Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

Why'd It Have To Be Snakes?

by Bobby Cochran

Class of '64

(Editor's Note: Bobby sent this story in, saying that he thought about it after viewing the "Who Are You?" entries.)

Many of my classmates are familiar with the company, Hewlett-Packard. They're famous for their computers and printers. Nowadays the sales reps wear nice suits, ties, etc.

Back when we were Lee students, Hewlett-Packard (HP) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic test and measurement equipment. If you remember "Science Fiction Theater" on television, you'd see big TV-like cabinets with a waveform scrolling by, accompanied by beeping, and other noises. HP designed and manufactured those products - Oscilloscopes, Power Meters, Signal Analyzers, Medical electronics products, etc. This was "Hi-Tech" back then - the newer products still are.

I was lucky to be hired by Hewlett-Packard back in the early 1970's. But I wasn't hired to sell the electronic devices you'd expect to see in a testing laboratory or calibration facility.

No, I was hired to sell an electronic distance measuring instrument to Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers. The premise of the instrument was really very simple. After you put the (15 pound) unit on top of a wooden tripod, what you did was aim the unit at a

grouping of reflector prisms. An infared beam (invisible to the eye) was sent to the prisms and reflected back to the transmitter. Then you "tweaked" the unit to maximize and balance the transmitted and received signal, and pushed a button. In about 3 or 4 seconds, the insrument would digitally display the distance between the transmitter and the prism. ( I left out a few minor tweaks, but I think you all get the idea.)

No big deal, you say? Well, this unit would measure a distance up to TWO MILES, and with an accuracy of less than a fraction of an inch! When it was possible, I always demonstrated the instrument against a distance that the surveyor had already measured using a chain. Most of my prospective customers' jaws would drop when I was able to measure in about 5 seconds what had taken them HALF A DAY OR MORE, depending upon the terrain! The only requirement was that the line of sight between the instrument and the prisms was clear.

The "demo" was absolutely necessary to close a sale. My prospects dreamed up some of the strangest and wackiest measurements for me to perform, just to see how the difficult the unit might be to operate. The "Distance Meter" as HP had named it, cost in excess of $4,000, a LOT of money at that time! I always performed the first demonstration. Once my prospective customers saw how easy it was to operate, they realized how quickly they could recover the cost of the unit. More than once the surveyors brought along THEIR customers, to impress them with the latest technology.

I always wanted to convey to my prospective customers how rugged, sturdy and reliable my unit was, so when we first went a-trompin' through the woods, I carried the unit and the tripod. After a (fairly short) while, I'd invite each member of the survey crew to carry the gear, just to see how LIGHT it was. Actually it wasn't bad, maybe 40 pounds.

My sales territory covered parts of 8 states, and included the western half of Kentucky. I wound up getting bitten by a snake there on two different occasions.

The first time I was crossing a small creek, and I stepped on what I thought was a sturdy rock in the creek, but my foot slipped on the wet rock. I put my hand down to steady myself, and felt a sharp pain in my hand. When I managed to get across the creek, I looked at my hand - it was already starting to swell. I'd been bitten by a snake. One of the surveyors I was with had a snake bite kit in his backpack, and he did what was necessary to clean it up. One of the other guys in the survey crew killed the snake - it wasn't poisonous, but who knows what kind of bacteria was in it's mouth, so I got a tetanus shot. I drank my dinner that night, if ya know what I mean.

This happened to me again a couple of years later. But this time I was ready. With the compliments of my employer, I was wearing some bullhide leather boots - they were touted to be "snakeproof," and I was to be the guinea pig. In this situation four or five of us were walking to a Corps of Engineers monument to begin a demonstration of the distance measuring unit.

As we approached the monument, the guy walking in front of me kicked a decent-sized rock out of the path - and out popped a nasty-looking striped snake! In the blink of an eye it attacked the nearest thing - my boot! It felt like I'd been hit with a line drive off the bat of Mickey Mantle!! I fell down, but luckily I managed to fall AWAY from the snake. AGAIN luckily for me, the rodman behind me had his machete out and killed the snake. I forget now what kind of a snake it was - it looked nasty, but I remember the guys telling me it wasn't poisonous either. I WILL admit to visiting the nearby woods for a little while, just to compose myself.

The group at HP that I was part of consisted of about a dozen HP sales reps in the U.S., perhaps another 10 or so "Manufacturers' Representatives," and a manufacturing facility in Loveland, Colorado. After they heard the story of my "escapades," I got a phone call at my office from Bill Hewlett himself. Hewlett had come up with the idea of the "Distance Meter," and was the driving force behind HP bringing the product to the market. Apparently he'd heard of my activities, but he already knew that I hadn't been seriously injured - but he was curious to know how RUGGED the measuring instrument was! When I told him that it hadn't been damaged in either event, he chuckled and said, "Well, just be careful out there."

Then he said he had to go.

You can imagine my laughter the first time I saw an episode of "NYPD BLUE" some years later. Remember? At the beginning of the show the Sergeant always reminded the street cops, "Let's be careful out there!" HA - those cops didn't have to cope with REAL snakes!!!

__________________________________

"Tommy, most people take only one Marriott towel as a souvenir." - Jim Bannister, Class of '66

_________________________

1. "TT, is that going to be enough DEPENDS for tonight?"

2. "Okay, it's a trade. You give me a dozen Marriott towels and I'll give you this video tape of J.R.'s trial bloopers."

3. "Sir, this is the L.H.S. reunion. The klan meeting is at the Holiday Inn."

