At some point in our lives everyone has that experience which makes a great story to tell. Mine came this week.

I was going to title this column one of two things but they both seemed a bit too inflammatory. The first was; How I almost sabotaged the Honda deal or the second, I thought I was being stalked.

First, just as background, in addition to my position at the Daily News, I am also the director of the Greensburg Community Learning Center. I tell that story in order to tell you this one, as Ron White would say.

A little more than a week ago I got a call at the Center from a man named Tim Miller. He said he wanted to rent a room for a program his company, Miller Educational Services, wanted to put on. A perfect fit for a school.

On Monday, Miller came to the Center to take a look at the place before his Wednesday meeting. I met with him and gave him a tour. He seemed impressed with the facility. He also told me he would come on Tuesday to set up.

Normally, set-up means bring in some beverages, drop off materials and cross a few odds and ends you don’t want to do on meeting day. I told Miller that would be fine but I wouldn’t be there on Tuesday, and someone else could help him, because I was playing in the Greensburg Firefighters Golf Open. To my amazement, Miller said “Maybe I’ll go play golf with you.”

Now, I’m a nice enough guy but for a man I just met minutes before, I thought inviting himself to play golf with me was a bit presumptuous. Nonetheless, I told him that would be fine and where the tournament was.

I didn’t give it a second thought when I arrived at North Branch Golf Course Tuesday.

I was there to have some fun and didn’t really expect my new “friend” to show up. The firefighters and their guests, including myself, paired up into teams and started the tournament. There was no sign of Miller.

After about a half-dozen holes my team, three-under par at that point, was riding near the clubhouse. We stopped for a moment and who was there, Mr. Miller. I was honestly shocked. We spoke for a moment but talked nothing about education. He told me how he was a fan of the game and just wanted to see the course. My team continued on and quietly I remained a bit bewildered but stopped thinking about it after we birdied the next hole.

Some two hours later, however, the scene repeated itself. As we finished the last hole Mr. Miller, whom I was now calling Tim as we were on a first-name basis, was waiting there for me. He said he just wanted to talk to me a bit more but really didn’t have much to say. It was a warm, clear day so the weather wasn’t riveting and I missed winning the tournament by a stroke so I wasn’t in a celebrating mood.

Miller, I mean Tim, said he still wanted to talk to me. At this point, you can see where the stalker comment came in. He also said his partners wanted to speak with me in person. All I could think of was an old bad debt had come back to haunt me and I would spend the rest of eternity buried in the end zone of the RCA Dome. Still, I obliged but on my terms.

I wasn’t quite ready to go, the firefighters still hadn’t given out the prizes yet and the cache of goods at that tourney is pretty nice. I told Mr. Miller, no longer Tim at that point, we could meet at 2:15 at the newspaper. He asked if we could make it a little earlier and I agreed but, not before I won three golf balls, a bag of tees and a sports seat.

Miller and I got into our separate cars and headed to downtown Greensburg. When I arrived in the parking lot there were three men waiting, as Miller promised. They were his brother Ed Miller, Chan Cochran and Bill Konstantacos. I shook their hands and the four of us went inside. They asked if there were somewhere private to meet. We went into the conference room. As I sat across from them I wasn’t getting the impression they were teachers, something was up. Just then, I looked across the table toward Konstantacos and said OOOOHHHH, ‘Is this what I think it is?’ Right away he handed me his business card. The red lettering gave it all away but I read it anyway. Above his name was one word: HONDA. Below it was “manager of government and industry relations.” He grinned and told me Decatur County had won the Honda deal. It was official and I was the second person in the county to hear the news. I was as happy Greensburg won the contract as I was that I didn’t do something stupid to my stalker, now good friend, Tim who handles public relations for Honda through Chan’s Cochran Group, while I was on the golf course. His brother Ed, who is the senior manager of public relations and government affairs for Honda, probably wouldn’t have liked that and probably wouldn’t have held the Honda announcement at the GCLC I love so much.

That leads me to my second headline, I almost angered a group of Honda executives for little more than a second place finish, three golf balls, a bag of tees and a sports seat - whatever that is.