The Man with the Orange Vest
This is a story about a lie that went on for 20 years. It’s a story about deceit.
But mostly, it’s a story about gumption.
A friend told me this story. I cannot confirm whether it’s true but I hope that it is.
In between two large office buildings there was a parking lot with an attendant. Every day as workers parked, they paid the man with the orange vest, parked their cars, and went to work.
As the years passed, the friendly man with orange vest learned the names of the workers, asked about their families, and was always sure to offer a quick hello and “how do you do”. At Christmas the workers would bring the man with the orange vest gifts — chocolates, wine, and cards with dollar bills.
Then, one day, the man with the orange vest didn’t show up. The workers assumed that he was sick. Nobody knew his contact information. They didn’t actually know much about him.
The man never showed up again.
After some time the management of the two buildings met to ask what happened to the beloved parking attendant.
“I thought that he worked for you,” each manager said.
The man with the orange vest didn’t work for anybody.
The parking lot was a free lot.
This man simply showed up one day, put on an orange vest, and began asking for money. For 20 years this fraud continued. I assume that one day he realized that he had stashed away enough money to retire. He simply stopped showing up.
I have so many questions:
- At what point did he figure out that he could make money with this fraud?
- What was the turning point?
- Workers had been parking there before. Did they just assume that they now had to pay?
- Did he just happen to be wearing an orange shirt one day . . .
. . . Maybe he was. Or maybe he was walking by, minding his own business, wearing an orange shirt, and somebody just handed him money. So he showed up the next day with a vest, and the game was on.
I’ll never know what really happened. I wish that I could meet him to ask.
This story highlights the copycat culture that we live in. Others were giving the parking attendant money so nobody asked questions. In 20 years not a single person inquired as to who the many worked for. Everybody assumed that he was employed by somebody else. Whenever this type of thing happens, after some time, perception became reality. The man belonged. He knew everybody’s name, important events, and families. People bought this man gifts. When he stopped showing up after robbing them for 20 years, they were upset. They missed him.
I don’t condone the man’s actions, but I do believe that this story has a lesson: You don’t need permission to enter into an ecosystem where you think that you might not belong. You just have to assimilate yourself and, over time, build relationships by caring about others so that you become a welcome guest.
The other lesson from this story is that sometimes you have to fake it until you make it.
Oasis, the English punk pop bank from England, used to tell people that “we’re not arrogant, we just believe we’re the best band in the world.” Then, one day, they released a song called Wonderwall, a melodic tune that you’re now singing in your head, and, for a brief period of time, Oasis was the most famous band in the world.
As the man in the orange vest and Oasis prove, sometimes you gotta fake it ’till you make it.
-Coach Jon
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This article originally appeared on OnlineTrainer.com
