The Case of the Missing Crabs

One of the best vacations we could ever have was on the waters of Puget Sound. We were with Marcie and Mike and had left their home in Issaquah to head north for a boat Mike had leased for a week of water wrest and wrelaxation. (How else can you achieve alliteration if you don't cheat?) The boat was about 35-40 feet long and Mike, although not an intrepid sailor, was at the helm and doing a very nice job of playing captain. We were heading out to visit the various island that had small villages on them and were a very interesting diversion from our mundane lives ashore. Docking at different piers that dotted those islands or finding a quiet bay in which to anchor for a peaceful night made for a peace unattainable in our normal mundane lives on shore. And while this was pure joy to me, this is about our grandson Logan who was about 14 at that time and had discovered a crab trap and was excited to try his luck. Logan was an inquisitive boy, living with Marcie at that time, and was into every moment spent ashore when ever we docked. On one of the islands he discovered a bait shop and returned to the boat with the vilest, most unbelieveably smelly stuff he had found. "Its for the trap" he exclaimed and at the first anchoring, he put this stuff in the crab trap and lowered it over the side. It was late that evening and I suggested he check the trap to see if he had had any success. It was amazing to see several crabs already in the trap with others clinging to it, but dropping off as we lifted it out of the water. Because it was late, I thought it would be a good idea to leave the crabs in the water and worry about cleaning them the next morning. That was acceptable and the trap was brought on deck and I tied, with a stout string, each entry, assuring Logan they would be put to good use the following morning He reluctantly agreed and having prepared the trap to be sure to hold the crabs captive, it was lowered back into the bay.with the 5 or 6 creatures balefully staring at us. He could hadly wait to observe his successful attempt at crab trapping and the following day we brought the trap back on board. It was empty!!! We checked to determine that all the entries were still tied and it was mystery for the ages. Thinking as hard as we could, we had no explanation as to the disappearance of Logans crabs.He was sure some of those fisherman that were in the bay had pilfered his prize and was greatly disappointed that his crabs were gone. How did it happen? What was the explanation? It was a puzzle of huge proportions and Logan was inconsolable. But he recovered quickly and set about resolving to try that night after we were again anchored. We did enjoy some of his adventures into the crab world but it was a story to never be explained. On our return to the city, I purchased a large crab, froze it, carried it back to Minnesota and gave it to Logan at Christmas time. He was delighted and took that opportunity to relive the adventure of the case of the missing crabs..

In Search of a Sea Bass

Fishing has always been one of my greatest delights--well maybe not always. I used to go with Uncle Chuck when I was a child and then for many years abandoned it to make more time for girl chasing. Usually unsuccessfully, I might add. However, I finally caught the one I wanted and can now return to my theme. When I moved to Appleton my friend George got me interested and I was again acquainted with my former passion. Carrying this thought on I moved to Minneapolis where my friend Bob Johnson and I used to try to find the wiley walleye. Then I found another Bob who shared this passion. His name was Bob Flandreau and having a home on Cape Cod, he was able to exploit that passion.

He and I became business associates in New York city and during the course of our first meeting, we found out that fishing was the reason grown men giggle. We both loved talking on that subject. He used to travel from an apartment in NY to the Cape almost every weekend-- a one way trip of around 200 miles. That will possibly draw into perspective how he surrendered to his love of the water, his boat and the Cape in general. Then come Monday morning he would rise early to be back in the city by about 11:00. Almost every weekend!! His boat was a 25 footer and it was not a pleasure craft. It was geared to catch fish. I was a complete novice having only desire but little or no experience with water such as was surrounding Cape Cod. When I first went aboard his boat, (thats marine talk for getting on), I couldn't believe the number of poles he had. There must have been over 40 fishing rods and if I had looked in various areas of the boat would have found all the accountrements needed for catching fish. I was astonished. I owned 3 rods and a small tackle box.

I traveled with him on one of my trips from Minneapolis and joined him and his very pleasant and friendly wife, Beth, in their cottage and became enchanted with the aura of the Cape--its smell was unlike any atmosphere I had ever known. I couldn't wait for the next day. We rose early in the morning as dawn was breaking and proceeded down to the harbor. I noticed how the timbers to which the boat was tied rose about 10 feet above my head and wondered about that. When we returned those same timbers were now only level with my head and thus I learned about the tide. I was on my way to becoming a seaman and this from a guy that had spent 3 years in the Navy--although as a land based pilot.

It took Bob only a minute to cast off and we were headed for the deep. He was a very expansive guy although radical in some of his beliefs. (That means they were the opposite of mine.)" But we were there to talk fishing not politics and we were to have a great day on the water. We cruised along with our gear running behind. We watched for birds and when we spotted some white ones diving at the water, he explained about Terns were feeding off the small fish near the surface because the big fish were driving them up from the deep. See, some more I could file away and talk about later. I really liked this man. He was friendly and we had already formed a good business relationship but now that was expanded to a friendship I came to enjoy greatly.

