There is Hope- *The Quiet Power of Kindness*

[00:00:00] It's time for a virtual campfire sit-down with Terry Wyce. Welcome to Wyce Thoughts.

[00:00:14] Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. Welcome to our virtual campfire sit-down, better known to many as Wyce Thoughts.

[00:00:22] I'm so glad you're here today and decided to join us for the podcast and spend some of your valuable time with us.

[00:00:30] We truly appreciate each and every one of you out there that listens.

[00:00:34] And this will be, my friends, this will be the final show of 2024. Can you believe it?

[00:00:40] The final show of 2024.

[00:00:47] What a year it's been, hasn't it?

[00:00:50] It's been interesting to say the least, hasn't it?

[00:00:54] It's definitely been an interesting year.

[00:00:57] But that being said, however, I'm so glad you're here.

[00:01:00] Let's get the housekeeping duties out of the way, shall we?

[00:01:03] Got lots to get to on today's program.

[00:01:05] As we close out 2024, I was thinking about doing a best of montage of past shows, but then I'm like, you know what?

[00:01:13] A lot of other podcasters do that and a lot of other shows do that.

[00:01:16] And I, nothing against them, but I just figure, you know what?

[00:01:19] I owe you another show because there's been times throughout the year where we've missed a couple weeks here or there.

[00:01:26] Because a lot of you let me know.

[00:01:28] So anyway, I just wanted to do this and do one final episode for 2024 here as you listen to the podcast.

[00:01:36] You'll be listening on, we're probably going to release it New Year's Eve here, which is a Tuesday here in 2024.

[00:01:42] But anyway, let's get the housekeeping duties out of the way first, shall we?

[00:01:49] WeissThoughts.com is the website.

[00:01:51] W-Y-C-E-T-H-O-U-G-H-T-S.

[00:01:56] WeissThoughts.com.

[00:01:57] There you can listen to each and every episode of this program and not miss out on anything.

[00:02:06] So you won't feel like you've been left out.

[00:02:10] Also, if you want to email me, it's Terry, T-E-R-R-Y, at WeissThoughts.com.

[00:02:17] Couldn't be any easier.

[00:02:19] And by the way, if you want to check out other podcasts and, you know, the voiceover services that are offered, etc.,

[00:02:25] we're brought to you by Purple Pit Studios, just like the color purple, Purple Pit Studios.

[00:02:30] And if you go to PurplePitStudios.com, from that website, you can listen to each and every podcast that we offer.

[00:02:38] Past episodes are there as well.

[00:02:41] And you can check out the YouTube channels, learn a little bit more about Purple Pit Studios and what we have to offer in regards there.

[00:02:49] And check out the blog, The Pit Stop.

[00:02:51] Yeah, the blog has been changed.

[00:02:53] We used to have a blog called Weiss Life, but we kind of mashed everything together.

[00:02:57] So the blog is lovingly named Pit Stop, The Pit Stop.

[00:03:01] So from there, you can check out the blog and see what's going on around the Purple Pit Studios, around Weiss Thoughts,

[00:03:07] and all the other shows, and in the studio, and Weiss Productions, and all kinds of stuff.

[00:03:12] Anyway, it's all waiting for you through PurplePitStudios.com as well.

[00:03:18] All right.

[00:03:19] So while we're doing that, we're going to talk about on the final show of 2024 that I still,

[00:03:25] I had a couple experiences over the Christmas holiday season here, and I want to share them with you

[00:03:31] because it makes me believe there's still hope for the human race.

[00:03:36] But before we do that, we're going to bring back one of the things that a lot of people have emailed me about and requested.

[00:03:42] And it's a favorite feature that they want to see continued on into the new year,

[00:03:47] so we're going to make our best efforts to do that.

[00:03:50] It's that time again.

[00:03:51] It's time for the wordsmith word of the episode.

[00:03:58] Yeah, the wordsmith word of the episode.

[00:04:01] Amaze your friends with your vocabulary knowledge.

[00:04:06] And today's word is...

[00:04:10] Break us.

[00:04:11] All right.

[00:04:12] One more time, please.

[00:04:14] Fracas.

[00:04:14] All right.

[00:04:15] Spelled F-R-A-C-A-S.

[00:04:17] Fracas.

[00:04:18] Better known by definition as a noisy disturbance or quarrel.

