A Snappy Comeback

A Snappy Comeback

It is always very satisfying to get off a quick and well-timed response to a casual remark. I labeled these “Zingers” and am always ready to relate the occasions of their occurrence and savor the memory.
Here’s one.
I was traveling with the aggressive President (and Sales Manager) of an industrial filter manufacturer from New England (Lexington, Mass.) en route from Lakewood to Bryan, Ohio by way of the Ohio Turnpike. This man was responsible for the rapid growth of his company and singly dedicated to that activity, which means he was quite humorless. Our conversation dealt with current events, history, politics and religion, all weighty subjects. The time and miles passed smoothly and could have qualified as a mobile forum.
We had left Lakewood in mid-morning expecting to reach Bryan before noon. The distance is about 140 miles and the travel time more than two hours. My companion was getting “itchy” when we were getting close to Bryan and lunch time so to relieve his stress, I stopped at a rest area and called our prospect.
The conversation went like this, “This is Franklyn Kirk. I am with the Sales Manager of Balston and we are very close to your plant. It’s pretty near lunch time, so if you will wait a bit , we would like to take you to lunch”
“Thank you for calling and the invitation but I can’t accept it. I have some personal errands; I have to go the cleaners.”
“Just wait, we’ll take you to the cleaners after lunch”
That’s a “Zinger”.