September 1, 2021. I was sitting at my desk working out the puzzle of untangling lines to make an artwork that would become a printed circuit board. It was a nice fall afternoon with the sun shining and I was totally focused on the task at hand. About 12:30 in the afternoon my chest started to feel odd. It was a small pain that made me feel like someone was lightly pushing on my chest. I shook it off and continued to work but the pain and pressure started to increase. Soon the pain became so severe I found it hard to breathe and found myself clutching at my chest while moans of pain escaped from my lips. I remember Patrick, who had been helping me train Ian on how to use the software to create printed circuit boards, showed up at the opening to my office as I was falling out of my chair towards the floor.
"What's going on Clarkster?" Patrick asked as he bent over to catch me from hitting the floor.
I struggled to get the words out of my mouth. My chest felt so tight I could barely summon up enough breath to speak. "I think .... heart attack...." as my voice faded off at the end.
Patrick immediately disappeared as I lay on the floor and the pain intensified.
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I have written about my chosen career in previous posts at some length. In short I grew up fascinated with art. I wanted to draw badly and after buying some books and trying my hand at it I discovered that I did indeed draw badly. I discovered the world of drafting while helping my dad work in the sheet metal shop at Rycom Instruments on the occasional Saturday. I would wander up the stairs and walk around the building taking in what the company did. One day I walked into the drafting room. Machines that had rulers attached to them were mounted on large tables. I look at the drawings still unfinished taped to the table tops. It was there at the age of around ten that I decided that this was meant for me and my calling in life was to do this kind of drawing. I was able to get a job as a Junior Draftsman at the age of 17. Through an "on the job training" program offered by the high school I was able to graduate a semester early with all my credits to work full time at Rycom. I worked at Rycom until I was 22 in 1978 when I left to work for Labonco Corporation. After only a year at Labconco I was asked to join the team at Dit-MCO International by some of my peers who had also left Labconco.
On December 3, 1979 I drove up 63rd Street to the Byram's Ford Industrial Park. The park was the site of a Civil War battlefield that was part of the Battle of Westport. In what was now an industrial park was one of the bloodiest sites of the Westport confrontation, Dit-MCO was the second largest company in the park, the other being a Pepsi-Cola distribution center. At the time Dit-MCO occupied 5 buildings in the park along with a little house that was painted pink affectionately referred to as "The Pink House" among the employees. The company had 2 engineering departments at the time and my department was located in "The DuPont Building'. DuPont was located in the rear of the building with Dit-MCO in the front. I nervously walked up the steps and through the door where a young lady asked if she could help me. After explaining that I was starting to work there, she led me into a room where I saw my former co-workers from Labconco. They welcomed me warmly and showed me to my desk. I felt almost at home with these friends getting me set up at a desk, taking me on a small tour and helping me to settle in. There were only a handful of people I did not know at the time but would become pretty close to all of them. One of those faces I met for the first time would become a great friend to me and my family until his death in 2017. Dennis Purduski was not in a good mood that morning. The ballast on the light fixture over his table had started leaking it's tarry black insulation liquid on his drafting table over the weekend and the man was storming back and forth trying to clean the mess up and talking under his breath. In June 1980, the company moved us to a building in Kansas City, Kansas at 6th and Central. The day we moved in my drafting table ended up directly in front of Dennis' table. He looked at the person behind him and then at the worker in front of me then looked at me very seriously.
"You and I?" he said matter of factually, "are going to become very good friends" and then he sighed.
He was correct. We became extremely close. We ended up being naturally associated with each other almost as much as Barbara and I were. It was not uncommon to being referred to as one entity that was "Bill and Den". Dennis received the affection and friendship of Barbara. She became use to Dennis and myself going off to the races together, going to Kansas City Kings basketball games, going out after work to a bar across from the office for happy hour every Wednesday because they had free food. Neither of us drank so I had a coke and Dennis had an orange juice as we sat there listening to the jukebox, talking, laughing and eating for free. Dennis went to Alabama with Barb and myself to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and my family one year. When Brett came along Dennis became Uncle Den as he and Brett would spend lots of time together. I do miss him so.
When I began working at Dit-MCO there were almost 500 employees. During the mid 80's Dit-MCO began downsizing as many companies were
because of a recession. Dennis got caught in the downsizing and his
time with Dit-MCO came to an end but our close friendship did not.
