CHAPTER 52 – Our Story

I wish I met you sooner so I could love you longer (Unknown).

As expected, I managed to keep up with the BPR modelling training in Adam’s absence, which worked out not too bad.

When Adam got back, I was told that the overall training in the BPR was done to their satisfaction and the DND members who were trained, should go back to their departments to work with the consultants to do the real work of BPR.

We were assigned to the Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). DRDC was Canada’s science, technology and innovation leader, trusted advisor, collaborative partner, and knowledge integrator for defence and security. They develop and deliver new technical solutions and advice to the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Armed Forces, other federal departments, and the safety and security community. They also work with partners in academia, government and industry and with Canada’s allies.

DRDC has specialized research and development (R&D) capabilities, across its seven research centres, as well as the Directorate of Scientific and Technical Intelligence and the Directorate of Research and Development Operational Capabilities. These capabilities include the people, expertise, equipment and facilities to carry out world-class R&D in support of Canada’s defence and security.

Our project was focused only on the head office in Ottawa but representatives from various centres were represented on the committee which was charged with the responsibility to support the BPR project which was initiated by the Headquarters. At the same time there was another committee at the headquarter which was responsible for making sure that the consulting companies assigned to various functional areas are delivering the promised results.

We as a team had to examine their role which included and define interfaces between the head office and seven centres:

Provide national leadership on defence and security science, technology and innovation to enhance Canada’s defence and security posture;

Advise the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces, as well as the public safety and national security communities on science and technology related issues;

Engage and collaborate with an extended network of stakeholders, domestic and international partners; and

Exercise functional authority to ensure coherence of defence and security science, technology and innovation investments.

Research, development and innovation at the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces are grouped in eight strategic focus areas, described in the Defence and Security Science and Technology (DSST) program. As the science and technology organization of the Department of National Defence, Defence Research and Development Canada is responsible for administering the DSST program. Here are those eight groups:

It took a little while for my team to understand the role of DRDC before we started modelling.

Adam was back in Ottawa and attending his MBA classes in the night and working very hard with the project team. My members of project team were all relatively old including me. I was in my fifties.

The Director General who was assigned for our team, Andre, liked Adam a lot even though initially he didn’t know that Adam was my son.

When I used to get together with the senior management every week to brief them, Andre used to tell me how good Adam was doing.

One day when he found out that Adam was my son, he ran to me where I was making a presentation and said, Mir I just found out that Adam’s your son. Everybody in the presentation laughed and said – you are the only one who didn’t know that, Andre.

In any case, the things were going very well at DRDC. They seemed to be cooperating with our efforts, and they appeared to be happy with our interim reports.

Perhaps more importantly, Adam started playing more visible role in the process and intentionally started increasing his involvement in each activity.

One day I mentioned to Lynda that I was thinking to celebrate the success of our company by having a party at a golf course to invite some clients as well as some friends.

Lynda was curious to ask me what gave me that idea.

I remember explaining to her that we do take our clients out for lunches to appreciate their business but most of the times we end up discussing business. However, this time I would like to invite them with their partners so that they can play golf and have a meal with us in the evening.

She liked the idea and said to me leave it with me, I will make some calls and let you know accordingly.

I felt that I was focused on the business and neglected the fact that we have not been on any vacation for a while. We did get away for a weekend here and there, but Lynda was very patient with me, and I thought perhaps I should consider going on vacation for a couple of weeks. However, I had to think about the right time. Most of the things now turning out to be regular activities and Adam was actively participating in every aspect of the project.

On Friday when I got home little early, Lynda said would you like to go out for supper. I thought she must have something to discuss.

We went out to a local restaurant and Lynda said I made some telephone calls about your idea of having a golf party.

I asked if she found anything reasonable?

She said, I found one golf course not too far from here called Manderley.

When I spoke to the owner on the phone, he sounded very interesting, and he told me that he lost his wife to cancer not too long ago.

When I told him that I am the president of the local Sorority and we do fund raising to help patients suffering from cancer, he asked me to go there have lunch with him to see the golf course. She continued, I went and had lunch with him. He explained to me what they are offering:

Manderley on the Green is only 5 minutes south of Barrhaven. They offer a great selection of facilities for the banquet, wedding, meeting or whatever get-together you are planning;

They have three large banquet rooms that can accommodate all group sizes from 20 up to 170 guests. Their newly renovated banquet rooms are spacious, bright and fully customizable and can be set up to match your vision! In two large rooms, black chair covers are included as well as choice of napkin color, podium, microphone, screen, and projector use; and

Banquet Room Fee for meetings when golf is included.

I was impressed with the information she gathered.

I told her that it seems like we can start planning for a party.

She asked me how many clients I was thinking to invite?

I told her that I like to invite several clients with their partners. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to start around 1:00 PM. Perhaps they can break for 30 minuets for the coffee or tea at 4:00 PM and then go back to finish their games.