[00:04:24] Oh, animated, artificial voice.

[00:04:27] Can you use fracas in a sentence?

[00:04:30] Both teams were disqualified after the fracas on the court.

[00:04:34] Oh, how about maybe another way to use the word fracas?

[00:04:37] Fracas.

[00:04:37] The town council meeting turned into a fracas over the new zoning proposal.

[00:04:42] Oh, okay.

[00:04:43] And can you give me one more example?

[00:04:46] Kindergarten recess often turns into a fracas as the children feud over the best toys.

[00:04:51] All right.

[00:04:52] And today's wordsmith word of the episode is fracas.

[00:04:55] Fracas.

[00:04:55] F-R-A-C-A-S.

[00:04:58] F-R-A-C-A-S.

[00:05:00] And it's a noisy disturbance or quarrel.

[00:05:04] And it's Italian, early 18th century.

[00:05:07] So that's this week's episode or this episode's wordsmith word of the episode, I should say.

[00:05:13] So now you are in the know.

[00:05:16] And knowing is half the battle, I always say.

[00:05:20] So welcome one and all.

[00:05:21] Welcome back to the podcast.

[00:05:22] Welcome to Weiss Thoughts.

[00:05:24] I am Terry Weiss, your humbled host.

[00:05:26] And again, so glad that you are here with us today.

[00:05:29] So what I want to talk to you about on the final show of 2024, and by the way, if you hear a chair squeak, I don't know why.

[00:05:36] Why did we not oil or lubricate the chairs here in the studio?

[00:05:39] I don't know why.

[00:05:41] It sounds bad.

[00:05:42] Why did we not lubricate these chairs?

[00:05:46] Anyway, that'll be in the next break.

[00:05:48] What do I want to talk to you about on the final episode of 2024 for Weiss Thoughts?

[00:05:53] I have found over the Christmas holiday that I think there's still hope for the human race, my friends.

[00:06:00] Yes, I think there is hope for us.

[00:06:04] I don't think we've totally flushed ourselves down the toilet yet.

[00:06:08] Now you probably are out there saying to yourselves,

[00:06:11] Oh, Terry, pray tell, sir, what exactly, if ever, do you mean?

[00:06:19] Let me just give you a little background on why I feel this way and why I'm saying what I'm saying.

[00:06:26] Let me set the stage for you.

[00:06:29] It's Christmas Eve.

[00:06:31] I'm doing some work here in the studio, some last-minute things,

[00:06:35] and it's about early afternoon, say about 2 o'clock Eastern time.

[00:06:40] I get done what I need to get done, and I got to get some errands done, all right?

[00:06:45] The missus wants me to go to one of the stores and says,

[00:06:50] Hey, I need four canisters of those pop-out biscuits for dinner tomorrow

[00:06:55] because I forgot to get those, and I need you to pick me up a half-gallon milk, etc., etc.

[00:07:00] I'm like, okay.

[00:07:01] Now, my vehicle has been parked outside this winter here in the northeastern half of the United States,

[00:07:14] and while it's been a relatively mild winter, I should say,

[00:07:21] there have been in the past few weeks leading up to December 24, 2024,

[00:07:27] we've had a frigid spell the past three or four days where it's gotten down to like 3 degrees,

[00:07:34] 5 degrees, 6 degrees, respectively, in the evening.

[00:07:41] And I try to make it a point to go out and start the vehicle if I'm not going to go anywhere

[00:07:44] because, A, I know it's out there in the cold, and I don't want the battery.

[00:07:47] Now, let me set the stage also.

[00:07:49] This is the original battery that I bought with the new vehicle back in the year 2018.

[00:07:56] Now, the vehicle only has about 35,000 miles on it because it doesn't get driven that often.

[00:08:03] That being said, however, okay, the past few times when it's been cold

[00:08:09] and I go out to start it to let it run for about 10, 15 minutes,

[00:08:13] when I press the button on the ignition inside the vehicle, it goes,

[00:08:18] and then it started right up.

[00:08:20] So I'm like, okay, we let it run for about 10 minutes or so.

[00:08:22] So maybe drive it up and down the driveway a little bit because we have a nice long driveway here at the homestead.

[00:08:30] And I figure we're good.

[00:08:33] Well, let's jump back to December 24th, about 2, 15 in the afternoon.

