Retrofit and “The Swamp”

When I worked at MDC, I spent the majority of my time in the retrofit department, which was unusual for many departments but it was more common for many people that worked in retrofit.  It has always been a diverse group of individuals and the work was interesting plus came with some degree of authority because it crossed many areas within the company, therefore people in retrofit needed to acquire knowledge of processes outside retrofit.

We were a close-knit group more so back in the 80’s & 90’s than when I retired.  It was important to us to do a good job but also to have fun along the way even if some company rules were bent a little.  Which leads me to the main point of this story.  I worked in a cube with Steve M and Maria S-R and for some reason we started selling a few candy bars to other employees.  We bought them at SAMs and we sold them at a small profit and any money made we would restock plus make donations to the Christmas fund (initiated by Steve) and various other charities.  Eventually our supplies grew, as did our customer base.  We worked hard in retrofit and our work did not suffer from this side adventure but it provided us a fun distraction.  In order to celebrate our small venture we gave our cube a name, which was  “The Swamp”.  We had a welcome mat with the name painted on it as well as caps.  The name came from the very popular TV series M*A*S*H which ran from 1972 to 1983.  It was about an irreverent group of doctors during the Korean War that were skilled at their job but not interested in bureaucracy. 

“The Swamp” at MDC became very well known and was frequented by many employees as well as managers even some directors and our small little drawer of candy bars had mushroomed to a whole cabinet of tasty treats as well as a few other miscellaneous items.   "The Swamp" became so well known that many employees would give directions to others by using “The Swamp” with their instructions such as turn right after you pass “The Swamp”.

Our sideline did not receive official approval by MDC authority, we were just overlooked but since we had customers from various management levels we just considered this unofficial approval.  Some may say we stole company time but I think it provided a positive way to release the daily stress.  In many companies salaried employees are now expected to give as much time as required to get the job done without expecting extra pay, maybe companies are stealing your time.  The door swings both ways.

As I remember it we closed up shop when retrofit was relocated which happened every few years.  So what’s the point of this story, not much really it’s just an interesting memory during a time when companies were a little more flexible than they seem today.

Does your name influence your life choices

     Many of us have common names that could fit in any life style or career, but others have names seem to fit in certain occupations but not in others.  Some people choose their names to fit their occupation yet it seems others are driven to certain careers by their given name. 

     Imagine going to your accountant at tax time.  You call to make an appointment when the receptionist says “We have 4 accountants in the office, who would you like to see” you respond, “Lady Gaga Gaga if she’s available, if not Prince will do”.   See it just doesn’t work; names make a difference in some jobs.  Sure that’s not their real names but would they be so well known if they kept their given names?

     Take for example the Olympic snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg.  Really, how perfect is the name Sage for a snowboarder, it’s ideal.  Did his name drive his destiny?  

     I worked with a guy at MDC/Boeing by the name of Newt, actually his first name was Francis (Frank) but everyone knew him as Newt.  I’ve got to say the name fit him.  I can only imagine that when he was a young boy his father called him in for dinner “Hey, Frank it’s time to eat” which prompted a later conversation in which Frank (Newt) told his dad he preferred to be called by his middle name “Newt”.  So from that time on was he destined to be a scientist or engineer.   With a name like Newt it’s unlikely that he would have become a snowboarder, as it’s also just as unlikely that Sage would be a scientist name.

     Then there are given names that parents give to their kids that match the last name in some way.  What may sound cute (Holly Day, Candy Barr, North West) when they’re young, while others are just wrong (Ima Pig, Jack Ash), those families with descriptive names need to be careful of the name choices they make for a child’s first name.  I’m sure you have more examples.  So if you happened to be saddled with one of these names and it bothers you change it or give yourself a nickname of your choice. 

     Of course I can think of a few name matches that might work as a positive, say if your name was Lawrence Suit you might go by Law Suit if you are a lawyer or what if you were a psychic and your name was Crystal Ball, whoa how perfect of course if you are Crystal you probably already knew that.

     One might think should I change my name to fit my career or change my career to fit my name?  If you change your name can it jumpstart a new career or pump up an existing one, who knows? “Just Saying…..”

