235 Everybody runs into other cars. I mean, it’s just a normaleverydaythingifyou’regoingtodriveavehicle, you’regoingtohaveproblems.Ihaven’tbeeninaditch in a while, but that used to be a problem for me. — Jim Neal DOCTOR, DOCTOR Pfizer Pharmaceuticals sent a Doctor here to look at a lab unit they were purchasing. As you came into the sales department there was a drinking fountain by the door. On the other side of the fountain was a crawl space that I could squeeze into. For whatever reason, I liked to scare Linda Schuck. So, one day I got in there because I thought I heard Linda coming down the hall. Well, it turned out to be this little Doctor from Pfizer, a Chinese Doctor. Just as he came around the corner, I jumped right in his face and screamed. Poor guy, he hit the opposite wall, spread eagled, yelling “tata-yata-data-tata!” Ineverdidunderstandanythinghesaid. Admittedly, I guess it wasn’t good for me to do that. The next time the good Doctor came for a visit to Western States, he came in my office and said, “Please not to scare.” I said, “Gotcha!” — Jim Neal THERE’S A CAR IN MY OFFICE? It was July 24, 1999. It was my Dad’s 60th birthday. I went to his birthday party and then I went to other “establishments.” I got home late, something like 3:30 inthemorning.WhenIgothome,there’savoicemailon myansweringmachine.Ilistenedtoitandit’smyboss, Chuck Duersch (CFO at the time). Chuck said, “Todd, you might want to come into your office. There’s a car that’s parked in your office and destroyed everything in it. They’re going to be cleaning and throwing stuff away.Youmightwanttocomeinandsalvagewhatyou can!” But I had to hit “play” again because I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard on my answering machine. “A car is in my office…what?” Already tired, I decided not to drive to Hamilton at 3:30 in the morning. I went into the office the next morning and everything had been thrown away. I had a desk calendar where I wrote every tax deadline. This was before Outlook. I had different jurisdictions – each with different tax deadlines. I’d written down all report deadlines and the complete tax schedule for the whole year. Much to my dismay, the calendar was oil-soaked from the car crash and it was pitched. I probably wouldn’t have been able to read it but I wished I had been the person to make that call. As a result, all my previous work had to be recreated. Which I did but it was just a mess. Now,thecountyfairwasgoingonthatnightandatthe time, kids would sleep out in the barn. So they heard this thunderous crash and of course everyone came out, standing at the fences, and looked to see what happened. I think Air Care was called in. There were, I believe, three adults in the car and maybe one child. They were coming back from Middletown, and I guess thedriverfellasleep.Hejustwentupthecurbandright into the office. Had I been sitting there, it absolutely would have killed me. It would have killed my boss too because it went straight through into the next office. If hehadbeensittingathisdesk,itwouldhavecuthimin half. Once we were back in our office, any time I heard brakes squeal, I was really jumpy. — Todd Hershberger