Michael: Handshake Deals

A veil of mist
Is draped over the mountains
Like white lingerie.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Within the past week I’ve had to old fashioned handshake kind of deals; one here in Panama and one in the states via the net.

In Panama I sold my old commuter bike to the local repairman; Adrian. Initially, I wanted him to fix it up and sell it and he could take 50% commission for whatever he got for it, but he was so enamored with it he wanted to buy it for himself. However, he didn’t have the $250 cash up front that I thought was a reasonable price, Instead he offered to pay me $50 a month until it’s paid off. Agreed. No paperwork, just a note in his ledger and a mental note by me that he’ll be done paying me by April.

In the states via the net I just reserved a motel room in Michigan near Grand Island for the Grand Island Trail 50k July 22. I wanted to stay at the race hotel and was willing to bite the bullet of $250 for two nights for the convenience that goes with all that the sanctioned race hotel offers. That was until I discovered my mistake of thinking the $250 was for two nights. It was per night. That sent me on a google search that ended up at a small local hotel that didn’t work through the usual computer confirmation route. Instead I e-mailed Larry asking him about availability and rates and he quickly responded. The set-up sounded reasonable to so to book I could either call or e-mail my payment information. I did. I haven’t received a reply back yet with confirmation number or any like it that would normally be instantly whizzed through the clouds if I were using most hotel outlets. But I’m sure I’ll here something from Larry soon enough.

All though I’ll admit these old fashioned type of transactions lack the cold assuredness of HAL, there is something satisfying in relying on human beings to trust one another.