From:                                 Mark Anderson

Subject;                            A Paul story

I miss Paul. He was a good friend- He was certainly responsible with his brother Lee for the opportunity that I have had in my "dental supply" career by hiring me at Modent in 1980. Paul was taken from us way too soon, and even a person of modest faith is left to wonder what plans God had in doing so.

One day many years ago - I think maybe around 1983 - Paul and I decided to take a trip to the Yankee Dental Convention in Boston. It was a Sunday, and as the Yankee meeting is held in January it is usually very cold. On this particular day a brutal cold snap had temperatures hovering at zero but we had no fear as Paul said his aging Saab had just been tuned, and it was made for winter. Getting there, and the day at the meeting itself was un-eventful- The fun began on our return trip.

We left Boston at around 5 o'clock, and stopped at a restaurant an hour or so later for dinner. As I reached for my wallet to pay for my meal (with what little money I had) Paul said "no, this is a company expense-I have the corporate American Express card". I should mention that between Paul and me we had about sixty some dollars, his company Amex card, and a gas credit card.

Sometime after eight, and just a tad west of the Westfield. Massachusetts exit Paul proclaimed "the car, I think its losing power in much the same tone that Scotty would say "Captain, the warp drive engines can't take it much longer!" With that the car rolled to full stop on the shoulder. Sunday night, not much traffic, five degrees below zero,   and we sit in suits & ties in a non-functioning Saab on the Mass Turnpike years before cellular technology put telephones in everybody's pocket. Restarting did nothing, Looking under the hood accomplished less (why couldn't the "car nut" Lee be with us-although we would find out later that the problem would probably evade even Lee's automotive intuition).

Our only saving grace was that we could see a sign in the distance so we decided to leave the car and walk. After a while we could make out the words on the sign - there was a rest and service area in 1 mile. Service as we found out was a guy who pumped gas, and maybe even put air in tires. But he did call a tow truck.  The driver picked us up, then the car, and then took as to an auto repair center just off the Westfield exit that was, of course, closed. Where can we go we asked as he was driving us across the street to our answer - the Holiday Inn. "That will be $30.00" said the driver. Paul asked about using a credit card as he reached for his American Express card. I'm sorry replied the driver but we only take VISA and MASTERCARD. So we paid cash which cut our on-hand total down to about thirty dollars.

The Holiday Inn does take American Express so even though we only had the clothes we were wearing we would have warm beds to sleep in. The next morning (Monday) we arose and visited the auto repair shop - now open for business. It would probably be some time before they could get to Paul's car as with the cold there were a number of other vehicles in for service. We asked about payment with the American Express card and were told "I'm sorry - we only take VISA and MASTERCARD". Further inquiries netted us information that one of the banks in town might be able to give us a cash advance on the AMEX card.

But first over to the restaurant at the Holiday Inn for a hearty breakfast. Paul presented his trusty American Express card and was told "I'm sorry, we only take VISA and MASTERCARD". This was going to be a long day. Fortunately we had not checked out of our room yet so we were able to put the breakfast tab on our room bill, and then pay for it all with the AMEX card.

Then we trekked off in our suits and dress shoes to town to try to find money. The sun was shining and it was a balmy ten degrees. The first bank said that they did not work with the American Express people, but could give us a cash advance on a VISA or MASTERCARD. So we went to the bank across the street who told us they only worked with the VISA and MASTERCARD people. They suggested the bank across the street but after we told them we were just there they said there was one more bank in town -just a few blocks up the street and around the corner.

Imagine our excitement when we arrived, and noticed that on the door of the bank was a decal announcing "AMERICAN EXPRESS EMERGENCY CASH SERVICE AVAILABLE HERE". That seemed to be exactly what we were looking for.   Paul walked proudly up to the teller and placed his American Express card on the countertop. The teller looked at him with a puzzled stare. Paul spoke “Your sign says American Express emergency cash service available - here's my card and we need cash!"   I was not prepared for her reply but it came anyway-"I'm sorry but that sign is from the bank that used to be here - we don't deal with them anymore but we can giye you a cash advance on the VISA and MASTERCARD cards". We both could have cried. A bank officer checked into having money wired but it would be quicker for someone to drive up and get us. We decided to go back to the auto repair shop and just wait it out.

A funny thing happened when we exited the bank - there was a cab parked on the street (probably the only one in town} so we decided to splurge some of our remaining dollars on a ride back rather than walking in the bitter cold. After all, the repair bill would surely exceed our remaining money so we would have to work something out.

Finally they got to the car, and in amazing but true story fashion the repair bill turned out to be under $20 including labor. It seems that the points (for those of you who remember them) had frozen and snapped off so no electrical contact was being made. With a recharge of the battery we would be on our way. All this trouble for a three dollar part. Luckily we got gas - which we were also running low on - at the turnpike gas station that we had "walked" to the previous night. It happened to be the brand that Paul's one gas credit card was good for. Tolls consumed some of our remaining dollars. We arrived back in Kingston at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon with about three dollars left between us so we went to Burger King and blew it all on splitting a large order of fries and a soda. They were the best fries I've ever had.

Needless to say the next day Paul and I both applied for VISA cards. Here's to you Paul.   Mark Anderson is fortunate to have known you.