lt was beautiful carpet, but in very small pieces. One among us saw the situation as a way to make pretty pictures with the material by sticking the pretty carpet pieces to a durable, common back, like the large , thick sheets of paper that most new carpets are shipped in. lnstant , Modern Art. lf the art would be for hanging on a wall, it would be carpet pieces stuck to carpet packaging paper. lf it were to be a throw-rug, it would be carpet pieces glued to 5/8" carpet padding. So simple, yet so beautiful. We began to realize that there would be no end to the availability of the kind and quality of remnants.
we've been using. lt is very affordable, (free) so it can be provided next to, or totally free. lt was then, what we now call a" no brainer".. To put together a 5'x
9' movable, artist quality "throw rug", using the beautiful material that we used to carpet our first flat, upstairs. Before we knew it, we had produced and provided a few dozen rugs, ranging from as small as 3'x4' (maybe for bed-side) up to 4'x24' (a long hall cover). Visitors to our place,(which was initially called
Muf'n, were offered free materials (remnants), heavy paper to unite the pieces, and glue. (Henry's) to hold it together and 5/8" foam rubber pad. We encouraged them to make rugs as described above. They were free to donate their work to Muf'n, in which case we would sell it to someone for next to nothing. (Our prices really were unbelievable). Or "makers" as we called them,
(actually "us", almost all of us at Muf'n did make at least one or two rugs. l
personally installed the carpet throughout our flat and l helped to design the plan for throw-rug construction, but l never actually made one myself.
So, just a few months into our place on Divisadero (AKA D-street) we had abandoned our furniture designs and taken up with turning carpet remnants
into outstanding throw rugs. The finished pieces (a few arm-chairs and end tables) were placed in rooms in our flat. l didn't keep a journal while we were
at D-St. lt was just moving too fast.So much of the details of those years was not preserved. Another way to look at it is that we were so into what we were doing that there was no time or inclination to memorialize it.
Within a few months of our beginning work at the street level, we had moved many smaller throw rugs as well as a good bunch of smaller, wall-hung
picture rugs and a good number of large area rugs in stock, as well as a large
number of wall-hung picture rugs. l never counted the number of visitors that graced our place with their presence, but l'm guessing it was somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundreds per week.
My three daughters staked out their positions on the first flight of stairs leading
to our flat, from which position they had clear views of the sidewalks along D-st
and a good view of the front entry to our workshop at street level. They loved to sit and watch the "parade" and often found themselves in conversation with those who were passing by. Before long, we had a couple of dozen folks working
on their ideas for the best wall-hangings, hall runners, and area rugs. For work tables, we used 4'X8' plywood sheets, framed with 2"x2" Douglas Fir. Six braced
legs placed each work table 18" above the floor. That made them easy to be used for bed-frames at night. A six inch pile of large remnants served as mat-
tress. Pretty crude, but dry, warm and indoors. Nobody ever complained; For one thing, most of the folks who crashed there were working on one or more projects at Muf'n. And. at that time,(when some of our people crashed in the shop) our single flat was fully occupied. We decided then, that we would need to rent an additional flat, perhaps more in future.
Not everyone with a project at Muf'n was working with carpet remnants; my new friend, Gino Hernandez worked with leather. He made sandles, belts, slippers, vests, hats, & briefcases. He was also an accomplished conga drummer
and had built a few sets of drums for himself and for drummer friends of his. ln the time that l had the good fortune to witness Gino at work, l never saw or heard him involved in any work that was short of what l considered perfection.
l don't know didlee, technically, about any of it, but it looked and sounded damn good to me, just like all of his work. Having him working with us almost every work day was a boon to us and our work.
By this time, our plan to design and build furniture was forgotten. We had collected such a mountain of remnants, in so many colors and textures piled all over yhe place and so many of our friends and neighbors were involved in the
making and giving of the rugs. Yes, most of the rugs were given free of charge,
though occationally someone would insist on paying and receiving a receipt.The
piles of waiting remnants were used as beds for our friends who needed a place to crash. That might not seem to make a comfortable bed, but l tried it myself
before offering it to others and found it quite satisfactory, as did those who used it every nite.
Speaking of those who used a pile of remnants for a bed every night, brings me to my buddy Mike Warner. The guy that volunteered to marry Ryon's sister. And, in whose debt l will always be, for introducing me to cannabis. The reader will perhaps remember. The reader will perhaps remember that ,soon after his marraige to Maree, he told me that he was afraid, that if he stayed in the bay area much longer, he would turn on to LSD, and he was afraid it would ruin his life. So he went back to his parent's house, near Chicago, to avoid his ruination.
When he returned, some months later, he had a different attitude.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Employed 16 Part 1
Patsy liked the designs and agreed to display up to six pieces for up to twenty
days. ltems sold in her stores would generate a percentage of the sales for the decorators which left me a good percentage. That was great, but at that time l was still building the designs in the space that l rented from Adolph and, while that was a very good place, with good facilities, l wanted to have all of our operation located in San Francisco. l had had my eye on S.F. since before the advent of it's becoming the home of the Summer of Love. (year 1968).
We found a place in the 1900 block of Divisidero St, which was a six-plex building of seven-room flats. The street level was a 4'000 sq. ft. former garage
which we would use to build prototypes and later, after some months of re-building, finishing and replacing the swing-up garage door with 1/4" tinted
plate glass used for both the door and the windows, enclosing the showcases.
lt transformed the look of our front aspect. Adding the hundreds of board feet
of salvaged barn-board as interior finish. To this day, recycled barnboards can be seen in the interior works of leading make-over specialists.
Once we were in our flat, we realized that it needed a lot of work. ln a couple of
dozen places there were actual holes in the floor and walls that required a few
months to make right. Our seven rooms , once repaired, then needed paint, and lots of it. All of the rooms were very big and the walls twelve feet tall with
moldings (contrasting color) around all the doors and windows as well as in the
wall/ceiling corners. it's Victorian archetexture and two sunny shades of white
thruout , begged for many-colored carpeting. We located a few carpet-installation contractors and arranged for permission to raid their remnant bins.
We carpeted all the rooms (except the bathrooms) in the flat with cut-to-fit
pieces of commercial carpet (very heavy duty) of a couple of dozen compatible
colors. My three daughters aged 9,6 and5, at the time, loved to go collecting
carpet remnants with me. l would pick them up and put them in the bins, with
the carpet; they would search for the pieces that they knew we could use, free
of dirt or moisture and colors that the girls liked. Picking remnants with those
kids was my favorite job when we were carpeting the flat.
While we worked on the interior of the flat, there was no time to do anything
beyond thinking, so far as the large space at street level was concerned. Ditto
my furniture designs and their construction. Patsy sold one of the plywood and
canvass chairs and she liked the other two so much that l made them a gift to her. We intended to resume building furniture when we completed construction
in the street-level space. But when we finished the carpeting, it was so beautiful
and interesting that we wanted to do more of it, somehow.
Mike Warner had left Miller Power Transmission soon after l had made my second exit from there. he took an apartment on a very steep hill on Filbert St.,
which was not far from our place on Divisadero, so he often showed up to help.
When we were moving in (from San Jose and while there was so much work to do on the flat, he was there, with his sleeves rolled up.) Soon after that was
finished, Mike and l had a little talk. Remember, Mike is the guy who convinced
me to experience Cannabis about a year earlier. He said he'd been thinking
about going home for a while. He had been thinking about trying LSD. But he
was afraid of what it might do to him. While l hadn't taken it at that time, myself
at that time (mid-to-late 68) l was also thinking about taking it .l was not fearful,l was just waiting for the right time and place. Mike hadn't just been thinking about chicago; he had a plane ticket in his pocket as we spoke and l soon took him to the plane that fit it. l bet myself that it wouldn't be long before
l'd be picking him up at SFO. He phoned us a couple of weeks later and said his
Uncle Sal had hired him to be Finance Mgr at his uncle Sal's Cadillac/Oldsmobile
dealership, in Berwyn lll.
With the flat's interior finished, except for the construction of a few lofts and a few pieces of furniture, we could turn our attention to the street level.That first
day l opened up the garage space to let in some fresh air and sunlite, then l sat on the stairs below the entry to our flat and greeted passers by. l met quite a few of our neighbors, chief among them, a man,not much older than l, who
lived across Divisadero from us. His name was Don Burton. He was primarily an
electrician, but was conversant with most of the building trades. He would become a close friend of ours and a great help to our work, in many ways.
ln the days that followed, while l worked on getting the street level areas cleaned and furnished (counter-top, glass display cases,display shelves on walll
and all the finish wood being weathered barnboard thruout our share of the
garage space. One day, when we had been at 1914 Divisadero St for a few months, l took a few hours to visit Patsy at her work on Designer Row. l told
her that l just had not had time to work on furniture, at the moment with all
the stuff l had going right then. But l assured her that, when l got caught up
l intended to make some prototypes of designs which were already in my head.
Within the first couple 0f months of our stay on Divisadero St., in my search for a connection that could supply us with psychedelic ingestable substances. l first
told my new friend Don of my quest. Specifically, l was looking for a reliable source of Weed,Mushrooms, Cacti and LSD. l seek someone young, honest,and
connected to his world. An independant, self-employed businessman, willing to deliver purchases to my home. Don wondered if that would be enough to please
me. l told him that l thought it would. And it makes clear just what l want and what l won't tolerate. And l'm used to the service Patsy gives. That's over now though. She and her boyfriend are starting a new business and won't be able to be my connection any longer.
We had a lot of carpet remnants (or as one of my girls called them "remnettes")
But, after our flat was finished we had a lot of carpet left over.Most of it was in
pieces smaller than a square foot.
days. ltems sold in her stores would generate a percentage of the sales for the decorators which left me a good percentage. That was great, but at that time l was still building the designs in the space that l rented from Adolph and, while that was a very good place, with good facilities, l wanted to have all of our operation located in San Francisco. l had had my eye on S.F. since before the advent of it's becoming the home of the Summer of Love. (year 1968).
We found a place in the 1900 block of Divisidero St, which was a six-plex building of seven-room flats. The street level was a 4'000 sq. ft. former garage
which we would use to build prototypes and later, after some months of re-building, finishing and replacing the swing-up garage door with 1/4" tinted
plate glass used for both the door and the windows, enclosing the showcases.
lt transformed the look of our front aspect. Adding the hundreds of board feet
of salvaged barn-board as interior finish. To this day, recycled barnboards can be seen in the interior works of leading make-over specialists.
Once we were in our flat, we realized that it needed a lot of work. ln a couple of
dozen places there were actual holes in the floor and walls that required a few
months to make right. Our seven rooms , once repaired, then needed paint, and lots of it. All of the rooms were very big and the walls twelve feet tall with
moldings (contrasting color) around all the doors and windows as well as in the
wall/ceiling corners. it's Victorian archetexture and two sunny shades of white
thruout , begged for many-colored carpeting. We located a few carpet-installation contractors and arranged for permission to raid their remnant bins.
