Everyone Loves A Deal

We all live in the same world. 2008 is shaping up to be a tough one economically for many. Gasoline is ridiculous, we're all still paying off last years blizzard heating bill, and the price of food is just off the charts. So I think all of us are looking for a deal.

Case in point. Saturday my wife Stacy and I along with our friends Don and Terry drove up to the West Side Market in Cleveland to stock up on some veggies, fruit and meat. We make that pilgrimage a few times a year. Mostly just for fun. Breakfast first, then we go up get a coffee, and shop for a while. More times than not we eat the food we just bought before sundown at one of our houses on someones grill. Overall a good time.

Being Memorial Day weekend the market was packed and so was their free parking lot. So we drove over one block and found this little lot 200 feet from the markets front door. We were all stunned. The sign read "parking $1.00." None of us could believe it. I was sure it said 10, but it said 1! For the WHOLE CAR!!! We gladly gave the cheerful attendant our hard earned dollar and a giddiness took over the group. None of us could fathom that someone in today's world would charge a mere buck for their service. You can't get anything for a dollar anymore. But we did!

Every time you go to a big time game or concert, the parking rates always seem to get the day off to a rough start. But you swallow it, and move on. It was such a small thing. But it made the whole day better! Seriously! We talked about it on and off the whole weekend. no one we told could believe it either. I was so geeked up, I almost gave the guy another buck when we left!

Look, it wasn't the dollar so much I think. I truly feel it was subconscious. It just felt good to know that somewhere out there in this tough economic 2008, we ran across some company that didn't feel like putting it to us. It was the deal plain and simple. People today want to feel like they're getting a deal because there seem to be so few of them.

I salute you, you Prince of Parking, Lord of the Lot, The Spartan of Space, The Beast of the Booth, YOU made our day. Thanks for the deal! And you know what? Next time we go, we're not even going to TRY the free parking first, we'll gladly give you the dollar for the deed that you do! Glad to support you. Such a deal!