The Root of Bitterness (Part 4)

(Continued from June 19, 2010)

The euphoria of my new career began to fade when the real work began. First, I had to fire over 200 people. I don’t think that I could have won a popularity contest after that. I didn’t enjoy the process, but slowly I culled out the redundancy in the system, got rid of the double checkers who were checking the triple checkers and for the most part buttoned things down. I spent the majority of my off time lifting weights and sculpting my body. I fancied myself as an amateur body builder, but I never entered a contest. I enjoyed having kids, but I really didn’t spend much time with them. They were objects of pride, that allowed me to brag about and perfect foils used to focus attention on myself.

My wife denies it, but I distinctly remember saying that all I ever wanted to be was a billionaire. It’s amazing how God gives you what you need rather than what you want. Selfishness is a nasty monster. It eats everything in your life and after digestion, takes all of that time and emotional energy that it fed on and grows a little bit larger. The next time you try to feed it, it demands more. Pretty sick stuff, huh?

Time passed in the car business. My dad withdrew from most day to day operations, which allowed me to take over the general management with very little resistance. He was too busy trying to repair his life. He always bailed out when things got difficult. Unfortunately, I think he passed that trait down to the next generation.

With tears, many hours of hard labor and the good fortune of a reasonably good economy, I was able to drag the dealership out of the ditch and back on the road to “prosperity”. By that time, dad had found a new love of his life and was getting his confidence back. The 18 month deadline for him to relinquish control of the dealership to me had come and gone. “Things are a bit too dicey to sell the store right now.” I thought that made sense. I didn’t complain.

It was weird to see my dad with another woman. Dad had been doing the “other woman” thing since I was 14, maybe before, but I don’t know about that. This time the whole deal was in my face. He asked me to be his best man in the wedding. What was I supposed to do? Of course I said yes. I went over to meet his new family. Suddenly I had a couple of new step-brothers. They were nice boys, but a new family was not a pleasing thought. What was wrong with the old family?