My Dad

I grew up in a middle class blue-collar family in which my dad worked hard as a Tool & Die maker to give us a good life.  I never gave much thought until recently as to whether my dad had missed any opportunities in life by choosing to be responsible in supporting his family.  I did however recognize that he had latent artistic talent and desire to express this.  My dad enjoyed painting and he had even entered drawing contest (winning some) but responsibilities and opportunities conflicted with each other so pursuing his creative talent always took 2^nd place to reality.

I don’t believe that he ever had any formal training in art but it was just something he gravitated toward.  He drew many sketches on many different surfaces but the one I remember most was when he painted the basement wall at our house in Walnut Park (5630 Pamplin Place).  When I was about 5 years old my dad painted Disney characters on one the entire wall in the basement, including Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, etc.  These cartoon characters were each 3 to 4 foot tall.  How cool was that!  It was the best basement in the neighborhood without a doubt.  Everyone that came over commented how good it looked.  I think it made him proud that he had some acknowledgement of his talent even though he could not pursue it as a career. 

I enjoyed the cartoon wall mural but I didn’t really appreciate the time and effort that my dad put into painting it or the sacrifice he made giving up his artistic passion for his family by choosing responsibility.  I was just a kid age 4 or 5 so I was just in that fog which kids seem to be in most of the time.  My dad got to express his artistic talent by painting but just for fun, I hope it was enough to satisfy him.  I would ask him questions about his sketches; it was interesting to hear him talk about drawing, I could tell he really enjoyed it.  

He continued to paint and draw throughout his life whenever he had a chance, I think it was relaxing for him.  Dad painted another mural at  our house in Bellefontaine Neighbors (1023 Avant), a mountain ski scene, which I tried to help with, but I did not acquire the artistic gene.

Sometimes talents skip generations, as did this one. My son (Patrick) picked up the artist gene and is now an Architect and sketches frequently.  At least someone in our family can carry on with our creative side. 

I have included a self portrait my Dad sketched of himself late in his life.

We all have special talents and maybe they are not all meant to be a career, but just to bring us joy.

Life is like a Board Game

The Game of Life is a board game we liked to play when we were young.  You would roll the dice to more forward and to see what was in store for you.  Sometimes you advanced and other times you were penalized.   Just like real life there are wins and losses but you always had fun. 

Have you ever heard someone say that’s not fair, many times I’m sure especially parents when your kids were young.  That’s true many times you will not be treated fairly because life is not fair, it’s best to get over it and just move on.  Despite what the Declaration of Independence says in literal terms it doesn't seem like all of us are created equal, we all deserve to be treated equal but that’s still not the case today.  Just turn on the news or pick up a newspaper to see what I mean.  Maybe equal means something entirely different than we assume.  Some people are rich, some have great athletic ability, some beautiful, some highly intelligent, others talented in one of a thousand ways.  So being created equal may mean we are equal but in different ways by having own own unique talents.  Imagine how boring it would be if we all had the same talents and abilities.  We just need to find that special talent in us that makes us equal. 

Life to me is like the board game, everyone can’t be the big winner but everyone can have fun playing.  Of course we all want to win but if all we care about is winning without having fun what have we won?  I have learned to have fun even if I am not the winner which may confuse people because winning is associated with fun and losing is associated with disappointment.  I don’t look at it that way, if you're having fun aren't you a winner.  I like to win in life’s’ game but I will choose fun first over winning in the traditional way, every time.  The truth is for me if I’m having fun the stress is gone and I’m more likely to win, so that’s an extra bonus.

So like a board game if you get stuck (treated unfairly) take a different path and you might find the new path more forgiving, rewarding and fun.  If you don't like something in your life make some changes to bring you new experiences, doing the same thing over and over will not get you new results.  If you were playing a board game and every roll of the dice was the same there would be no surprises and the game would get boring, which can be like real life if you are stuck in the same routine.   

Be open to changes and new experiences, which could bring out latent talents.  Making subtle changes in your life might bring surprising results.  Just keep rolling the dice and moving forward in a positive way enjoying the real game of life.  “Just Saying…..”

The Games we Played (50's & 60's)

When I grew up we played mainly 2 organized sports, baseball and soccer.  Baseball was played in the summer months with gloves were flat as a pancake, no pocket at all.  You had to oil the glove and put a ball in the middle, tie a string around it to form a pocket. 

Soccer was the other sport we played but it was in the winter.  Not indoor soccer like today strictly outdoor.  I don’t remember any games ever being called off because of weather, actually we looked forward to playing in the mud and slush because that’s just part of being a boy. The coaches for both baseball and soccer were usually the fathers of some of the players. 

