I thought I would start the new year off with a true story. When I was a teenager, there was an older fellow in town who owned a Junk Yard and the Dr. Pepper Bottling Plant. Most of the people in town knew he was extremely rich but if you saw him on the street, you'd think he was probably some farmer visiting town. He spent 90% of his time running his junkyard. Well, the story goes that just before we entered World War 2, Mr. Gregory offered to sell all his iron and steel to the US government because he knew that we were manufacturing arms for our allies and we would soon be involved in the war. The US Government declined his cheap offer, so he sold it all to the Japanese Government and made a killing on the deal. Not too long after the war ended, the City's governing body decided that his junk yard was an ugly eyesore, and he was commanded to make it look more presentable. Well, Mr. Gregory went to the City Council meeting and proceeded to tell them that he owned half of the City and if they didn't leave him alone, he would buy the other half and throw them all out. He actually did own half the real estate in town and actually had the money to back up his threat. The City quietly shut the Hell up and left the old man alone. The moral of this story is...... If you have more than you need, don't flaunt it. Just be the nice person that you are and don't take any crap off those who think they can bully you. I met Danny Gregory on several occasions when I walked past his junk yard. On one occasion, I went inside the office to buy a Coke on a particularly hot day and I was fishing around in my pocket for a nickel that I thought I had. I came up empty and Danny walked over to the Coke machine and deposited a nickel in it, got me a Coke and said, "You can pay me back later when you have some money". I never forgot that kind gesture and never allowed anyone in my presence to ever say a bad word about that kind old man. With that said, the old boy could be tough when doing business. I heard that some guy wanted a particular engine part, maybe a Carburator or starter, and he asked Mr. gregory how much he wanted for it. Mr. Gregory quoted him a very fair price for it and the customer said, "It isn't worth that much". Mr Gregory then said, "Well, if it isn't worth that much, then it's not worth anything". Then he threw the part into the river next to the junkyard. I've often thought..... "Who won?" Hmmmm..... Maybe nobody.