4. Once again Niles rejects Tommy's ill-conceived scheme for a surprise toga party.

- Woody Beck, Class of '65

____________________________

"Hey, THANKS for bringing the clean sheets, fella. This is an interesting motel - By the way, the faucet drips, the toaster burns the bread, the earpiece on the phone is loose, the couch has burned spots on it, the TV volume control doesn't work right and the picture jumps, we couldn't find the soap, the shower control knob fell off and I had to put it back on, the people in the next were making a godawful racket...." - Bobby Cochran, Class of '64

_____________________________

"Niles, I told you that we’d never be able to sell all these shirts that say 'My Grandpa went to his high school reunion and all he brought me back was this lousy T-shirt!'” - Tommy Towery, Class of '64

___________________________

"Look, Tommy, either give me that stack of "whatever-it-is-you're-holding-in-your-arms" or I'll be forced to show this video of you and Pamela Anderson to our fellow classmates!"- Cherri Polly Massey, Class of '66

______________________________________

George Vail, Class of '66 - I'm guessing The Madison County Fairgrounds. I really enjoyed the stories about G-S. Made me think of my running around Five-Points area in my young adult life. Going to the "Shack" to jam with the Huber brothers on Toll Gate Rd.

___________________________

Rod Dixon, Class of '69 - This has got to be the old Madison County Fairgrounds. You could only enter from the east side, Meridian Street I think. In '62 I got in free and rode free because I was Captain of Patrol Boys at Lakewood Elementary. That would also get me in the Lyric on Fridays before 4:30 too! On the Parkway side was an ice cream shop (don't remember the name) and Mugs-Up Root Beer, home of the Zipburger and frozen mugs. In the lower left, is that Shoney's on the corner? I was merely a child then and don't remember when Shoney's was built.

__________________________________

Don Wynn Class of '67 - Tommy, I'm gonna keep trying until I get one that my brothers miss!

This photo is of the old Fair Grounds that was located between the parkway and Church Street. It had a race track and a rickety old grandstand. I think they had harness racing during the fair sometimes. Beneath the grandstand was where all the crafts and cakes and things were displayed for competition during the fair. When we were growing up in Huntsville, the superintendent of schools would let the schools out at noon one day so we could go to the fair. They reduced the cost of admission and we swarmed the place.

I remember one trip to the fair in particular. I went with my brother C.E. and his buddies Walt Thomas and Mike Smith. They went to a show in the grandstands while I ran from one end of the fair to the other. When I ran into them again, Mike told me that I had won a bike and that I should go to the grandstand to claim my prize. I spent the rest of the night looking for the man who had my new bike. When I think of something bad enough, I am going to get back at Mike for that trick!

Something else memorable happened that night. Some kid who had a fever blister got on the Bullet. The G forces on that ride quickly burst that blister. When they got off, the scene reminded me of 'The Night of the Living Dead'. I rode that thing once before that but would never do it again.

This place was torn down when University Drive was extended to Pratt Avenue. University Drive T's into the Parkway on the left of the photo.

_____________________________

Steve Cook, Class of '66 - This weeks picture looks like the old Madison County Fairgrounds that gave way to the University Drive extension up to Pratt Ave. I believe the entrance to the fairgrounds was there on Wheeler Ave near Van Valkenburg Brothers Concrete company. I remember Tony Mason and I got to go to the fair one year when we attended Lincoln Elementary. We were patrol boys and that was one of our "perks" . Thanks for the memories.

_________________________

Collins (CE) Wynn, Class of ‘64 - Oh, Tommy Boy! You are getting a little tricky in your old age. This one is a little harder. I was tempted to look at some other references but decided to give it my best guess just from studying the photograph. My brother Don thinks this one has stumped me but I am happy to report such is not the case. I am willing to stake what is left of my reputation on this being the Madison County Fair Ground.

To be honest I did not recognize it immediately – in fact I was stymied for a few days. After I copied the photo into my viewer I enlarged it as much as I could and deduced it could only be the fair grounds. The general layout is consistent with the way I remember it including the road that appears in white (gravel, I think) going from the right side (the east entrance) across the bottom (the south/main? entrance) along over to the left in the back where the girlie shows were held (early version of sex education with no academic credit).

Another tip-off is the apparent structure appearing as a black blob on the south east side of the track which could only be the grandstand – this is the only place in Madison County that I know that had such a thing. The “T” intersection on the left side is University Drive where it dead-ended (at one time) into the Parkway. Shoney’s Drive In would be just out of the photo on the left side in the southwest corner of the intersection.

I seem to recall that everything there was made of wood and that a person had to run a gamut of vendors just to get to the main south entrance to purchase a ticket and enter. The agricultural exhibits were in the lower right section and the midway was scattered all along the lower left section. Perhaps horse races were held on the track but I have no direct knowledge of that nor do I know the full history of the place. The fair ground seemed a lot bigger and far more magical to me than it does in this photo.

As always – Of course, I could be wrong…

_________________________________

Last Minute Thoughts

I heard through the rumor mill that someone was visiting with classmates at the reunion, standing next to Barbara Wilkerson and George Lehman Williams who were looking at the day's Huntsville Times

One of the headlines blared: "12 Brazilian Soldiers Killed."

Barbara shook her head at the sad news.

Then, turning to Lehman, she asked, "How many is a Brazilian?"

________________________________________

A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa. "The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that

causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"

After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."

_______________________________________

Why is it that, no matter what color of bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day when mattresses are NOT on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with the hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

_____________________________________