We carpeted all the rooms (except the bathrooms) in the flat with cut-to-fit
pieces of commercial carpet (very heavy duty) of a couple of dozen compatible
colors. My three daughters aged 9,6 and5, at the time, loved to go collecting
carpet remnants with me. l would pick them up and put them in the bins, with
the carpet; they would search for the pieces that they knew we could use, free
of dirt or moisture and colors that the girls liked. Picking remnants with those
kids was my favorite job when we were carpeting the flat.
While we worked on the interior of the flat, there was no time to do anything
beyond thinking, so far as the large space at street level was concerned. Ditto
my furniture designs and their construction. Patsy sold one of the plywood and
canvass chairs and she liked the other two so much that l made them a gift to her. We intended to resume building furniture when we completed construction
in the street-level space. But when we finished the carpeting, it was so beautiful
and interesting that we wanted to do more of it, somehow.
Mike Warner had left Miller Power Transmission soon after l had made my second exit from there. he took an apartment on a very steep hill on Filbert St.,
which was not far from our place on Divisadero, so he often showed up to help.
When we were moving in (from San Jose and while there was so much work to do on the flat, he was there, with his sleeves rolled up.) Soon after that was
finished, Mike and l had a little talk. Remember, Mike is the guy who convinced
me to experience Cannabis about a year earlier. He said he'd been thinking
about going home for a while. He had been thinking about trying LSD. But he
was afraid of what it might do to him. While l hadn't taken it at that time, myself
at that time (mid-to-late 68) l was also thinking about taking it .l was not fearful,l was just waiting for the right time and place. Mike hadn't just been thinking about chicago; he had a plane ticket in his pocket as we spoke and l soon took him to the plane that fit it. l bet myself that it wouldn't be long before
l'd be picking him up at SFO. He phoned us a couple of weeks later and said his
Uncle Sal had hired him to be Finance Mgr at his uncle Sal's Cadillac/Oldsmobile
dealership, in Berwyn lll.
With the flat's interior finished, except for the construction of a few lofts and a few pieces of furniture, we could turn our attention to the street level.That first
day l opened up the garage space to let in some fresh air and sunlite, then l sat on the stairs below the entry to our flat and greeted passers by. l met quite a few of our neighbors, chief among them, a man,not much older than l, who
lived across Divisadero from us. His name was Don Burton. He was primarily an
electrician, but was conversant with most of the building trades. He would become a close friend of ours and a great help to our work, in many ways.
ln the days that followed, while l worked on getting the street level areas cleaned and furnished (counter-top, glass display cases,display shelves on walll
and all the finish wood being weathered barnboard thruout our share of the
garage space. One day, when we had been at 1914 Divisadero St for a few months, l took a few hours to visit Patsy at her work on Designer Row. l told
her that l just had not had time to work on furniture, at the moment with all
the stuff l had going right then. But l assured her that, when l got caught up
l intended to make some prototypes of designs which were already in my head.
Within the first couple 0f months of our stay on Divisadero St., in my search for a connection that could supply us with psychedelic ingestable substances. l first
told my new friend Don of my quest. Specifically, l was looking for a reliable source of Weed,Mushrooms, Cacti and LSD. l seek someone young, honest,and
connected to his world. An independant, self-employed businessman, willing to deliver purchases to my home. Don wondered if that would be enough to please
me. l told him that l thought it would. And it makes clear just what l want and what l won't tolerate. And l'm used to the service Patsy gives. That's over now though. She and her boyfriend are starting a new business and won't be able to be my connection any longer.
We had a lot of carpet remnants (or as one of my girls called them "remnettes")
But, after our flat was finished we had a lot of carpet left over.Most of it was in
pieces smaller than a square foot.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Employed 15 Part 8
Harvey Osgood was my go-to guy at Steven's Creek Rock Sand and Gravel. He had been there for most of his working life and knew the place and what it needed probably better than anyone else working there, and how to make it all work in an optimal manner. l had always enjoyed my stops there, which usually
involved spending most of my time there with Harvey. The first time l called on him, representing MPT, he was just exactly one year away from his retirement day. And every time l called on him (maybe about six times during my first em-
ployment at MPT) and every time, as soon as we had covered and ordered the products he needed, he talked about retirement; how far away, in time, 'til it's
beginning. What he would do on that first day of no need to go to the job. lt would be great, especially good because his brother-in-law had, on the very day he and hiswife tied the knot, sold them an insurance policy that would generously fund forty-plus years of greens fees at the club, fishing trips, as well as his Elk's Club dues. When l left MPT to work a Alpha Aviation, l spent most of three days calling on some of the customers that had become friends to say "thanx for the business" and "we wish you well". But the day that l visited in his area, he had a dental appointment; so l missed him. So, l decided to call on
Harvey during the first few days of my return. Arriving at SCRS&G, my heart sank; The presence of emergency vehicles could only be bad news. Somebody
(and maybe some bodies) had gotten themselves into a loading chute under several tons of two-inch and under rock. Nobody survives that kind of mis-hap;
the victim, though lighter than the rocks, winds up under them within a couple of seconds. The victim(s) is dead before a rescue can begin. The victim that day,
was my good friend Harvey Osgood. His retirement date was still almost three
weeks away. l phoned Mrs. Osgood that evening with my condolences. Most of our conversation was about the retirement he would never see, which is the one that she'll have to herself. Actually, HAD to herself, since that was 50-plus years
ago, by now.
Ray directed me to spend a week or two bringing us up to speed with NASA.That
accomplished, l worked the next month setting up a new bearing display areas
nearer to the shop's maintenance and mechanical work areas at United Airlines
shops, my largest account then, also MPT's largest account in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
About two weeks after l got a call from Hart Bancroft. He said he had reached an agreement with Jerry (John Doehner's partner at Alpha Aviation). Hart said
that Jerry had agreed to fly the 8:AM to 9:30 AM traffic and weather flight.Jerry
recommended me to do the commentary. There was no way l could do it, So,
though l would have enjoyed to continue running off at the mouth, l helped Jerry to see how he could both fly the plane and report conditions. He wound up doing both, quite satisfactorily and was paid for both jobs using a cessna skyhawk, just like the one that we used at AA, that Hart rented from an FBO at
Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. l was very happy for Jerry. With that job, and some charter work (which could be handled out of Reid Hillview) he made ends meet. John had taught him all aspects of commercial flying including communications with Air Traffic Control, or anyone flying in the local viscinity in a clean and understandable manner , leaving no space for misunderstanding.
He also had a good singing voice, to which his audience would sometimes be treated to partly-sung Traffic Reports. He could be funny, too. By the time my family and l left the San Jose area Jerry was a local star, there.
Since l had done everything l could to fullfill my military obligation of twenty-
eight and one half months of continuous service (in a non-combat outfit)l felt compelled to work against war and not profit from it; And believe me, doing my job satisfactorily produced BIG paychecks (Salary, Commissions,Bonuses,etc)
.There was no denying that the war was responsible for more than half of my
gross income. Here we go again!
Dahlia was still at IBM when l came to the actual end of my time working at MPT. Her paycheck had grown continually over the years as she worked her way up in the IBM San Jose hierarchi. So, while my MPT earnings were missed , we did OK on Dahlia's income. My new plan for self was to build a few pieces of
high-end furniture employing fine leathers and beautiful hardwoods. All the years l spent in woodshop, helped me considerably, but my designs were made without the power tools we employed in wood shop. My plan was to build a few prototypes, arrange for the use of a retail environment and go from there.
On the very first day that l went looking for a shop that l could use to build prototypes. l stopped for gas and found myself pulling up to a pump parked next to a pickup l recognized as belonging to Adolph Malterer. l hadn't bumped into him since before l started at Alpha Aviation. He was lea ving the cashier's counter as l entered. We had a good visit. He invited me to follow him to his shop a few blocks away. He was building and installing awnings for Thom Kessler. l brought him up to date on my work history and told him of my plan to build and sell custom furniture. He was amazed that l had quit my job at MPT..
twice.l told him "You had to be there".
When l told him my plans, he offered to rent me about 2,500 square feet of his building for my shop. So, what l thought might take days or maybe even weeks
to find was all arranged and terms agreed upon in the first hour of my quest.
Amazingly fortunate? Whatever it is, thanx again.
Things went well in the next few weeks. l located a furniture factory in Oakland
and arranged access to their so-called scrap pile free of charge. And paid access
to premium left-overs by the piece. These woods came from many countries and
were strikingly varied in color and grain. They greatly added to my simple constructions.
Our very first pieces to be displayed in a store front was a set of four armchairs
with half/inch plywood frames covered with a coarse-textured white canvas seat, back and arms.
l made a stop at fourth street bowl a few days later and crossed trails with my former work-mate (and voluntary husband to the step-sister, Maree.,Mike Warner. l was very happy to see him, since l was near out of Cannabis. He turned me on to a lady in San Fransisco who worked for a decorator in that part of the City. Maybe as many as 15 or 20 design houses. The lady, one Penny
Miller Magnus managed two of the stores on Design Row and offered to put my
prototypes on display in both stores.
Penny liked the designs and when the prototypes were ready, she put them in her stores
o
involved spending most of my time there with Harvey. The first time l called on him, representing MPT, he was just exactly one year away from his retirement day. And every time l called on him (maybe about six times during my first em-
ployment at MPT) and every time, as soon as we had covered and ordered the products he needed, he talked about retirement; how far away, in time, 'til it's
beginning. What he would do on that first day of no need to go to the job. lt would be great, especially good because his brother-in-law had, on the very day he and hiswife tied the knot, sold them an insurance policy that would generously fund forty-plus years of greens fees at the club, fishing trips, as well as his Elk's Club dues. When l left MPT to work a Alpha Aviation, l spent most of three days calling on some of the customers that had become friends to say "thanx for the business" and "we wish you well". But the day that l visited in his area, he had a dental appointment; so l missed him. So, l decided to call on
Harvey during the first few days of my return. Arriving at SCRS&G, my heart sank; The presence of emergency vehicles could only be bad news. Somebody
(and maybe some bodies) had gotten themselves into a loading chute under several tons of two-inch and under rock. Nobody survives that kind of mis-hap;
the victim, though lighter than the rocks, winds up under them within a couple of seconds. The victim(s) is dead before a rescue can begin. The victim that day,
was my good friend Harvey Osgood. His retirement date was still almost three
weeks away. l phoned Mrs. Osgood that evening with my condolences. Most of our conversation was about the retirement he would never see, which is the one that she'll have to herself. Actually, HAD to herself, since that was 50-plus years
ago, by now.
