...
I still get queasy thinking about experiences like that, and how dirty it made me feel to be a part of it. I sold them the pumpkin for $50, and they charged the customer $600 with their song and dance.
Eventually, a Chevy got me fired.... my next job was for Ryder Truck, 10 times the job, servicing Peterbilts and Kenworths, which is what I wanted to do...
I would've felt dirty about that $600 shenanigan also. In my experience, things like that are a sign that something is coming your way, and to start getting ready mentally. Might be one sign, might be a handful spread over time. Either way, nothing will happen until the next lillypad is ready, and when you look backward, it'll all make sense. 'One door closes and the next one opens' and whatnot.
Years ago the best job I ever had turned south for a variety of reasons. I was so beat-down mentally that good spirits for a jobhunt were impossible. When I got laid off, I felt like I'd just gotten a governor's pardon out of jail - even though my future was unknown. Within a week I had discovered a job opening for a company that I knew, but didn't realize they had a facility in my town. I googled and discovered it was 3 miles from my house (prior job was almost 30) so I drove over to check it out. As I entered the parking lot, I saw a guy in a Suburban sitting in a parking spot facing the parking lot - he was eyeballing me. I immediately sensed it was a security guy, and that he was logging my arrival and license plate. But there was nothing I could do about that, and I'd done nothign wrong, so I let it go. Within a few days I got a phone interview, an in-person that Thurs and the next day got a job offer - this became the new best-paying job I ever had (and the prior one was known city-wide as one of 'the' places to work).
After a few months numerous folks started mentioning that I was so much better than the last guy - there was something there but nobody would say what. Finally asked what the real story was, and was told the prior guy was unstable and didn't play well with others (or the customers), so they fired him. The Suburban
was a security guy, sitting there for about a month, in case he came back armed.
So if I had been jobhunting, I wouldn't have seen that job listing until that point, and would've gotten even more depressed by being not being able to find a job. Because the next place was still being prepared. I've had a handful of job-related stories happen like that.
... it's the Blazer guy, Ed S., we recognized each other instantly, and he says "I know they fired you over that, and that it wasn't your fault",...
That's awesome you got that type of closure. Reading between the lines, I'd bet the shop lost untold business over that, as Ed surely explained to friends/family/neighbors when they asked why they hadn't seen the Blazer in awhile.
I guess the Charger was a column shift car because he put in a B&M shifter and drilled a through the top of the tailshaft, lol, it was a gusher ;]
You buddy didn't notice when he was drilling, drilling, drilling then all of a sudden popped thru - he kept drilling?
