How WRITE Way Web Design Began....

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It’s my pleasure to strongly recommend J Lynn from Write Way Web Design. I am Mike Coulter, CEO of Old Pipes Rule. I have 35 plus years in big box retail upper management and have seen many professionals come and go. Lynn is one individual I have worked with who uniquely stands out. During our time together as she created my web site I was immediately impressed with Lynn’s skills. It’s not just the technical skills that impress me, however, Lynn was a joy to work with because of her amazingly positive attitude and a trait that separates her from all the rest. That trait is Passion for what she does! From the building process to explaining to me in detail how to operate and how the marketing works on my site, her passion shone through in creating my company a state-of-the-art website.

I am absolutely confident that Lynn can tailor a website for your company. Not only does she bring skills and experience you’re looking for in a designer, but you will find her passion will become an asset to your company.
 
Sincerely,
Mike Coulter / Old Pipes Rule (website est. 2015) 

Sadly, WRITE Way Web Design's first client, Mike Coulter, passed away unexpectedly the latter part of 2021. The website I designed back in 2015, (Old Pipes Rule), expired in 2022. Mike never updated the site much, but when an issue arose, he also never hesitated to contact me. Hours after his passing, I received a call from his widow, April. We cried a lot of tears, and then I went to work shutting his Ebay, PayPal, and email accounts down. We responded to letters and April shipped out the pipes Mike had waiting in cue. In reading his old testimonial today, I am realizing, though his widow and I have shed tears together over the phone, I've never truly grieved the passing of my first client.... I've buried myself so much in "working" lately, I've forgotten to "live."
And in living, comes pain...

Mike Coulter is the reason WRITE Way Web Design began. I met Mike and April at a church I attended in Florida. I was in my 40's and in "seeking" mode. I needed to find the bigger picture because life didn't seem to be all that grand at the time. As Mike said above, "passion" is a word to describe me. That is not the first time I have heard that word and my name in the same sentence.  And when I was "seeking," I joined everything I could think of like classes after Sunday service and The "Biker Bible Study" group on Wednesday evenings. That became a thing. Yes. It was called CMA; Christian Motorcycle Association. Who knew? There I sat as this group of kind and non-judgmental individuals spoke of Jesus and all these completely unrealistic and unbelievable things were spoken of. This whole "Bible thing" was a trip! The Deacon who conducted the study was a former Navy Seal and some of the people in the group had even cooked and sold dope! I'm unsure what I found more unfathomable to grasp. These people's crazy stories, or the Bible, but as my life was unraveling, these incredible people were telling me how Jesus loved me and always had and how He had just been "waiting for me." I pulled no punches and laughed and told them, "Yeah, right. I'll go home and read your scriptures in one hand and have my booze in the other. How is Jesus going to like me then?" They smiled and said, "The same way He always has."  This concept was far different from what I had learned about God in my childhood. Let's suffice it to say I was taught that God would never love me because I knew right from wrong and since I continually did wrong... well... you know. A nurturing and forgiving environment was not something I was accustomed to. 

Then one evening they made everybody get in a circle and Mike's wife grabbed my hand. It was time to really pray. Goodness. I did not think I would survive that! There must have been 10 people in the circle. Did they know how long that would take? I don't know if she remembers this, but April was holding one of my hands, and several people had prayed, most of them, I think. She prayed and then she nudged me and told me I was next. Only, here's the thing. I didn't pray, and I definitely would never speak in front of a bunch of people! How could I pray to something I did not even believe in anyway? 

Peer pressure. That's how! You hear about that in school, but I had no clue about that in a church setting! April kept saying, "No, it's okay. You need to talk to God. It's your turn. You'll be fine." I will remember this until the day I die. I gave in, and I was so confused on what to say that I only said this, (and I bet these words are almost verbatim from the year 2008.) "I don't think I belong here and I don't know what to say, but whatever it is these people have... I want what they have." And since I'm an emotional person, I cried during that entire run-on sentence. I was highly embarrassed, but after the Bible study ended, they told me to go home and "Pray for peace." And so I did. I read the book of James and then Job, and drank my whiskey and vodka and listened to Christian music every night. I wrote my feelings, and everywhere I went, I heard Christian music. I'm not kidding. Even in T.J. Maxx one day. Seriously. God was calling and He wasn't going to be silent until I listened. Eventually, the whole "surrender" occurred. That's a story for another day.

Unfortunately, circumstances in my life became difficult and I moved a town over and lost touch with the Biker Bible group and the church, but I never forgot the impact they had on me. Mike and April were special. Two years passed and I moved away. The last place I landed was in Louisiana after briefly working offshore. Jobs weren't easy to find unless it was tending bar and I decided I needed a new direction in career. My little blonde brain and I would start a business and build websites. I had advertising and website experience and I knew how to write so I purchased a domain, built a website, and put it on Linkedin.  

Out of the blue Mike found me and I built a store for his pipes. Until then, I had only designed websites for fun and had never built a store. I was intimidated, scared, and excited, all in one. But I forged on and along came OLD PIPES RULE, Mike's dream of expanding his Ebay business. When it began, we had lots of fun! Crazy fliers and incredible sales. I had seen so many pipes in the first 6 months, I could tell you if it was from Denmark, (my favorite) or an old English pipe. (yawn) At one point I had a Russian pen pal that purchased pipes from Mike. Turns out people from all over the world enjoy pipe smoking!

I'll never forget when I received a little box in the mail. Mike told me he was sending me a pipe. (Like, what am I going to do with an old grandpa pipe???) He always told me, "You don't know what you are missing. One evening spent with a bourbon and a pipe and you'll be hooked!" I assured him I would "compromise" and stick with the bourbon. I've moved 3 times over the years and that pipe has moved with me, and is always kept within my view. It now sits on my file cabinet in my home office, still unsmoked. I consider it my mascot. (I hope I shared that with him.)

I began my business when life was once again, rocky, and I was homeless. Yes, homeless. All I had was a laptop, wifi, a phone, my truck, and the clothes on my back. I took Mike's payment and rented a cheap efficiency apartment that was mold and roach infested. I had rent for 2 months and decided to keep moving forward in my own business while finding my way in a state I did not belong in. Here I am years later. A home, a husband, the most wonderful dogs in the world, and a career I thoroughly enjoy. Since I shared my faith, I will also state, I do not think Mike was a coincidence in my life. I think sometimes God gets His hands dirty in order to wash ours clean. I think sometimes God intervenes because without Him, there is no way out of the holes we dig ourselves in. He allows us to thrive in spite of ourselves. And that pipe Mike sent reminds me of where I began, and how far I've come. 

Think you can't succeed? You won't.
So never give up HOPE.  

Mike, if you are watching, know that I have thought of you often over all these years. I sat in this same house crying over your death as I did with your son's sudden passing years before. I still have a "Back the Blue" flag for you in my office. (I'm awful with mailing things!) I have an open invitation to see April, and she doesn't mind the dogs... or the husband in tow. I know when you would offer to have me come home to Florida and help you in your business... I know you knew I was still lost and finding my way.  Now is when I finally lift my glass of bourbon to you. You and April gave me direction when my vision was too clouded to see, and you held faith in me when I couldn't believe in myself. And with your help, I learned about God and forgiveness, and what it means to be transformed. Through these years, I've only grown stronger. Thank you for being a part of that. You may be gone in the flesh, but you are certainly not forgotten.

J. Lynn~ 
​April 2, 2022