TOM
For some of my readers this name will mean a great deal. He was a big personality and filled the room when he entered. Harvard grad, exceedingly smart, excelled at his career and all sports he attempted. This blog is not the full story of Tom, the individual, as his life was cut short in its prime. He came to Goldman from the once all-powerful bond house Salomon Bros. He was co-head of the fixed-income trading floor during the halcyon years when the bond market ruled Wall Street and markets. He and his partner Paul ran an incredibly successful trading business and managed to make it fun at the same time. I think we all miss those days. Tom was many things but for this story he was a visionary.
He walked onto the trading floor holding an object the shape of a classic size 12 Johnson & Murphy Brogue. For Tom it would have been better described as a size 10 Gucci loafer. He announced that this was going to be a required piece of equipment for all of his traders and soon for all sales people on the floor. It was the first wireless portable cell phones. The cell phone had been invented in 1973 but this was one of the first commercially available to the public. In 1983, Motorola began selling this two-pound beauty to the public. The Motorola Dynatec sold for around $4000. Cheap for a master of the universe bond trader. This phone was featured in the movie Wall Street and was used by the famed character Gordon Gecko. The flip phone did not appear until 1989 with a revival in 2006 when it was a central piece of equipment in The Departed. By that time everyone on Wall Street had a phone and if you did not, well, you just were not. The fact that Tom was insisting that all his traders should have one was revolutionary. Who was going to carry around a 4000-dollar size 12 shoe? Five years later portable phones were all the rage. The rest is history and Tom had once again demonstrated his visionary ability.
I am reminded of this story as I write about the distance the digital revolution has brought to our culture. The epidemic of loneliness in our country lies at the feet of cellular technology. Think of this, my children (and they are not babies) have no concept of a hard-wired phone. I remember when my parents got a phone that hung on the wall with a long wire attached to the receiver. We thought that was pretty cool. The biggest issue with that phone was uncurling the cord. My home phone number was Hillcrest 7-3877. There was no need to have an area code in front of the number. The first two numbers were equivalent to the first two letters of the phone’s geographical area which had proper names. Hi (44) llcrest was Arcadia, Sy (79) camore was Pasadena.
I don’t remember anyone’s phone number today.
It is never what it seems
I went to the Verizon store to get a new phone. I had received multiple Verizon emails offering the new iPhone 15 for free. So, I walked into the Verizon store to get rid of my six-year-old phone and receive a new phone, but it is never what it seems.
I was expecting to give them my old phone and receive the new phone in exchange. However, my salesperson revealed that it did not work exactly like that. In order to achieve the largess of the Titanium iPhone 15, I would have to buy an additional phone line. It was explained to me that although I would pay for an additional line it would still work out that I would be paying less than I am currently. Now I am really not much of a math student but I am pretty sure that if line one cost x and line two cost y, the resulting total cost would be more than line x alone. Ricardo assured me that would not be the case. There were a few additional costs —- like a new cord! ---- none of my existing cords would function. Remember the last time they changed plugs? They promised that it was for our own good and that they would not change again ---- It is never what it seems
Apple lied and they are changing again and you will have to buy all new plugs ---- don’t shoot the messenger…
Life is like that it is never what it seems.
I write a lot about restaurants… I believe restaurants in addition to being the last bastion of personal interaction are also the last bastion of honest advertising. If I go to a French restaurant, I don't expect Italian. Restaurants never disappoint in that way. If politicians were like restaurants we would know what to expect. Alas, it is never what it seems…
All of this phone and plug exchange took almost four hours. Silly me I thought I would be in and out in an hour…. It is never what it seems. However, my friends think my phone is cool so I guess that makes me cool by association. But I am not as cool as Tom…. He saw this coming years ago…..
Rest in peace, you are exactly what you seem ——- a visionary…