Trophies were reserved for the winning teams only, if you lost there was no trophy for your team.  It didn’t bother anyone because we knew you had to win to get a trophy. Participation in a sport did not guarantee you would receive a trophy.  Learning disappointment was just part of the growing process.  Most teams were part of a church league, there were a few select teams but not like today where the majority of teams are select and they play year round. 

We played many other sports/games (football, basketball, Indian ball) but they were pickup games basically who ever showed up played.  Captains were chosen then they each picked the team members. The best players were always picked first of course but everyone got to play, so you learned to get over any hurt feelings you had during the selection process and just have fun playing.  I now enjoy playing tennis but when I was young I had little opportunity or interest for playing tennis and my main objective is having fun.

Indian Ball for those that may not be familiar is a St. Louis Game that we usually played this in the street and used designated cars or light post as the Indians, which were the boundaries.   We probably didn’t play by the official rules (there are official rules) but it worked for us.  There was no pitcher, the batter would just throw the ball up in the air and hit it.  This could go on forever especially if someone got us laughing.  I know Indian ball has been around since the 50's when I played but the name would indicate it has been much longer than that.  I checked the internet to find out some history of this sport and even though Spanish Lake claims to to have the 1st official Indian ball league it goes back well beyond.  Apparently other areas of the country play a similar game called Cherokee ball so maybe this isn't just a St. Louis game, the are probably many Indian names for this game.


Cork ball was also popular in St. Louis which is played in a cage with just the pitcher and batter and this little ball that was as hard as a rock.  Older guys usually played this because the cork ball cage was always right next to a bar.  It was fun to watch but I didn't like being in cage with someone throwing a rock hard ball at me and trying to hit it with a broomstick size bat when the ball could  sometimes ricocheted off the cage.  This game also spawned another similar game called bottle caps which used bottle caps instead of a ball, can you guess where this was played?  That's so obvious I'm not even going to answer that.  As kids we played our own version of Cork ball called Fuzz ball without a cage using a tennis ball and a Wiffle ball bat or broomstick.  Of course we also played Wiffle ball as well, which used a plastic ball with slots in it that would catch the wind and allowed the pitcher to throw wild curves. 

We also played Hide and Seek but with a little twist.  The rules were the same as the well-known hide and seek but we played at night and sometimes changed shirts to make it harder for the seeker to recognize us.  Sometimes when it got very late we would leave the last guy stranded because we would hide then sneak in our house and let him keep looking. We would find out the next day how long it took him before he quit.

Another game we played outside was called SPUD. I don't know the origin of the game or what the letters SPUD stand for but we enjoyed playing.  One player would throw a rubber ball straight up in the air as hard as you can and call out a name.  Everyone else runs away from the catcher.  The named kid has to catch the ball and yell spud.   Everyone must stop when they hear the word spud called.  The catcher can then take 3 giant leaps toward any of the players then he throws the ball at them, if he hits them they get the first letter (S).  This goes on until 1 kid gets all 4 letters (SPUD).  That kid then must go through 1 of 2 punishments.

1.  Crawl through all the other players legs and get slapped on the butt as you crawl through.

2.  Rest your hands on the front steps of someone’s house with your butt facing the players.  Each player will then throw the ball at you butt as hard as he can.  You can move your butt, not your hands.  I believe the punishment for losing SPUD has changed over the years but that's how we played the game.  Thankfully we had no star pitchers in our neighborhood. 

Mumbly Peg was played with a pocket knife because every boy carried one.  Apparently playing with sharp objects were just part of growing up for boys even if they were from a conservative family. 

We also enjoyed playing poker just regular poker for money (nickel and dimes), usually at my house in the basement.  It was just a normal thing for us (12 year olds) maybe it wasn't all that normal for others.  We still play to this day and act like 12 year olds. 

We all saved baseball trading cards which came in a pack of 5 or 6 with a big piece of square gum which was hard as a rock.  We would trade the cards buy many times we would play flip cards.  We used to call it Flip Cards because we would flip or sail the baseball trading cards against a wall in an attempt to get the closet to the wall.  Leaners were the best.  The winner got to keep all the cards thrown.

There were other games but these are the ones I remember most vividly.  What games did you play?