Bondage

At the beginning of 1988, Dowty had paid for our flights and the costs of moving our furniture from the UK, all they asked for was that I guaranteed to work for them for two years.

As 1989 was drawing to a close, that two years would be up, give or take a week.

Tony Burgess, a jobshopper in the design office and a larger than life type of character had decided to throw his hat amongst the agency types, moving on from a draughting job to be a partner in an aerospace contracting agency called TDM.

I'd had many a conversation with Tony about jumping ship when my bondage was up, when he left late in the year I asked him to keep his ears open for something at one of the other aerospace companies.

Another name I have remembered from back then is Frank Sapala, another design contractor who also encouraged me to "go jobshopping" as soon as I could.

It was late in the year when the phone rang, Tony had an opportunity and that was going to be at the mirror image landing gear company (strangely the same company that started my entire foray into North America back in 1985).

Menasco.

Or, as the bizarro company would call them, Brand-X.

The Chief of Stress at Menasco was Larry Abram, a man that had worked with Jim Collins many years before and after my call from Tony Burgess, I confided in Jim (who had become our Stress Office manager) about my devious plans. Jim was a very good friend and I knew that he would be helpful.

So started a few weeks of skullduggery and secret goings on as November moved along, I drove down to Oakville for an interview and met Larry, another larger than life character, his first gruff words to me, with a wicked smile on his face were:

"So's, you wants to be doing some Job shoppeuring does ya?"

Jim had already talked to him over the phone and I think he had already convinced him I was a safe bet.

Larry, a no nonsense guy, from the North of England (The Fylde) gave me the once over, a sort of intimidating, yet highly amusing, interview (which set the stage for our long relationship) and left everything sort of up in the air, I remember driving away from Menasco with a sort of tremble in my legs, knowing full well that a phone call in the next week could change everything for us.

Exciting times.