A set of luggage I wanted to get for this trip is not going to make it here in time so I ran to Wal-mart (yes, Wal-mart) and found the manliest spinner luggage I could get my hands on.  Bizarre, I know.  But here is my thinking.  I’ll make do with this rugged looking set of man bags until I get back.  Then I’ll order my more stylish and appropriate lady lugs and pass off this burly baggage to my man.  When I got home with these all the boy s in the house thought they were cool and very guy-ish.

My favorite part of the story though happened while in Wal-mart.  I got 30% off mostly due to good manners.  I don’t know if you know anyone who works are Wal-mart, but they generally get treated poorly.  I found some suitable luggage for my unusual mission and noticed that the large suitcase was scuffed in a few places and it was the only one.  In all probability, the case will most likely get worse dings on the trip itself.  I politely asked an employee if I could get a discount off of the luggage due to the scuffs and marks.  I heard, “Oh, you’ll have to talk to a manager about that.”

I smiled and followed up with, “Ok, that sounds great.  Can I speak with a manager about it then?”

“Well they are in a meeting…”  The person looked at me, softened up, and added, “If you head back there, you might catch them before they start.”

Long story short, I spoke with a manager before their meeting, presented my appeal for a discount, and got 30% off.  Moral of the story?  Listen to your momma when she says good manners will get you far.  She is right.