SOME OF THE CHARACTERS

Life would not be fun without some of the people we meet on our journey through life. As for me, I met many, and they all enriched my life, just as they do today. I often think that life is like a play, with a beginning and an ending, and filled with the many roles that need to be played for there to be life in the middle.

I SWEAR I MET THESE PEOPLE YEARS AGO!

Working for Lawrence G. Chait and Co., was the real beginning for me as to what life is all about, people coming from the mid-west, the city itself and from overseas: like New Jersey.

There were in the course of my years at Chait, vice-presidents that threatened vendors with loss of contracts, account executives with deep psychological problems, copy writers with a cynical view of the world, and secretaries with an acute view of all the gossip, behind the scenes action and summation of all the players. The support staff loved to watch my reactions to things they told me, or my response to a cryptic message planted for their amusement. Coming from a small town into this environment and hearing what they would tell me, left me gasping.

There was one vice president whose job was to do nothing, stay out of the way and don’t offer any suggestions. He was key. He was also the chairman’s brother-in-law. He actually was a very talented man, whose work is still legendary and can be found in a very public place where it has resided for over 80 years by now.

The man had an office he shared with our copy chief, who scooted around the office all day, a friendly man who could tolerate the vice president in question. The man would arrive by 10:00 am in his office, and sit reading a high end magazine of art, and design, a glossy magazine, and would on occasion ask me to look at a photo or two for my opinion, then get me into a conversation and waste some time. By 11:00 am, there was a glass of vodka on his desk, yes his 11:00 am vodka, everyday. By noon or a little after, off he went to lunch, returning at 3:00 pm where he would go back to reading his magazine and more vodka, but just a little. By 3:15 he was fast asleep in his chair, sitting up and snoring. I loved it.

Tomorrow: LIKE STINK ON A MONKEY