Dick Potter

Foreword: On this Veteran's day I am including a poem I wrote about forty years ago. To put this into context, I had recently returned from a tour of Viet Nam where I served as a combat medic with a Marine Infantry company. I was working and going to college, found that one's chances of getting a job were better if no one knew of your service. In fact, at the ripe age of 23, I was starting my junior year at the University of Calif. at San Diego. I had transferred into this bastion of liberalism as a pre med major hoping to go to medical school. Had challenged the state boards for my nursing license due to the training I had in the Navy and thought I had a good chance. However, my academic advisor told me I was too old for med school (he knew I was a Nam vet). Well I tried anyway until I ran into a required course called space-time physics. I lasted six weeks. I then switched over to Psychology, eventually gaining a master's degree.

The tone of the missive below is understandably bitter given the context of the times it was written in, and, needless to say, I have mellowed considerably since then. I never thought of myself as a hero, I simply did my job,tending to wounded Marines in combat. The thanks I got from them was a more than ample reward. My wish is simply to be remembered for doing my duty.

Dick Potter

Corpman third class

Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment April 1966-May 1967

"A Week in Viet Nam"

Monday's tears,

Tuesday's lament,

at the sight of young men,

hot on the blood scent.

Wednesday's fears,

Thusday's misgivings,

For honor and Glory,

with American blessings.

Friday's sorrows,

Saturday's remembering,

for those who have fallen,

Halleuyah!, Thanks giving.

Now clean your guns,

Sunday is here,

No time for God,

for Monday is near.

postscript:

Once I was a soldier,

and I fought on foreign shores for you.

Once I was a hunter,

and I brought home fresh meat for you.

And once I was your lover,

and I searched behind your eyes for you.

and soon there will be another, to tell you I was just a lie.

Will you ever, remember me?

(author unknown)

I've recently come across two web sites that are helpful for folks that have just relocated. They are yelp.com, which reviews local restaurants, spas, doctors, etc. Second is an alternative to googleearth, everyscape.com. Gives three dimensional images of streets and cities at eye level. Enjoy

I love it when I've worked hard for a client, going that "extra mile" so to speak. From turning on the heat in time for their arrival from Arizona, to making sure every i was dotted and t's crossed on the sales contract and negotiating the best price for their home, it gives me warm feeling when take the time to return a Customer Service Questionnaire with comments like,"Perfect", Dick Potter gets the job done!

Well, enough blowing my own horn but it sure did feel good.

Dick Potter, Windermere Peninsula Properties, Allyn, WA.

Hi everybody--Just got an interesting e-mail from some folks that have a new website called Happyrenews.com.

These people are very upbeat about informing other folks that all is not doom and gloom:(((

For those of you that are familiar with "The Secret", we reap what we sow, especially in terms of our expectations.

I gladly suggest that you check this site out:)))

This is my first Post to Active Rain.

I've been selling real estate for over ten years now in a rural market that is very seasonable--very busy in the Spring, Summer and early Fall, pretty dead in the Winter.

Over the years I've seen some agents really shine while others just seemed to fade away. For example, I knew of one broker who came to work for Windermere Peninsula Properties a few years ago after I had sold him a home in Twanoh Falls on the south shore of the Hood Canal. He had been in the business for almost twenty years in Seattle and decided to move to an area with a much less frenetic life style. How ever, he was from the old school and was unable to come to terms with the advances in technology in our evolving profession. The last time I saw him he was working as a flagger for a road crew.

However, on the positive side the younger and also some of the not so young agents have immersed themselves in the great technological tools that are being developed in Web 2.0, such as activerain, linkin, postlets and localism.com. I am one of the not so young agents who are still struggling with getting my mind wrapped around these new programs but I have the support of the folks I work with to help me get a handle on these new tools--great agency to work for.

Actually, Allyn is a great place to live and work. I live on the waters of Case Inlet just a block from the office and help both buyers and sellers in their transactions. And having 20+ years experience as a Psychologist has been very helpful. Plus, living near the golf course community of Lakeland Village has been a source of a lot of business.

So, what advice do I have for people just starting out in this field? Stay on top of the new technological advances, network with other agents and above all, maintain a positive, can do attitude.