Volume 38, Issue 8, August 2003

theBUSINESS

Thank You Very Much!
    And a Few Other Thoughts as Well
by Lyle R. Hill

According to the Timex clock radio resting on my desk no more than 18 inches from the left side of my keyboard, it is 3:42 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. Now, at this point, the first question that should come to the mind of the alert reader would be, “what is he doing working on this article on a summer Saturday afternoon?” To which I would reply, “Because it’s past due and that Chilcoat lady is nagging me to get it submitted to her ASAP.”

Now, it’s not that I haven’t been trying to get this thing finished, but it’s summer … and the past couple of weeks have been very pleasant weather-wise and very busy business-wise. I’m thankful for both. But sometimes, good weather and a heavy business load are at odds with each other. It’s a whole lot easier to put in long hours indoors when the weather is miserable outdoors. But, I have promised myself not to leave until it’s finished. So, for the moment at least, I’m very motivated. You only get so many really good weather days a year in Chicago, and it’s a shame to waste them. I’m as anxious as can be to wrap this up and get out in the sunshine.

This thing would have been finished by now, but I’ve really been struggling, and while I know more or less what I want to say, I’m just having a hard time getting it done. But now I’m ready … the moment has arrived … so here it is … THANK YOU VERY MUCH! And I mean it … really. You see, the last several months have been a real treat … from a writing point of view, that is. In fact, I would say that the last five or six months have been an absolute delight for me. The comments have been numerous, thought-provoking and downright funny at times.

For whatever reason, the Perilstein-Hill feud, which erupted earlier in the year, created a lot of conversation and even some controversy. In fact, as recently as last week, Scott Surma (of Pilkington) stopped in and asked me if I still needed any help in resolving the Perilstein situation. I thought this was kind of an act, but assured him that I had indeed made peace with the Perilstein clan. After all, once Mother Perilstein weighed in on the thing there was no way I was going to let it go on any longer.

And as for mothers weighing in on things, I got a pretty zippy e-mail from USGlass publisher Deb Levy’s mother also. As you may remember, I had referred to Deb as “Queen Debra” in my July column and apparently her mother felt it was necessary to let me know exactly who wears the crown in that particular family. Which, by the way, is not Debra. It is her mother, Kathleen. I now have newfound sympathy for father Fred.

My comments about New Jersey and Delaware also got a lot of reaction. A couple of those drowsy New Jerseyites even woke up long enough to blast me for making fun of their “Garden State.” Garden State … who are they trying to kid?

I have also heard a lot about the energy surcharge issue since it was first addressed here a few months ago. Apparently, the resentment for this surcharging thing is widespread. I heard from all kinds of people about this. I even received comments from people outside of our industry that had been sent copies of the article dealing with the surcharge situation. Apparently, it’s a somewhat common practice for readers of USGlass to share the magazine with their friends, suppliers and family members.

I guess I’m a bit amazed at the fact that people actually share their copies of USGlass with other people … although I guess at this point I shouldn’t be. I got a letter a couple of months ago from the owner of a Pittsburgh car dealership who had read an article sent to him by his son, who works in Ohio. And just the other day I received a very nice e-mail from a lady who works for a furniture manufacturer in Georgia who wanted to give me her opinion on the state of New Jersey. I asked her how she had gotten the article and she told me her sister in California faxed it to her. They were originally from New Jersey, and she said she thought my description of the state was pretty accurate. Believe it or not, this kind of thing happens regularly. I sometimes wonder if Deb Levy and the rest of the USGlass team have any idea how much secondary circulation their magazine gets.
OK … that’s it. A simple, non-confrontational, summer Saturday article. Haven’t offended anyone … I hope. Kept my promise to get this thing in before it was too late to go to press and now … I’m outta here. 

Lyle R. Hill is president of MTH Industries of Chicago. lhill@mthindustries.com

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