MY LIFE (After the Navy) IN A CONCH SHELL - Diplomatist.com

So many Roads; So many Forks 133
heard through the grapevine that you might be available for a little work.
Is that correct?”
I said, “That’s right Bob. What’s up?”
He continued, “I’ve got some acoustic tapes that I’d like to run through
our processing system and have an expert analysis done on them. Do you
think you’re up to it?”
I answered, “That’s my line Bob. Tell me more.”
He said, “I’ve only got $1200 to spend, so if I send you a RFQ (Request for
Quotation), will you keep that in mind?”
I said, “Sure thing Bob. I’ll drop by tomorrow and pick it up. That should
streamline the process.” He was happy with that.
When I got the RFQ and saw the specifics of the requirement, I was
satisfied that I could do it within his budget. In fact I knew that I could
complete it in two days, but knowing what he had to spend I figured why
not milk it to the hilt. I quoted him $30 an hour for a maximum of five days,
thus utilizing his total amount. I stated that five days should be sufficient.
He accepted and I did the job for him. Again I informed the UI office of my
windfall although I knew that if I didn’t they wouldn’t have been the wiser.
* * * *
It was around this time that my friend Joe McNeil called me saying that he
was in town on business and asked if I would I like to get together. Joe was
working for a defence contractor named Fleetwood at the time, who was in
turn selling his expertise to the Department of National Defence. Our friendship
was deeply rooted in the fact that we were from the same occupation
(NACOP or Sonarman) and had sailed on a couple of ships together back
in the seventies and early eighties. I told Joe that I’d love to get together
and he set the time and place.
For the life of me I can’t remember where we met, or even if we met for
dinner or just drinks, but I do remember the outcome. We talked about old
times and had a few hearty laughs. Then the conversation advanced to an
idea to incorporate a company of our own. We’d provide our joint expertise
to the Government by bidding on defence contracts for consulting
services. Within a week, Foresight Technologies Inc was formed with me
as the Chief Executive Officer, but something disturbed me right off the
bat – my new partner thought that the first thing we should invest in was
pens bearing our company name for promotional purposes. I thought that
we should at least develop a business strategy before going to the expense
of promoting ourselves. I quashed the pens idea.