Page 94 - MY STORY

That was OK. We just did not appreciate it when he

attacked our writing style instead of the facts and data
interpretations.

Retribution at last! One of our team found a lengthy
article in the Sunday Los Angeles Times that discussed
the characteristics of embezzlers, especially those that

stole large sums of money from major institutions like
banks. One of the prime characteristics of these folk was
the simple fact that they were, almost universally,

neatniks, and almost always maintained desktops that
were completely uncluttered by anything visible, save the

paperwork of the moment.

That article was duly clipped from the paper and pasted to
our bulletin board, just outside this manager’s office door.

His outrage over the article was eclipsed by his demand to
know who did the dastardly deed, which was answered by

an “I don’t know” shrug. The article always seemed to
reappear after it was torn off the board.

Many of us material engineers were “pack-rats.” Broken
chunks of metal, laboratory samples near and dear to our
hearts, engineering papers, and books, tools were stored

in drawers or openly on our desks, bookcases, and floors.