I never really saw my uncles very much, but Uncle Jack was one of the great ones! He was always helping our family, especially at Christmas. Uncle Jack and Aunt Ronnie, year after year, always made sure our family had extra presents under the tree, even though they had a large family of their own. As Erin said, "We thought they were Santa Claus."
The last time I saw him was at a family reunion and I believe he was in his early nineties. His advice rings in my ear til this day. "You gotta give the other fella a chance."
There was a lot more to this conversation than that bit of positive thinking, but the important fact was that he was still positive. Age hadn't diminished his spirit one wit.
Mike told me a little bit today about his first management job at GM as a foreman on the frame line. On the first day into his new job, a man in a shirt and tie was retching in the parking lot. He told Mike that he had just quit this morning and was going to work at SeaRay boats. "What was your job here?' The terse reply, "Forman on the frame line". I guess you could call it an exit interview.
Heading to work some months later, Mike opted to bypass his new job and just keep driving. One hundred miles down the road, he was in the Blue Moon Bar, settling down for a brew, safe and secure. The phone rings, "Is Mike Quinlan here?", the bartender queries. Unbelievable! His wife Carol continues on the line, "GM has been looking for you all morning!"
Next morning the secretary hails him into the office, "The superintendent wants to see you.The superintendent spins around in his big leather chair, "Where were you yesterday?" Face to face the conversation is short "In a bar." The super taps his wooden pencil against the desk several time, "Next time, take me with you."
