To be noticed, give us a call: (850) 547-0102 or e-mail: wwdr@worldwidedrillingresource.com 12 OCTOBER 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. Everything has a Story Look around you, there are objects everywhere, and each one of them has a story. Are they interesting stories? Well, that depends on how you tell it. 1. There’s a bluebird house outside my office window. It’s one of nine I’ve hung on trees around my yard. My mother loved bluebirds and wanted to see them around her home. So, I did some research and learned if you put up bluebird houses, you will attract them. I went to the library and looked up the specs on how to build one, then built and hung three of them in her front yard. Mother passed away 29 years ago, and I spread her ashes near the bird feeder in front of her house. I now own and live in that house, and I see bluebirds all the time. They remind me of Mother. 2. My key ring sits on my desk until I’m ready to leave the house. On it is a tiny flathead screwdriver manufactured by Proto and engraved with KING HDW CO for King Hardware Company. It belonged to my father, who acquired it as a gift from King, when he worked as a purchasing agent for a construction company. He carried it on his key ring for as long as I knew him, and I placed it on mine the day he died (more than 40 years ago). One day, on my way home from giving a speech, an airline officer tried to take it away from me in the Charleston, West Virginia, airport (back in the early days after 9-11 when they would do random bag checks at the gate). I tried explaining it was a very valuable keepsake to me, but like Barney Fife, the agent was a strict order-follower saying, "It is a screwdriver, and screwdrivers are not allowed on the plane." I asked if she seriously thought I could hijack a plane with it, but she kept insisting: "It's a screwdriver, screwdrivers are on the list, and I have to confiscate it." I asked her if I could just put it in my carry-on and check my bag. She replied, “It’s too late for that.” I told her I was not giving up my father's screwdriver, that I would miss the flight before I would do that. I asked for her supervisor, who was just as strict. I asked him if I could give it to one of the flight attendants to hold during the flight, and return it to me when we landed in Atlanta. He said, "No, it would be an unsecured screwdriver loose at your final destination, and you could pass it to another person wanting to hijack a plane." I said, "Seriously?" I finally resolved the situation by phoning my client, and asking if she would come to the airport and pick it up from the Lost and Found. She agreed. I then took the screwdriver off of my key ring for the first time since my father died, put it in an envelope I had in my briefcase, sealed it, wrote my client's name on the outside, then handed it to the supervisor who promised to put it in the Lost & Found office. Reluctantly, I boarded my plane. Two days later, I received the key back by Federal Express. Lesson learned: I no longer carry that key ring when I fly. I have other stories about objects in my office. What stories can you tell about the objects around you? How interesting can you make those stories? Robert Robert is an innovation/change speaker, author, and consultant. He works with companies that want to be more competitive through innovation and with people who want to think more creatively. Contact him via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com
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