Ray directed me to spend a week or two bringing us up to speed with NASA.That
accomplished, l worked the next month setting up a new bearing display areas
nearer to the shop's maintenance and mechanical work areas at United Airlines
shops, my largest account then, also MPT's largest account in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
About two weeks after l got a call from Hart Bancroft. He said he had reached an agreement with Jerry (John Doehner's partner at Alpha Aviation). Hart said
that Jerry had agreed to fly the 8:AM to 9:30 AM traffic and weather flight.Jerry
recommended me to do the commentary. There was no way l could do it, So,
though l would have enjoyed to continue running off at the mouth, l helped Jerry to see how he could both fly the plane and report conditions. He wound up doing both, quite satisfactorily and was paid for both jobs using a cessna skyhawk, just like the one that we used at AA, that Hart rented from an FBO at
Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. l was very happy for Jerry. With that job, and some charter work (which could be handled out of Reid Hillview) he made ends meet. John had taught him all aspects of commercial flying including communications with Air Traffic Control, or anyone flying in the local viscinity in a clean and understandable manner , leaving no space for misunderstanding.
He also had a good singing voice, to which his audience would sometimes be treated to partly-sung Traffic Reports. He could be funny, too. By the time my family and l left the San Jose area Jerry was a local star, there.
Since l had done everything l could to fullfill my military obligation of twenty-
eight and one half months of continuous service (in a non-combat outfit)l felt compelled to work against war and not profit from it; And believe me, doing my job satisfactorily produced BIG paychecks (Salary, Commissions,Bonuses,etc)
.There was no denying that the war was responsible for more than half of my
gross income. Here we go again!
Dahlia was still at IBM when l came to the actual end of my time working at MPT. Her paycheck had grown continually over the years as she worked her way up in the IBM San Jose hierarchi. So, while my MPT earnings were missed , we did OK on Dahlia's income. My new plan for self was to build a few pieces of
high-end furniture employing fine leathers and beautiful hardwoods. All the years l spent in woodshop, helped me considerably, but my designs were made without the power tools we employed in wood shop. My plan was to build a few prototypes, arrange for the use of a retail environment and go from there.
On the very first day that l went looking for a shop that l could use to build prototypes. l stopped for gas and found myself pulling up to a pump parked next to a pickup l recognized as belonging to Adolph Malterer. l hadn't bumped into him since before l started at Alpha Aviation. He was lea ving the cashier's counter as l entered. We had a good visit. He invited me to follow him to his shop a few blocks away. He was building and installing awnings for Thom Kessler. l brought him up to date on my work history and told him of my plan to build and sell custom furniture. He was amazed that l had quit my job at MPT..
twice.l told him "You had to be there".
When l told him my plans, he offered to rent me about 2,500 square feet of his building for my shop. So, what l thought might take days or maybe even weeks
to find was all arranged and terms agreed upon in the first hour of my quest.
Amazingly fortunate? Whatever it is, thanx again.
Things went well in the next few weeks. l located a furniture factory in Oakland
and arranged access to their so-called scrap pile free of charge. And paid access
to premium left-overs by the piece. These woods came from many countries and
were strikingly varied in color and grain. They greatly added to my simple constructions.
Our very first pieces to be displayed in a store front was a set of four armchairs
with half/inch plywood frames covered with a coarse-textured white canvas seat, back and arms.
l made a stop at fourth street bowl a few days later and crossed trails with my former work-mate (and voluntary husband to the step-sister, Maree.,Mike Warner. l was very happy to see him, since l was near out of Cannabis. He turned me on to a lady in San Fransisco who worked for a decorator in that part of the City. Maybe as many as 15 or 20 design houses. The lady, one Penny
Miller Magnus managed two of the stores on Design Row and offered to put my
prototypes on display in both stores.
Penny liked the designs and when the prototypes were ready, she put them in her stores
o
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Employed 15 Part 7
John was not just a war hero fighter pilot and twenty year veteran flying Airliners all over the Americas, he was also a very good Salesman. When we first met we talked about the various jobs we had held and jobs we wished we had held, l thought of the cold call l had made on the radio station manager in Palmdale Ca. and actually got hired. lt was a Friday and l agreed to start (on AIR!!!) the following Monday. Later that evening l found out that thel FBI was only about a day or two behind me (l was a fugitive then, having skipped from a sentence of two years probation in the state of Maryland). That night, l stole a car in San Gabrial, Ca. and drove it to my Dad's place on Gobbler's Knob, never to again set foot in Palmdale again.
John remembered all of that. When he was setting up the details of Alpha Aviation he made a cold call to the manager of KSKO, a small AM station in Santa Clara, the closest such station to the A.A. strip. The outcome was that A.A. would provide KSKO with ninety minutes of traffic condition reports from 7AM to 8:30AM, five days a week. John would fly the plane to "the condition" and l would report it to our audience. Not quite the same as sitting in a control booth at the radio station, spinning records and reading news for four hours a day, but close. KSKO was owned by Hart Bankroft, popular host of the very popular TV game show "You Bet Your All". ln less than an hour, John sold Hart our whole package. He would fly the plane and choose our covered areas, l would report what l saw to our listeners. AND WE BOTH GOT PAID!! John didn't tell me about this part of my job at A.A.
until my first day there. lt was kinda like a signing bonus for me and l just loved talking to the commuters over the radio. KSKO listeners could call us at our airport offices and be connected via radio-telefone to those of us in the plane. This was about twenty years before the advent of cell phones so no one was able to call us from their car but there were public
phones (indoors and out) everywhere. Which commuters used to report road conditions and weather. We averaged about twenty calls per ninety-minute morning. We often exceeded our ninety-minute schedule when accidents or other causes of changed conditions would
arise and extra monitoring was needed.
lt was just like John to want my job to be special to me and l was very appreciative of his
efforts on my behalf. YOW!!! l was flying almost every day and talking on the radio five mornings a week and being quite well paid, to boot.
While we did sell flying lessons one at a time, as students could afford them, but our primary
focus was the "Garenteed six months private pilot license" package. The package price was
$600. (ln 1966 and 1967) l received $100 per pkg sold (l did all of the package sales,there.
And my flying lessons, up to private pilot, were all free. After that,any plane usage or other services l used would be billed at 50% of retail.
Once John received his diagnosis his condition plummeted. Two months in; he perished.
John's wife and many of his friends arranged for a memorial fly-over at the Alpha Aviation
Strip.There were many fly-overs and even more who landed and joined the others who had stories to tell of John's amazing history. At one point, l counted 88 planes parked everywhere but on our runways and taxiways.
About a week was required to shut down A.A. The larger part of that was returning the planes to the leasing company in Wichita and the office furniture to the rental company,in
Mountain View.
Looking back as l left for the last time, l realized that i'd never find myself in a job that l would like as much as the one l was leaving. l was surely going to miss it and then some.
Especially the "slip". Not an article of foundation "garmentry" the slip is a manuver that
allowa a landing on a too-short landing strip with complete safety. lt lets your plane behave like a parachute and it's very easy to deploy; Slow to landing speed as you pass over the
runway's threshold. Push the stick to it's forward limit. Then, holding it forward move it all the way to the left. Then move the rudder all the way to the right. When you are within a few feet of the runway's surface, return the controls to their center position, throttle down and land.
l came to like the slip so much that l almost always slipped my landings at the A.A. strip.
A few days later, l was parusing the Mercury/News want ads for some kind of Sales Management position that would fit my experience.l did find one such position. l wrote down the name and number and reached for the phone. which ranf as l picked it up. lt was not Thom Kessler. Not Dolph Malterer ,or Red Hankins. lt was Ray Davilla! Of MPT. lt turned
out that he had been a drive-time listener to KSKO for years and had heard every oneof our
morning traffic shows and of course, knew l was unemployed again. He had called, he said, to inquire about my plans. "Right now my plan is to get down on my knees and beg you to take me back" l said. He laughed and said,"Well, l did call to see if you have any interest in returning".
Ray, like John, had been a WWII flying hero. Ray, though was not a pilot, but a waist gunner on a B-25 attack bomber.The day that John stopped by MPT to tell me he was almost ready to open A.A. he and Ray had quite a talk after l introduced them both as my favorite War Heros. l wasn't able to hang with them then, having an early morning appointment with client. Later, they both told me that they both enjoyed their meeting and
intended to get together again. They didn't manage to do that before it was too late. l have
had the good fortune to know more than my share of remarkable folks. l don't mean to glorify war, by glorifying a couple of exemplary men who, like so many others put their own lives on hold while they stopped the Axis powers and saved the free world. My gripe ois that the end of WWII ushered in perpetual war that has continued (somewhere) to this day.
The silver lining is that young people, in droves, are becoming anti-war activists,generation
after generation, all over the world.
l had intended to stop by the MPT offices in the next week or so (to seem in less desperation) l sure didn't expect Ray to call me, but then, l didn;'t know that he was
a KSKO listener.
That was in the middle of the week. Ray said l could start Monday. l was very interested to know how things might have changed in my absense. Would l be assigned to a different territory? Maybe a different car? There was one new person added to the front counter
in my absense.,Bill Sedgwick. He had been hired to replace Bob North as Counter Mgr.
when Bob retired. l was told that Ray and Dave made calls in my old territory to cover
some of our most valued clients., do you get the idea they expected me to return? soon?
They didn't re-assign my car, the maroon Galaxy 500, but used it to make calls in the territory. My job at AA was so brief that my car needed sevice only once in my absense.
My second week back, l worked a day with Mike Warren. As usual, he offered me cannabis.
Usually l would say "Thanks, but no thanks" On that day,though (June 9, 1967) l said "Thank
You, l believe l will.
As l write this it is July 30,2017. Just about six weeks since l have celebrated my 50th
anniversary of smoking medicinal-cannabis.(June 9,1967 was the first day). That's a story
in itself and you can read about it in an older blog titled "Visited by Rastas"
l celebrate that date because adding cannabis to my personal medicine cabinet was the single best thing l ever did to benefit my health. l have a condition that requires six
prescriptions to keep my heart working properly. Those medicines are so mean that they are almost unbrerable, but a little cannabis added to the mix and the side effects of the prescriptions just vanish. Now, l feel great all of the time. l highly recommend the stuff.
.
.
a.
John remembered all of that. When he was setting up the details of Alpha Aviation he made a cold call to the manager of KSKO, a small AM station in Santa Clara, the closest such station to the A.A. strip. The outcome was that A.A. would provide KSKO with ninety minutes of traffic condition reports from 7AM to 8:30AM, five days a week. John would fly the plane to "the condition" and l would report it to our audience. Not quite the same as sitting in a control booth at the radio station, spinning records and reading news for four hours a day, but close. KSKO was owned by Hart Bankroft, popular host of the very popular TV game show "You Bet Your All". ln less than an hour, John sold Hart our whole package. He would fly the plane and choose our covered areas, l would report what l saw to our listeners. AND WE BOTH GOT PAID!! John didn't tell me about this part of my job at A.A.
until my first day there. lt was kinda like a signing bonus for me and l just loved talking to the commuters over the radio. KSKO listeners could call us at our airport offices and be connected via radio-telefone to those of us in the plane. This was about twenty years before the advent of cell phones so no one was able to call us from their car but there were public
phones (indoors and out) everywhere. Which commuters used to report road conditions and weather. We averaged about twenty calls per ninety-minute morning. We often exceeded our ninety-minute schedule when accidents or other causes of changed conditions would
arise and extra monitoring was needed.
lt was just like John to want my job to be special to me and l was very appreciative of his
efforts on my behalf. YOW!!! l was flying almost every day and talking on the radio five mornings a week and being quite well paid, to boot.
