Case Study: How to Lose a Client
Subject: Cityscape Lawn Care and Landscaping, Kenosha, WI.
This is the age most of us learn how to cut grass.
The barrier of entry into the lawn mowing business is quite low. All it requires is a lawn mower, a way to move said lawn mower, and a cell phone.
An excerpt of this column originally appeared as a special to the Kenosha News, Sunday Mornings With Basil Willis, January 15, 2012
It was at our house on New Year’s Eve, sometime after the Basil-tinis started flowing but well before the ball dropped, when I was blinded by a bright flash. It went off inches from my face and was followed by a familiar whirring sound. After blinking the spots out of my retinas, I realized someone had just taken my picture. With a Polaroid instant camera.
An excerpt of this column originally appeared as a special to the Kenosha News, Sunday Mornings With Basil Willis, December 11, 2011
It was the summer of 2007 and we were on our way out for martinis, driving downtown, when we passed the majestic building at dusk. There was a for sale sign in the yard. I slowed down. “Wow, she’s gorgeous.”
An excerpt of this column originally appeared as a special to the Kenosha News, Sunday Mornings With Basil Willis, October 16, 2011
Almost four years ago I wrote a column about moving to Kenosha, and while the piece wasn’t entirely flattering, I did try to accentuate the positive. I moved here for love and since then have settled in, despite my constructive bullet points.
This column originally appeared as a special to the Kenosha News, Sunday Mornings With Basil Willis, September, 18, 2011.
After a challenging summer, we knew we had to get away before the weather changed. Something cheap and relatively close. Beth booked a trip down the mighty Wisconsin River from Sauk City to Spring Green, a 25 mile canoeing adventure over two days through the Driftless Area created during the last glacial period. All the provisions we would need had to fit inside a canoe, which meant Beth couldn’t bring a suitcase full of shoes.
This is the woman that drove into our house and destroyed my beloved car; the lovely Ms. Erica Dawn Jeffers. She pretty much ruined our summer.
An edited version of this My Turn column first appeared as a special to the Kenosha News on February 8, 2008.
Full disclosure: I moved to Kenosha two and a half years ago to be with the love of my life. I was not looking forward to it. Had I not found The One, and had she not been so stubborn, I would not be here.