[00:08:38] I go hop in the family, my family truckster to run the errands for Mrs. T.

[00:08:44] Get in, press the button, starts right up because it's about 35 degrees out or so, 35, 36 degrees.

[00:08:49] I hop in the vehicle and I run my errands.

[00:08:53] I run down into town, not too far, you know.

[00:08:56] I run down to the local grocery store and then I phone the missus and I say,

[00:09:00] hey, how about I stop at Mickey Donald's there, Mickey O'Donnell's, that Scottish-Irish place, McDonald's,

[00:09:06] and just pick us up a quick fast food dinner because she's been baking cookies, you know,

[00:09:11] half the day and preparing prep meal for Christmas dinner tomorrow and that.

[00:09:16] So she says, yeah, that sounds great.

[00:09:17] Let's do that.

[00:09:18] I'm like, okay, I'm going to go over to McDonald's.

[00:09:20] Text me what you want.

[00:09:21] So I head over to McDonald's, which is relative.

[00:09:24] I mean, it's in the same town.

[00:09:25] It's like literally a few blocks from the grocery store.

[00:09:28] Head over there, got what she wants.

[00:09:31] I'm in there maybe 10 minutes.

[00:09:34] Come out, put that in the car, you know, with the other grocery bags, shut the door, hit the button,

[00:09:42] and my lights are flashing like a Christmas tree twinkling on the dash.

[00:09:46] I'm like, what the hell?

[00:09:49] I'm like, oh, maybe I bumped the key fob in my pocket.

[00:09:52] You know, it was in my jacket pocket.

[00:09:53] Sometimes if you do that, it'll say, you know, no key fob found or kind of do something goofy.

[00:09:58] It's happened in the past.

[00:10:00] So I'm like, oh, I'll bring the key fob out and I check.

[00:10:02] Nope, nothing.

[00:10:03] Okay.

[00:10:03] Open the door to stop all the, you know, cantankering, clicking.

[00:10:07] Shut the door.

[00:10:08] Hit the button to start the car.

[00:10:09] Put my phone on the brake.

[00:10:10] Hit the button.

[00:10:14] And the lights are, and now it's not, oh, saying your battery's dead, your starter's dead,

[00:10:19] whatever, electrical air.

[00:10:20] Every single light on that dash was going off, but it was going off independently.

[00:10:24] So this one and that one would blink and then that one and that one would blink and this one

[00:10:28] and that one.

[00:10:28] And then my four-way flashers came on and just started going as well.

[00:10:31] So it was like a veritable Christmas Eve concerto.

[00:10:35] And I was like, what the heck is going on?

[00:10:39] Gremlins?

[00:10:41] So I tried one more time.

[00:10:42] Nope, same thing.

[00:10:43] Dead or the door now.

[00:10:44] Will not start.

[00:10:45] So I even tried to, you know, what they say to do with these newer vehicles with the key fobs.

[00:10:48] I took the key fob, you know, opened the door to shut everything off, put it in, put the key,

[00:10:54] you know, foot on the brake, key fob, top of the key fob up against the button to it,

[00:10:59] you know, to try and start that way.

[00:11:01] Nope, same thing.

[00:11:03] And all the lights going independently, blinking nice and pretty.

[00:11:07] Opened the door, shut it again.

[00:11:08] So I walked back into the McDonald's.

[00:11:10] There was a gentleman sitting there with his back to me, but I seen he had a laptop and he was doing

[00:11:15] some typing.

[00:11:16] So I walked up and I said, pardon me, sir.

[00:11:19] Hate to disturb you and Merry Christmas Eve.

[00:11:21] He said, Merry Christmas Eve.

[00:11:23] I said, for some unknown reason, my vehicle does not want to start now.

[00:11:28] And he's like, really?

[00:11:29] I said, oh yeah.

[00:11:30] I said, it's been running.

[00:11:32] I've been running around town and I don't know what's going on.

[00:11:37] He says, oh, no problem.

[00:11:38] He says, I'll give you a jump.

[00:11:39] I was like, thank you.

[00:11:40] I appreciate it.

[00:11:42] So he comes out and, you know, we're chit-chatting when he pulls his vehicle up.

[00:11:48] We hook up the jumper cables and just one Mississippi, two Mississippi, I hit the button, boom, fires

[00:11:53] right up, unhook the jumper cables.