While we did sell flying lessons one at a time, as students could afford them, but our primary
focus was the "Garenteed six months private pilot license" package. The package price was
$600. (ln 1966 and 1967) l received $100 per pkg sold (l did all of the package sales,there.
And my flying lessons, up to private pilot, were all free. After that,any plane usage or other services l used would be billed at 50% of retail.
Once John received his diagnosis his condition plummeted. Two months in; he perished.
John's wife and many of his friends arranged for a memorial fly-over at the Alpha Aviation
Strip.There were many fly-overs and even more who landed and joined the others who had stories to tell of John's amazing history. At one point, l counted 88 planes parked everywhere but on our runways and taxiways.
About a week was required to shut down A.A. The larger part of that was returning the planes to the leasing company in Wichita and the office furniture to the rental company,in
Mountain View.
Looking back as l left for the last time, l realized that i'd never find myself in a job that l would like as much as the one l was leaving. l was surely going to miss it and then some.
Especially the "slip". Not an article of foundation "garmentry" the slip is a manuver that
allowa a landing on a too-short landing strip with complete safety. lt lets your plane behave like a parachute and it's very easy to deploy; Slow to landing speed as you pass over the
runway's threshold. Push the stick to it's forward limit. Then, holding it forward move it all the way to the left. Then move the rudder all the way to the right. When you are within a few feet of the runway's surface, return the controls to their center position, throttle down and land.
l came to like the slip so much that l almost always slipped my landings at the A.A. strip.
A few days later, l was parusing the Mercury/News want ads for some kind of Sales Management position that would fit my experience.l did find one such position. l wrote down the name and number and reached for the phone. which ranf as l picked it up. lt was not Thom Kessler. Not Dolph Malterer ,or Red Hankins. lt was Ray Davilla! Of MPT. lt turned
out that he had been a drive-time listener to KSKO for years and had heard every oneof our
morning traffic shows and of course, knew l was unemployed again. He had called, he said, to inquire about my plans. "Right now my plan is to get down on my knees and beg you to take me back" l said. He laughed and said,"Well, l did call to see if you have any interest in returning".
Ray, like John, had been a WWII flying hero. Ray, though was not a pilot, but a waist gunner on a B-25 attack bomber.The day that John stopped by MPT to tell me he was almost ready to open A.A. he and Ray had quite a talk after l introduced them both as my favorite War Heros. l wasn't able to hang with them then, having an early morning appointment with client. Later, they both told me that they both enjoyed their meeting and
intended to get together again. They didn't manage to do that before it was too late. l have
had the good fortune to know more than my share of remarkable folks. l don't mean to glorify war, by glorifying a couple of exemplary men who, like so many others put their own lives on hold while they stopped the Axis powers and saved the free world. My gripe ois that the end of WWII ushered in perpetual war that has continued (somewhere) to this day.
The silver lining is that young people, in droves, are becoming anti-war activists,generation
after generation, all over the world.
l had intended to stop by the MPT offices in the next week or so (to seem in less desperation) l sure didn't expect Ray to call me, but then, l didn;'t know that he was
a KSKO listener.
That was in the middle of the week. Ray said l could start Monday. l was very interested to know how things might have changed in my absense. Would l be assigned to a different territory? Maybe a different car? There was one new person added to the front counter
in my absense.,Bill Sedgwick. He had been hired to replace Bob North as Counter Mgr.
when Bob retired. l was told that Ray and Dave made calls in my old territory to cover
some of our most valued clients., do you get the idea they expected me to return? soon?
They didn't re-assign my car, the maroon Galaxy 500, but used it to make calls in the territory. My job at AA was so brief that my car needed sevice only once in my absense.
My second week back, l worked a day with Mike Warren. As usual, he offered me cannabis.
Usually l would say "Thanks, but no thanks" On that day,though (June 9, 1967) l said "Thank
You, l believe l will.
As l write this it is July 30,2017. Just about six weeks since l have celebrated my 50th
anniversary of smoking medicinal-cannabis.(June 9,1967 was the first day). That's a story
in itself and you can read about it in an older blog titled "Visited by Rastas"
l celebrate that date because adding cannabis to my personal medicine cabinet was the single best thing l ever did to benefit my health. l have a condition that requires six
prescriptions to keep my heart working properly. Those medicines are so mean that they are almost unbrerable, but a little cannabis added to the mix and the side effects of the prescriptions just vanish. Now, l feel great all of the time. l highly recommend the stuff.
.
.
a.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Employed 15 Part 6
Mike was a perfect Groom to Maree's Blushing Bride. Eli gave away his one and only daughter and then spent the rest of the night partying with the new couple 'til near the break of dawn. At some time, well before dawn, Dahlia and l (the Maid of Honor and the Best Man) crashed. When we awoke, the rest of the wedding party were still asleep, as they were when we had finished breakfast, so we left notes and headed back to San Jose.
Mike and l worked together a few days later and he told me that he and Eli got along quite well; he said Eli didn't stop handing him money until everybody went their seperate ways. Eli was always a pretty generous guy; especially in matters involving Maree. It figures; Eli had a bunch of sons and at least one step-son. (Over here), but only one daughter.
l have to say that, what might have been a sad affair, Maree's wedding was quite the opposite. Some months later, at the expected time, Maree gave birth to a beautiful girl child that she and her second husband both
welcomed. in the next few years they, together added two more daughters to the family. The last time l checked, that family of five was happily-ever-after-
ing in northern ldaho.
When l reached my office Monday, l was greeted by my good friend John D.
His Flying School is just a couple of things short of being ready to open to the public. "We could start selling flying lessons right now" he said "and l think we can put the rest of it together in two or three weeks."
"l could be there by then, l guess but l'd have to give short notice"
"How much notice would you feel comfortable with?"
" lt would probably take a month to train my replacement, and before that, who knows how long to find him (Her).
Goldang!, l didn't want to leave MPT. But l wanted to get that Pilot's license!
And l wanted to flysome, every day
l kept thinking " There is no doubt that l am in the best possible job for a person with the kind and amount of experience and developed skills that l posess."
Then l would think," See that plane over there?"
ln the end, don't you know, l went for the plane-ride.
Ray said "l hope this change will greatly advance and increase your career
situation. MPT will miss you." He didn't say "lf things don't go well at the flying shool, etc. etc.
Arriving home that evening, l called John and told him l'd be able to start the
next day. He was so stoked by my news, he thought at first l was kidding;he
really thought when it came right down to it l'd choose MPT. L would have thought that as big as aviation had been and was, in his life, he would have expected me to choose flying.That first day at Alpha Aviation (about mid-July,
1966) was all riding as a passenger while John gave me familiarization with instruments and controls in the Cessna 172. We landed at the Nut Tree, a Fly-
In restaurant a few miles West of Sacramento. The parking lots there are full
of show-class airplanes; well, maybe not full, there were a few like the dour
but utilitarian 172 that we came in. A miniature train with twenty-or-so open cars transports flyers-in from parking to dining to parking again.John's wife had been shopping in Sacramento with her sister, who lived there. They joined us for lunch and then John's wife flew back to Alpha Aviation with us.
The next day, l had two hours of instruction with a Licensed Iinstructor (Harv) in one of the Aeronca Champs. Harv said l did well. L wanted to believe him, but
but there were a few times, during that first lesson that l lost control of the plane, causing him to take control. l still remember how scared l was for a few moments. During the next couple weeks' l scared myself more than a few times.
Later that day, John got me started on ground school
lt took me a long time to solo. l'd improve some and for a couple of days l'd think l was ready, my instructors would agree with me, but before my solo was scheduled, l'd make some mistake that showed that l was not ready and my solo
would be moved back for a day or so. Then, when it was finally my time to solo,
l made two bad mistakes and almost crashed the plane into the pole to which the wind sock was attached. Two of the instructors that had instructed me, witnessed my near collision and they both met me when l landed.l thought they would take my Student's License until l had many more hours with an instructor
beside me,before l'd be allowed to fly by myself again. But as they approached
me, they both cried Good Save!! Well l did avoid hitting the pole, (which could
have crashed the plane,) ln fact, they told me to go right back up and continue my solo flight. They later told me, that if l had quit then l might not want to mount the plane again. So l went right back up and soloed for aboiut another half hour.Before my solo flying was finished l logged more than 200 hours.
in that plane.
l was still in my first month at AA when Jerry told me that John had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The Doctor gave him less than six months.
Jerry was very dependent on John when it came to Business Management. When it came to flying though, nobody could top him. As AA's Sales Mgr. l was technically number three on AA's number 3 on the totem pole. but there was no way l could do either John's or Jerry's job with out many years study and job
experience, that without AA l would never gain. l thought about my dad and how he liked my flying over his house on Gobblers Knob
He would miss my almost-weekly flyovers and l would miss doing them .
Alpha Aviation's facility was located on old hiway 17 (now l 880) which runs between Oakland and Santa Cruz. AA was closest to the town of Milpitas.
On my Dad's Birthday, (about 6 weeks after my start at AA) l bought a half-case
of Olympia beer, fashioned a parachute made of a squarely-cut bed sheet and 8
equall-length nylon twines which fastened to each corner of the sheet and to the middle of each of the sheet's sides. John accompanied me and threw the package out of an open window as we passed over my dad's house. The package was caught by a tree's branch and required some extrication. My dad cut a thin tree branch and easily fished the beer from the tree. John and l returned to AA triumphantly.
Some weeks later, l was solo-flying and l decided to buzz dad's house. Arriving there, l circled his house a few times and realized he was not at home.
Seen from 500' above the Santa Cruz mountain crests, it's all downhill, steeply.
l rotated my little plane and watched the compass until 90 degrees came up.
Now pointed at my destination and set for slow decline, l kicked back for the ride home. l had about one or two minutes of sheer bliss and then,KABLOOOEY.
At first, l thought the fuel tank in the wing just above my head had exploded.
Then, it seemed to be blowing from the left of the cabin to the right. My eyes
followed to the right and suddenly l see that l am about 200 feet behind the tail-end of a C-133 climbing into the South-West sky from it's base at Moffatt field, no doubt on it's way to hunt enemy subs in the China Sea or where ever. ln less than a minute it was out of sight.l flew directly back to AA. Jerry and l went over that plane with a fine tooth comb and found nary a scratch nor a dent, outside or inside. So, at least there was no physical contact between the planes . John said we would cooperate if we were visited by authorities.
