Shakin' a Man's Hand on a Deal

I grew up in a place where a man's shake on a deal was law. Not only was it law, it was more importantly...HONOR.

I deal with a lot of guys for some sizeable money for things like cattle feed (i.e. hay). I call guys and have trucks run across the western United States on a promise. I will pay you. The deals are always different, and the suppliers different still. Some want a few hundred bucks for a trucker, and the rest in a check. It's all good. On any given year we spend about $15k on food. It's okay, we buy some of the best food for our animals available, but it's not cheap.

A few weeks ago I had a trucker show up for a tractor we were selling. The trucker knew nothing about the tractor...or the seller. He was just here to pick "something" up. He had a cachier's check and just wanted loaded. Wait!!...NO!

It's interesting how these guys work: they show up at the worst times...and that's their plan. I was unloading a truck of very specific hay. Even my wife was running the skid. So, my neighbors are idiots...and then these "carpet baggers" start showing up.

(More later)

Oh boy, that's not good.

You know what your doing, tell everyone -carpet baggers and idiot neighbors alike- to sit down, shut up, and wait your turn.

You guys work too damn hard, and care too much about doing quality work to let some nimrod in a hurry muck it up.

Remind em' whose name is on the ranch.

I wouldn't want the bad karma of taking advantage of others. In life when you act like that it will never end up in your favor in the long run. On top of that you have to look in the mirror and see the sack of crap you are looking back at you. I wouldn't want that on my balance sheet.

In general, I'd say shaking hands among guys has made a comeback.

Anywhere you meet a new dude, or especially with any guys you haven't seen for more than a week.

I'd say it's a kind of a celebration of masculinity we haven't had to that extent in a while.

But yeah of course, you're going to have your toxic people, sociopaths and cons, misusing that sense of brotherhood and positive energy.

Always a snake in the garden.