German Class Cheater

I was never a super-achiever in high school. Nor was I super-achiever in college or even law school, although I did much better in law school.

During our office sales meeting a couple of weeks ago I was discussing agents in my community that are posting their new soon-to-be-listed properties on ZILLOW, TRULIA, and FACEBOOK. Our mls rules require that listings be posted immediately in our mls and they do not recognize anything like a future listing. The point of having an mls system is to share information and to provide an even platform among agents.

I then recounted an incident in my German class in 1964. We were taking a test and the girl who sat in front of me took out a crib sheet to answer some of the questions. She reached down toward her right foot and pulled a piece of paper up to her desk. She looked toward the teacher who was reading a book or something. Realizing she would go unnoticed, she cheated. I know a lot of people cheated in high school. This incident occurred more than fifty years ago and you'd think I wouldn't remember one person out of the many that I know who cheated in school. But I remember it clearly because she was a member of National Honor Society.

I took my time leaving class. I went up to talk to the teacher. I told her that I saw someone cheat, but did not say who. I told her it wasn't fair that people cheat to get good grades.  I don't know if I was making excuses about myself for not being a better student or that I was blaming the teacher for not watching the students better so that they could not cheat. I knew I didn't cheat, and I got mad when others got better grades by doing so.

A year ago when I was preparing to go home for my 50th high school reunion I looked through my old yearbook and saw her picture. I went to CLASSMATES dot com site and looked the cheater up. She is a REALTOR. I told the agents in my office "Once a cheater, always a cheater!"

Small World of Ronny Bailey - Love, Joy, and Peace in a Box

My friend and local folk artist Ronny Bailey dropped by my office on Monday to show me his latest creation - a kit to create your very own Key West Cigar Maker Cottage "Dream Home".  When I was little kid growing up in the 1950s many paint by numbers kits were sold with color-coded drawings whereby the home artist would paint between the lines to paint blue or whatever the color might be in appropriate spaces.  If you painted inside the lines and used the correct color, you would have your very own original copy of a manufactured piece of art. I did several. I wish I had saved at least one. But like almost everything from my youth, it got tossed.

Ronny's box promises to be more challenging and a lot more art worthy in my opinion.  Ronny describes the kit as:
Artist kit creates artwork 12.5"tall by 11.5" wide.Inside the kit you will find all you need to create your own unique work of art. Includes quality wood pieces, handcrafted window, door, attic vent, and mailbox, glue-no nails or screws required, paint 1 oz. each of white, black, red, blue and yellow, paint pallet and color mixing guide, 3 quality paint brushes,hanging hardware, wax paper to protect your work surface, easy instructions, and tips from the artist.

 Ronny opened the box with pride and gently removed the packing material from the door and window. He explained that local custom cabinet maker Hansen and Bringle fabricated the pieces made of poplar wood. The door and window were custom made using individual pieces of wood, just like the real thing, so that the finished cottage would look authentic.

The home artist gets to complete the cottage using the enclosed paints.  If you are a fan of Ronny's original pieces, you'll quickly see that none of his houses has any of the primary colors contained in the little bag. Come to think of it, most artists start out with similar primary colors to create a universe of totally different pieces of art. However, his completed prototype totally disproves what I just wrote.

Ronny created a prototype.  I wonder what you could create. You can give it a try. CLICK HERE
to see Ronny's Facebook Page where you can learn how to purchase the kit.

And remember to call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com if you want to buy a genuine cigar maker's cottage or any other home in Key West. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.