Did we catch that which we were seeking? Not even close and I learned that sea fishing was no different than lake fishing. Fish only wanted to bite when it was their decision to do so. It was out of our control. But Bob was undaunted. He knew that tomorrow would be different. That's another thing about Bob and fishing. It would be better next time and there would always be another next time! I returned to the Cape with him several times and he explained to me the care needed to remove Blue fish from the hook just as the fish being demonstrated, bit his fingers and drew blood. Ouch !! We enjoyed our trips a lot. They were days spent with two guys speaking with wisdom about various philosophies of man and loving the sea and whatever fish we might catch but in truth I was there 3 times and nary a denizen of the deep joined our expedition. How unkind. But again, Bob would always say "we'll get em tomorrow". And we finally did!

It happened one grey morning with our gear following our wake that I felt a tug on my rod. That tug became an armshocking pull and I knew I had something BIG at the end of my line. Bob had shut down the engine to reduce the drag and I began cranking and the line was slipping out at about the same speed with which I was cranking. I knew there was not a lot of success involved but gradually by tightening the drag on my reel a bit of progress was being made.About 20 minutes later we landed a sizeable Sea Bass that boated out at a neat 50 pounds. It is still the largest fish I ever caught and although I fished a number of times at the Cape I never again equaled the size of my first Sea Bass.

The thing I want to emphasize is that while most of my fishing was ultimately done in Minnesota, in every instance, good weather, miserable weather, weather that sane men would not be caught dead in, fishing was the name of the game and when the game was afoot, I was excited to play. I have sat many times without a nibble. I could see them lying on the bottom and would wave a lure in front of their nose with no resultant tug on my line. Frustrating? Yes! But should anyone ask "Wanna go fishing" I'm gone!! C'mon along! You'll love it!!

Herbie,continued

Some time back, I wrote an article in which I told of my menswear associations with a number of Jews who became my very good friends. Was it because I was a buyer and in a position to give them some business? Yes, initially. But as time passed by they became more than those seeking to exploit me, they became friends and the chief among them was Herbie. I gave an example of when my store announced it was closing, I received a call from Herbie and he stated I should not worry. I had a job at my current salary and I would become a neckwear salesman and he meant it. I knew I could get another job but it was these words that allowed me to have a semblance of comfort--just in case.

And so I would like to speak more on the personality of my friend. I can't describe him in this one page. Oh no, he was much more than that. Over the years he has continued to call periodically and would always announce his name by saying "Hi, Its Hoybie" That's New Yorkese for Herbie and I have always welcomed these calls because the conversations would always be dynamic with much laughter and points of interest. He could be a philosopher, a merchant, a family man or have several other identities that made him very charismatic.

I went to work for him after being terminated from Munsingwear even though I had many times previously denied any interest in joining him in business. I always said "If I go to work for you, I won't be able to continue to be your friend" But to shorten this tale, I did because he pleaded with me on the basis that his CEO had walked away and he was in need. I went to N.Y. and actually lived in his home for several months during which time I learned that I had a BIG job on my hands. My predecessor had left with a two year supply of inventory and the loans at the bank were huge. Herbie was in the depths of a serious depression and every morning I would become a cheerleader telling him "Don't show that depression to your co-workers in the mill or office--Smile!" He had invested about $250,000 of his own money and continually would tell me we were going under. He was an intense worrier and I had to continually try to pull him out of it. One example was his obsession with me learning how to make a tie. I tried to explain I had much more to do in trying to keep his company afloat than worrying about the mechanics of tie making. He wasn't happy until I walked in and told him I had learned how to make a tie. Another time involved 2400 dozen ties in our warehouse that had been ordered by Sears the previous season. The question was what to do with them. Do we insist they take them? They owned them but we did not want to damage our relationship with a huge customer like Sears. With a meeting to go over the purchases for the upcoming season I prepared a inventory of them and. against Herbie's wishes, waited for the correct time to express the problem to the buyer. He was immediately rceptive to taking them in to his warehouse except he didn't want the green colors. When Herbie and I left the office following that interchange, he said "What are we going to do with the green ties?" I exploded quietly and said "I just got rid of 2200 dozen and your only thought is what are we going to do with green! Why do you only think in negative terms?

Those are only two of several minor arguements we shared. In the 6 months I was with his company, I can't even describe the number of challenges we faced or the way we overcame them. I say "we" because in truth Herbie was such a soft hearted guy, he could never involve himself in things that might offend others. I had to terminate 46 employees that had been years with him in his factory because we had agreed to move the factory to North Cariolina. Dismissing them was something he could not handle and it fell to me to be the bad guy.

