I am working with clients right now who are reminding me of the importance of looking below surface appearances, and I want to share the reminder with you.  For the purpose of this story I will call them John & Martha, and while Martha is a lovely person, my focus here will be on John.

I first met John a few months ago when he called about a property on our website.  My first impression was of a rather suspicious, brash, flippant, impatient young man who might be demanding and somewhat difficult.  At our first meeting my impression was extended by his physical appearance – wild hair, clothing appropriate to his work in construction and an engaging grin.

As we have worked together over several months I have learned a lot about John.  The suspicion stemmed from a prior bad experience with a real estate agent – we have worked beyond that.  Any difficulties are a function of enthusiasm, excitement and the frustration that an entry level buyer experiences in this market – they are normal.  The impatience is certainly there - balanced by a sincere respect and appreciation for the time I spend with him.  The wild hair is the result of his commitment to Locks of Love, which collects hair to make wigs for children who are undergoing cancer treatment. 

I have further learned of his close family, his love of children, his soft heart (which translates into helping others who are less fortunate), his dreams and ambitions for his family.  I’m sure he isn’t perfect, but I have a great deal of respect and affection for this young man who I first judged somewhat differently.

This experience is one that all of us on The Johnson Team have repeated a number of times, and it is one of the greatest aspects of our job.  We have the opportunity to get to know wonderful people who make us feel better about the world at large.  Hopefully we pass that feeling along to others in the course of helping them with their real estate needs.�

We just returned from a 2 week vacation, and it was fabulous…for a couple of reasons.  One was that everything went smoothly while we were gone.  Clients were well served, transactions closed, ads were done  and Mike, Fawn, Nickie and Graham were still happy when we returned.  They did an incredible job.

And as all that was going on here, we were having a wonderful time!  We started in Virginia, exploring historical sites dating from Jamestown, founded in 1608, to Civil War battlefields.  We saw George Washington’s office when he was a young surveyor for the King in the wilderness (now Winchester, Virginia) at the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley and the room where he died almost 50 years later at Mt. Vernon, beloved by the nation he was so instrumental in creating.  We saw the Capitol building at Williamsburg where the House of Burgesses for the colony of Virginia adjourned for the last time, left the building, and returned as the House of Burgesses for the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The men who deliberated in that room included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and George Mason. 

We toured the house at Arlington where Robert E. Lee and his wife lived for the first 30 years of their marriage – a house built by her father as a memorial to his stepfather, George Washington.  The Lees left the house at the outbreak of the Civil War, never to return.  It was occupied by the Union during the war and commanded by a former classmate of Robert E. Lee’s at West Point, who turned the grounds into a Union cemetery.

We walked the incredibly beautiful battlefield at Manassas at sunrise – several hundred acres where 2500 men died at the first Battle of Bull Run in 1861 and over 25,000 died just over a year later – both sides convinced that their’s was the just cause.

From Virginia we went to Washington, D.C. where we saw memorials and libraries and offices and statues and parks.  It was an incredible trip, and we came home with a sense of awe over what those who have come before us have created.  It’s not perfect, but it’s sure worth keeping. 

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Team Talk
The office hasn’t slowed down a bit, hinting that our market isn’t either.  As I write there are three offers coming in on a property listed yesterday afternoon.  So, needless to say, we are all getting our workouts running around the office.  School is getting out now and people from the all over the world are coming to check out Bellingham and the real estate opportunities in the area, so don’t be surprised if you see some new faces on the streets of Whatcom County.

Mike has been putting some miles on his car lately with transactions going on everywhere from Birch Bay to East County.  He was able to slip away with Kim and take the boat out to Sucia Island for a relaxing overnight stay and manages to make his men’s league golf dates.  Now his sights are set on a fishing trip to Canada with some other local real estate agents.  He and his family continue to enjoy their new house and even a new friend, “Henry” the owl, who has made a home in the trees.

It seems as though another team member in the office has caught the “Golf Bug”. Graham has taken up the sport and can be spotted around the local courses working on his skills and preparing for the next tournament that may come his way.  That golfing must work up a real appetite because he has also been attending weekly dinners with friends at Kesha’s condo in Lynden. She has become quite the cook.  Now the office talk in the late afternoons seems to revolve around what Graham wants for dinner!  If we could only get him to cook for us, we’d be doing well.

Fawn has been getting up close and personal with the real estate process lately.  Her home on the Everson Goshen Rd, went up for sale last month and sold almost immediately.  Her new purchase in Everson is perfect, with 1,200 sq ft for her, a fully fenced yard for her dog Yukon and a garage for all her toys.  Now that she doesn’t have that huge yard she will be at Hannegan on Thursday, Deming on Friday and Skagit on Saturday – at the races, of course!�
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Kesha had a great time in Whistler over Memorial Day weekend.  She and the girls spent two nights in the Village and had a blast checking out the new scenery and relaxing in the hot sun.  Would you believe it if it was 90 degrees? It was a great mini vacation and getaway from the office, although Fawn did come up on Saturday night to join in the festivities.  Seems as though those two spend so much time in the office together they just can’t be apart for too long.  Kesha is now a staple of the Bredeson household with her and Lauren becoming real pals during their weekly babysitting events.

You thought Mike was putting a lot of miles on his car, you should ask Rich about the places and houses that he has looked at lately.  He really takes the “Whatcom County Real Estate Agent” to a whole new level.  We don’t think there is an inch of the county he hasn’t traveled to orient  new clients to our area. In his spare time he has slipped out to Lummi Island to enjoy a sunny afternoon or two and in the evenings you might even spot him and Matia, (the family dog) out for a stroll through the Edgemoor neighborhood.

Lylene always seems to find time for everyone and everything in her busy schedule -  we don’t know how she does it, but we sure wish we could find out.  In the past month she has been east of the mountains to visit her father, enjoyed a surprise visit from her son Chandler up from California, and even managed to attend her first horse race with Rich’s sister and brother in law.
As the summer months are here and the days are longer, things seems to get busier for everyone.  If there is ever a way we can help you with your real estate needs, give us a call.  We’d be glad to help!!

I was reflecting back on 4th of July celebrations over the years and I remembered an article I had written back in 1999. Although the conflicts are different, and our nation is challenged more than ever within itself, I think that the message still remains. We are stronger because we accept each others differences.

“The Spirit of America”  It’s a phrase I have heard many times over the years, but on the 4^th of July I suddenly had a clear vision of what that spirit really is. I was reading the daily article about the Kosovo situation in the morning paper.  It was a combination of reporting on the Serb atrocities toward the Kosovars prior to occupation by NATO peacekeepers and of Kosovar atrocities toward the remaining Serbs now.  I marveled, as I have throughout the US involvement there,  how people could live next to each other so long with so much hatred. 

Then I turned to the inside of the paper and another article caught my eye.  112 Americans, all born on the 4^th of  July, were assembled in Philadelphia for a group photograph.  They were of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds and of both genders.  The photograph will be displayed at Independence Hall and other locations around the country.

And that’s when I felt I really understood “The Spirit of America.”  We don’t always agree, we don’t always like each other, we do have bigots and hatemongers among us.  But overall we tolerate, accept and often celebrate our differences, which gives us strength unparalleled throughout the world.  Our economic power, our military power, our incredible opportunities and standard of living are a result of our combined power as a people.  The security provided us by the freedoms guaranteed in the United States Constitution gives us the greatest freedom of all – the confidence that our homes and families are secure, so we can focus on creating.

So on the 4^th of July I watched the fireworks with a lump in my throat and thankfulness in my heart for being born an American. 

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