@Durrum
and should NOT be used for any reason other than reading enjoyment |
My primary job at Durrum Instruments was to be a Research/Field Service Engineer. Since I was also the only unmarried engineer in the department, I was also assigned as the "host" for visiting guests.
Main article: Durrum D-500
Tech classes
In August, Durrum decided to hold a class about the D-500 for its clients. The company invited two dozen people from all across the nation. The class was a two-week course on maintenance, repair, and upgrading our analyzers. They were all put up at the Country Inn in Mountain View. Being the only "single guy", I was the de facto "majordomo / Maître_d' / concierge / wingman / go-to guy".
- Beach Party
At the end of the first week, we decided to have a beach party at Bean Hollow State Beach near Pescadero, CA. The menu was to include Margaritas, steaks, Sangria, Hot dogs, Rum, bonfires on the beach, Vodka (well you get the idea) so attendance was nearly unanimous. By sunset, the tide had gone out and everyone went to the surf and was exploring the tide pools. I must say that hearing a dual-doctorate biochemist refer to a sea anemone as "this little green slimy thing" brought laughter to all of us.
Most of us sat around the fire and sang, laughed, and told funny stories. A few of them wandered off, holding hands, off to study "biology".
Sunday morning, very few of the participants were awake early enough to make breakfast at the hotel.
- San Francisco tours
Many of the students decided they wanted to tour "San Francisco After Dark". I did my job being the designated driver in my own Lincoln Town Car. Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, dinner in China Town, and of course drinks in North Beach strip clubs. It was all part of a research project of course!
It was funny how during the second week, most gentlemen were making appointments to "take the tour".
Chicago
Durrum had several analyzers installed in the Chicago area. One was at "The University of Chicago" near the "Museum of Science and Industry". I was quite familiar with the Chicago area having been stationed at "Great Lakes Naval Station" while I was in the Navy. I was quite comfortable spending time in the Windy City because I was familiar with "those places" and had many contacts there. I spent as much time at the Museum as I did at "those places".
One of my favorite "go-to places" was the Ivanhoe Theater and Restaurant in the Halstead section of Chicago at Clark Street and Wellington Ave
Whenever I needed to go to Chicago, I stayed at the same hotel. It was a multi-story building with a large swimming pool in a courtyard in the center of the building.
On one of my stays, I heard the sounds of sirens but thought nothing of it and continued to get ready for work. I called the front desk for a taxi. "Good morning, this is Robin in 326 - Please call me a cab." "Ok, you're a cab - now get out - the hotel is on fire!"
Having been the Operations Officer for San Jose Search and Rescue, I go into Rescue Mode and proceed to the hotel lobby. Rule One: assess the situation. No one is bleeding but the bell captain in his mid-twenties is wandering around glassy-eyed. I quick triage determines he has a dislocated right shoulder. While running up and down the hallways and banging on doors spreading the fire alarm. As he moved from third to second floor, his jacket sleeve had inadvertently been caught on the top of the stair rail. His shoulder stopped but his body had not, ripping his arm right out of his shoulder socket.
I had the young man sitting in a chair as I tried to stabilize the fracture. I searched through my luggage in an attempt to further immobilize his shoulder. Finding nothing, I asked the other people in the lobby for assistance. Most of the people stood around looking lost and forlorn.
All accept one attractive lady that I had seen in the hotel on previous occasions. This morning, she was standing there in a fur coat and heels. Grabbing the labels, she opened her coat and announced to everyone in the lobby, "I have nothing but my coat!" and my God, was she right! After thanking her for her almost help, I asked her to approach me, kneel on the floor and hold his hand. It made the bell captain feel better. Also, in doing so, her coat closed and I felt more comfortable.
Someone in the lobby found a few safety pins so I pinned his sleeve to his jacket. An ambulance showed up, the bell captain got transported, and I got a round of applause from the audience for being a hero. I made my way to UofC and fixed the analyzer. Called my boss, told him of the day and he told me to take the weekend off. Yes, there are days like that.
That evening, the lady with the coat introduced me to her husband, a nice guy who worked for the railroad. He thanked me profusely, giving me a pass to ride the rails on a space-available basis. We stayed in touch and I would meet with them anytime I was in Chicago. We would meet for dinner, drinks or entertainment. One night, I told them about BDSM and BackDrop. After that, I would occasionally hire her to be a model for bondage/fetish photographs for me. A year later, when I reopened BackDrop in California, they relocated to the Bay Area and she became a ProDom/Model on staff at BackDrop. She really enjoyed being submissive but was afraid to be sub to anyone except her husband or me.
Nutley, NJ
I was spending a lot of time in the Chicago to New York to Washington to Chicago triangle. It was decided that rather than to keep renting hotel rooms and flying from city to city, that it might be more cost-effective to rent a house or apartment in Nutley, New Jersey area. It also allowed me to keep a fair amount of replacement parts on hand.
Nutley is just fifteen miles through the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan. You know, Times Square before Guiliani (yes, that Guiliani) - cleaned it up). It was very lively back then; off-Broadway shows, adult bookstores, strip clubs, burlesque houses - ah, those were the days! Yes, you had to be careful. Drugs and crime ran rampant. but that was what made it Times Square. There were private clubs where one might attend a BDSM party. Well, that is another story!
Exit Interview
I had been dating one of the secretaries at Durrum, and yes we played. When I moved to Nutley, she started dating the Comptroller for Durrum. After several months on the East Coast, Durrum decide to close that service and I was transferred back to Palo Alto. The Comptroller and I did not like each other from the get-go. My secretary friend had apparently told the Comptroller-guy all the dirty details of our relationship.
I got assigned a new analyzer installation and was getting ready for an out-of-state road trip. When I went to the tool crib to restock my supplies. I was told I no longer had free reign and that I would have to submit a written request. It came back with so much red ink that I thought someone had bled out on it. I took it back to my desk and rewrote it. This time, it came back with more red-ink.
Angered, I started a new requisition: one fifty-five-gallon drum of Vaseline. When he saw it, he reached for his red pen. "Careful," I said, "whatever is left in the drum is going to be used to shove my job up your ass!" and left the property.
About an hour later, my boss called and asked what happened. I said that I could no longer for the company with "that man" crippling my ability to work. A short time later he called again. The company was looking for a person to fill the position of Comptroller. I told him that unfortunately, I had already found employment with another firm. After a little bit of haggling, begging, and pleading, he hired me as a consultant for more money than I was making as an employee to do one last installation.
What links here • References and Sources • Help • Contact info • Category:Root ⤴