A Dime's Worth
by Zvi A.
Sesling
The way Jack
tells it he is in his first job out of the
service, back from Vietnam with two bullet holes
still healing. It is late 1960s and he is glad to
be out of the military because he cannot stand
taking orders or having the enemy pump bullets
into him. He searches the Help Wanted pages and
lands a job with Carter Omega Advertising and
Public Relations. His boss Herbert gives him two
small accounts with which he does so well that
Herbert gives him Odyssey Computers a $100,000
account from which he makes about ten percent, a
lot more than he was paid by the military.
Anyway, as Jack tells it, Odyssey wants to
increase its advertising and public relations
budget to one million dollars and invites Carter
Omega and five other companies to develop the
next level strategy and campaign.
As Jack tells it he is paid fifteen grand a year
and his boss drives a forty thousand dollar car
with all the bells and whistles. Herbert tells
him to draw up an outstanding strategy and
campaign. Jack says he does it but Herbert does
not like it so he creates a new one. They go to
the presentation and lose out to Mason, Cork
& Villa. Back at the office Herbert calls
everyone into his office and screams that they
are idiots and should all be fired and singles
out Jack by saying guys like him come a dime a
dozen.
As Jack tells it he reaches into his pocket,
pulls out a dime which he flips on Herbert’s
desk and tells him to go buy a dozen. Then he
turns and walks out.
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