“Those who have suffered understand suffering and therefore extend their hand.” – Patti Smith
While I was busy working nights in the Centre, several folks joined ATB as a result of Gerry’s recruiting trip to Toronto and Montreal. Some of those folks knew me from the Molson Company. When I worked for Beaver Lumber Company it used to be one of Molson’s subsidiaries. Furthermore, when Gord Scott hired me to work for Beaver Lumber Company, he was on loan to Beaver Lumber Company. From time to time I had to deal with the computer staff at Molson’s and some of the new guys used to work there. Gord used to encourage me to go there for lunch as they had a huge fancy dining room where they used to serve fabulous lunch Monday thru Friday to everybody working in the building. Not only that, but they also served free beer to everybody after 5:00 PM. I remember meeting some programmers who used to pretend to work late just to enjoy a drink or two.
Gerry had assigned Jim Champion to my group. He came with extensive operational and troubleshooting experience which was indeed an asset. Jim was also living in the same hotel which was handy as Donna, his wife and his son, Andrew, were waiting in London, Ontario, to finish the school season. I suggested Jim work nights to support the Centre which worked out very nicely and it gave me a break.
Gerry and Scott told me that they had already started the process to replace the Cheque Processing machines. Those two machines in the Centre had been in use for years. They were so old that IBM refused to maintain them. There were a couple of occasions when those machines were down for more than a day waiting for the replacement of parts. That generated millions of dollars of float for ATB, which in turn convinced the banking executives that there was a serious problem with the machines. They needed to be replaced ASAP. At the same time IBM was pressuring them to replace those machines with the newer machines which were faster and dependable but they were much more expensive.
I asked Gerry and Scott if they ever thought about getting some other companies beside IBM involved to do some kind of feasibility study. They said unfortunately they had no relevant experience to initiate any meaningful activity. However, they were approached by a company called International Computers Limited (ICL). ICL claimed they had the right Cheque Processing machines to replace the existing IBM ones. Gerry said the problem was that ICL was an English company with no clients in Canada using their machines. He wasn’t sure if it would be a shrewd business move for bank.
I said I don’t know anything about Cheque Processing Machines but I am familiar with ICL. They are known for their mainframe computers (ICL 2900 series) almost everywhere else except in North America. They are as well-known in Europe as IBM is for North America. Gerry said they are very much interested in doing business with us. They brought some top-notch marketing folks with banking background from London especially to meet with us. We had a good meeting with them. They kept repeating that Beaver Lumber Company was their client in Canada. They wanted to provide us with some references, too.
Gerry said I knew from your resume that you worked for Beaver Lumber Company for several years but you never mentioned anything about dealing with these folks. Nevertheless, I asked them if Mir Ali means anything to them. The top-notch guy from London said if you meant the guy from Fredericton who works for the Government of New Brunswick, he was totally instrumental in initiating, acquiring, implementing, and operationalizing two main frame ICL 2900 series computers for Beaver Lumber Company. He was our first major reference in North America. He had an excellent relationship with his boss, Gord Scott. As I understand he’s doing very well in Fredericton, working again with Gord Scott.
Gerry said I told them that their information about Mir is slightly outdated as currently Mir’s here in Calgary and he is working with us.
I said the fact of the matter’s that Gord Scott, my previous boss, deserves all the credit for the success of that project at Beaver Lumber Company as he was the only executive in the company who supported my idea. Otherwise all other executives were nervous as ICL to them was a unknown commodity. But I have to admit that I was the major beneficiary simply because I spent only half of what I had budgeted for that project by using ICL. IBM was totally flabbergasted with our decision. Consequently I was considered “the bad guy” in their books. They never invited me for lunch or any other freebees.
Gerry said how come you never mentioned this experience anywhere in your resume.
I said I was afraid that it could have been confusing for those who have never gone through the computer acquisition process in their organizations. Gerry said you may have to repeat this experience here one more time.
ICL was a British company formed in 1968 as a part of the Industrial Expansion Act of the Wilson Labour Government. ICL was an initiative of Tony Benn, the Minister of Technology, to create a British computer industry that could compete with major world manufacturers like IBM. ICL represented the last step in a series of mergers that had taken place in the industry since the late 1950s.