I would like to have more time to further illustrate the width and depth of Herbie's character but space prohibits this. I had 6 of the most demanding months I had ever spent being the cheerleader to lift my friend and trying to bring his business into the black. It took 7 months to bring it to a point where it was reasonably on its feet and I was gone by that time. He and I parted on very good terms but things had reached a point where my job was accomplished. We had a new sales manager. I had fired two of his main salesmen because they did nothing but sit around his N. Y. office waiting for business to walk in and in general, things were pretty healthy again. Herbie brought his son, a very bright young man, into the business and I explained, "Herbie I can work for one of you but not two of you". So, I was gone on to different things He is an atheist and a liberal Democrat while I am neither but our conversations always are lively and interesting. He came to Louise' funeral and he will most likely come to mine but isn't it nice to know that even though there are so many differences in our respective values and philosophies the point to be made clear is that through all this evolution of time, friendship is all that is important. He was practically a kid when he sold me ties those eons ago and in some ways he is still that enthusiastic kid trying to sell ties. He heads up a very successful neckwear business now and today, my life is more complete when the phone rings and I say "Hello" and a voice replies "Hi, it's Herbie!

MY FRIEND BOB

I have had a penchant of writing about people whom I respected, admired or just genuinely liked. Bob Johnson was one of the above --maybe all of the above. He was married to my cousin, Barb and our family came to know them when we came to Minnesota in 1963. They opened their arms to us and our kids and we spent many very enjoyable times with them at their home but mostly at their lake place in a northern part of the state. Bob was a very interesting man-sometimes sullen or grumpy but when you knew him, this was all a sham. For some reason, he would pretend to be characterised as a uncooperative person but the minute you asked him for some form of help, he was immediately ready with his tool belt. He had been a gymnast for the University of Minnesota and there was still a semblance of his athletic body but as is the case in many of us, as his hair disappeared, his stomach seem to compensate. He might be leaning toward portly but again it meant nothing when it came to being of service for someone--possibly even a stranger. I can't tell you the many time he came to my assistance maybe in the construction of my back yard shed, my family room and sundry other things. When I needed help, he was the first one I called, no, the only one. And I was not unique! Was it his ego that propelled him to be of assistance to others? I doubt it. Under that gruff exterior he was a people person and he would always find time to be a friend. What a wonderful accolade that was. He died about two years ago and I miss him a lot! He was my fishing buddy and we managed to get in a trip to some nether region to try to catch fish for the 40 years of our relationship. He had spent about three years building the cabin I spoke of and I mean building. He was a most handy person and it didn't matter the problem, he would find a way to take care of it Carpentry, plumbing, electricity were all a part of his talents and we were the recipients of all of those at some time or other. I could go on a long time extolling his virtues or his talents but suffice it to say Minnesota will never be what it once was. In many ways Bob was the catalyst that enlightened our lives in those days that have past. Sleep well Robert, I know you are carrying your tool belt around even now.

Kermit Lives Again

Some of you have recently seen the TV advertisement with the large frog in the car frightening the passengers. When I saw this I was reminded of an incident when my kids were young and a frog became a passenger in our car one Saturday afternoon. However, unlike the persons in the advertised car, I was unaware I was carrying an uninvited guest---at least uninvited by me. Our family had been visiting the family of one of my earlier girlfriends. Her parent had a large getaway home in the country and we had been guests that day at this lovely ranch away from the city noise and discomfort. One of my sons had been playing with a large frog and as we were getting ready to leave for home I asked my boy to put the frog down and let him return to the country. My son pleaded his case to be allowed to take his plaything home and I finally had to become rather firm in denying him his request. And so we took leave of our day in the country and headed for the city.

The next day as I was working around the house, Louise was in church with the girls and I went into the boys bedroom and there to my dismay, in a dresser drawer covered by a screen, and,of course,you are way ahead of me, was the frog!! Now I had been very definite in my disallowing the frog to accompany us home and my nine year old was quite aware of my feelings. So, what to do?? He was playing with other boys in the yard and I went down and called him to join me in the back room. On the way there, I picked up a board from the garage and had it in my hand as we headed into the house. Now this little boy had become somewhat of a habitual prevaricator of the truth and Father had to make a decision to nip that habit in the bud as it were. I carefully took him in my arms and explained the difference between truth versus prevarication. Following my detailed explanation, I proceeded to spank his bared bottom with the aforementioned board. I was not gentle in my ministrations to that rapidly reddening bottom and tears were flowing abundantly. My emotional state had been sufficiently assuaged and I ceased my labors. Then, holding him close to me, I again, explained the reason for this departure from my normal, implacable attitude regarding corporal punishment. I told him how much he was loved and held him until the tears stopped flowing. Was I correct in meting out this punishment? Well, I will say one thing that might seem to put the rightness of that act in its proper position. A few weeks ago, in discussing various things with my son, he mentioned he would never forget the spanking he got over his decision to secretly bring the frog home. If nothing else impacted that act he knew there was a limit to how far I could be pushed before there would be repercussions. Maybe there was a degree of success in my endeavors. Kermit lives again!!