[00:11:55] Thank him.

[00:11:55] And when we proceed to talk, we'll come to find out.

[00:11:58] But he is the actual district manager for that part of town here for McDonald's.

[00:12:04] Did not really know that.

[00:12:06] And he says, is there anything else I can help you with?

[00:12:08] I said, no, thank you.

[00:12:09] You know, and he's like, hey, just another reason to come to McDonald's and eat, right?

[00:12:13] And get free auto service.

[00:12:14] And we kind of chuckled.

[00:12:15] But I thought about it and I'm like, you know what?

[00:12:18] Thank you.

[00:12:19] You know, thank you.

[00:12:20] And I won't say the gentleman's name, you know, for privacy, respect and such.

[00:12:24] But just goes to show you there are some decent people left in the world.

[00:12:27] There are decent people left in the world.

[00:12:31] And for as much disparity and bad news as we get on the television and, you know, and things

[00:12:36] of that nature, thank, you know, thank God for this man.

[00:12:39] Because the restaurant was kind of empty, you know, besides the employees.

[00:12:43] But the restaurant was kind of empty.

[00:12:45] So I thank him very much.

[00:12:48] If you're out there and if you happen to listen to the Weiss Thoughts podcast, thank you, sir,

[00:12:52] for being a good Samaritan and helping me.

[00:12:56] So that kind of bolstered.

[00:12:57] And I thought, you know, okay, it's not a big story.

[00:13:00] You know, it's not like, oh, some crazy thing.

[00:13:02] But it's just something happened on Christmas Eve.

[00:13:05] And I thought, yes, I'm going to share this with the listeners, for those of you that tune in.

[00:13:11] And the following, so, you know, so I drove back home.

[00:13:14] Everything was fine.

[00:13:16] Brought the groceries inside and the dinner inside.

[00:13:18] And I told my wife what happened.

[00:13:20] She was kind of laughing.

[00:13:21] I backed into my parking spot in the driveway on the car pad off to the side.

[00:13:25] And I figured I'll let it, you know, sit there.

[00:13:27] And I'm going to try it in a couple hours to see if that crazy thing happens again.

[00:13:31] Lo and behold, I went out there and it didn't.

[00:13:33] Okay.

[00:13:35] Let the car run for five minutes.

[00:13:37] And then I got up the next morning bright and early on Christmas Day at 530.

[00:13:42] Figured it was cold.

[00:13:44] It got down to about 12 to 15 degrees overnight.

[00:13:47] Went into the car.

[00:13:49] Started right up like a champ.

[00:13:50] I'm like, hmm.

[00:13:52] It kind of makes you wonder if the universe was trying to teach me something.

[00:13:56] Universe, God, whatever you happen to believe in.

[00:13:59] That there is still hope.

[00:14:01] Because I know I rail at times on this program and on a lot of episodes about human nature

[00:14:08] and about us being better stewards of each other.

[00:14:11] Being kinder and gentler.

[00:14:13] And I scold a lot of you out there that probably don't listen to this podcast.

[00:14:17] But I scold a lot of the, a certain segment of the, especially the U.S. population,

[00:14:21] for being just narcissistic, self-centered assholes.

[00:14:24] Okay.

[00:14:25] There ain't no nice way to say it.

[00:14:27] You know, me, me, me.

[00:14:29] And the heck with you, you, you.

[00:14:31] So I guess that maybe was the universe's way of saying, hey, there are good people out here.

[00:14:37] There are people, good Samaritans and angels in disguise, if you want to call them angels

[00:14:42] in disguise or what have you, that they're there.

[00:14:46] You know, they're there.

[00:14:47] They're here.

[00:14:54] And then had Christmas Day, had the family over and that, had a great time, you know,

[00:15:01] made some more memories and made holiday memories with grandkids were over as well and everything.

[00:15:07] And so now the next day, the day after Christmas, I get up early, go out, start the vehicle again,

[00:15:13] starts right up.

[00:15:15] But there's this little thing in my mind that says, you know, you bought that vehicle back

[00:15:19] in 2018.

[00:15:21] The battery's never been changed.

[00:15:23] And I'm older school, shall I say?

[00:15:28] When I bought a car, you know, the battery would last the life of the vehicle.