Perhaps around 6:00 PM we can feed them.

Lynda said she forgot the most important thing the owner mentioned. I said what was that. She said there is a performer who is hired frequently enough to entertain there. It’s a single performer and the owner highly recommended for our party.

I said then perhaps we can plan that while having supper.

She said it makes sense.

I told Lynda to come up with a date and work with the owner to organize everything.

She said a couple of her sorority sisters already offered their help to organize the party.

She said how many sorority sisters she can invite with their husbands?

I said you decide whoever you want to invite, and I will figure out how many clients I can invite. I also remember saying that Adam will be a great help. He may also like to invite his friends, no to mention our consultants who are responsible for our success.

It took a little while to organize everything.

I was surprised that the number two person in the organization who was the scientist, but his position was equivalent to Brigadier General, was very much interested in attending the party with his wife. I invited several other senior folks, but I never neglected the working clients who I worked with every single day.

Thanks to Lynda and her sorority sisters who helped organize the party, the party turned out to be a success. The entertainer was so good that we never stopped laughing.

The final act was the auction that Lynda and her friends had organized for fund raising. All folks who attended the party were very generous to buy things in the auction for fund raising. I ended up buy an electronic security gauge for our front door which was most expensive item.

I remember Adam was shouting to stop me raising my offer as I kept increasing my bid and Adam kept telling me that buying a dog will be lot cheaper to do the barking, dad, but I never stopped until I bought it. I don’t remember if we ever used it, but it was fun to raise the money for cancer.

Now that thanks God the business was going reasonably well, and Adam was getting involved in every aspect of our business. He had already graduated with high marks in all subjects related to MBA and was totally concentrating on the business.

I also admire his sense of loyalty to his friends. I remember when we were working with CGI on the BPR project with DND, he asked me if he can bring one of his friends to work with us. I remember Adam played hockey with Kevin since he was in grade 12. He told me that even though Kevin had only grade 12 but in Adam’s book he was smart enough to learn anything as he was still playing hockey with the bunch of his old friends.

Kevin worked with us for a little while then Adam somehow managed to get CGI interested in Kevin and they offered Kevin a permanent junior consulting position. I was very impressed with Adam’s loyalty to his friends.

In any case, once I had mentioned to Lynda that we should take some time off and go somewhere and I don’t mind driving. She said leave it with me.

Lynda was very much interested in visiting Phoenix, Arizona, simply because some friends of ours used to spend their winters in Phoenix and they had bragged about the atmosphere and temperature in Phoenix.

We had several times on the weekends gone to a Newspaper place in downtown of Ottawa to get Newspapers from Phoenix. Consequently, we learned that:

Phoenix is a popular winter destination, often called the “Valley of Sun,” because it offers a warm and sunny climate, making it a great escape from cold winters elsewhere. The city enjoys mild temperatures, low humidity, and plenty of sunshine during the winter months, according to All Valley Transportation. This allows people to enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, golfing, and exploring the desert landscape without freezing;

Phoenix is in the south-central portion of Arizona; about halfway between Tucson to the southeast and Flagstaff to the north, in the Southwestern United States. By car, the city is approximately 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of the US–Mexico border at Sonoyta and 180 mi (290 km) north of the border at Nogales. The metropolitan area is known as the “Valley of the Sun” due to its location in the Salt River Valley.[56] It lies at a mean elevation of 1,086 feet (331 m), in the northern reaches of the Sonoran Desert; and

Other than the mountains in and around the city, Phoenix’s topography is generally flat, which allows the city’s main streets to run on a precise grid with wide, open-spaced roadways. Scattered, low mountain ranges surround the valley: McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains far to the east, and both South Mountain and the Sierra Estrella to the south/southwest. Camelback Mountain, North Mountain, Sunnyslope Mountain, and Piestewa Peak are within the heart of the valley. The city’s outskirts have large fields of irrigated cropland and Native American reservation lands.[90] The Salt River runs westward through Phoenix, but the riverbed is often dry or contains little water due to large irrigation diversions. South Mountain separates the community of Ahwatukee from the rest of the city.

It didn’t take too long for Lynda to come back to me and mention that perhaps we should drive to Phenix and explore the possibilities of spending some time there when the weather gets bad here in Ottawa.

I remember saying to Lynda that if we decided to drive, we should plan to take at least three weeks off as driving is going to take some time. At the same time, I mentioned to Lynda that how about if we go directly to Las Vegas and spend a few days there before we drive to Phoenix? She said I am not interested in gambling. I told her me neither but perhaps we can see a couple of shows. She reluctantly agreed with my idea, and I wanted to get things sorted out in the office in a way that my absence for three weeks wouldn’t affect the projects.

