As a small business owner on the road for over half of every year\u00a0traveling a two-state area, things happen along the way that confirm to me why we do what we do.\u00a0I\u2019d like to share with you a story.<\/p>\n
I was visiting a county and a city\u00a0in the middle of nowhere the other day.\u00a0It was 100 degrees plus, and I had to drive a bit back to another city to catch a flight home.\u00a0With a coat and tie on, I decided I would get something to drink for the drive to the airport.\u00a0I pulled up to the local DQ, walked in, stood in line.\u00a0When I got to the counter, the lady who took my order looked at the clock and said, \u201cYou\u2019re too early for happy hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought, happy hour at DQ? And oh did that take me back. In my mind it\u2019s called euphoric recall\u2014about all the happy hours I had been to.\u00a0I\u2019ve been sober over 25 years now, and those thoughts can still rise up at a second in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n
The next thing I heard was, \u201cSir?\u201d I returned to the present and ordered an Iced Tea.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t from around here,\u201d\u00a0she said. The clue was a dark suit in 100 degree weather.\u00a0I said \u201cNo, I\u2019m here on business.\u201d\u00a0When she asked what kind of business, I offered, \u201cI\u2019m in the ankle bracelet business, and I don\u2019t mean the gold kind. I am working with the county here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She had this puzzled look on her face, then blurted out, \u201cYou the SCRAM Guy?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost fell over. And then she told me a story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got mine off a month ago, and at it has saved my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got my family back, got a job, and I\u2019ve been sober for 2 years.\u201d\u00a0She had a great smile on her face, and then she asked me about Rosa, from our office. This woman explained that she had been struggling to pay her fees, but that Rosa worked with her, encouraged her, and supported her until she got it paid.\u00a0Rosa had played an important part in this woman\u2019s life and sobriety. (Rosa is now in the collections department for our organization, 400 miles away.)<\/p>\n
I was speechless. She gave me my Iced Tea (though I still didn\u2019t get the HH price), and I left for my drive back.\u00a0During that drive, and still today, a week later, I think about her. I have satisfaction in my heart, and in my gut I know that we are actually doing some good. That the benefit is really beyond words.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a small business owner on the road for over half of every year\u00a0traveling a two-state area, things happen along the way that confirm to me why we do what we do.\u00a0I\u2019d like to share with you a story. I was visiting a county and a city\u00a0in the middle of nowhere the other day.\u00a0It was 100 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12,13],"tags":[49,86,185,439,547,606,626,627],"class_list":["post-1589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drunk-driving","category-making-a-difference","category-electronic-monitoring","tag-alcohol-abuse","tag-alcoholism","tag-continuous-alcohol-monitoring","tag-making-a-difference-2","tag-on-the-road","tag-scram","tag-sobering-up","tag-sobriety"],"yoast_head":"\n