It was a good company. Dit-MCO had benefits that few companies offered. The company wanted loyalty from their employees and they did whatever needed to be done to keep their employees. One of the benefits that they offered was paying for any college or educational courses that you took as long as it related to your job or was going towards a degree. I started back to school almost immediately and finished a 2 year degree at Longview Community College followed by finishing my education at Park University.
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After Patrick vanished I was able to open my eyes and look around. I decided I probably should get to the hospital. I was able to slowly stand up and work my way to a table in the room. I had to stop and lean on the table when I got there. I couldn't breathe and I was still clenching at my chest from the tightness and the pain.
It seemed like I had just got to the table when Sang, the VP of Engineering, came through the doors heading towards me with Patrick close on his heels.
"What are you doing?" Sang demanded as he walked in and saw me.
"Going to drive to the hospital. I think I need to." I replied.
Sang pointed at me and gave his order. "You aren't driving anywhere. Lay down on the floor. Has anyone called 911" No response. "Patrick call 911. Clarkster, you have any aspirin?"
"umm ... no ..."
"Rodney go see if you can find some aspirin. Todd, call Kenton and tell him we need the defibrillator over here. Somebody go get Brett."
Sang was like a general knowing exactly what had to be done and delegating assignments among those in the immediate area. Then he squatted next to me and his voice softened a bit.
"How you feeling Clarkster? You just relax, we got this." and then he looked around thinking what else had to be done.
It was not very long before Sang's dispatches returned from their assignments. Kenton showed up with the portable defibrillator, unbuttoned by shirt and placed the wired pads on my chest. Patrick called out that an ambulance was on the way, Rodney reported that no aspirin could be found.
"No aspirin in the whole building? A hundred people working here and no aspirin?" Sang asked?
Rodney shrugged his shoulders, "None that I could find. No one on the floor had any."
Brett walked up to me and Sang gave him room to move in closer.
I pointed at Brett, "Tiger, I need you to do something. Phone is on my desk. Text your Aunt Elaine and text Lisa and let them know what is going on, ok?"
"Sure thing dad", he answered adding "I love you".
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Dit-MCO gave me plenty of travel opportunities and I loved it. The company sent Dennis and me to Chicago on an almost annual trip. We were to attend a trade show at McCormick place, which we did. Kind of. The company didn't mind us going because it didn't cost them much. All the company had to pay for were airline tickets, cab fares and meals. We provided lodging and that was how we got the annual trip. Dennis had a cousin who lived in Naperville, a small town to the west of Chicago. His cousin lived about 2 blocks from the Naperville train station. We would fly into O'Hare, take the train to Naperville, and walk over to the cousin's house. In the morning, we would have a good breakfast with the cousin and his friends, walk to the station and arrive at Union Station in downtown Chicago. We would take a cab over to McCormick Place and spend a good part of the day picking up literature and samples to prove we actually attended the show. Then it was two days of fun. The first day of fun was ALWAYS at the Museum of Science and Industry. I do believe that by the time our trips came to an end we had seen most of the museum. It was the Holy Grail to us. Then we would see other sites like the Sears Tower or the Hancock Building even took one trip up to see Wrigley Field but it was in October and the Cubs would not be playing and if they were it was sold out.
The company started a research project on an optical testing system and I was put on the team. We had signed on with a small company in Berkeley, California to help with the optics. It was about once or twice a month for 2 years of visiting the Bay area for a week at a time. There was not a lot of time for site seeing and the work was complicated, but we did manage to see quite a bit during those couple of years. On one trip to the Bay, Bill Wilson and I went out on a Saturday giving us time to drive down to Monterey and see Pebble Beach Golf Club and Cannery Row (I am a HUGE fan of John Steinbeck). So it wasn't all work and no play. My last trip with Dit-MCO was a trade show for Printed Circuit Board industry. I very much needed to learn and the company flew me out to Massachusetts. On this trip I did attend seminars and classes and soaked up as much as I could in three days .... out of five. On Tuesday of that week I drove in to Quincy and Plymouth. I saw all of the John and John Quincy Adams sites. It was something I thought I would never see. A quick trip to see Plymouth Rock, The Mayflower and other various things made for a great day. On Thursday I took the "T" into Boston arriving in Boston Commons. I did a walking tour of Boston that was loaded with history. Too much to even go into now but maybe in a future writing.. I want to emphasize though, that on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I was working hard at the trade show learning.