I collected information on Las Vegas from various sources:

Las Vegas was founded in 1905 as a railroad stop in the desert. The city’s name comes from the Spanish word “vegas,” meaning meadows, and it was originally envisioned as a green oasis in the desert;

Las Vegas is a world-renowned resort city, best known for its vibrant casinos, entertainment, and luxurious hotels. It’s located in the Nevada desert and is a major tourist destination, particularly along the famous Las Vegas Strip. The city is a hub for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and nightlife, attracting millions of visitors annually; and

Las Vegas is situated in a broad desert valley in southern Nevada. The city is surrounded by mountains that reach heights of 2,000 to 10,000 feet above the valley floor. The Las Vegas Valley itself covers about 600 square miles and stretches from northwest to southeast.

I spoke to Adam about my absence, he thought that should be just fine. Nevertheless, he insisted that I should call every night to check in. I promised him that I will never let him down.

I had no intention to exploring any possibilities for finding work in Las Vegas or staying any longer than a few days. Nevertheless, I was fascinated about the city.

If I remember correctly, we invited our friends for Sunday Breakfast at the Broadway Restaurant at Prince of Wales Drive and told them while having breakfast that we decided to go away for three weeks. We were all packed and as soon as the breakfast was over, we left.

I guess it was the last week of June 1997. I had enough US dollars with us, and the idea was to avoid putting everything on credit cards as the exchange rate those days was very high.

We had bought a new Atlas for directions. We decided that we go to Toronto to go through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah to get to Nevada. Lynda oversaw the details and told me which way I should drive to get to Las Vegas. We were not in any hurry. We stopped wherever we wanted, and she let me eat anything I wanted to eat at those cheap restaurants where they used to give us so much food for the money.

If my memory serves me correct, we only stopped twice overnight in reasonable motels where they had swimming pool and hot tub.

One thing Lynda never liked was starting too early in the morning, but I was a kind of excited to get to Las Vegas. We typically had an early breakfast in the hotel or motel where we spent the night and have brief breakfast before we get it going.

I also wanted to stop for coffee around 10:00 AM and not to mention a donut or two (No wonder I was fat). We used to stop around 1:00 PM for lunch then we used to stop for coffee in the afternoon. We had decided not to drive late in the evenings.

It was indeed a nice and relaxed drive from Ottawa to Las Vegas, 4,000 Km.

When we got there, we didn’t know what to expect. The first thing that we noticed were the beautiful mountains surrounded by the city. We also noticed the signs of a typical American city, but the weather was very hot. When we parked in the parking lot of Sahara Hotel, the temperature was 101 degrees. Another thing that we both noticed right away as soon as we entered the lobby of the hotel that everybody appeared to be so relaxed and laughing. Even the girls at the front desk were very cheery and jolly. We checked in for a nice and huge room for a reasonable price. Lynda was happy when she asked them for their recommendation for supper. They said perhaps we should try their buffet which is known for a variety of food.

We were so tired we didn’t feel doing anything else that afternoon but to have a nap.

Once we rested and relaxed, we decided to go down and check out everything before we go for a buffet.

They had a huge lobby with various stores with all kinds of merchandise basically promoting Las Vegas but there were some other things Lynda was interested in buying.

When we got to the big room where the buffet was served, we were totally impressed with the number of items on display. We were also spellbound with the reasonable charges for the buffet until we realized that they don’t necessarily make money on serving food, but their main source of revenue was gambling.

Lynda agreed that the buffet could be part of the attraction to get customers in the building then they can decide how much to lose.

In any case, Lynda and I ate so much, mostly we zoomed in to smoked Salmon which was very rare to find in Canada. Lynda was looking forward to playing a few machines and she was encouraging me to lose some money, too. I remember telling her that in my religion, it’s a sin to gamble. She said there must be an exception as you will not play for making money. You will be playing to accompany me. I said alright there is always an exception to any rule.

We played machines for a while before we decided to get out and explore the Las Vegas Strip. Thanks God that the temperature was relatively manageable. We learned that:

The Las Vegas Strip offered a diverse range of attractions, primarily centered around the iconic casinos and hotels, with a focus on entertainment and spectacle. Some popular attractions included the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, known for its entertainment and pedestrian-friendly environment. Other notable attractions included the Flamingo Las Vegas, the oldest continuously operating resort on the Strip, and the Excalibur Hotel, a medieval-themed resort.

We walked around with dozens of tourists who were just loud and blaring without caring about other people who were also on vacation. We also noticed several Canadians with their hats and tee-shirts. Perhaps the bottomline was that they were enjoying their vacations.

We decide to check out the following casinos:

Flamingo Las Vegas: As the oldest continuously operating resort on the Strip, it was a cornerstone of the Las Vegas experience; and

Excalibur Hotel: Its medieval castle theme was a major draw for visitors.

We decided to leave the other places like museum and “Downtown Las Vegas” which was in the Fremont Street area, with its older casinos and hotels, offered a different vibe compared to the modern Strip.

When we got back to our hotel, we were tired partly because of our long Journey and partly because of our walking around on the Strip for several hours.

We decided to call it a day.

Our Story – Chapter 53