Marty nametag (This is the story of Marty Martinson— a simple man who ran a cash register in Brookings, South Dakota— a Wal-Mart employee who worked hard and was good to people. Marty showed author V.J. Smith how to be a better person...and in doing so, changed his life forever. Heres the story behind The Richest Man in Town.) Marty was dying. At least once a week for five weeks Id make the one-hour trip to visit him in his dismal hospital room. On one of those visits, and in an attempt to lift his spirits, I said to my 77-year old friend, Marty, Im going to write a book about your life. He smiled. He wanted to be remembered. Who wouldnt? Six months later, I sat at my desk on a cool South Dakota October morning and began to type. Eschewing an outline, I plinked and plunked forward. For me, writing is hard work. Besides, I never considered myself to be a good writer and I worried whether anyone would ever read what I wrote. But, I promised Marty that I would write his story and it was a promise I intended to keep. My primary focus was that I wanted people to feel how I felt when I sat at his kitchen table or went through his checkout line at our local Wal-Mart. There was far more to Marty than his twinkling eyes, welcoming smile and warm handshake. His was a story of hardship, perseverance and eventual triumph. He shattered my long-held misguided ideas of people who lived in trailer homes and worked at so-called menial jobs. Marty showed me that you can truly make a difference in the world regardless of birthright, money or position. Id heard it said countless times and had read plenty of quote books extolling the lofty concept but most of the time Id dismiss it with a simple, Sure, nice thought. Until Marty entered my life, my eyes werent open far enough to see this. In June 2005, 1,000 copies of the book rolled off the presses. It was a self-published book and my wife and I prayed that people in my hometown would want to see a side of Marty that they didnt see at his checkout counter. A month later, the books were all sold. So, we ordered another 1,000 copies. They, too, were gone in a months time so we upped the next few printings to 3,000 copies but it still wasnt enough. By the 10th printing we were getting 5,000 books at a time. We were stunned. On a beautiful July morning in 2007, Mac Anderson, founder of Simple Truths, called me and said, I want to take Marty to the world. It is hard to describe what has happened since. Ive received thousands of letters, cards and e-mails from people of all ages throughout the globe. As much as I appreciate each one of them, it is the notes from children that take my breath away. A 12-year old girl wrote, He (Marty) makes me want to be a better person. Another shared, It (the book) has impacted my life because it has shown me that I have a lot of things and I dont appreciate them as much as I should. Writing from a town in Kansas, a young girl penned, I couldnt believe there was actually a person like him in the world. I thought they only existed in fairytales. I need to be more like him. Well, I need to be more like Marty, too. Heres an excerpt from The Richest Man in Town about how V.J. and Marty first met and why Marty was so special. Its amazing what can happen just by paying attention. Besides, I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart. I dont remember the exact date I met Marty for the first time. Up to that moment, nothing that day seemed particularly important—certainly not what brought me to the store in the first place. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, my thoughts were on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasnt moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood an affable-looking man in his seventies. Slightly stooped and average build, he wore glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, hes an old guy and it probably takes him a little longer to get the chores done. For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the items they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, Hows it going? But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation. I thought it was odd, but I guess I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you dont give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, I just found out I have six months to live, and someone would reply, Have a great day! This old cashier had my attention. He seemed genuine about wanting to know how people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. Customers handed money to him, he punched the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open, and he counted out their change. Aaron Marty Martinson, 1926-2004 Then magic happened. He placed the change in his left hand, walked around the counter to the customer, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. As their hands met, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. I sure want to thank you for shopping here today, he told them. You have a great day. Bye-bye. The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins. All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. Some customers would walk away, pause for a moment, and look back at the old cashier, now busy with the next customer. It was obvious they couldnt quite comprehend what had just happened. They would gather their things and walk out the door, smiling. Now it was my turn. As expected, he asked me how I was doing. I told him I was having a good day. Thats good, he said. Im having a good day, too. I glanced down at the name tag on his red vest, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashiers wore. It read, Marty. I said, It looks like you enjoy your job, Marty. He replied, I love my job. Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money. The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand. His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake, he said, I sure want to thank you for shopping here today. Have a great day. Bye-bye. At that moment I wanted to take him home and feed him cookies. It was as if Sam Walton had come back from the dead and invaded this old guys body. I left the store, walked through the parking lot and got into my car. On the drive home I couldnt shake what had just happened. I had been in that store a hundred times and had never walked away feeling like that. Who was that guy? Marty Martinson is a man who can teach all of us about whats really important in life, and how in giving a little, you get a lot.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:52:02 +0000
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