Pour Some Sugar On It

I read that if you use song titles in your headline, you'll get more people to read it. I'm not pretending to be a one armed poet; I’m more like Mr. Nice Guy taking cliches to a whole new level or bringing truth to myth busters. The phrase you can attract more bees with honey than vinegar or some type of insect to “Shhhh…it went out the window” is demonstrated in one recent example where a little sugarcoated humor got me a sweet deal.

After a very cramped plane ride to Miami and a navigational marathon through baggage, I had a feeling of enlightenment come over me as I saw my suitcase on the conveyor belt. Soon after I found myself at the car rental counter with paperwork in hand detailing the super awesome deal I got online. I felt confident. There were no super Jedi mind tricks that could persuade me into an upgrade, prepaid gas, or meteorite insurance. The sales agent had been trained to milk every last dollar out of my wallet even if it was a per day charge. Luckily for me, I was only renting for five days so I could use my other hand if the math got tough. I stuck to my guns… “No thank you, no thank you, no thank you.” He must have caught on to my inner force being stronger than his when my reply to his question, “Are you here on vacation?” was no thank you. I left the counter with keys in hand to pick any one of the low-end budget rentals; but I was proud and I was happy.

15 minutes later after navigating escalators and elevators, I found the right floor for the parking garage. I strolled down once again confidently with rental papers in hand and my roller bag behind me. I approached another car rental employee. I could see it wasn't going well. She stood there being yelled at by one unhappy customer. I approached slowly, leaving enough distance for the steaming mad customer to pass me while ranting and raving something about, "Shhh…it goes out the window and hits the fan.” Then I thought about my journey… Don't stop believin’. So I poured some sugar on it and turned that frown upside down. I walked up smiling and said, “Oooh, you're in trouble now. He’s all angry.” I was pleasant as pie and still smiling. I followed up with, “Why do people have to be so nasty? How about an upgrade?” She said, “Sure, anything in the SUV row.” She checked the paperwork and signed her name Suzanne. I was off on my journey.