scheduled. As it got colder out, I would walk the lots. I would ask for advice from managers and coworkers. One night I had a long conversation with one of the managers. He told me that success in the business was all about self-confidence. The next day he did not have a job. By Thanksgiving, I had seen five salespeople and three managers let go because of the slow economy. I came to work every day with a smile and a positive attitude.

I even had a smile on the day I was let go. I know the question was about overcoming a challenge, but I feel that this experience taught for the thousandth time that if you face a challenge, you could lose even if you do everything possible. I just have to be ready to face the next one. I am.

escape velocity (a love poem)

together we
erode the meaning of
escape
I

can no

longer
get away
from
shabby
university Ideas.

but the faster we put the car
into a fourth or fifth gear


and the swifter we go
to the victors

the more that we can go
towards each other
like the Saturn V
sailing through the

aeather
away from


the bounds that hold
us (and them)

towards
the gravity of
each
others
love

Unspoken

Your fear of insomnia lead,
for the first night at least, you to my bed.


That night—
after the lights were out, I heard you
in the bathroom, brushing you teeth for the third time.
I didn’t hear your soft padding across the hall,
but knew the squeak of the hinge, a gentle
whisper at my feet was something new.

That night—
A quite conversation
and our first kiss, together or apart,
was a new sensation –
your tongue warm clumsy meat in my mouth –
meat I could not, should not chew. I pulled
my eager body close to you.
You pulled away, wary of the cat’s gaze.

That night—
Holding you close as you faded
into darkness I smelt the alcohol residue of cheap
hair products. Loose strands found my smile
as I palmed your youthful breast.

But Now—
In almost the same position, nested like Russian
stacking dolls, there is no sleep.
My hand rests lower, on your stomach. Here,
I fell the faint heartbeat of creation.

It is no longer the insomnia I fear,
and if I weren’t laying on my other arm,
I’d bow my head in prayer.