After that, no more kicking back when l was the pilot.
Mike and l worked together a few days later and he told me that he and Eli got along quite well; he said Eli didn't stop handing him money until everybody went their seperate ways. Eli was always a pretty generous guy; especially in matters involving Maree. It figures; Eli had a bunch of sons and at least one step-son. (Over here), but only one daughter.
l have to say that, what might have been a sad affair, Maree's wedding was quite the opposite. Some months later, at the expected time, Maree gave birth to a beautiful girl child that she and her second husband both
welcomed. in the next few years they, together added two more daughters to the family. The last time l checked, that family of five was happily-ever-after-
ing in northern ldaho.
When l reached my office Monday, l was greeted by my good friend John D.
His Flying School is just a couple of things short of being ready to open to the public. "We could start selling flying lessons right now" he said "and l think we can put the rest of it together in two or three weeks."
"l could be there by then, l guess but l'd have to give short notice"
"How much notice would you feel comfortable with?"
" lt would probably take a month to train my replacement, and before that, who knows how long to find him (Her).
Goldang!, l didn't want to leave MPT. But l wanted to get that Pilot's license!
And l wanted to flysome, every day
l kept thinking " There is no doubt that l am in the best possible job for a person with the kind and amount of experience and developed skills that l posess."
Then l would think," See that plane over there?"
ln the end, don't you know, l went for the plane-ride.
Ray said "l hope this change will greatly advance and increase your career
situation. MPT will miss you." He didn't say "lf things don't go well at the flying shool, etc. etc.
Arriving home that evening, l called John and told him l'd be able to start the
next day. He was so stoked by my news, he thought at first l was kidding;he
really thought when it came right down to it l'd choose MPT. L would have thought that as big as aviation had been and was, in his life, he would have expected me to choose flying.That first day at Alpha Aviation (about mid-July,
1966) was all riding as a passenger while John gave me familiarization with instruments and controls in the Cessna 172. We landed at the Nut Tree, a Fly-
In restaurant a few miles West of Sacramento. The parking lots there are full
of show-class airplanes; well, maybe not full, there were a few like the dour
but utilitarian 172 that we came in. A miniature train with twenty-or-so open cars transports flyers-in from parking to dining to parking again.John's wife had been shopping in Sacramento with her sister, who lived there. They joined us for lunch and then John's wife flew back to Alpha Aviation with us.
The next day, l had two hours of instruction with a Licensed Iinstructor (Harv) in one of the Aeronca Champs. Harv said l did well. L wanted to believe him, but
but there were a few times, during that first lesson that l lost control of the plane, causing him to take control. l still remember how scared l was for a few moments. During the next couple weeks' l scared myself more than a few times.
Later that day, John got me started on ground school
lt took me a long time to solo. l'd improve some and for a couple of days l'd think l was ready, my instructors would agree with me, but before my solo was scheduled, l'd make some mistake that showed that l was not ready and my solo
would be moved back for a day or so. Then, when it was finally my time to solo,
l made two bad mistakes and almost crashed the plane into the pole to which the wind sock was attached. Two of the instructors that had instructed me, witnessed my near collision and they both met me when l landed.l thought they would take my Student's License until l had many more hours with an instructor
beside me,before l'd be allowed to fly by myself again. But as they approached
me, they both cried Good Save!! Well l did avoid hitting the pole, (which could
have crashed the plane,) ln fact, they told me to go right back up and continue my solo flight. They later told me, that if l had quit then l might not want to mount the plane again. So l went right back up and soloed for aboiut another half hour.Before my solo flying was finished l logged more than 200 hours.
in that plane.
l was still in my first month at AA when Jerry told me that John had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The Doctor gave him less than six months.
Jerry was very dependent on John when it came to Business Management. When it came to flying though, nobody could top him. As AA's Sales Mgr. l was technically number three on AA's number 3 on the totem pole. but there was no way l could do either John's or Jerry's job with out many years study and job
experience, that without AA l would never gain. l thought about my dad and how he liked my flying over his house on Gobblers Knob
He would miss my almost-weekly flyovers and l would miss doing them .
Alpha Aviation's facility was located on old hiway 17 (now l 880) which runs between Oakland and Santa Cruz. AA was closest to the town of Milpitas.
On my Dad's Birthday, (about 6 weeks after my start at AA) l bought a half-case
of Olympia beer, fashioned a parachute made of a squarely-cut bed sheet and 8
equall-length nylon twines which fastened to each corner of the sheet and to the middle of each of the sheet's sides. John accompanied me and threw the package out of an open window as we passed over my dad's house. The package was caught by a tree's branch and required some extrication. My dad cut a thin tree branch and easily fished the beer from the tree. John and l returned to AA triumphantly.
Some weeks later, l was solo-flying and l decided to buzz dad's house. Arriving there, l circled his house a few times and realized he was not at home.
Seen from 500' above the Santa Cruz mountain crests, it's all downhill, steeply.
l rotated my little plane and watched the compass until 90 degrees came up.
Now pointed at my destination and set for slow decline, l kicked back for the ride home. l had about one or two minutes of sheer bliss and then,KABLOOOEY.
At first, l thought the fuel tank in the wing just above my head had exploded.
Then, it seemed to be blowing from the left of the cabin to the right. My eyes
followed to the right and suddenly l see that l am about 200 feet behind the tail-end of a C-133 climbing into the South-West sky from it's base at Moffatt field, no doubt on it's way to hunt enemy subs in the China Sea or where ever. ln less than a minute it was out of sight.l flew directly back to AA. Jerry and l went over that plane with a fine tooth comb and found nary a scratch nor a dent, outside or inside. So, at least there was no physical contact between the planes . John said we would cooperate if we were visited by authorities.
After that, no more kicking back when l was the pilot.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Emoloyed 15 part 5
About six months into the job at MPT, l decided it was time to tell Ray about my time as a car thief and a State Prison inmate. He was "very disappointed " that l hadn't been completely honest with him from the very beginning, but he understood where l was coming from when l told him that l thought it would be better for him to learn those details after he had observed my work over a few months, but l never intended to keep it from him indefinitely. l assured him that
the remainder of my work history was accurate except l didn't mention my jobs in prison. (Dictation typist for the prison psychiatrist for the first few months l was there and locksmith from then until my release.) Ray did not fire me. ln fact, during our talk he said he couldn't fire me because, in the end l did tell him the truth before he learned about it for himself. And he said, in his opinion, l was as good a field rep as had ever worked for MPT. He hoped l'd still be there when he retired. l hoped l would too.
l came out that meeting feeling pretty good about my working future. l had never had a job that l liked more, and this one looked like l might really be
doing this job when l retire. l was 29 then, still almost 40 years to normal
retirement age. lf a guy played his cards right FOR FORTY YEARS?!! lt couldn't
hurt. But l knew, even then, that no matter how great the job, it's almost certain that l'll leave it within twenty-or-so months. The actual "BEST JOB ON
EARTH" might just be next.
l'm old now. Enough that l've recently noticed blank spots in my memory.
especially when recently acquired info is involved. The more recently acquired
the info, the more likely it will be difficult to recall. Older readers know what l'm
talking about. You are in your kitchen and you realize that you need some tool that is stored in the tool shed, about a hundred feet away. You walk to the shed,
but when you arrive there, you don't remember exactly why you are there. When you return to the kitchen you instantly remember why you went to the shed. But before you
dash back to the shed, l recommend you write down what you need and take it with you. Otherwise,likely as not,well, you know. What l find easier is to repeat the name of the object l'm going for, during my going. l'm not so old that l have trouble remembering my oldest memories, though. l remember Pearl Harbor and the speech that FDR delivered the next day as if it had happened yesterday. l was 3 1/2 then.
This memoir, titled Employed, will only cover periods when l was actually
employed, by company, by self or friend. The last time l was employed by a company was Jan 9, 2009. A date far enough back that l should easily
remember it all when this memoir reaches that date. Right now the story is in
Santa Clara Valley, Ca. in 1966 and 1967.
Mike Warner was an employee of Gates Rubber Company, whose job was to interface with all of the MPT stores on a regular schedule, to advise and assist
MTP reps with complicated rubber product applications for their accounts. In the
first few weeks l was at MPT, Ray hired Mike away from Gates to be MPT's
in-house rubber products specialist. l had a few accounts that use quite a lot of hydraulic hose and related items, and my main account (measured in invoices),
IBM was doing major upgrades to their hydraulic-powered, computer- operated
milling machines.(What they were doing was a whole other story,not classified
but probably proprietary and l would think of little interest to the reader).Anyway,
IBM itself was far and away the largest consumer of rubber products supplied
by MPT. And they were all mine. So, l guess it follows that l would spend a lot of time with the company's main rubber products guy.lt turned out that Mike
also liked bowling alleys for much the same reasons as l. (The music in the place,which could be bought and selected from your seat, either at the bar counter or a booth in the cafe combined with the sound of the active lanes
that somehow made a pleasant atmosphere even better. The food was good too. The first day we worked together, he drove some miles out of our way to have our lunch at Fourth Street Bowl. l usually ate there when l had no lunch date
with a prospect. With a guest, it would be the Brave Bull or one of it's ilk.
Mike also offered to share his Cannabis with me on that first day. l told him about my time stealing cars and my 19 months at Soledad. l told him that my time there was much less painfull than what l expected, but l was determined to stay out of prisons eternally and l intended to accomplish that goal by breaking
no laws. And at that time cannabis was very illegal.
Mike was not one to be easily dissuaded from his mission and every time we worked together over the next year or so, l got the "Boo" pitch. Many of my fellow inmates at Soledad were weed smokers and some, who were my friends
told me it was great stuff, and l had nothing to dispute that, but l didn't want
to have my sentence lengthened, so l always said "no thanks". l might have
wanted to try it (some, but not much) l managed to avoid it without difficulty
But with Mike there was difficulty: You know that salesman that just will not let you leave the lot without at least test-driving the car he thinks should be yours?
l've seen that guy on many car lots around America and he ain't spit next to
Mike Warner. Years ago, his co-workers named him Spike: He "nailed" his
prospects down as with a big spike. lt took a heavy, concentrated, practiced
resistance to overcome. l resisted Mike's offers of cannabis for very nearly a
year.
Dahlia and l were at Macy's one evening and we encountered John Doener and
his wife Corynne. He told me that he was just a couple of months away from
opening his flight school. His partner, Jerry Flynn was, John said was in Fresno
picking up one of the two Aeronca Champions they will lease to be used a s basic trainers and two Cessna 172 Skyhawks for Instrument Flight lnstruction.
The groundschool building was complete except for paint and Twenty-two concrete parking spaces. John was very excited and pleased and he still wanted me for his Sales Manager. l told him that my current job at MPT was turning out to be the best job of my life. He said he thought being sales manager of Alpha
Aviation could very likely become my favorite job. l agreed that was possible and that l hoped AA would prosper but l hoped he would realize that l was very comfortable with my position at MPT.