The other trip that stands out in my mind was one to Anaheim, California. It was a trade show that Dit-MCO was a vendor with a booth to inform customers of our products. Gus and I stayed for most of the day but then decided to take off and head for Long Beach where we took a tour of the Queen Mary and saw Howard Hughs' Spruce Goose. Fascinating. That evening the two of us flew up to the Bay Area to resume working on the optical project.
Thank you Dit-MCO.
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As I lay there on the floor with Kenton monitoring the portable defibrillator I heard the electronic voice from the device. "START SHOCKS NOW" then it would be quiet for a few seconds only to repeat the command.
"Kenton," I gasp between pains, "Don't you dare..."
Kenton let out a small laugh and said, "As long as it shows you have a pulse, I won't".
"Thanks".
I remember pointing at Sang and accusing him of this being his fault for working me so hard. Brett came back and asked me how I was feeling and informed me that he had texted both Elaine and Lisa.
"I cannot believe there isn't any aspirin in this whole building!" Sang said with an incredulous tone.
David, the newly hired CEO of the company put something under my head while my colleagues chattered among themselves around me.
"The ambulance is here" Rodney reported and Sang relayed the message to me.
"Okay Clarkster, the ambulance is here. How you doing?" he asked.
"Doing ok boss man"
The paramedics arrived and began asking questions about my medications. I could not remember them. They hooked me up to a monitor and put an oxygen mask on me. That helped me breathe much easier. They had aspirin and gave me a nitro pill. They then asked if I had a preference on a hospital.
"St. Luke's East. They have all my medical records."
The paramedic glanced at his partner before saying "East is a ways away. Plaza ok?"
"Yeah. Sure, The Plaza will be fine."
After a few more readings of the monitors they put me on a gurney and began rolling me out the door, down the ramp and to the ambulance. Brett was walking beside me assuring that he would get my car to the house. They slid me into the back of the ambulance and as the doors slammed shut, I closed my eyes trying to get my thoughts in order.
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I enjoyed my job. I was drawing, pencil on paper. It was art in a way I told myself. Sure I had the aid of straight edges and circle templates, but there was a skill to it. Not only was I drawing I was designing. I was creating things and mathematically making sure the parts would fit together and do what they were supposed to do. I was not only creating art on paper, but seeing that art morph into metal by way of the machine shop.
Then the mid-eighties happened and the personal computer began to make it's appearance across the industry. The electrical engineering department had just begun using AutoCAD for drafting and design. There was no doubt in my mind that the future was here and I had better get a jump on it. I went to management asking them if I could get a computer and start learning AutoCAD. I was told that I could, but on my own time. They set me up with a computer in a room in the back of the production area and after work everyday I sat and learned. Soon I had a computer on my desk along with my old drafting table that was being used less and less.
As the downsizing at the company continued, the number of buildings we occupied became less. I was one of the last three to leave the Kansas City, Kansas office and the company buildings were quickly cut to three. When we cut to two buildings, I moved into a new office without a drafting table present. I was totally on computer now. I wasn't drawing anymore. Not drawing by hand anyway. It was a learning experience though and I did enjoy it. It was still drawing but with a different medium.
I am not sure how I survived the downsize or why the company ended up keeping me. I never asked. I didn't need to know why. I had my job and I loved both the job and the company.
One day I was out on the floor helping put together one of our machines, Ralph Taylor, then Vice President of Engineering called me over to where he was sitting and watching us work. He told me he wanted me to learn the PCB software because it would give him a reason to keep me around. I thought about that a long time. A reason to keep me around could be a bad thing or a good thing. It didn't really matter as I had no choice. I began learning software to do a type of engineering I had only dabbled in way back when I was just starting out at Rycom. Shortly after I started working with the software, Dan Nipper who had been at Dit-MCO from the beginning, retired. I was on my own. There were a couple of engineers who had a little experience with the software and I tapped into what knowledge they did have to help me. It would be a rough period in my career as I learned the art of laying out a printed circuit board and learning the complicated software at the same time. In addition to the board layouts, I still filled in with AutoCAD and the 3D version of AutoCAD named Inventor. All of a sudden I was using four very complicated software packages and expected to us them proficiently. Eventually I would accomplish that goal and I began to be able to make those printed circuit boards look beautiful and be works of art in and of themselves.
