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Now I shall treat the extra-curricular activities of the I.C. crowd, some of which I merely heard about and some that I participated in. While early in the game with them, I had the impression they were just a lot of fun-loving guys and quite likable, as time passed this impression changed to a feeling that I was very close to a lot of activities which bordered on the sordid. I shan't identify the individuals with the incidents because that's not really important but I would like to preserve this because it is a slice of life that was very real but quite new to me. I'd heard of such goings-on but had never been this close to it. The first diary entry along this line says that I'd heard "a most unbelievable story" from one of the boys and were it not for the fact that I practically knew it was true, I could scarcely comprehend it. These are the words in the diary essentially--in other words, it was so bad that I wouldn't put it down on paper. I'm not sure now that I knew what it was but I think I did and still do. I still wouldn't put it down.
I was concerned for George Bennett because, despite his freewheeling attitude toward life and morals, I rather liked the guy--in fact, I think nearly everyone did--and it seemed too bad that he should be so careless with the opportunities he had. Furthermore, we'd become attached to his new wife, Helen, and didn't want to see her hurt. I was impressed early in December that George was completely indifferent to his job and he was headed for trouble if he didn't snap out of it. He didn't seem to know or apparently care what was going on and his boss, Jack Walker, was obviously beginning to appreciate the situation. As I sized up George, I was him as a pleasant, likable, but shallow individual with a future clouded with the probability of failure unless he changed his course. I hoped that he would. He was young. He was reasonably clever. He had great charm. I hoped that some day something would jolt him out of his indifference and wake him up and get him going. I don't know as I ever actually heard what did happen to George but I have a vague recollection that he left the railroad and went into Federal Bearing and Poughkeepsie with his father-in-law and rose high, maybe eventually to head the company although I can scarcely imagine that.
On a Sunday, we had Jim Hyde out to the house for dinner, which we had in the middle of the day, and he remained for the afternoon, supper and the evening. We had the Bennetts out for supper also and afterward we all played Monopoly. This sounds awfully innocuous but I think we all had a good time and Jim Hyde, who was a gentleman all the way through and charming, added a lot to it. He was the I-R engine designer and he spent two or three weeks with us in Erie during the tests. Jim was not a hell raiser like Jim Chambers but a rather quiet, serious type, at the same time interesting and good to be with. I liked both of the I-R "Jims" and got along well with them. Perhaps this was so because I had a little of both types in me.