Yes I got rained on today not once but three times and it feels good!
The simplest to explain was a letter from a fellow rainer who I'd lost track of, I responded and he did too. Three simple and short letters, but two of us feeling better, a good start to my day.
The second came as a real surprise, a new AR commercial real estate broker. I'll past in the letter.
"Bill,I saw your post on ActiveRain. Do you remember American Mortgage Network in Reno with Jerry ...?
We were there together about 20 years ago.
Reminiscingly,
Jim Walker"
I responded, unfortunatly I didn't remember him, but of course I remembered the time and circumstance.
This is part of what he wrote back:
"The one project we worked on together was up in Lake Tahoe in 1987, A pair of developers was planning to build townhomes in Incline Village. We met an appraiser onthe California side named Paul in the morning. then we met with the developers in Incline Village and made a proposal to provide construction / development funding and takeout loans to the eventual buyers.
You were still walking with a cane as you had spent the previous year recovering from a broken leg. The meeting did not go well at lunch and we returned to Reno,
disappointed...
You and I were there a short time together, and you were usually in pain from your leg, (and now I know, also from dealing with ... and...) ; I believe I learned more about the mortgage business from you than I did from either of them. It doesn't surprise me that you have evolved into a real estate educator. I look forward to reading some of your articles."
Oh, this is what I look like twenty years later, the worse for wear.
Sincerely,
Jim Walker
He defiantly remembered me, and what nice things to say to a virtual stranger after twenty years. I hope this time we get to know each other.
There are a lot of people in real estate and mortgage lending and yet here on Active Rain we're one community where you can run into old friends and acquaintances, These two from opposing coasts, but one community made me feel good, I can only hope that I did the same.
My day wasn't over. My cell phone rang, I glanced at the number I didn't recognize it, I said, hello. A tentative voice on the other end ask is this R-E-I-I? I said yes, he said Bill. I said Tom? He said Hi! My baby brother, Tom! have 3 younger brothers and a sister all back in Michigan. Now this is either trouble or very good news, I said "What's Up? He excruciatingly took his time before saying "I'm coming to Vegas and if you and Brenda are in town I'd like to come a day early so we can spend some time together." Great news. Tom explained he'd been trying to call all morning, but the numbers he had at the office had all been changed over a year ago. He said he was about to call Mom, see Leave it to Mother / Central Michigan When he looked at all the computers on his desk. Tom's a software executive, programing genius (?) He says then I typed your name in and you were all over the place, by the way what is Active Rain?
That's it, no great moral or lesson. It's already been said we reap what we sow, Active Rain let me connect with a couple of old friends, and impress a cynical baby brother. If they can find me then it's all worth the effort. The fact that it made me feel good was a bonus.
As I go back into lending in all 50 states maybe AR can help me spread the word.
Bill
William J Archambault Jr
The Real Estate Investment Institute
