[cheesy]

Jason and I had our chat. His reasons for cutting bait were essentially the same as mine, and that was piss poor quality control from the factory along with the major fcuk ups from the new French management squad.

Jason fell into a great job working as the Service Manager for Palfinger, which he starts on Monday. Another European company that we've both dealt with in the past. They head hunted him. More money, better bennies, less travel. Once he has gotten settled in, we'll get together with Harold for the old guy's breakfast a couple times a month.

Harold and Al are both pulling the plug at the end of August. Both guys were willing to die at their desks for old Claude Geismar, but they've finally realized that the current Geismar generation are just fcukwits and are not worth their health and well being.

I also had a chat with a former French co-worker yesterday. He was closer to the action than we were and said it was much worse than we knew. All the knowledgeable people in Europe were essentially forced to quit and were replaced, as Tony put it, with accountants and ass kissers. Apparently, that's the way of the corporate world now.