A few years back I was working for a south Florida publishing company as an ad executive. I would meet a lot of out of town clients. When they come into town I try to make them feel at home. Usually it was taking him or her out to dinner or to a club. Believe me, a lot of stale nights were spent trying to work out a contract entertaining these people.
This all changed when a gentleman from Michigan named Bill came in town. Wednesday evening I met his flight at the local airport and got to know him as we drove to his hotel. Bill was a man about 50 years old, six ft tall and maybe 180 lbs. He was very eager to tell me all about his business, the wife and kids. By the time we reached the hotel I felt as if I’ve known him for years..
That next day was spent showing Bill around the plant and introducing him to the executive board. After a few hours he pulled me aside and confessed that this was terribly boring, and that he had always wanted to go deep sea fishing. I told Bill that I used to be an avid fisherman, and that my brother had a 27” boat that we could take out. So, I called my brother to “reserve” the boat for the following day. Bill was thrilled at the chance. It would be his first time out in the ocean.