The Case of the Lace

The first meaningful position I was asked to fill was to head up the Munsingwear Mens and Boys underwear division. It was challenging because while we had a wonderful reputation in the underwear field, and even though we made a much better product, we were well behind Jockey. To give them credit, they had jumped out using their name to great advantage and we were constantly having to overcome the leading position they held. Questions arose as to how do we strengthen our reputation and become more of a leader in that field. Several innovations took place. A new colored underwear was added and I gave it the title of "Undertones" This was before Men were to become interested in wearing colored underwear and this became a new and interesting item. We also developed a brief not only colored, but in a style appealing more to the new jeans that now were worn lower on the hips than in the past. These were called "Dynamite" and were now an essential part of our broader product line. Other innovations were introduced. I had R and D develop a fabric that I wanted to add to a ski line. It was a double fabric that had the faculty of "wicking" moisture away from the body and absorbing it into the outer layer. I had several samples made up and sent them to men I knew were ski enthusiasts and have never lived down the chiding of my friend Herbie who raved about the new ski underwear in our line. I had to tell him that our Quality Control department had turned down my request to put it into production because it didn't meet our standards. Herbie claims it was the finest ski underwear he has ever worn and we missed the boat on the entire ski market. But all that aside, the diamond in the rough that I showed at one of our stockholder meetings was a shorter than ever stretchy mens brief. It had no fly, cut very low and was snug to the body and if I may use the expression, was designed to appeal to the Gay men of the day. In preparations to speak to those gathered at the stockholders meeting I had it stuck in the top breast pocket of my suit and in describing some of the new things we would be introducing in the underwear division concluded my report by pulling the lace brief out with a flourish. Literally, a gasp went through those assembled there. Flash bulbs were popping. People were laughing excitedly and it became the sensation of the moment. After the excitement died down and I had returned to my office, reporters from three newspapers all came in wanting to take my picture with our new product. It was almost laughable because I knew it would only be a very small part of our total business but it had generated enough excitement that my picture was in the trade papers. The brief was pictured with a news story and I had calls from various radio news jockeys who put me on their speakers so their audience would be made aware of this new product. All of this attention to a lacey, stretchy, garment that was NEW. The case of the lace resounded through news world and for a "brief" moment I was newsworthy. It was fun!!

The Nostalgia of Age

As the continuing press of age impacts me, my sense of nostalgia closes in on my memories and I begin to think of meaningful things that took place in my life. I recall, while fairly new in a position at Munsingwear, that when I had some free time, I would go to the Return Department and look around. I noticed a large supply of salesmen samples returned with several women there working to refurbish them. . On investigating why they were being returned, I found that we gave them one third off of our wholesale price. I stated to my boss that it would save a lot of manpower if we gave the 50% off and had them keep the samples. I don't have any idea how much money was saved but it sure impressed the ladies doing the work and I was thanked for the suggestion. In that same vein, the returns were also burdened with a large supply of briefs, most of a specific style. I looked at the briefs and found that the major reason was the rubber band encased in a ribbed knit around the legs, had hardened due to hot water in the wash. This caused the hardened rubber to cut through the ribbing. They had also yellowed because of the affect of the bleach that was used. Because we sold a tremendous quantity of that style, I went to Research and Development and talked to a fellow named Reink. He was one of our resident experts on the knitting of our materials and told him about the problems I had found. Did he have any ideas on how we could eliminate the rubber band and improve the yellowing factor? He said he would get back to me and a couple of weeks later he came to my office and showed me a sample brief which now incorporated a white cotton yarn with certain quantities of Nylon and Lycra. To shorten the story I asked that he make up a few dozen so that they could be sampled and soon after distributed them to various people in the office and waited for their results. They were a smash and it gave us a big step up over our competitors. Our returns became negligible, our salesmens were very pleased to have the samples to sell at their own sample sales. Everybody was happy--the ladies in the Return Department, the salesman, the Advertising Department had a new development to shout about and of course the management began seeing an improvement in the work hours and in profits. Well, as I started out to say, my memory reminds me that, while in my new job, which had nothing to do with the Return Department, came a great learning experience and some praise, although no money, from my boss. It's one of the nice things about age, you can reflect on some successes, no matter how minor they may seem, and smile.