"How comfortable do you feel about this?"he asked as he handed me a copy of the Mercury News open to an article that applauded the war in Viet Nam for the
boon it was for all the high tech companies scattered thruout the Valley as well as lower-tech companies scattered thru the rest of the Bay Area. (The Second
World War, Despite the benefits it brought John, made him a pacifist and from
earlier conversation we'd had on the subject, he knew we shared some opinions
on the subject.
"l'm just hoping for a cessation of hostilities in the near future" l said. l had no idea how much of the very generous commissions l had recently received were
from sales to companies that somehow supply the war effort. l had been a pacifist since before l was a "Montery Merry" in the Cold War, so John knew he
had some leverage.
l have a step-sister named Maree. She is the daughter of my mother and
my mother's third husband, Eli. We were not close and we lived 500 miles
apart so we seldom saw each other or had much opportunity for communi-
cation. When she was about 19, she showed up at our home, out of the blue
(She didn't call ahead.) She had a problem. She was,at that time a student at
some college in Utah.She met her boyfriend there and they,in the course of a year-or-so became a loving couple. Everything was great for a few months and then the boyfriend was badly injured when he is run over by a fork-lift truck at his part-time job. He did not regain conciousness before he died a few days later. After the funeral, Maree and her boyfriend's best buddy pretty much
commisserated each other to a fault; they left the bar where the memorial
service was held and went to Maree's apartment and before you know it,they're
in the same bed. No big deal; Actually, it seems like a pretty natural thing; It all
just kinda fell together. Pretty soon, though the bill comes.The mourners have made a good start on replacing the life lost with Maree's boyfriend's passing.So
Maree is pregnant and both she and her boyfriend's budd have no desire to marry each other. So marie needs some one who will marry her just to give the baby a last name.She thought l might know someone that would do her that
favor.
Mike and l worked together the next day and l told him about Maree's problem.
l started to give him the details, but just a couple of minutes in,he interrupted
me."l'll do it', he said. l said "what? why?"
"She needs help and how difficult can it be for me? Twenty minutes at some
wedding chapel and then off to the reception.
the remainder of my work history was accurate except l didn't mention my jobs in prison. (Dictation typist for the prison psychiatrist for the first few months l was there and locksmith from then until my release.) Ray did not fire me. ln fact, during our talk he said he couldn't fire me because, in the end l did tell him the truth before he learned about it for himself. And he said, in his opinion, l was as good a field rep as had ever worked for MPT. He hoped l'd still be there when he retired. l hoped l would too.
l came out that meeting feeling pretty good about my working future. l had never had a job that l liked more, and this one looked like l might really be
doing this job when l retire. l was 29 then, still almost 40 years to normal
retirement age. lf a guy played his cards right FOR FORTY YEARS?!! lt couldn't
hurt. But l knew, even then, that no matter how great the job, it's almost certain that l'll leave it within twenty-or-so months. The actual "BEST JOB ON
EARTH" might just be next.
l'm old now. Enough that l've recently noticed blank spots in my memory.
especially when recently acquired info is involved. The more recently acquired
the info, the more likely it will be difficult to recall. Older readers know what l'm
talking about. You are in your kitchen and you realize that you need some tool that is stored in the tool shed, about a hundred feet away. You walk to the shed,
but when you arrive there, you don't remember exactly why you are there. When you return to the kitchen you instantly remember why you went to the shed. But before you
dash back to the shed, l recommend you write down what you need and take it with you. Otherwise,likely as not,well, you know. What l find easier is to repeat the name of the object l'm going for, during my going. l'm not so old that l have trouble remembering my oldest memories, though. l remember Pearl Harbor and the speech that FDR delivered the next day as if it had happened yesterday. l was 3 1/2 then.
This memoir, titled Employed, will only cover periods when l was actually
employed, by company, by self or friend. The last time l was employed by a company was Jan 9, 2009. A date far enough back that l should easily
remember it all when this memoir reaches that date. Right now the story is in
Santa Clara Valley, Ca. in 1966 and 1967.
Mike Warner was an employee of Gates Rubber Company, whose job was to interface with all of the MPT stores on a regular schedule, to advise and assist
MTP reps with complicated rubber product applications for their accounts. In the
first few weeks l was at MPT, Ray hired Mike away from Gates to be MPT's
in-house rubber products specialist. l had a few accounts that use quite a lot of hydraulic hose and related items, and my main account (measured in invoices),
IBM was doing major upgrades to their hydraulic-powered, computer- operated
milling machines.(What they were doing was a whole other story,not classified
but probably proprietary and l would think of little interest to the reader).Anyway,
IBM itself was far and away the largest consumer of rubber products supplied
by MPT. And they were all mine. So, l guess it follows that l would spend a lot of time with the company's main rubber products guy.lt turned out that Mike
also liked bowling alleys for much the same reasons as l. (The music in the place,which could be bought and selected from your seat, either at the bar counter or a booth in the cafe combined with the sound of the active lanes
that somehow made a pleasant atmosphere even better. The food was good too. The first day we worked together, he drove some miles out of our way to have our lunch at Fourth Street Bowl. l usually ate there when l had no lunch date
with a prospect. With a guest, it would be the Brave Bull or one of it's ilk.
Mike also offered to share his Cannabis with me on that first day. l told him about my time stealing cars and my 19 months at Soledad. l told him that my time there was much less painfull than what l expected, but l was determined to stay out of prisons eternally and l intended to accomplish that goal by breaking
no laws. And at that time cannabis was very illegal.
Mike was not one to be easily dissuaded from his mission and every time we worked together over the next year or so, l got the "Boo" pitch. Many of my fellow inmates at Soledad were weed smokers and some, who were my friends
told me it was great stuff, and l had nothing to dispute that, but l didn't want
to have my sentence lengthened, so l always said "no thanks". l might have
wanted to try it (some, but not much) l managed to avoid it without difficulty
But with Mike there was difficulty: You know that salesman that just will not let you leave the lot without at least test-driving the car he thinks should be yours?
l've seen that guy on many car lots around America and he ain't spit next to
Mike Warner. Years ago, his co-workers named him Spike: He "nailed" his
prospects down as with a big spike. lt took a heavy, concentrated, practiced
resistance to overcome. l resisted Mike's offers of cannabis for very nearly a
year.
Dahlia and l were at Macy's one evening and we encountered John Doener and
his wife Corynne. He told me that he was just a couple of months away from
opening his flight school. His partner, Jerry Flynn was, John said was in Fresno
picking up one of the two Aeronca Champions they will lease to be used a s basic trainers and two Cessna 172 Skyhawks for Instrument Flight lnstruction.
The groundschool building was complete except for paint and Twenty-two concrete parking spaces. John was very excited and pleased and he still wanted me for his Sales Manager. l told him that my current job at MPT was turning out to be the best job of my life. He said he thought being sales manager of Alpha
Aviation could very likely become my favorite job. l agreed that was possible and that l hoped AA would prosper but l hoped he would realize that l was very comfortable with my position at MPT.
"How comfortable do you feel about this?"he asked as he handed me a copy of the Mercury News open to an article that applauded the war in Viet Nam for the
boon it was for all the high tech companies scattered thruout the Valley as well as lower-tech companies scattered thru the rest of the Bay Area. (The Second
World War, Despite the benefits it brought John, made him a pacifist and from
earlier conversation we'd had on the subject, he knew we shared some opinions
on the subject.
"l'm just hoping for a cessation of hostilities in the near future" l said. l had no idea how much of the very generous commissions l had recently received were
from sales to companies that somehow supply the war effort. l had been a pacifist since before l was a "Montery Merry" in the Cold War, so John knew he
had some leverage.
l have a step-sister named Maree. She is the daughter of my mother and
my mother's third husband, Eli. We were not close and we lived 500 miles
apart so we seldom saw each other or had much opportunity for communi-
cation. When she was about 19, she showed up at our home, out of the blue
(She didn't call ahead.) She had a problem. She was,at that time a student at
some college in Utah.She met her boyfriend there and they,in the course of a year-or-so became a loving couple. Everything was great for a few months and then the boyfriend was badly injured when he is run over by a fork-lift truck at his part-time job. He did not regain conciousness before he died a few days later. After the funeral, Maree and her boyfriend's best buddy pretty much
commisserated each other to a fault; they left the bar where the memorial
service was held and went to Maree's apartment and before you know it,they're
in the same bed. No big deal; Actually, it seems like a pretty natural thing; It all
just kinda fell together. Pretty soon, though the bill comes.The mourners have made a good start on replacing the life lost with Maree's boyfriend's passing.So
Maree is pregnant and both she and her boyfriend's budd have no desire to marry each other. So marie needs some one who will marry her just to give the baby a last name.She thought l might know someone that would do her that
favor.
Mike and l worked together the next day and l told him about Maree's problem.
l started to give him the details, but just a couple of minutes in,he interrupted
me."l'll do it', he said. l said "what? why?"
"She needs help and how difficult can it be for me? Twenty minutes at some
wedding chapel and then off to the reception.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Employed 15 part 4
While we lived and worked in San Jose, l never worked with a group of employees that worked together as well as those l met working in MPT's
San Jose store. Having been chosen to work with them added to my self-worth.
All of the permanent employees there had some input in hiring decisions, so new-hires knew their fellow-workers had approved their hire. (And, most likely
would be there for them when they needed some help).
The two weeks that new outside reps spend inside makes it possible for them
to do the work of insiders when they happen to be in the store for whatever
reason if , during that visit help is needed. The more l learned about the policies
and procedures at MPT, the more l felt l was in the right place.
lHad inside retail in Eli's businesses as a kid and had grown to like direct (to the
customer) sales. As l think about that, l recall my last inside position: a Firestorm tire and automotive store in Santa Claral went to lunch alone to a
favorite Chinese place and, thus fortified, talked myself into taking the rest of the day off. Like l often did when l had some time on my hands during the day,
l decided to visit 4th street bowl. l'm not a bowler but l have a connection to
bowling and bowling alleys in an interesting way. But before l get into that, let
me remind you that my blog is named "Real Gideon". My real name is Gideon
and everything l write really did happen. l realize that some of it is unusual,
especially the bowling story. But it is true:
Bob Cruz, Ed Burkdahl, Ron Mason and l were in Elko, loose from whichever mom of ours that brought us on her shopping trip. (We would meet her later
at the Commercial (Elko's Grand Central Station). We were just aimlessly exploring Elko and we happened to find ourselves at the entrance to the bowling
alley,"Elko Lanes". We are each about eleven years old. The three of them had all been there before, with their parents. My parents were not into sports at all,
nor was l. ln fact, that day was the first time l had ever even seen a bowling ball
"in person". "They all "shot" before me, each giving me directions as they did so. Each knocked down a few ten-pins and then it was my turn. l aimed for the sweet spot that the others told me about and let fly. At first, it seemed the ball
would be too far from the spot to knock any pins down. A crashing sound, and
then, suddenly all ten of my pins were lying flat. lt immediately occurred that
if l stopped right then and for ever l could honestly say that l never rolled a bowling ball that failed to knock all the pins down. So...? As you might imagine,
when the subject of bowling comes up in my presence l'm gonna tell it. The hard
part is remembering who l've already bored to tears with this story.
