daily scratchpad

(2)

We arrived in Denver in early August of '66, and within two weeks I had a job with Honeywell and we had an apartment. Kootch apparently had not mentioned our 'problem' to the kids, who seemed oblivious, and we all got on with our lives as if nothing had happened. (Two taps so far, from mister tap-tap, above.) I love this picture of Jenny and Kathy which must have been taken some time in '67.

The Honeywell job turned out to be something of a nightmare: I was working on contract to Shell Chemical Company as an industrial instrumentation and control technician. Apparently their own instrument technicians thought the job was too hazardous, so Shell got Honeywell to do it, and Honeywell got me and a few other techs to do it. After a few months on the job I developed rashes on my hands and forearms which would not go away, and finally told Honeywell that either they take me off the Shell contract or I would quit. The other techs went along with me. Honeywell cancelled the contract.

Years later I would learn about 'Agent Orange' as the the herbicide which was used to de-forest much of Vietnam, and suspected that this was the thing they were making at Shell. Ironic, given that one of my reasons for leaving military life was the Vietnam War.