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"Ambulance rides are not the smoothest around", I thought as we headed towards the Plaza.
Two paramedics were in the back with me while the other one drove. I swear I could feel every bump in the road as we came close to the Plaza District of Kansas City, Missouri. The Plaza is one of Kansas City's nationally known areas. It was the first "shopping center" in the country. That is the claim anyway. The roads in The Plaza are narrow and congested. It sits in a small valley in which Brush Creek makes it's way through the city. It seems like it is always in repair in one way or the other. The old buildings that made up the original Plaza are repaired by redoing the surfaces of the outside structures to keep them safe and beautiful. Recently the roads in the Plaza have come under the attack of construction equipment as they are slowly rebuilt and resurfaced. Traffic is still heavy in the district and with all of the orange cones everywhere you look with some roads closed off for the construction, it can be pretty slow moving through the area. Such was the case on that September day.
I began to get worried once when the ambulance made a right turn. One of the paramedics leaned forward and looked out the front window.
"Hey! We're going to St Luke's, right?"
I just lay there quietly trying to keep the pain in check.
The driver yelled over his shoulder, "Yeah, we got a traffic jam ahead.... going to have to go around to get to Broadway!"
"Oh! Okay. It's that time of day I guess!" the paramedic answered the driver.
This whole time they were talking to the hospital giving my vitals and my ETA to them. Finally the ambulance went into the garage where the emergency room was located and came to a stop. The paramedics opened the door and pulled me out. As we hit the automatic doors that went to the ER, I was suddenly surrounded by masked nurses in gowns of paper talking back and forth to the paramedics to get all the information they would need. Soon I was in a little crowded room with people all over me, all doing a specific chore that they were assigned to do. They took blood. They hooked me up to new monitors. They replaced the paramedic IV with their own. Questions were flying at me and I answered as best as I could while the pain persisted. I am not one that tolerates noise very well but I knew I had to listen so I could answer them. I closed my eyes again to try to hold the pain at bay and focus on the questions and the details they were sharing with each other about me.
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Over my career I have toyed with the idea of retirement every now and then. When Dit-MCO offered a 401K retirement plan, I discussed it with Dennis. I was only 24 at the time and retirement? Well that felt like all the time in the world. At the time Dit-MCO was matching employee contributions up to 8% which is a pretty good rate. Dennis convinced me that it was free money. Take it while they're giving it away and so I did. The institution that was controlling the 401K gave us all some strategy in how to set up our investments. The younger you are, the more aggressive you can be but as you get older, become more conservative with how you invest. I set it up at aggressive and never looked at it.
My friend Gregg is about the same age as I am and both of us were born in October. Gregg started at Dit-MCO a couple of years after I did so we worked for many years together. About 20 years ago we started joking about retiring on the same day. It would be a lot of fun we thought. Barbara use to laugh at the thought of me and Gregg as two old men skipping out of Dit-MCO holding hands and singing. It was just a far away dream that neither of us really saw it happening. We couldn't see that far into the future.
I remember when I turned 60 thinking, wow just 5 more years .... or 7 ... maybe 10 or 11 depending on how much Social Security I would receive. I began looking into it and it looked like I might have to work until I was 71 so I put the thought of retirement away in the back of my mind.
Dit-MCO was very good to me in giving me time off to take care of my Uncle and my sister and Barbara as well as helping out mom and dad a bit. It was something I had to do and they understood. Still retirement was far from having to think about it NOW .... plenty of time before I would have to deal with that.
July 23, 2018. Possibly the worst day of my life. Barbara had heart surgery on the 18th of July that did not go well. After a week of sitting by her side, myself and the doctors agreed that Barbara's body and her organs were too damaged to keep her living. The kidneys were not working. Her liver was failing. Her heart could not sustain a heart beat. Her lungs did not have the capability of bringing in oxygen. Barbara died that day as I gave her my last kiss that I could while she was still alive.
Three months later my father would suddenly pass away when his heart just... quit.
I sat alone on New Years Eve of 2018 thinking. I did not know what my future would look like. I lost a big chunk of my inner drive that day. I became tired as 2019 started. I had to keep moving forward in life. I knew that. There were times I did not want to continue forward but I overcame and continued on. I started thinking more and more about my 65th birthday. I would reach that in 2021. The thought that I would probably have to work until the age of 71 stayed with me though.
