Coming Up Short

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Coming up short.

I was a goaltender, which was the most insane position to play in hockey or any other sport. The actual intent is to get some part of your body in the way of a hard object that is traveling at a great speed. Once I unwillingly used my Adam’s apple, which earned me a trip to the hospital. They gave me the game puck. I thought that was ironic. Being a goaltender is a stressful position. If you make the slightest mistake, a red light goes on and a horn sounds and everyone stands up and yells at you and calls you terrible names. Come to think of it, that was good training for my current job. Marriage too, come to think of it.

My college hockey career ended abruptly when I let in a few goals that my coach judged to be unnecessary. In my defense, those guys were shooting the puck way too fast. And I was up late the night before so I was tired! Can’t a guy be tired?. And the last goal pretty much went through my ankle bone on the way to the net. But nevertheless, my coach told me that I “came up short.” So he replaced me. And I would have thought that my replacement in that situation should logically have been with someone who was twice my size and even had an extra limb or two. But I was replaced by Gilles, from Canada, who had only the minimum required four limbs. And he was shorter than I was. Seriously?

I have never understood decisions like that. I thought my coach had made a huge mistake.

But then again, I’ve never been lauded for my intellectual foresight. As it turned out, Gilles, my replacement, actually did very well. In fact, he was far better than I was, and eventually became a professional goaltender. The mistake, as it turned out, was mine.

We’re all tired sometimes.

Maybe you’re tired of being disappointed, or tired of buying refurbished x-ray products from a company that is constantly coming up short. If so, try replacing them with Eastern Diagnostic Imaging. We have the technical expertise and after-sale support for all your radiographic equipment needs. We consistently provide the best refurbished x-ray equipment in the marketplace. We have many years of experience, and we have the best and most cost-effective solutions for your customers. At EDI we stand behind our equipment and our dealers. Our goal is customer satisfaction. We believe that by doing our job well, we will make your job easier.

I realize that everyone makes mistakes once in a while. Even I, the EDI Director Of Promotional Emails (DOPE), have made a mistake or two in my life… as hard as that may be for you to believe. I do not, however, believe that I will ever make another. But then again, I’ve never been lauded for my intellectual foresight. Nor do I ever repeat myself. Nor am I even sure what “lauded” means.

Some manufacturing companies make a lot of mistakes. Worse than that, they don’t correct them because they just don’t care. And the customer suffers. And the dealers suffer. And then, unbelievably, their dealers come back and buy from them again.

I have never understood decisions like that.

Why doesn’t a horn sound or a red light go on? Why is no one standing up and yelling at them when they make mistakes? I think everyone should be a goaltender for just one day.

At EDI, we make things. And whenever we need to… we make things right.
Give us a chance. You’re probably tired enough by now.