The main portions of ICL were formed by merging International Computers and Tabulators (ICT) with English Electric Computers, the latter itself a recent merger of Elliott Automation with English Electric Leo Marconi computers. EELM was itself a merger of the computer divisions of English Electric, LEO and Marconi.
On its formation the company inherited two main product lines: from ICT the ICT 1900 Series of mainframes, and from English Electric Computers (EEC) the System 4, a range of IBM-compatible mainframe clones, based on the RCA Spectra 70.
In later years, ICL diversified its product line but the bulk of its profits always came from its mainframe customers. New ventures included marketing a range of powerful IBM clones made by Fujitsu, various minicomputers and personal computer ranges and (more successfully) a range of retail point-of-sale equipment and back-office software. Although it had significant sales overseas, ICL’s mainframe business was dominated by large contracts from the UK public sector, including Post Office Ltd, the Inland Revenue, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Defence. It also had a strong market share with UK local authorities and (at that time) nationalised utilities including the water, electricity, and gas boards.
Cheque Processing machines were made by Fujitsu and ICL for ICL.
One Saturday evening Gerry picked me up at 6:00PM in his Fifth Ave. Chrysler and took me to his place for a meal. Karen, his wife, was an excellent cook. I enjoyed the meal very much. I met their two daughters: one was into acting and drama and the other was into art and painting. They both were in middle school with a bright future. Karen asked me if I had made reservations yet for Calgary Stampede to take my family. I said I am planning to do that tomorrow and I want this to be a surprise for Lynda.
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world’s largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuck wagon racing, and First Nations exhibitions. In 2008, the Calgary Stampede was inducted into the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame.
The event’s roots are traced to 1886 when the Calgary and District Agricultural Society held its first fair. In 1912, American promoter Guy Weadick organized his first rodeo and festival, known as the Stampede. He returned to Calgary in 1919 to organize the Victory Stampede in honour of soldiers returning from World War I. Weadick’s festival became an annual event in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.
Calgary’s national and international identity is tied to the event. It is known as the “Stampede City”, carries the informal nickname of “Cowtown”, and the local Canadian Football League team is called the Stampeders. The city takes on a party atmosphere during Stampede: office buildings and storefronts are painted in cowboy themes, residents don western wear, and events held across the city include hundreds of pancake breakfasts and barbecues.
Calgary Stampede for 1982 was starting on July 9th and I made the reservation the next day after our chat with Karen. Of course, it was going to stay a secret.
I spoke to Lynda on the phone and she said it looks like there’s a serious buyer for our house. She was totally against buying a property in Calgary as she was so frustrated with the process of selling our house in Fredericton which was totally understandable. She said the real estate person calls at least two times in a day asking if she can bring somebody to take a look and she doesn’t even give me 30 minutes to get organized. So many people came and left without any action. Perhaps it had to do with the current interest rates which were running very high but it’s driving me crazy, she said.
However, I tried to push her a little and said don’t forget we can get 6 percent for the mortgage whereas the general rate is running around 22 percent. She said I will agree if you promise not to run after any other job opportunity leaving me and kids behind to do your dirty work. I said I got the message, Babe.
I said to Lynda that you would be pleased to know that Scott was talking to me recently. He said regardless if the house is sold or not, Lynda and the kids are going to join you as planned because the bank is prepared to buy your house from you. Lynda was delighted to hear that and said let’s see what happens with the potential buyer and I will keep you posted.
I spoke to Scott and Gerry about renting an apartment. They advised me to look into the southwest Calgary close to Anderson Train Station. If I had to take train, it would bring me right into downtown across from our offices. They also said that they had bought their houses in the southwest Calgary and they were happy with the neighbourhood. It sounded good to me so I dedicated the next weekend to searching for apartments.
I came across a fairly new complex – Canyon Meadow Apartments – which was located close to the train station as well as to a huge mall on Anderson avenue. There were nice facilities for the kids to play all kind of games and it appeared to be a well-maintained property. They had vacancies for a three-bedroom apartment which I liked very much but it wasn’t going to be available until August 1st. I was totally disappointed but there was nothing I could have done to change the situation.
