Friday December 16, 2011

I had a problem getting up with the alarm this morning. It must be Friday. It is still above freezing so I rode my bike to the MAC. My 5 speed is still a 1 speed. I was going to take it easy this morning and row only 2K instead of 4 and run 1 mile instead of 1.5. There was a young fellow on the rowing machine next to me and he was really screaming. I tried to at least try to get near his speed (fat chance). Anyway I set a PB for the 2K. I rowed it in 8'54". This time is below the average and median times for my age group. The young man is a collegiate rower for GVSU. His time in the 2K is 6'34". After my row I ran 1 mile in 9'30" which is my best time this year. (I once ran a marathon in 2h57', 6'45"). After the MAC I headed to Breton Village to read the WSJ and DFP. I am so saturated with political stories that I usually do not read any articles about politics.

I got home about 1215 and had a quick lunch. After lunch I loaded the AT up and headed to the GR Bike Co. They are going to fix my 5 speed. When I got home I told Nancy I was going to take a nap. About 30' into the nap and I get a call from my AHS friend Tom Cassel. We talked for about 90 minutes. I always liked talking to Tom.

Tonight Nancy and I are going to Brann's for dinner. Brann's was not very crowded. We each had a big salad. Brann's has the best salad in town. When we got home I immediately fell asleep watching the news. Nancy and I were both tired and headed to bed at 2030.

Nancy and I were talking last night about our time in CA. I asked if she remembered about my job hunting in December 1965. My original CA employer, Watson Seely Clifford III, had left town in the middle of the night in late Nov. He still owed me about 4 weeks pay. I had to get a job because Nancy was pregnant and we had almost depleted our "go to hell fund". It was about the last Friday before Christmas and I had spent the day making cold calls on local engineering firms. I had no success and was very discouraged and tired. A 1600 I decided to make one last call. I arrived at Charles McClandess and Company, 1020 Corporation Way, Palo Alto and asked if they were hiring. The secretary said she did not think so but I stuck my resume in her face anyway. She took it walked into another office. To my surprise she came back and told me that Marv would see me in 10 minutes. When I finally got in to see Marv I encountered a 5'5" 250 pound cigar smoking dynamo. He looked at the resume and asked what I wanted for pay. I said $3.80 per hour. He grunted and said when could I start. I said anytime. Marv looked at me and said be here at 0800 Monday. I was elated and when I got home I asked Nancy guess what just happened. She said you got a job. I guess I had that happy look. What a Christmas present. And that is my 1965 Christmas story.