Then a day in March of 2021 came around. I woke up to see about four inches of wet Kansas City snow on the ground and on my car. As I was outside moving that heavy snow off of the car in the dark I made my decision. The next weekend, look at the 401K. Look at the bank accounts. Come up with what I actually have and figure out how soon I can retire. I was tired. I was fed up. I did not have any motivation anymore. Since Barbara had died, Dit-MCO had become less of an exciting career and more of a miserable, mind draining job that I did not look forward to going to everyday. My fire was out.
After going through the finance excersize I was very surprised. Putting money in that 401K since I was 24 had turned into a nice little nest egg. I decided to check it out with a financial advisor just to see if I was thinking right. My sister Karen gave me the name of her financial advisor and I decided to go for it. Matt Brown met me in May of 2021 and we went over my assets. He worked up a financial model. The result was that yes, I could retire and be comfortable at the age of 65. That was a Friday afternoon. On Monday morning, I turned in my letter of retirement to Dit-MCO as being October 15, 2021. I was giving them plenty of time to replace me and for me to train my replacement. October 15th it was. I counted up my vacation days and found I could start working 4 days a week with a vacation day each week until October 15 rolled around.
The plan was put into action.
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As the nurses each completed their assignments on me, the little room in the ER began to slowly thin out. The nurse that was in charge of screening calls to check on my condition started showing up a time or two.
"There is a lady saying she is your sister, a Karen? Is it okay to let her know how you are doing?"
I smiled. Karen is not my blood sister but my sister by way of being my eldest sister's best friend. To me, she truly is my sister.
"Sure. It's ok. She needs to know"
I looked through the nurses that were still bustling around me and saw Brett. Now there is one thing you need to know about Brett. He has a very real hospital phobia. I don't understand it. He doesn't understand it. Yet here he was in the ER with me. I waved him over to talk.
"Did you get a hold of Elaine?" I inquired.
Brett let out a sigh. "Yeah. I texted her. To get your car home, Rodney followed me out to the house then drove me back to the office so I could get my car to head over here. She called me on my way over here and asked me 'Where are you?' so I told her I was driving. 'Why aren't you at the hospital?' I told her I was on my way there and explained I had to get your car home and I would be here in a minute or so." The he smiled and let out a little laugh.
The nurse came back in and announced, "A lady saying she is your fiance' is on the phone ... is it ok?"
"I ain't got no fiance' " I smiled and laughed as much as the pain would let me. I knew it was Lisa knowing they wouldn't give her information if she was "a friend".
"So, I guess you got a hold of Lisa?" I asked Brett.
He had a grin on his face. "Well it sounds like she got my text."
About that time Brett's phone notified him of a text. He read it then looked at me.
"Lisa is out in the parking lot. They only let one person in to see you."
I directed him to go out to the parking lot and talk to her and let her know everything was good.
The nurse came in and said they were getting a room ready for me. He looked at me and inquired about the pain level. He could see on my face I was still not feeling real well.
"Let me get you a little morphine" he said
I am not one that likes to take drugs. "I won't get hooked on it will I"
"Oh yeah ... one shot of this and tomorrow morning you'll be snorting crack up in your room." He chuckled.
It was the first time I had any real pain medicine in my life that I could remember. It did help to ease the pain. Soon they came to take me up to the fourth floor. It is one of the Heart Issues floors. When I got there and settled in, after the nurses took my vitals and did everything they were supposed to do, I was left alone. It occurred to me that Barbara had spent a lot of days on this floor of the hospital over the last few years of her life. I slept a little that night but not much. My mind was full of thoughts of not only the remembrances of Barb being in close proximity to where I was but also what my future was going to be.
The next morning was September 2. Barbara's 66th birthday. That hit me hard. Suddenly the door opened and in walked .... Brett? I was so glad to see him. I knew this wasn't easy for him but he was doing his best. He had brought my MP3 player, my phone and charger cables for each of them. He stayed and talked awhile but pretty soon had to head to Dit-MCO. He left me with an "I love you dad" before heading out. I really love that kid.
My assigned cardiologist came in with his nurse to talk. They had taken some sonograms or something and found I had two blockages in my heart just off of the aorta. One of them was 99% blocked and the second one was 88% blocked. He explained a lot of stuff that I didn't really understand and told me they wanted to do a procedure that afternoon. I would have to sign some papers but it was a common procedure to put some stents in to clear out the blockage. I said sure and signed the papers.
