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



























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