Monday morning when I went to work, Gerry asked me how the apartment hunting went. I said not very well as the apartment that I wanted to rent wasn’t going to be available until August 1st and Lynda was planning to be in Calgary the last week of June. Gerry said not to worry. He said here’s what we are going to do:
- We will store your furniture in a warehouse here in Calgary, except your car obviously; and
- We will get you a fully furnished apartment in downtown Calgary to live in until you can move into your apartment.
I was totally shocked with his offer and didn’t know what to say.
Furthermore, he said Malcom from ICL had been calling and asking me to go to Toronto to visit their place and see how they are set up to take care of their customers. Guess what, I told him that I am sending Mir with another guy to visit them. He said here’s my suggestion – Go to Toronto and spend some time with Malcom. He will be pleased to see you. Then go spend a couple of days in Fredericton with your family as you have been away almost three months. He said talk to Jean, his secretary, and she will make travel arrangements for you and Ray Tam.
I was absolutely flabbergasted again and didn’t know what to say except to say thank you. Nevertheless, I mentioned to Gerry that I am curious to see what kind of Cheque Processing machines ICL has. I was only familiar with their mainframe series of computers. I also told Gerry that if we decided to go the ICL way, you may end up facing a lot of political problems. IBM has been doing business with you folks for a long time and they know how to play political games. I told him that Bruce is the guy who is in charge of every single computing device in the Government of Alberta. I met him only once but he seemed to be a reasonable guy. However, don’t forget I was very much involved in that kind of situation in the Government of New Brunswick and I understand the game.
Gerry said to me carefully. I want you to focus on one thing: do your due diligence with ICL. I trust you because you went through this process for Beaver Lumber Company. That was a much bigger project than just replacing the current Cheque Processing machines. Please leave the politics for me to deal with. I said you got it, Gerry.
The next day I made arrangements and signed a lease for one year to rent a three- bedroom apartment in the Canyon Meadows Apartments complex. I found out that Adam’s school was only a few blocks’ walk whereas Maxine needed to bus only for 15 minutes. While I was there I decided to go to the nearest mall on Anderson Avenue to check it out. It was a very big and clean mall with big departmental stores and I was sure that Lynda would like it. I also checked out the distance to walk to the train station which was only a few minutes. I said to myself that it would be nice for me to take the train to work and leave the car for the family. I was sure that we couldn’t possibly afford another car even though I had gotten a reasonably substantial raise in salary. I thought Lynda might prefer to give Maxine a ride instead of her taking a bus.
I called Lynda to brief her about the apartment as well as what Gerry offered us for staying temporarily in a furnished executive apartment right in downtown until our apartment becomes available. She was very happy with that offer. I said to her that I think we are making the right move and if not for anything else we can be impressed with the following:
- Calgary is the sunniest city in all of Canada with an average of around 2300 to 2400 hours of sunshine throughout the year. That could turn out to be very uplifting. Maybe that’s one of the reasons people are so friendly in Calgary; and
- The other positive point for moving to Calgary could be the thriving economy and lack of provincial sales tax which also means that we will be spending less money on groceries, clothes, and entertainment.
I said to Lynda that I am not being cheeky but if something goes wrong with my current job, I would have a better chance to find another job here in Calgary than in Fredericton.
Lynda said when do you think you will be coming to Fredericton?
I said Gerry’s trying to arrange this meeting in Toronto either on Wednesday or Thursday so that I can come home and spend the weekend with you and the kids. Hopefully, if the sale of the house can coincide with my visit, that will be wonderful. I also said don’t forget to get the transfer papers for Adam as well as Maxine as I believe that they will like the school system here in Calgary.
Lynda said unfortunately Maxine decided not to come to Calgary with us. I almost shouted but WHY? She said it seemed Maxine must have told all kinds of sad stories to her boyfriend’s mother about how badly she was treated. Her boy friend’s mother popped in for a minute just to let me know that Maxine can stay with them and complete her high school. Lynda also said let’s not discuss this on the phone. We can talk about this when you are going to be home soon.
I thought I should change the topic and asked if she’s keeping Mom up-to-date with the progress we were making about the relocation. Lynda said she has been reading up about Calgary and she asked if she will be invited to Calgary for Christmas. I said maybe you should make arrangements for her to get here in September and she can go back in January. I also told Lynda that when I am in Toronto, I will take her out for a meal. Lynda said she would love it.