Soon they came and took me to get my stents. I can't tell you much about it. It was strange though. It was like I was asleep but I heard everything they were saying. Weird.
When I got back to my room Karen was waiting for me. I was so glad to see her. we visited awhile and it was a good visit. Visits with Karen always are good.
That night I was in my room alone. I picked up my phone and started looking at my memories from Facebook. It was filled with Happy Birthdays to Barbara. They were from both before her death and after. I looked at the pictures of Barb and memories flooded my mind. Soon I was wiping my eyes as tears started to blur my vision. Just then the night nurse came in and looked at me.
"What's wrong Mr. Clark?" she sincerely asked.
"Well, my name is Bill ... so if you don't mind ... today is my wife's birthday." I explained. I told her how Barb had died and then it suddenly hit me. I was in the ICU of the heart institute. Barbara had died just down the hall from where I was laying. I told her I was going through my phone and all the birthday wishes for Barbara and this nurse did the nicest thing. She came over to my bed and looked over my shoulder at the pictures on my phone and let me talk to her about Barbara. She was so kind and it was such a loving gesture. I will never forget her kindness.
The next morning the cardiologist came in and said everything went great. I should be able to go home later in the day. He asked me if I had a ride and I told him I am sure I will. Lisa had said she would be there that morning. Sure enough, before to long Lisa walked in. Dit-MCO had sent me a potted flower pot and Lisa expressed how nice it was. Lisa and I just talked about things. How I was feeling. How she was doing. And Wow! Brett came over yesterday morning? A very good visit with Lisa. Pretty soon the nurse came in to give me my instructions for when I got home. I listened but Lisa listened intently. She wasn't going to let me screw this thing up. Before too long we were on our way out of the hospital. The nurse pushing me in a wheelchair and Lisa going to get her car. She took me home and we talked.
"I'm not going back to work. I'm done." I told her.
"I don't blame you. So what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Well, tomorrow is Labor Day so I guess I'll go to the office on Tuesday and tell them I'm through".
Lisa agreed with me. No sense in pushing it getting back to work.
After Lisa left to go home and take care of her family, I went bed for my first good night's sleep since Thursday night. It felt good.
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On Tuesday, September 4, I went to the office. I went to talk to Sang about my decision and he was very understanding. I talked to HR and we figured I still had enough vacation days to get me to October 1. I decided that would be fine with me. October 1st it is. I went back to Sang and told him about the vacation days and everything. I agreed to stay a bit and talk to Ian about the software and come in the next morning and talk to Ian for another half day, then I would be on vacation until I retired on October first. And that is what happened.
I got informed from Melissa, our clerk in engineering, that we would be having a retirement lunch in Martin City for me on the day of my official retirement. I sat and thought about my retirement dinner in the following days leading up to it. I have seen a lot of people retire from Dit-MCO over the years. They usually had their families there with them as they said goodbye to their friends, coworkers and the company. I wasn't sure about going but knew I had to. They had planned it.
On October 1, 2021 we gathered at the restaurant in Martin City. We had pizza and some had beer while I stuck with my iced tea. I sat next to Patrick, who had sounded the initial alarm on my heart attack. Brett was there enjoying an afternoon off. Gifts were given to me to have memories of my almost 42 years at Dit-MCO. It was a very memorable afternoon with my friends.
I am not much of a public speaker but they insisted I say something. I can't remember my exact words but I can remember the feelings that I tried to express with those words. I was thankful to be able to work with so many good people over the years. I was thankful to have been able to stay with one company for so long. I expressed how I had envisioned walking out of Dit-MCO with my head held high knowing that I had given the company everything I had until my last day instead of being wheeled out on a gurney with unfinished business yet to do. I felt bad about that.
Dit-MCO is a good company. They take care of their people like no other company I know. The people who I have worked with over the years are great people. This company does not have backstabbing going on, or power struggles or finger pointing. Problems come up. Mistakes happen. But my experience with the people I worked with was, that when those things arise, we talk about how we can fix it and get it done. I feel so lucky to have been employed by this company.
But the deepest feeling I felt on October 1 of 2021 was the absence of Barbara. She loved Dit-MCO as much as I did. She knew I was happy there for all those years. She saw how well the company treated their people and how good the people of the company were. I wanted her by my side that day. That is how it was supposed to be.