While l never got into actually bowling, l did acquire a taste for the food, the drink and for the sights and sounds of a busy bowling alley. Just the sounds coming from the working lanes, mixing with the music from the bar's jute box
l found strangely pleasant.
Nearly all of my accounts reaped the benefits of the war in Viet Nam,
Something l probably should have considered before l accepted the job. But at that point in my life l was just happy that my no-stripes military history and
my exit from which employed political influence prevented me from bring
eligible for re-deployment. l wanted the job more than any l had ever sought.
At the outset l really didn't think that l was the best man for the job, but l intended to become someone who could be the best man for the job.My first step was to visit as many prospects in my territory in the shortest time as possible. l did the math:419 prospects in the book. lf it were possibe to visit three of them every workday, 139 days would be required to visit them all. That
That sounded like a lay-down but the math didn't work. During my time at MPT,
l met many of the prospects in the book, but by the time l left MPT l still had not visited everybody in the book. But, know that most of the prospects l didn't
meet would not see me when l went to their offices, nor talk with me on the phone when l called. And when many of my charges were calling me for service,
most days l stopped even thinking about visiting the "resisters", and consentrated on proven customers. Still, if l visited a good customer nearby
one of my resistors, l'd pop in to their office and request a visit and wish the
receptionist well on my way out.
Before long, l realized that l was spending good time on poor prospects, when l should be rewarding those who were actually buying our products or at least are willing to give me some of their time to let them know why MPT is their best bet for power transmission products. During training for this job, Ray, Dave,and
every other person involved in training outside reps emphasized the value of the
lunch hour. Don't be bashfull about spending expence account money. You will
get it back with your next paycheck on the first or 15th of the month. We field agents wereencouraged to have a lunch date every work day. The prospect has available to him, from more than a few sources, the exact same products that
we have as well as an equally able staff to serve him. Long lunches at the Brave bull (or other such den of of mid-day sales activity) give us the oppertunity to actually make the prospect a friend.
ln my territory there were seventy-six owner-operated machine shops of which
only a handfull were regular MPT customers at the time l started there. l did
manage to visit a few of them within the first couple of months and two of those
turned me on to a few new machine shops that began to do some of their business with us, but most of the resisters persisted.
Guys that wear bib overalls at work are not ready for lunch at BB, as we
regulars called it. Not that they would not be comfortable there, but to change
out of his work clothes into casual wear might take half the lunch hour. Lunch
can take more than hour, (if it's done right) then drive back to work, get back into the coveralls and get back to work. The two hours he spent at lunch, he pays back by working after closing time so the job due tomorrow will be finished on time. Another thing: his wife always makes him a lunch that he likes a lot.
One of the few machinists that took the time to talk to me, told me all that in
response to my lunch invitation. That was bouncing around in my head on and off for the rest of the day. After dinner that nite, Dahlia and l sat down to watch TV. Playhouse Ninety was on.Though l was usually deeply interested in that show, l just couldn't get into it that nite.l kept thinking of the machinist l had talked to that day. l had to force myself to concentrate. But when l did, it hit me immediatly: Ray had told us to not limit ourselves to taking clients to lunch.
Take them to entertainment venues: Stage Plays, Rock concerts, The symphony
The ball game. Before long, l was spending two or three evenings a week in
that way.
During my first month at MPT Dave called me in and showed me some invoices
for some purchases one of my accounts had been re-ordering large quantities of a particularly expensive bearing. Dave said we could often suggest a bearing
that would do the job using a much less expensive bearing for considerably less
money.Dave asked me to stop by the customer's place to get all the details,
with the hope that we might be able to save the client some money. When l
returned to MPT, Dave looked at the ruined bearing when l returned. He would
replace the SKF 2-109 ($19.oo) with a New Departure ND-054 ($3.59). The size was right,as were the load charactaristics and everybody liked the price.lt
turned out that Dave had been studying similar situations (and saving clients
money) for years. l was totally impressed and excited with this new tool.
San Jose store. Having been chosen to work with them added to my self-worth.
All of the permanent employees there had some input in hiring decisions, so new-hires knew their fellow-workers had approved their hire. (And, most likely
would be there for them when they needed some help).
The two weeks that new outside reps spend inside makes it possible for them
to do the work of insiders when they happen to be in the store for whatever
reason if , during that visit help is needed. The more l learned about the policies
and procedures at MPT, the more l felt l was in the right place.
lHad inside retail in Eli's businesses as a kid and had grown to like direct (to the
customer) sales. As l think about that, l recall my last inside position: a Firestorm tire and automotive store in Santa Claral went to lunch alone to a
favorite Chinese place and, thus fortified, talked myself into taking the rest of the day off. Like l often did when l had some time on my hands during the day,
l decided to visit 4th street bowl. l'm not a bowler but l have a connection to
bowling and bowling alleys in an interesting way. But before l get into that, let
me remind you that my blog is named "Real Gideon". My real name is Gideon
and everything l write really did happen. l realize that some of it is unusual,
especially the bowling story. But it is true:
Bob Cruz, Ed Burkdahl, Ron Mason and l were in Elko, loose from whichever mom of ours that brought us on her shopping trip. (We would meet her later
at the Commercial (Elko's Grand Central Station). We were just aimlessly exploring Elko and we happened to find ourselves at the entrance to the bowling
alley,"Elko Lanes". We are each about eleven years old. The three of them had all been there before, with their parents. My parents were not into sports at all,
nor was l. ln fact, that day was the first time l had ever even seen a bowling ball
"in person". "They all "shot" before me, each giving me directions as they did so. Each knocked down a few ten-pins and then it was my turn. l aimed for the sweet spot that the others told me about and let fly. At first, it seemed the ball
would be too far from the spot to knock any pins down. A crashing sound, and
then, suddenly all ten of my pins were lying flat. lt immediately occurred that
if l stopped right then and for ever l could honestly say that l never rolled a bowling ball that failed to knock all the pins down. So...? As you might imagine,
when the subject of bowling comes up in my presence l'm gonna tell it. The hard
part is remembering who l've already bored to tears with this story.
While l never got into actually bowling, l did acquire a taste for the food, the drink and for the sights and sounds of a busy bowling alley. Just the sounds coming from the working lanes, mixing with the music from the bar's jute box
l found strangely pleasant.
Nearly all of my accounts reaped the benefits of the war in Viet Nam,
Something l probably should have considered before l accepted the job. But at that point in my life l was just happy that my no-stripes military history and
my exit from which employed political influence prevented me from bring
eligible for re-deployment. l wanted the job more than any l had ever sought.
At the outset l really didn't think that l was the best man for the job, but l intended to become someone who could be the best man for the job.My first step was to visit as many prospects in my territory in the shortest time as possible. l did the math:419 prospects in the book. lf it were possibe to visit three of them every workday, 139 days would be required to visit them all. That
That sounded like a lay-down but the math didn't work. During my time at MPT,
l met many of the prospects in the book, but by the time l left MPT l still had not visited everybody in the book. But, know that most of the prospects l didn't
meet would not see me when l went to their offices, nor talk with me on the phone when l called. And when many of my charges were calling me for service,
most days l stopped even thinking about visiting the "resisters", and consentrated on proven customers. Still, if l visited a good customer nearby
one of my resistors, l'd pop in to their office and request a visit and wish the
receptionist well on my way out.
Before long, l realized that l was spending good time on poor prospects, when l should be rewarding those who were actually buying our products or at least are willing to give me some of their time to let them know why MPT is their best bet for power transmission products. During training for this job, Ray, Dave,and
every other person involved in training outside reps emphasized the value of the
lunch hour. Don't be bashfull about spending expence account money. You will
get it back with your next paycheck on the first or 15th of the month. We field agents wereencouraged to have a lunch date every work day. The prospect has available to him, from more than a few sources, the exact same products that
we have as well as an equally able staff to serve him. Long lunches at the Brave bull (or other such den of of mid-day sales activity) give us the oppertunity to actually make the prospect a friend.
ln my territory there were seventy-six owner-operated machine shops of which
only a handfull were regular MPT customers at the time l started there. l did
manage to visit a few of them within the first couple of months and two of those
turned me on to a few new machine shops that began to do some of their business with us, but most of the resisters persisted.
Guys that wear bib overalls at work are not ready for lunch at BB, as we
regulars called it. Not that they would not be comfortable there, but to change
out of his work clothes into casual wear might take half the lunch hour. Lunch
can take more than hour, (if it's done right) then drive back to work, get back into the coveralls and get back to work. The two hours he spent at lunch, he pays back by working after closing time so the job due tomorrow will be finished on time. Another thing: his wife always makes him a lunch that he likes a lot.
One of the few machinists that took the time to talk to me, told me all that in
response to my lunch invitation. That was bouncing around in my head on and off for the rest of the day. After dinner that nite, Dahlia and l sat down to watch TV. Playhouse Ninety was on.Though l was usually deeply interested in that show, l just couldn't get into it that nite.l kept thinking of the machinist l had talked to that day. l had to force myself to concentrate. But when l did, it hit me immediatly: Ray had told us to not limit ourselves to taking clients to lunch.
Take them to entertainment venues: Stage Plays, Rock concerts, The symphony
The ball game. Before long, l was spending two or three evenings a week in
that way.
During my first month at MPT Dave called me in and showed me some invoices
for some purchases one of my accounts had been re-ordering large quantities of a particularly expensive bearing. Dave said we could often suggest a bearing
that would do the job using a much less expensive bearing for considerably less
money.Dave asked me to stop by the customer's place to get all the details,
with the hope that we might be able to save the client some money. When l
returned to MPT, Dave looked at the ruined bearing when l returned. He would
replace the SKF 2-109 ($19.oo) with a New Departure ND-054 ($3.59). The size was right,as were the load charactaristics and everybody liked the price.lt
turned out that Dave had been studying similar situations (and saving clients
money) for years. l was totally impressed and excited with this new tool.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Employed 15 Part 3
Most of 1965 was a good year for work for me, but near the end of that year, l found myself unemployed, again. A few days before Christmas, Ben and Ted crossed my mind, and soon l was looking for a periodicals distributor for whom l could sell subscriptions in San Jose as l had done for Ben and Ted in Reno. By then, l was a much better salesman and l closed a higher percentage of my presentations than l had in Reno, but commissions paid for subscriptions to magazines yielded much less money than l had earned managing Patio Village. Dahlia though, had been promoted a few times by then and was making serious money, still working for lBM. So, l was able to spend plenty time looking for "The
Job of My Life". l didn't call it that when l was looking for it. lt was while l was doing it and after l left it that l knew it would be my best job, ever.
