“Be kind, rewind.” In the old days when you had to rent a video cassette, those words were placed on the tape. It was a friendly reminder, a blatant request for a simple courtesy.
Here’s the scenario. A family plans watching a few movies over the weekend. They want to watch all the movies they have rented. As soon as one movie is finished, they pop in the next one.
Over the next day or so, they return them to the Blockbuster (wiki it). Fast forward, to the next customer who is looking forward to a hot date or family time. They rent a movie, drive home, cook popcorn, and settle in on the couch. They put the video cassette in and, ‘Boom,’ nothing. The screen shows only the film credits with music. Everything is upended. The movie needs to be rewound. Now, you have to wait for what seems to be an eternity to start your movie. It literally can ruin the evening, all because the previous viewer was selfish and inconsiderate. All you wanted was a simple act of kindness.
Now we simply swipe or download. It’s about speed and convenience. We don’t expect people to be kind.
It was an act of kindness that inspired this letter.
OTL had scheduled a trip to San Antonio to do a feature on Signature Restaurant. Dinner reservations were at 6:30 p.m. Richard Arebalo was the writer for the story. We met at La Cantera’s Grille 254 at 2 p.m. Our plan was to take photos for the story, but due to a scheduling change, we were left sitting in the grill at 2:30 p.m. What could we possibly do until dinner?
On an unseasonably warm, winter Tuesday afternoon, it began to rain down kindness. Grille 254 is connected to the golf pro shop. Fergie, the photographer, suggested we could hit balls. I shrugged my shoulders and said, yeah if we had proper golf attire or clubs for that matter.
With zero hope of this happening, we strolled into the pro shop. I quickly begin to tell them, “I publish a magazine and blah blah blah….” The gentleman in the pro shop stopped me in my tracks and said, “Hello, Mr. Walker.”
I was shocked. He knew who I was and, from there, they gave me the absolute best treatment.
To say the treated me like a VIP is an understatement. They treated us like family.
They invited us to hit balls to on the driving range to kill time, providing everything we needed including rental clubs, cart, tees, and golf balls.
Keep in mind we were not wearing proper golf attire. We were sporting blue jeans and oxford shirts. It was not problem. Did I mention the perfect playlist of ’80s hits playing while we practiced? Awesome.
About an hour later, the pro asks us if we want to go out on the course and play. My mouth dropped open again. He said the course was not crowded at all and we should play.
What began as a scheduling mishap had abruptly turned into an unexpectedly fantastic day. There we were, playing La Cantera on a Tuesday afternoon. We both realized just how good life can be at any moment. I want to sincerely thank the fellas in the pro shop for an all-time great story and special thanks to the folks behind the scenes in the marketing department. I’m sure that culture of customer service permeates the resort. La Cantera showed us exceptional kindness and hospitality. It was truly an unforgettable experience.
Kindness is wonderful to receive and even better to give.
The year 2019 kicks off with another great issue. Texas is big and amazing. We take a few days in Big Bend Bend National Park and swing by Lajitas. It’s a destination not really in your backyard, but once you go, you’ll love it.
Enjoy. Be kind, rewind.