FOTOFAX FEBRUARY-MARCH, 1982
Editorial: Getting It Right
HAVE YOU MET?
I used to be a sailor; a
radioman, in fact. You’ve prob
ably seen a radioman in the mov
ies. They wear earphones, and
send “S O S” in Morse code as
the ship sinks.
Radiomen are always scarce.
You have to be a bit warped to
qualify for the training, and not
everyone finishes it. Our ship had
low priority, so we were unusual
ly shorthanded in the radio
shack, working extremely long
hours as we steamed toward
Greenland.
We could hardly believe the
message that said to change
course and pick up another radio
operator. We were even happier
when he came aboard and we
found that he knew his business.
At last, we could get a good
night’s sleep.
He was a tall, red-haired fellow
from Texas. His first words were:
“I sure hope you all got Beech-
Nut Tobacco here.”
In a few days, he told how he
came to join us.
We had picked him up from a
shore station in Newfoundland,
where his former job included
sending messages by Teletype.
What he typed in Newfoundland
came out on a similar electric
typewriter in Washington, DC.
To save time, the Navy has
special coded signals which en
able an operator to say almost
anything, using only 3 letters.
There are hundreds of these sig
nals; you look them up in a book.
For example, the letters “QRN”
mean “I’m having trouble with
static”. QRT means either “quit
sending” or “I am shutting down
this station”, depending on how
you use it.
Radiomen quickly memorize
more frequently used codes, and
our new man had sent one from
memory. He meant to say some
thing like “I am having machine
difficulty”, but the 3 letters he
used translated to “I am under
Air Attack!”
Washington answered: “Roger.
Standing by.”
FOTOFAX
published by
E. I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS & CO.
BREVARD, NORTH CAROLINA 28712
Bob Hale, Editor
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
M/F/H/V
He was as surprised as every
one else when the sky suddenly
turned black with jet fighters.
Everything on the East coast had
been hurled into the air to put a
quick end to World War III.
A number of interested people
made recommendations about
preventing similar incidents in
the future, but Tex’s Command
ing Officer was a merciful man,
and chose instead to get him on
the very next ship that passed
anywhere nearby.
Since hearing’ that. I’ve be
lieved in trying to get things right,
and hoped to find the courage to
admit a mistake before the situa
tion gets worse.
It’s often embarrassing, al
ways difficult. Having to check
instructions again can hurt our
pride, and having to say “I’m not
sure I did that correctly” is even
tougher.
But an uncorrected mistake
can have terrible consequences.
I know.
I once watched a Texan go 45
days without a chew of tobacco.
— Hale
Mileposts
SERVICE
ANNIVERSARIES IN
FEBRUARY & MARCH
25 Years
Denis E. Barton
Robert D. Toole
20 Years
Johnny R. Davis
Edward W. Frady
Charles L. Guilkey
Roy D. Middleton
Russell H. Whitmire
15 Years
Louis D. Johnson
Gary M. Sanders
Bobby J.Tucker
10 Years
Gary L. Abbott
Ronald C. Padgett
5 Years
Terry E. Avery
Betty M. Fletcher
Wanda L. Galloway
Frances A. Hollingsworth
Clyde M. Huff, Jr.
Stanley M. Johnson
Margaret P. Kim
Albert S. Perry, Jr.
Margaret P. Ramey
Suzanne Smith
Sid M. Warren
James O. Welch
John F. Whiteside
“7
BILL & SADIE DEMER are the latest husband and wife hires at
the plant. Both are chemical engineers, Bill in CP, Sadie in
Coating.
MING TSAI SHU
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering
Research and Development
MARK KELLY
Electrical Engineer
Engineering Services
CU Dividend Set
The dividend rate for Credit
Union savings has been an
nounced as 8.5% for the first
quarter, 1982. At the same time,
the Board of Directors an
nounced a new ceiling for
signature (unsecured) loans:
members with 15 years or more of
service may now borrow up to
$2,000 without collateral. The
former maximum was $1,500.
Loans secured by title or Deed-
of-Trust may be made for up to
$8,000 under current guidelines,
with a repayment period up to
4 years.
Office Manager Linda Gillespie
says the Credit Union welcomes
inquiries from borrowers or de
positors.