The ad read: "LOCAL INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTOR SEEKS EXPERIENCED AGENT
to represent us to Bay Area clients." l was interviewed the same day l applied and was notified that evening, by phone that l was one of two agents hired that day. l was assigned the Silicon Valley territory (with it's four hundred accounts, strung from lBM at it's South boundary, through all of the Valley and ending with
the United Airlines shops in San Bruno. The other hire-ee was assigned all the
industrial accounts in Fremont, the fastest-growing city (at that time)in the Bay
Area.
Martin Power Transmission, (MPT) with stores located in San Jose, Mountain View, Fremont, Stockton and Modesto was the largest bearing and power trans-
mission products purveyor in Northern California. The San Jose location was the
company's headquarters and original location and the highest grossing store in the chain. Since Silicon Vly. would be my calling territory, my assigned office was San Jose, which was , itself in Silicon Valley. My desk was located just out side Ray Davilla's office. (The President and CEO of MPT)
When a former prison inmate is on parole, he/she should, in most cases have a job and his employer should be aware of the parolee's history. My first job after Soledad was obtained for me by my dad. He had talked to the owner about my recent history as well as my long work history a few weeks before l was released. l was still on parole when my step-dad vouched for me with his friends at ARD mining and they were also aware of my history when they hired me. But when l completed the eighteen months of parole l stopped sharing my
criminal history with prospective employers. Sometimes, if l felt that my employer valued my contribution to his bottom line l would seriously consider
sharing. But, l didn't share with the people at MPT until l had been there for several months and felt that my position there was secure.
John Martin, the Founder and Majority Partner of MPT had started the Company
just one year out of high school with the financial help of his father who was then the president of Crocker Bank, now a non-existent entity. John managed the store from it's first day of operation, while somehow, finishing his degree in
engineering during the first five years of operation.
Ray Davilla started at MPT when he was in tenth grade. John was his mentor and Ray made him proud. Starting as a bicycle deliveryman,he was also in charge
of shipping and receiving. When l started there, Ray was in his late forties, was in charge of five stores and owned about sixty percent of the company. ln later
years, (after my time there) Ray formed a partnership with another small power
transmission distributor, which, by the mid-eighties had grown to 450 stores,
nationwide. Ray had only one employer in his entire life. Seems impossible,to
me.
My first two weeks at MPT were spent in the San Jose store so l would be familiar with how the stores work. During that time l helped customers across
the counter and over the phone. l met them and helped them get what they needed. Four of the days in those two weeks were devoted to bearing schools.
Four bearing manufacturers, SKF, FAFNIR, NEW DEPARTURE and TIMPKEN sent
teams of instructors who familiarized all the staff in the San Jose store with
their products, old and new.
Dave Harris was our Chief of Operations, the number two guy at MPT. both Ray and Dave were involved in the operation of all five MPT stores. Silvia Scott was
counter manager, San Jose. Bob North was lnventory Manager for all stores.
Ken Morton worked the counter and assisted Bob North with inventory management (San Jose). Greg Corey was the financial guru that would raise the money needed to grow the company more than a hundred-fold in just about
seven years.
After the two weeks of orientation, l was given the book containing the accounts located in my territory and all the pertinent details of them. l'm not sure of my exact start date at MPT, but l think it was in early August, 1966. On the first day there, l was provided with a 1965 Ford sedan and was told that my new 1967
Ford would arrive in about two weeks. l thought the 65 Ford was good enough
and l said as much to Ray. He said the car was not for my comfort. lt was really for our prospect's impression of MPT. That's why we were required to keep our cars clean and uncluttered and washed once a week. (Paid by expense account,
monthly, as is gasoline , maintenance and repair)
A very big part of this job was just spending time with our prospects. We were expected to take our prospects (and sometime members of their families) out to
lunch, to dinner, an evening's entertainment. There is nothing wrong with the prospect being your friend. Golf is always good (as Ray mentioned to me on day one)but l have never had any interest in any kind of sports neither as spectator or participant. l did try; l must have spent $200.00 at the driving range on basket after basket of golf balls, but to no avail. When l told Ray as much he never brought that subject up again, and l appreciated that. But, though l was unable to do golf, l sure did wish (then) that l could. The golfers were the big guys in the company and l wanted to "rub shoulders" with them. l wanted Ray
to like me as much as l respected (and admired) him.l resolved to put my energy into being the most reliable supplier's represenative in "my"Valley.
The first day l spent in territory was devoted to IBM. The morning, l spent intro-
ducing myself to various departments listed in my territory book, including
dept. heads, engineers, purchasing agents. Anyone listed in the book was sought and most were found. l counted that morning as a large plus. Everybody
that l met, let me know that MPT was considered an important source. Many of them requested that l visit their department with some regularity, as the agent
as the agent who preceded me had.
Dahlia and l had lunch in the IBM commissary, after which she introduced me to her fellow workers . ln the afternoon l visited those listed in my territory book.
By the end of the day, except for a few absentees, l had introduced myself to everyone at IBM who was in my territory book. l also met a few newer people
who belonged in the book. Before end of that day, l talked to Dave about my day at lBM and ran the new names that l thought should be in the book. He agreed and remembered a couple of new guys at lBM that he had met but had not yet put them in the book.
Happy days! my new Ford company car arrived.A maroon 1967 Ford Galaxy 500
two-door hard-top with 390 v8 engine.
Job of My Life". l didn't call it that when l was looking for it. lt was while l was doing it and after l left it that l knew it would be my best job, ever.
The ad read: "LOCAL INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTOR SEEKS EXPERIENCED AGENT
to represent us to Bay Area clients." l was interviewed the same day l applied and was notified that evening, by phone that l was one of two agents hired that day. l was assigned the Silicon Valley territory (with it's four hundred accounts, strung from lBM at it's South boundary, through all of the Valley and ending with
the United Airlines shops in San Bruno. The other hire-ee was assigned all the
industrial accounts in Fremont, the fastest-growing city (at that time)in the Bay
Area.
Martin Power Transmission, (MPT) with stores located in San Jose, Mountain View, Fremont, Stockton and Modesto was the largest bearing and power trans-
mission products purveyor in Northern California. The San Jose location was the
company's headquarters and original location and the highest grossing store in the chain. Since Silicon Vly. would be my calling territory, my assigned office was San Jose, which was , itself in Silicon Valley. My desk was located just out side Ray Davilla's office. (The President and CEO of MPT)
When a former prison inmate is on parole, he/she should, in most cases have a job and his employer should be aware of the parolee's history. My first job after Soledad was obtained for me by my dad. He had talked to the owner about my recent history as well as my long work history a few weeks before l was released. l was still on parole when my step-dad vouched for me with his friends at ARD mining and they were also aware of my history when they hired me. But when l completed the eighteen months of parole l stopped sharing my
criminal history with prospective employers. Sometimes, if l felt that my employer valued my contribution to his bottom line l would seriously consider
sharing. But, l didn't share with the people at MPT until l had been there for several months and felt that my position there was secure.
John Martin, the Founder and Majority Partner of MPT had started the Company
just one year out of high school with the financial help of his father who was then the president of Crocker Bank, now a non-existent entity. John managed the store from it's first day of operation, while somehow, finishing his degree in
engineering during the first five years of operation.
Ray Davilla started at MPT when he was in tenth grade. John was his mentor and Ray made him proud. Starting as a bicycle deliveryman,he was also in charge
of shipping and receiving. When l started there, Ray was in his late forties, was in charge of five stores and owned about sixty percent of the company. ln later
years, (after my time there) Ray formed a partnership with another small power
transmission distributor, which, by the mid-eighties had grown to 450 stores,
nationwide. Ray had only one employer in his entire life. Seems impossible,to
me.
My first two weeks at MPT were spent in the San Jose store so l would be familiar with how the stores work. During that time l helped customers across
the counter and over the phone. l met them and helped them get what they needed. Four of the days in those two weeks were devoted to bearing schools.
Four bearing manufacturers, SKF, FAFNIR, NEW DEPARTURE and TIMPKEN sent
teams of instructors who familiarized all the staff in the San Jose store with
their products, old and new.
Dave Harris was our Chief of Operations, the number two guy at MPT. both Ray and Dave were involved in the operation of all five MPT stores. Silvia Scott was
counter manager, San Jose. Bob North was lnventory Manager for all stores.
Ken Morton worked the counter and assisted Bob North with inventory management (San Jose). Greg Corey was the financial guru that would raise the money needed to grow the company more than a hundred-fold in just about
seven years.
After the two weeks of orientation, l was given the book containing the accounts located in my territory and all the pertinent details of them. l'm not sure of my exact start date at MPT, but l think it was in early August, 1966. On the first day there, l was provided with a 1965 Ford sedan and was told that my new 1967
Ford would arrive in about two weeks. l thought the 65 Ford was good enough
and l said as much to Ray. He said the car was not for my comfort. lt was really for our prospect's impression of MPT. That's why we were required to keep our cars clean and uncluttered and washed once a week. (Paid by expense account,
monthly, as is gasoline , maintenance and repair)
A very big part of this job was just spending time with our prospects. We were expected to take our prospects (and sometime members of their families) out to
lunch, to dinner, an evening's entertainment. There is nothing wrong with the prospect being your friend. Golf is always good (as Ray mentioned to me on day one)but l have never had any interest in any kind of sports neither as spectator or participant. l did try; l must have spent $200.00 at the driving range on basket after basket of golf balls, but to no avail. When l told Ray as much he never brought that subject up again, and l appreciated that. But, though l was unable to do golf, l sure did wish (then) that l could. The golfers were the big guys in the company and l wanted to "rub shoulders" with them. l wanted Ray
to like me as much as l respected (and admired) him.l resolved to put my energy into being the most reliable supplier's represenative in "my"Valley.
The first day l spent in territory was devoted to IBM. The morning, l spent intro-
ducing myself to various departments listed in my territory book, including
dept. heads, engineers, purchasing agents. Anyone listed in the book was sought and most were found. l counted that morning as a large plus. Everybody
that l met, let me know that MPT was considered an important source. Many of them requested that l visit their department with some regularity, as the agent
as the agent who preceded me had.
Dahlia and l had lunch in the IBM commissary, after which she introduced me to her fellow workers . ln the afternoon l visited those listed in my territory book.
By the end of the day, except for a few absentees, l had introduced myself to everyone at IBM who was in my territory book. l also met a few newer people
who belonged in the book. Before end of that day, l talked to Dave about my day at lBM and ran the new names that l thought should be in the book. He agreed and remembered a couple of new guys at lBM that he had met but had not yet put them in the book.
Happy days! my new Ford company car arrived.A maroon 1967 Ford Galaxy 500
two-door hard-top with 390 v8 engine.
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