[00:15:30] I mean, 10, 15 years, you really never had to worry back in the day.

[00:15:35] But nowadays, I did a little research that the batteries last about three to six years,

[00:15:40] if you're lucky.

[00:15:41] You know, in five and six years, you know, consider yourself blessed.

[00:15:45] And the reason for it is because these vehicles are doing so much more with the computers

[00:15:50] and the stress and the key fob communication.

[00:15:53] Even when your vehicle's off, there's key fob communication going on.

[00:15:56] If you get within a certain distance to update, you know, software and anti-theft

[00:16:00] and anti-start things and, you know, software updates and all kinds of communications

[00:16:05] all the way around all over the place.

[00:16:07] All right.

[00:16:09] So I guess it makes sense that, you know, your batteries have to be a little bit more powerful

[00:16:15] and they may not last as long because of the charge and discharge and the, you know,

[00:16:20] the cycling of them and the way that works.

[00:16:22] You know, I'm not an electrical engineer or an electronic specialist, nor do I claim to

[00:16:27] be one.

[00:16:28] But it makes sense.

[00:16:30] But, you know, myself, I kind of like to have the, I have the mentality of hanging on to

[00:16:35] something until it's, it's on its literally last breath.

[00:16:39] You know, its last legs.

[00:16:41] My wife, she's the same way.

[00:16:44] You know, I mean, her other vehicles, she drove over 200 some thousand miles.

[00:16:48] Until I forced her, I said, go buy a new car.

[00:16:50] Will you?

[00:16:51] For God's sake.

[00:16:51] Oh, just getting used.

[00:16:53] No, you haven't had a new car in 15 years.

[00:16:56] You know, you can buy one.

[00:16:58] Of course, I should have never said that because when she came home with a $47,000 vehicle, I

[00:17:03] was like, but, you know, anyway, you got to have one once in a while, I suppose.

[00:17:09] So, anyhow, fast forward where the day after Christmas, I'm up early.

[00:17:13] So, I called up a local tire place here.

[00:17:16] And I'll say their name because they were great.

[00:17:18] I mean, Duntire, D-U-N-N, Duntire.

[00:17:22] If you're listening in the United States, if they have them in your neck of the woods or

[00:17:24] your town, they have them in the Northeast here, especially in the Northeastern half of

[00:17:28] the U.S.

[00:17:29] And we've done business with them for probably 25 years off and on when they were just kind

[00:17:35] of building.

[00:17:35] But they've grown exponentially here in the Northeastern half of the U.S. and never had

[00:17:39] a problem with Duntire.

[00:17:40] Never.

[00:17:41] I've used other places.

[00:17:42] I've used dealerships.

[00:17:43] I've used other places like Duntire and have run into some difficulty and some, shall

[00:17:51] I say, questionable business practices here and there from both dealerships and other

[00:17:57] places.

[00:17:59] Other than Duntire.

[00:18:01] So, I called up the gentleman at Duntire.

[00:18:03] I'm going, hey, you're open.

[00:18:04] Great.

[00:18:04] I said, do you have any way to check a battery for me?

[00:18:08] I kind of explained to him what happened.

[00:18:10] He goes, yeah, yeah.

[00:18:10] If you can just pop in, I'll come out and we'll run it.

[00:18:12] I get this big machine.

[00:18:13] It goes through the cycles and I'll show you a big screen while we're looking at it.

[00:18:16] We'll see what's going on.

[00:18:18] Great.

[00:18:18] So, I head up into the other town that's about 20 minutes from me because, again, I live

[00:18:24] in a rural area, which I love and the wife loves it too.

[00:18:28] So, we head out.

[00:18:29] I head out, rather, to do that because I had a couple other errands to run anyway.

[00:18:33] So, I stop in there first and he comes out and he brings this, you know, thing that he

[00:18:37] connects to the poles on the battery.

[00:18:41] And he's like, okay, you know, while the vehicle's off.

[00:18:44] He goes, well, you're pulling about 11 volts or so, 11 to 12 volts, which is fine.

[00:18:49] You know, that's fine for starting and that looks good.

[00:18:52] He starts it and he does something else.

[00:18:54] And then he's like, okay, we're going to do this.

[00:18:55] Turn on the lights, turn on the wipers, shut the lights up and on the high beams.

[00:18:58] Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

[00:18:59] So, he goes, okay.

