Tuesday, April 4, 2017

The Armature Insulation Story

                                                           The Armature Insulation Story
                                                                                  1943
                                                                        Written 09/2012
                                                                         Howard Yasgar  
                                                                                           
     This story was told to me by Barney Kaplan of Detroit Michigan, Barney was an automotive electrician for many years. And this story will probably only be of interest to people familiar with the automotive electrical trade.     
     Barney passed away in 2015 at 96 years of age.


     During WW2, many items were rationed, and some items were just not available, so a lot of innovation was required to get the job done.
     One day in 1943 during the war, a household goods salesman came to the Detroit suburbs, He walked the streets knocking  on every door selling whatever he could out of his catalog.
     At the end of the streets, was an automotive electrical repair shop, so he salesman went inside.
     The Electrical technician was working at a bench putting new wire into an armature for an automobile generator.
     The salesman sort of cornered the electrical mechanic and showed him his catalog.
     The technician politely told him he didn’t need any household goods, but the salesman was persistent. So to get rid of him the mechanic said. “Look I don’t need anything, but if you leave me your business cards I will make sure they circulate all over town.
     The salesman reached in his pocket and took out a stack of business cards and placed them on the electrician’s bench, they shook hands and the salesman left.
      As soon as he was gone the electrician took the business cards and with a scissors cut them up into strips and used them as insulation in the generator armature he was rewinding.
      He didn’t feel guilty because he knew the armature he was repairing would be circulating all around town once he installed it on the car.
   

The Parking Ticket Story


                                                         The Parking Ticket Story
                                                                      1955
                                                            Written 12/2016
                                                             Howard Yasgar
In 1955, I was 16 years old and I had just gotten my drivers license.
It was an exciting time as I also went out and bought my first car, it was a beautiful green, 1940 Ford convertible.
I immediately went to Henry’s Auto Parts, and I purchased the noisiest Hollywood muffler I could find.
Henry’s Auto Parts was kind of a hangout for lots of us young wannabe hot-rodder’s. He carried all kinds of cheap car parts that young kids like me would buy.
Henry sold all kinds of junky things like steering wheel knobs and fake pin stripping decals, and yes he sold Hollywood mufflers.
My hometown of Westville was a quiet suburb of New Haven, Connecticut, it was quiet until I started racing around with that loud Hollywood muffler my car.
On the way to downtown New Haven, Henry’s Auto Parts was Located on busy Whalley Avenue, on the corner of Orchard Street.
So whenever I had an extra dollar, I drove down to Henry’s Auto Parts, and once there I always walked up and down the isles, trying to find some additional item that could put on my car.
Whalley Avenue was a main street, so I always parked around the corner on the less traveled Orchard street.
I would always try to park as close as I could to the corner of Whalley Avenue, where Henry’s store was.
One day to my surprise the city had newly  installed parking meters right where I parked on Orchard Street.
While the installation of the new parking meters was quite a shock, I still parked where I usually parked, but this time I had to put a nickel (5 cents) into the meter for 1 hour.
The hour went by quickly, because inside Henry’s store, I met with other kids like me that came there to hang out and talk about their cars.
On the day that the meters were installed, I had put my 5 cents in the meter for one hour.
Then when I  remembered that my hour might be up, I ran out of Henry’s just in time to see the meter click and a red colored flag appeared in it’s window.
I had my nickel in my hand, ready to put in the meter for an additional hour, but I was too late.
Standing there with his foot on my bumper, was a big fat Irish New Haven cop with a bright red nose.
He was just writing me a parking ticket.
I was speechless, I couldn’t believe it was happening. that cop must have just been waiting there for my meter’s time to expire, just so he could write me a $5.00 parking ticket.
As he put the ticket under my windshield wiper, I pleaded with him.
look I said, I have the next nickel right here in my hand. I was running here to put it in just as the meter expired.
I couldn’t believe it, but the big fat cop appeared to be listening to me.
He said, I always see your car in the neighborhood, and you appear to be a nice kid.
I breathed a sigh of relief as he reached over and removed the ticket from under my windshield wiper. He then walked over the storm sewer, tore up the ticket and threw it in.
I was so relieved, he had just saved me a $5.00 parking fine, which was money that I didn’t have.                       
I said thank you officer, and I put my 5 cents into the meter and went back into Henry’s Auto Parts store.
Turns out, about 60 days later, I received a letter in the mail from the City of New Haven. I was being fined $25.00 for not paying my parking ticket on time.
That fat cop had only torn up my half of the ticket, he had turned in his half.
   

The Successful Mistake Story


                                                           The Successful Mistake Story
                                                                        Written Jan 10 2017
                                                                           Howard Yasgar

                                           A true story, it’s about my very dear friend Barney Kaplan.   

Back around 1970, I met Barney Kaplan.
Barney was in the wholesale automotive parts business in Detroit.
After WW2, Barney went into the automotive parts business.
In conjunction with his parts business Barney opened an automotive electrical repair shop that was located on Wabash Street in Detroit.  
Barney enjoyed being in business, because it gave him the opportunity to meet and talk to people everywhere.  
By the time I met Barney, it was in the 1970’s and he was already very successful,  having developed customers and friends all over the world.
As Barney got older, he just loved to give people unsolicited business advice.
Because Barney had such a broad knowledge in automotive electrical repair business he felt he should disseminate this information to everyone he met.
In Barney’s mind, he felt everyone could and should use his advice.
What happened was, many of us, took Barneys advice, and we used it to our advantage.
But there were also many business people that took offence to Barney’s free consultation and advice.
It was because Barney would tell people how their factory should be re-designed, he would tell them how the windows and overhead lighting should be located. Barney gave you all this free consultation and advice even if you didn’t want it.  
After many years of doing this, and as Barney got older, into his seventies, he sort of felt that he was the Guru to everyone the electrical rebuilding industry.
He just couldn’t wait to meet someone to engage them in conversation.
Barney came up with a novel idea as to how to break the ice, and how to start a conversation with a stranger.
He had a saying printed on the back of his business card,  “What is a successful mistake”?
Naturally when people read this, they didn’t have a clue as to how to reply to Barney. And that’s exactly what barney wanted.
For the few people that did try and reply,  Barney always said they were wrong, and he went into his long explanation of what he felt a successful mistake was.  
Because I knew Barney so well, I had heard him go through this routine many times.
No matter what the people replied, Barney would correct them and tell them his version of what a successful mistake was.
On occasion, I would be talking to someone and Barney would see me and approach us, naturally, I would introduce Barney to whoever I was talking to.
Then It wasn’t long before Barney handed them his business card and said “Do you know what a successful mistake is?”
Barney just couldn’t wait for them to reply so he could say they were wrong and go into his explanation.
One day I was sitting at the bar at an automotive trade show in Chicago.
I was having a conversation with one of my best sales representatives, he was a fellow that covered the entire state of Texas for my company.       
As we sat there talking, who should walk up, but my dear friend Barney Kaplan, who I immediately introduced.
It was only a matter of a few seconds before Barney took out a business card
Barney even turned the card over so my agent could read it easier.
Then Barney quickly asked him, “Do you know what a successful mistake is”? Barney couldn’t wait for the guy to flub the answer.
My sales rep, a very wise Texan said, “Sure I know what a successful mistake is”
It’s when you meet a beautiful girl at a bar, and she comes home with you. Then when you are in bed you find out she is a female impersonator, and is really a guy, that’s what I call a successful mistake.
Barney was speechless, and he never said a word.
After that, I noticed Barney removed “What is a successful mistake” off his business card.