Our father of blessed memory was first last and always a salesman.
He loved making deals and he made many of them.
He taught us there was always a certain sweet spot between seller and buyer, that serious people could always arrive at amicably.
The second worst thing a salesman could do, he said, was to leave money on the table. That is to part with something for less than what the buyer was willing to offer.
But that sin paled in comparison to the absolute worst thing a salesman could do– demand such an outrageous price that the buyer simply got up and walked away.
Credibility was essentially all a deal maker had he explained.
It was the first building block of trust and if lost it could only rarely be earned back.
For our father making a deal was the ultimate test of adulthood and the worst thing that could be said about anyone was that one couldn’t do business with him or her.
Such a person he viewed with contempt.
They most often weren’t playing with their own money and believed they would not be affected one way or another if the deal was made or not.
They are not serious people so avoid them he would say. And if he was still alive he would say that of the Water Working Group.
To make an offer so outrageously high that Newmont rejected it lock stock and barrel bespeaks a kind of immaturity and lack of seriousness that should cause everyone who lives in Wendover acute embarrassment when it is read.
We were told they were shooting for the moon, they ended up hitting us all in the foot.
This isn’t the first time Wendover demands have been extreme. Over the past 15 years we have seen developer after developer come and then flee after being informed just what our city expected of them.
Thankfully for Wendover no one can move a mountain. Newmont will eventually deal even if it has to lead this bunch of morons by baby steps to realize the possible.
Hopefully it will not be a lesson soon forgot. We aren’t holding our breath though. As our father would often say: “You can’t fix stupid.”