[00:19:00] He says, well, I think I see what the issue may be.

[00:19:02] I'm like, okay.

[00:19:03] He says, your starter and all that stuff looks good because it's not sending me any panic

[00:19:07] codes.

[00:19:08] But he's showing me on this.

[00:19:09] And he says, okay, you're at about 600 here and you should be about 650 to 675 for a regular

[00:19:16] healthy, fully healthy battery.

[00:19:18] And he says, you're just getting to 600.

[00:19:20] So, what this is telling me is that you've got some cells and sections of the battery that

[00:19:28] are no longer operational.

[00:19:29] They're no longer viable.

[00:19:30] He says, my thought is you just happened to hit that portion of the cell when you went

[00:19:36] to try and start the car, you know, on Christmas Eve and there was nothing for it to pull from.

[00:19:40] It was a dead, you know, it's like pulling up a, you know, a black Joker in a deck or

[00:19:46] something, you know, he just, eh, no, it ain't going to happen.

[00:19:48] But when you jumped it, it kind of kicked it over.

[00:19:51] And then he says, now the battery, could it last?

[00:19:53] Could you encounter that again?

[00:19:54] Yeah.

[00:19:55] Could you not encounter that again for another three minutes, three months, three years?

[00:20:00] Yeah.

[00:20:02] And he said, this is the original battery.

[00:20:04] Did I hear you correctly?

[00:20:05] I'm like, yes, the original one with the vehicle from 2018.

[00:20:07] He goes, well, you don't got a lot of mileage.

[00:20:09] But he says, you know, in and out Buffalo, New York area, you know, north half of the

[00:20:15] United States from, you know, the area of country we're at.

[00:20:19] And he says, you know, our harsh winters, cold and, you know, and extreme heat, but mostly

[00:20:23] it's the cold that gets these batteries.

[00:20:25] So take note, people who have electric vehicles, cold destroys batteries faster.

[00:20:31] You know, it helps their life cycle.

[00:20:34] It curtails their life cycles, I should say.

[00:20:36] He said, it's up to you.

[00:20:37] He says, I've got one in here.

[00:20:39] It's like, I got one for your vehicle.

[00:20:42] It's a 24 month warranty.

[00:20:43] It's made by, I think it's called Interstate.

[00:20:45] You know, it's made for your vehicle for the specs, a factory replacement.

[00:20:50] I'm like, okay, how much is that?

[00:20:51] And he's like, well, normally it's like 250 bucks, but I got a coupon.

[00:20:55] I can get you out the door with tax for like two and a quarter.

[00:20:57] I'm like, okay.

[00:20:58] Last time I bought a battery, I think it was like 70 bucks.

[00:21:01] So that tells you how last time I bought a battery in a vehicle.

[00:21:05] But from what I hear from everyone, they can go anywhere from 180 to $400 nowadays for

[00:21:11] just regular gas powered car batteries.

[00:21:15] I'm not talking electric or hybrid vehicles.

[00:21:17] I'm just talking regular.

[00:21:18] I'm like, well, I said, you know what?

[00:21:21] I'm not going to roll the dice.

[00:21:22] I'd rather just get it.

[00:21:24] You know, it probably has to be replaced anyway.

[00:21:26] I'm probably living on borrowed time.

[00:21:29] Let's just replace it.

[00:21:30] He says, great.

[00:21:31] He says, I'm pretty busy, but he says, I'll tell you what, if you could hang out for about

[00:21:35] 20 minutes, I've got one of my texts is actually finishing up doing a,

[00:21:42] a wheel alignment and I can squeeze you in.

[00:21:44] It takes maybe 10, 15 minutes tops.

[00:21:45] I'm like, okay.

[00:21:46] And I said, well, you know what?

[00:21:48] I've got to run around the corner to the packaging store.

[00:21:51] I got to send a couple of packages back and that may take me 10, 15 minutes tops.

[00:21:56] Can I, can I do that and come right back and not lose my, he says, sure.

[00:21:59] No problem.

[00:21:59] So I take off and do it.

[00:22:04] Now being the, uh, and again, no offense to, to Dunn tire, but being the pro consumer advocate

[00:22:12] that I am, I like to try and make sure I'm getting the best quality deal, not just price,

[00:22:17] but I just want to make sure I'm in there, you know, that they're in the ballpark.

