Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Nefarious - Part 2


a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

[continued from post of Sunday May 3, 2009]
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NEFARIOUS
Pronunciation:
\ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right
There were a lot of things that were not right in the unfolding of these vignettes. Like many things, though, you sometimes don't spot them except with hindsight. Then it is usually too late to change things.
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Cancelling my lunch appointment with my new business prospect was not difficult. He almost seemed glad to hear from me. It probably saved him the task of calling me at the last minute and canceling for some obscure reason of his own - that would not have been uncommon for a first meeting. Statistics indicate that it takes 7 contacts with a new prospect before your trucking company starts handling any of their freight. After-all, they already have their freight being handled by somebody and, barring some major failure, they don't really relish changing things.

The trip from Milwaukee took me a little over 3 hours. Traffic through Chicago was especially bottle-necked in several places. When I arrived at the company's terminal office in northwest IN I found everyone hard at work - or trying to get their work done. There was a 'stranger' in their midst asking questions and watching everything they were doing - our new Vice President of Sales for the Western Region.

He immediately noticed me when I came in the door to the dispatch office. He seemed relieved and happy to see me - almost genuinely so. He had been hanging around almost four hours [I did learn he went out for lunch for almost two of those hours]. We introduced ourselves, exchanged a few pleasantries, and went into an office adjacent to the dispatch room. This was the 'Sales' office for this terminal.

Because I was the company's Regional Manager for this area, I was also the current Sales Rep - the previous occupant of that position had recently moved on to a competitor. It appeared the newly appointed Vice President of Sales for the Western Region had already made himself at home. Sales Reports and other materials were scattered about the desk; the local terminal manager, who had also just met our newly appointed Vice President earlier in the day, had been providing him with records as requested.

From appearances, I guessed we were about the same age. It also seemed to me that he liked to eat more than adequately - his girth was substantial. I was not in especially great physical shape myself, but I was in an acceptable weight range for height and age. I did also note that although he lived in the Chicago area instead of NJ, his last name also ended in a vowel ... like those new guys in our headquarters in Detroit. I wondered if they were all related somehow.

It was now approaching mid-afternoon. He explained that he had been hired by the new owners to help us increase our sales revenues in the 'Western Region'. He asked a lot of questions about my background and experiences with the company. What positions had I held, and where had I worked, and how long I had been with the company, etc., etc.? It seemed to me that he would have already known most of this information. It seemed reasonable to me that he should have been adequately prepped before our meeting.

He also told me that the company wanted to expand into some different types of businesses. He felt his strengths were with the 'connections' he had all around the Chicago area. He stated he believed we would work well together, as I had been highly commended by our new owners in Detroit - pure schmooze.

Small talk only goes so far. There were more significant matters to start discussing. He suggested that, if I was available, we should continue our discussions over a
nice dinner somewhere. I soon learned that was his M.O. [modus operandi]: let's talk about it over food [and drink]. His preference that day was in a south-side of Chicago suburb. We ended up at a very nice, but noticeably plain-looking [on the outside] restaurant in Cicero. This was closer to the southwestern suburb in which he lived - I was the one who would have to travel back to where I was staying in Merrillville IN.

This is where it started getting to be a little bit like being in 'a bit part in a TV
gangsta pilot'. The decor was classical Mediterranean - pillars and vineyard type decorations. We were seated in the main dining area. There was also a very nice bar off to one side, separated from the dining room by a half-wall partition. At the far end was an arched doorway going into another area. The archway was adorned with a curtain hanging from it. On both sides of the archway were dining booths - both were occupied.

We both ordered a drink and studied the menu. He stated, very matter-of-factly, that in many of the circles in which he had contacts, things were done or accomplished as favors or as repayment of favors. He helps me - I owe him. I help him - he owes me. We both know people we've helped and now they owe us. We remind them that they owe us, and together we get our goals met and the company gets the increase in sales revenues for which it is looking.

I think I was starting to understand his take on this ... and merely accepted it as a view of a way in which business can be conducted. He was my new 'boss' and I really did want to accomplish 'growing' the company - our new mantra.


It was during this part of our conversation that he revealed he had never worked in the trucking industry before, and knew very little about it. I was to be his connection - his 'joined-at-the-hip' companion - his right-hand-man. I would help him, and he would help me. Such an offer.

I started having flash-backs to another person I knew. He operated a vending machine business - his name was Tony.

After a couple of drinks and between the main course and desert,
he excused himself. He walked towards the archway at the far end of the room - the one with the curtain hanging from it. As he neared the archway, an occupant from each of the booths on either side stood and 'challenged' his approach. There were some quiet words exchanged. One of the 'gatekeepers' disappeared behind the curtain. In a brief moment he returned. The 'gatekeepers' sat down. My new friend passed through the curtain.

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[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Monday, May 25, 2009

Nefarious - Part 1

a bit part in a TV gangsta pilot

meet the family -
I mean "THE" family

It played like a poorly written script for the Pilot of a TV series. If it had been promoted as "based on real events", I doubt anyone would have bought it. Although, I've learned that reality sometimes resembles and often times out-surprises fiction.
NEFARIOUS
Pronunciation:
\ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin nefarius, from nefas crime, from ne- not + fas right

There were a lot of things that were not right in the unfolding of these vignettes. Like many things, though, you sometimes don't spot them except with hindsight. Then it is usually too late to change things.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

In January of that year I had passed my 19th year of service with the company, a mid-sized interstate trucking company headquartered in Detroit. It was now June, and I was facing yet another Company announcement - THE COMPANY HAD BEEN SOLD...again.

