Letter to Greek
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11/13/2019
Dear Bob,
Enclosed find a √ for $100. We sold t shirts from a table on the pier during the 1971 (?) US Open. I’m pretty sure the girl working with me lifted a $100 bill from the till. I was not able to make it up, so I never told you. So I’m telling you now.
Also enclosed is an article about grits. I don’t know how many times I’ve told the story of you and Steve Cissel eating breakfast at PicNSave on Beach Boulevard. When the waitress asked you if you wanted grits, you replied, “I don’t know, how many do I get?”
I also wanted to thank you for giving me a job when I needed work and what I learned from you:
Everything over head not used is wasted space.
Don’t turn a circuit breaker back on until you know why it is off.
Wear 2 t shirts to stay warm and still have arm flexibility.
Until I’m the perfect boss, I won’t expect perfect employees.
Once when I was installing a glassed on fin to a board, you came by and adjusted it. Then Ronnie Pavano came by and adjusted it. Then I put it where I thought it should be. Both of you at separate times came up to me later and asked me if I wasn’t glad that you straightened it for me. As far as I know, the board rode fine.
Also, thank you for taking me to K-181 with you and Hale Chase. I was impressed when Hale gave the Federale a $20 bill in lieu of visas below Esenada.
Is Tim Johnston still around? He was very kind to me too.
Hi to Patti, Kim, and Bobby too. Karen and I have retired to the mountains in North Carolina. I had a back fusion and have great difficulty getting up on a surfboard. Surprisingly, I don’t miss the beach much. I wouldn’t mind playing out my hand on the south shore of Kauai though. I always really liked Hawaii.
There may be some more Greek stories, but that’s all that come to mind now. If you ever get out this way, come by and visit. We live out in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. It’s like living in a park. My memoirs are online at davidsautobio.org. If you have any stories, pictures or corrections, send them to me. I recently found some old negatives of us at the factory. If I ever get them developed I’ll share them with you. I don’t have as much time in retirement as I thought I would. It’s nice though. Every day is Saturday.
Take care,
David
