Yesterday I lost my shirt in real estate. No, not because the market is down or any of the reasons you may be thinking. Let me explain....
Nearly every afternoon for the last several months, I have been hearing the strangest sounds coming from across the street. My office is located in the resort area of Lake Harmony, PA and is directly across the street from Split Rock Lodge, so there is almost always some sort of activity or music going on.
My curiosity got the best of me yesterday and I finally decided to investigate. Here's what I witnessed:
A crowd of about 60 or 70 people in swim suits were gathered around chanting, yelling, whistling and waiving paper money while the announcer called the play-by-play action over the microphone...."and it's Grandma Joy, followed by Little Diaper Danny, then Nicky No Neck on the outside. Here comes Chef Don and he's followed by Dances with Beaver...and bringing up the rear is Willie B. Soup."
Yes, it was turtle racing at it's finest -- vacationers betting their turtle bucks and cheering on the jockeys (no, they don't actually ride the reptiles!)
I couldn't resist -- I laid down my turtle bucks all 5 of them -- on Willie B. Soup just because I liked the name and joined the others in chanting and waiving. Now Willie B. was an odds-on favorite and he was coming off a big win over Nicky No Neck. Besides that, he was a thoroughbred -- a direct decendant of the champion Big Tony. How could I lose?
Now, I've never been what you call lucky. Even bet on a horse once at Pocono Downs that ran half way around the track, then back to the barn before he died -- (true). But, this was different. I was feeling lucky. Willie B. wouldn't let me down.
That is until Chef Don, a 14-1 shot came up the far side and took the purse. All of my turtle bucks gone in a moment, I went back to the office with my head down. As for Willie B. Soup, he never even finished the race, instead deciding to turn around halfway down the course and head back to the shade of the turtle pen. Do I know how to pick em or what?
Yeah, back at the office, I told myself -- some days in real estate are better than others. That's what keeps it interesting!
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