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39

Beyond Burly we have [[underlined]] Ross Brackett [[/underlined]], another aging veteran of the Department but one who'd never amounted to very much. But typical of so many of the older men at that time, he dressed in nice British tweeds and looked pretty good although  a little guy. I don't remember what he'd been handling, maybe substation stuff, but we had to press into service every man we could lay our hands on who knew anything about the business and Ross wound up handling a substantial part of our export transactions through the International GE of New York. Ross even began to feel his oats a bit after a while. I still remember distinctly Ross coming to me for a decision on some matter and after he'd explained the situation to me, I pondered and finally said, "Ross, I'm inclined to think that we should do (thus and so)--" to have him interrupt me with, "You're [[underlined]] inclined [[/underlined]] to think! I've got to have a positive answer! It's amazing how a small bit of acerbity like that will survive so man years. As I recall, Ross had an unhappy family life after marrying a widow with children but Ross has survived most of them and was last heard of by me as living in a geriatric home in the area after playing golf with some old buddies until he was 80 or better. Beyond Ross is another Ross, this one [[underlined]] Ross Gillette [[underlined]], who was another of Dixie Walker's parts specialists and a good one but not quite good enough to be chosen to take over the helm. However, Ross remained with the operation but is long since retired. To the external world at least, he lived a colorless life devoted to work and family and I have nothing snappy to report about him. And then we jump across the table to [[underlined]] Henry Guy [[/underlined]] about whom, here and there, I've written enough to support a volume so I'll desist here except to comment that he appears to be pensive, which was typical of Henry at such affairs as this, which in private I'm sure he'd class as "a Gawd damn waste of time." Next, coming toward the camera, is [[underlined]] Don MacLeod [[/underlined]], a native of Jamaica an done of the nicest and most accomplished engineers we had originally being a power supply man but becoming a locomotive expert in connection with the big GGl locomotive program for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Don was afflicted fairly early with deafness that came on to more serious proportions as he moved up into his 40s and had a definite effect on his career. Also he was to have an intestinal malignancy in his 50s which he had surgery for in Toronto by a very famous Canadian surgeon and Don achieved a complete recovery. He was a gutsy guy as well as a very charming one and he battled his way through his problems without ever letting them get him down very far. He's still going strong in retirement, his hyperactive, ultraintelligent wife, Dorothy, apparently unable to faze his equanimity. I am next to Don and I have on a striped tie and am smoking a cigarette, which I did a good deal of in those days and wish now that I hadn't because I think my present state of health would be better had that been the case. Next to me and resembling Lee J. Cobb, the