[00:22:21] Uh, and again, through no distrust of them, it's just part of being a consumer nowadays.

[00:22:24] You've got to kind of watch out for yourself.

[00:22:26] Uh, I call the dealership, you know, from my, where I got my car and I told them, yeah,

[00:22:31] you need a battery, et cetera.

[00:22:33] They're like, okay, yeah, that'll be $339 installed.

[00:22:36] I went, thanks, but no thanks.

[00:22:38] Have a happy new year.

[00:22:40] So over, over a hundred dollars more for the same type of battery.

[00:22:44] So I run my errands.

[00:22:46] I go back, I pull in and I, I will go walking into the, uh, you know, into the establishment

[00:22:52] and the gentleman comes out and he says, Hey, Terry, Terry.

[00:22:54] Yeah.

[00:22:55] Give me your key fob.

[00:22:55] He's, he finished.

[00:22:57] He literally just finished up a couple of minutes ago.

[00:22:59] He was grabbing a cup of coffee and I pull your, okay, great.

[00:23:02] So I, uh, hand in my key fob and everything.

[00:23:05] I go sit down in the waiting area.

[00:23:07] Well, about six minutes, six minutes later, the gentleman comes out and he's, uh, we got

[00:23:12] a little problem.

[00:23:13] I'm like, Oh no, now what?

[00:23:15] He goes, no, no, nothing to do with your vehicle.

[00:23:17] Your, your vehicle's fine.

[00:23:18] I'm like, whew, thank you.

[00:23:20] I said, so, so what's happening?

[00:23:21] He said, this is like the last one of these batteries that we have for your car in, in

[00:23:29] the standard.

[00:23:30] And the pole just isn't tightening right on, on the battery itself.

[00:23:34] The battery pole that's inside the battery.

[00:23:36] I don't like it.

[00:23:37] And I don't want to take a chance putting it in your vehicle for, you know, I don't want

[00:23:40] it to fail on you or whatever.

[00:23:41] I'm like, okay, I appreciate that.

[00:23:44] So he talks with the, uh, the manager of the establishment and the manager of the establishment

[00:23:48] calls me up to the desk and says, Hey, uh, we, I don't have any more of the standard

[00:23:53] batteries with the 24 month warranty.

[00:23:55] He says, I got the heavy duty one here, which comes with a three-year warranty.

[00:23:59] It has more cold, what's called cold cranking amps.

[00:24:03] It's just an over, it's a heavy duty battery.

[00:24:05] It's built for your car, but it's like, it's the beast.

[00:24:07] He says, normally it's $60 more.

[00:24:10] So I'm thinking, okay, here we go.

[00:24:11] Here's where the other shoe is going to drop.

[00:24:13] You know, can you give me the half, whatever?

[00:24:16] But he said, I'm like, oh, okay.

[00:24:17] He says, but don't worry about it.

[00:24:19] I'm not going to charge anything extra.

[00:24:22] I'm like, oh, what?

[00:24:23] He goes, no, don't worry.

[00:24:26] It's not, we should have another one of these other batteries in stock.

[00:24:28] We don't not going to leave you hanging or make it come back in a couple of days.

[00:24:33] Just, we're going to put the better battery in and the same price.

[00:24:36] I'm like, well, thank you very much.

[00:24:38] I truly appreciate that.

[00:24:40] It's little things like that.

[00:24:42] Now, did they have to do that?

[00:24:47] No, but they did it anyway, without even a second thought based on just being a decent

[00:24:55] establishment.

[00:24:58] I'm sure that possibly the fact that we've done business with them off and on for 25 years,

[00:25:02] you know, from oil changes, we bought tires through there, tire rotations, you know, tune-ups,

[00:25:09] inspections and stuff.

[00:25:10] You know, we've kind of flip-flopped that between that and the dealership.

[00:25:14] Like some of the things on the dealership, we had free oil changes for a while until they,

[00:25:18] a lot of dealerships have canceled that gravy train.

[00:25:22] But, you know, we patronize them.

[00:25:24] They know us.

[00:25:25] You know, it's not like we're in there every six or eight months per se, but they know us.

[00:25:29] We know them.

[00:25:30] You know, the personnel over there have changed a little bit, but it's the same atmosphere.