The sale of trucking companies is fairly common. Many are privately held businesses with aging owners who are ready to sell them and 'go fishing'. Another reason to buy a trucking company is to get access to the customer base and grow your existing enterprise. These are common and legitimate reasons. The company I worked for was bought and sold seven times while I worked for them. Counting the original owner and founder, I worked under a total of eight owners.

A
s with most acquisitions, the new owners come in with their own agenda and their own way of doing things. Change is inevitable. Much of that change is in terms of which of the acquired employees will be kept. Through all of those changes in ownership, I survived. I don't know if it was because I was very good a
t what I did, or because I was grossly underpaid.

None-the-less, through all those gyrations of change, I never got used to it. The first couple of months seemed to be directionless. Keep doing what you're doing, just do more of it. The new owners and their crew seemed to be throwing around a lot of money - big dinners with major customers - luncheons and conferences with union leaders - they even had food delivered to the drivers' break room regularly. They were trying to win everyone over with a message of, "growth is good for all of us, and we're going to grow."

Some items of note: the holding company which the new owners operated was based in NJ. The new leased company cars we were assigned were from a leasing company in NJ. The last names of these new people that came in to run 'our' company all ended in vowels. Some of the people that were now walking the hallways of our Corporate Headquarters had an noticeable 'bulge' under the left arm-pit of their suit coat. Some of them had a very distinctive and blended NJ / Italian accent.

But, hey! I'm not prejudiced or nuttin - my wife's mother was first-generation Sicilian; my wife's maternal grand parents were from Palermo, Sicily; my mother-in-law's brothers and my wife's cousins looked like and sounded like these guys. It was like meetin' wit more of 'THE' Family ... only my wife's relatives were all from Chicago, not NJ.

I digressed. Sorry.

At about the two month anniversary of the 'take-over', things started jumpin'. I was in Milwaukee, WI. I had several appointments scheduled that day. Two were with existing customers, and one was with a potential new customer. I met with the first mid-morning, a brewery of some size and reputation. It was a routine generic 'keep in touch' kind of meeting.
I had an hour to kill before my next appointment. This was in the days before we all carried pagers or cell-phones. The routine was that you called your office 3 or 4 times a day to get messages and field questions from whomever. That meant finding a pay-phone somewhere and making the call. I found a phone and made my call.

- - - - - - - - - -
Her: "Where are you?"

Me: "Milwaukee."

Her: "Call Detroit headquarters and talk to Mr. Bxxxxxxxx."

Me: "Mr. Bxxxxxxxx?!?!"

Her: "Yes, Mr. Bxxxxxxxxxx!"

Me: "What's up?"

Her: "I don't know. They just want you to call him right away. They're waiting for your call. In fact, I'm supposed to call them and let them know that I've heard from you...so don't blow it off. OK?"

Me: "Okay!"
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Mr. Bxxxxxxxxxx was the new CEO - the big cheese - the big kahuna - the top dog. In two months time he had proven that he had a silvery tongue ... he could talk almost anyone into or out of almost anything [including Teamster Union Officials - but, I'll save that for later]. Then he could turn around and cuss you and demean you and question your manhood and make you feel like a worthless piece of xxxx - without ever taking a breath or blinking an eye. A real expert in the use of words. That day he was fairly calm ... but emphatic.
- - - - - - - - - -

He: "Where are you?"

Me: "Milwaukee."

He: "How far are you from our terminal in northwest IN?"

Me: "In driving time, probably about 3 hours...gotta go right through the heart of Chicago."

He: "You need to get down there right away. Your new boss is there waiting for you."

Me: "My new boss?"

He: "Our new Vice President of Sales for the Western Region."

Me: "I've got a lunch appointment scheduled with a potential new customer."

He: "Cancel it!"

- - - - - - - - - -

I didn't even know we had a Western Region ... but hey, it's their company.

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[to be continued as I make the time - stay tuned]

Memorial Day 2009

another day, another hero

...in the valley of the
shadow of death...





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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Government cover-up

first Georgetown - then:

TOUCHDOWN !
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Saturday, May 23, 2009

How to negotiate with God

inch by inch by inch

and then God said...
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A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. All of a sudden he said aloud, "Lord grant me one wish". The sky clouded and a booming voice said, "Because you have tried to be faithful I will grant you one wish." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want to." The Lord answered, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the logistics of that kind of undertaking: the supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific; the concrete and steel it would take. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time to think of another wish. Think of a wish that would honor and glorify me".

The man thought for a long time. Finally he said, "Lord, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know what they feel inside. I want to know what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment. I want to know why they cry. I want to know what they mean when they say 'nothing'. I want to know how I can make a woman truly happy?"

After a few minutes God said, "How many lanes do you want on that bridge?"
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Friday, May 22, 2009

the e-mail is in the mail

latest poll numbers show...

how bad is it?

- - - - - - - - - -

One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the rascally behavior that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time.

When the angel returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not. "

God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion."

So God sent another angel to Earth for a time.

Upon returning from earth, the angel went to God and said, "Yes, it's true. The Earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good.'"

God was not pleased.

So He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.


Do you know what the e-mail said?


Oh, you don't?



That's OK. I was just wondering,


because I didn't get one either.

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[thanks to Billie Sheppard for this one]