OUT OF THIN AIR

his skills and experience. So, he bought a train ticket for British Columbia, planning to try his luck there.

In the meantime, the Army hired Mickey to do an inspection of the No. 6 Signallers, Dad’s militia unit. His report was very thorough—~50 thorough and professional, he got a call saying that Dad wished to see him. It was the day before he was to leave for British Columbia. Thinking it had to do with the inspection report, he went down to see the Colonel. “Look here, Mickey, I’m so impressed with your report on the Unit, I think you are the man I’m looking for. I need an office manager and accountant. Are you interested?” Dad asked a surprised Mickey. Of course, he accepted. It was like an answer to a prayer. He cashed in his ticket to BC and went home and unpacked.

Hitherto unheard of things like production graphs and flow charts appeared. Dad was flabbergasted when Mickey worried when he was two cents out after he had balanced the books. The rigid formality and discipline of the Chase National Bank where he had worked in New York City and the army were a far cry from the casual way Dad ran CFCY. There is one lovely story which I think illustrates the difference between the two men. The first fall Mickey was at CFCY, a friend called him at home one evening and invited him to go shooting. The hunting season opened the next day. Mickey phoned around town and finally located Dad at the Officer’s Club—probably arranging his own hunting trip over a drink with his cronies. When he was called to the phone and lis— tened to Mickey’s request for time off, Dad was incredulous. He replied:

“I don’t give a damn what hours you put in or anything else. I’ll let you know if you are not doing your job properly. Until then, take time ofl to go shooting, everyone expects you to do that.”

That was the end of it. Mickey must have tuned into Dad’s wave- length, and Dad, no doubt, tuned into his; he stayed with CFCY for twenty-seven years, running CFCY’s office loyally and meticulously. After his retirement, he accepted a post at the University of Prince Edward Island as Manager of the Student Union, and was so well thought of, the university conferred an honorary doctorate on him during its Convocation.

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