[00:25:36] So, kudos to you, Duntire, D-U-N-N, Duntire here in the northeastern half of the United States,

[00:25:42] Buffalo, Rochester area of New York State.

[00:25:45] Thank you.

[00:25:45] And I did a review online for them and said, you know, they were great.

[00:25:49] You know, I even said the location of the store and said that, you know, I didn't mention their

[00:25:52] names, but I said the staff at blah, blah, blah location.

[00:25:55] I was in there for battery issue.

[00:25:57] They were fantastic, very helpful.

[00:25:59] And the most important thing, very friendly and afflable.

[00:26:04] You know, you can have a conversation with them.

[00:26:06] They weren't like, I mean, because let's face it, folks, it was the day after Christmas.

[00:26:11] I mean, there's that day after Christmas holiday, you know, a lot of time.

[00:26:17] But every one of their staff was friendly and, you know, joking around and having a good time.

[00:26:22] Like they really, hey, man, we're back at work now.

[00:26:25] We're helping people and we like what we're doing.

[00:26:28] So congratulations, Dunn Tyer and a job well done.

[00:26:32] And I left them a Google review.

[00:26:33] And here's the kicker.

[00:26:34] This morning when I got up before I went to record the podcast, you know, it's been a few

[00:26:41] days since I've left the review on Google reviews.

[00:26:43] The company actually wrote back and responded to me and thanked me for my comments and asked

[00:26:50] if there was anything else we could ever do.

[00:26:52] And if any, you know, please reach out.

[00:26:53] So that really, you know, that meant a lot to me.

[00:26:57] It really did.

[00:26:58] So I guess just those two little things besides the normal family gathering and sharing of

[00:27:05] stories and with family and friends over the holiday here, over the Christmas holiday, has,

[00:27:10] you know, kind of the universe has kind of reached out and given me a little bit of hope that,

[00:27:14] hey, there's hope for all of us.

[00:27:16] There is still some hope.

[00:27:18] Looking forward to a lot of things in the new year coming up with 2025.

[00:27:23] This is the last show of 2024 for Wise Thoughts.

[00:27:28] Thank you.

[00:27:28] Thank you.

[00:27:29] Thank you.

[00:27:30] All of you that listened to the program throughout the year, that reached out to me via email,

[00:27:35] that left voicemails on the website, et cetera.

[00:27:38] We got a lot of good things coming up for you in 2025.

[00:27:42] I think you're really going to enjoy it.

[00:27:44] A lot of surprises.

[00:27:45] We're going to have guests, more guests on the program, more interactivity.

[00:27:50] But folks, there's hope for the human race yet, I believe.

[00:27:53] So until next year, my friends, this is Terry Weiss signing off for 2024 on Wise Thoughts.

[00:28:01] Oh, no.

[00:28:02] And Mr. Producer presses the wrong button.

[00:28:04] I love it.

[00:28:04] I love it.

[00:28:05] He pressed the wrong button.

[00:28:07] Good for you, Mr. Producer.

[00:28:08] Oh, boy.

[00:28:10] Are you going to press the right one?

[00:28:12] Okay.

[00:28:13] See, our last blooper of 2024.

[00:28:16] For myself and Mr. Producer extraordinaire, thank you for listening to Wise Thoughts throughout the year

[00:28:22] and reaching out, interacting, and patronizing the show and supporting the show.

[00:28:27] And again, have a safe, happy New Year's, and we'll see you on the other side.

[00:28:37] Hey, thanks for listening to the program today.

[00:28:43] I truly appreciate each and every one of you out there.

[00:28:46] And remember, to see a change in the world, you have to be the change in the world you want to see.

[00:28:52] It all starts with you, the person looking back at you in the mirror every morning.

[00:28:57] Remember to be kind to yourself.

[00:28:59] Be kind to others.

[00:29:04] If you want to tweet at me on Twitter, it's at Terry Weiss.

[00:29:08] Stop by the website, weissthoughts.com.

[00:29:10] Just to make sure you spell my name right, W-Y-C-E, weissthoughts.com.

[00:29:15] And hey, leave us a positive rating and review on your favorite podcast provider, won't you?

[00:29:20] Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your pets about Weiss Thoughts.

[00:29:27] And I look forward to gathering yet again around the virtual campfire with you real soon.

[00:29:34] Take care.