I got the power

Judy and I drove to the Powell Butte on Saturday. We stopped by the car show just as the awards were being given out and the show began to break up. I walked around talking to car friends and noticed Al Halligan's truck was there. I looked around for Al, and when I couldn't find him, left my card on his steering wheel so that he would know that I was around.

As we walked back to our car, I heard someone shouting my name. Turning around, Al was waving to me so we walked back.

"I have something that I need to show you!", he said with excitement. "This is great and I thought maybe you and I might go into business with it.".

We walked back to his tent area and found a well built man standing with his wife. "Show Lyle how that works.", Al said. The man had a rubber like bracelet on his right wrist. I had kind of heard of something like that before....seems like it used magnetic pulses or something to sort of balance you.

Now, I am always open for new things but am a bit of skeptic at the same time. "So, if I use this will my body transform itself into yours?, I asked. The man laughed while his wife made some sort of remark about his belly.

"No", he stated, but let me show you what it will do.

He had me balance on one leg with my arms straight out from my side. He then used two fingers on my left elbow to throw me off balance. He had me hold the band in my hand and using those same two fingers could not throw me off balance....in fact, he could not even using his whole hand with force. I seemed to have gained extreme balance all of a sudden.

Then, he had me stand straight with my hands to my side. With the band in my hand, he pushed down on my left hand with all of his might. He could not bring me down. Then he had me hand away the band. This time, he brought me down in seconds. I had super human strength with the band.....incredible!

I was sold. If he would have had a band, I would have bought it on the spot. "Does it work for other things?, I asked. "All sorts of things", he stated and went on to tell many stories of the effects of the band.

As we left, Al yelled over. "I will get in touch with you, Lyle. We are going to do this together."

All the way home, Judy and I talked excitedly about the product. I had asked the guy if it would help anxiety and he said for sure. I could just see it working for my PTSD and us able to do things in life that we want and yet cannot do. "We could take that trip to Utah!", Judy said.

That night, I decided to go online and see what was out there. This is one time that I am very thankful for the web and it's information. I discovered not only was the band a fraud but how this man had persuaded me into thinking it so powerful. It all has to do with your center of balance. When he used his two fingers, to pull me over, he put more pressure on the inner finger thus pushing me outward. When he wanted me to balance better, the pressure was on the outer finger thus pushing in towards my center.

The same goes for the strength test. By pushing inwards, it looks like I am very strong. The next time, he pushes down, he uses an outer push and brought me down. It is all so subtle that you don't notice.

So, last night when the cool kids showed up, Al and his wife, Roxanne were with them. Al had his band and was telling me how that guy at the car show was pushing him to sell the product. So....I asked Al if he would allow me to show him something.

We did the same test as the man had done. But, I did the opposite. With the band on, Al seemed to have no balance and no strength and when he took it off, he had both. "OK, I thought it was too good to be true. How did you do that?", he said. So, I showed him the guys secret.

"Wow", Al explained, "The guy would have had to show me this sooner or later. I could never sell something like this that would defraud someone. How can he live with himself while doing that?".

Now, I have told you this story to tell you of other powers that are out there. In this case, the power of friendship. I had let the pressure of the day get to me and was feeling a bit blue. I did not want to go down to work but it was Wednesday and the crew might need help so I did. I just wanted to go home and to bed.

But, as I sat with Al and the rest of the cool kids (Ricki named them that), my spirits began to lift. We joked and laughed and then the guys all stood around the cars swapping stories. Al left me with his band so I could wow some customers and I suddenly realized.....I no longer felt blue. I was actually uplifted just standing there amongst my friends.

As we broke up, I made a statement, "Guys, I just want to thank you all. You have really made my day!". I don't know if they realized just how much they had. "Go out and sell some bands!", Al joked as he got in his car and drove away.

I watched them as they left and then walked back into the diner....a contented and happy man.