Bill called me in 1994 after I had been terminated from my job with a small adhesive application equipment company.  I had been the controls engineering manager there after I left Cincinnati Milacron and embarked on the rest of my life.   I do not remember him calling me much.  It was the other way around in my memory.  So, his call was a surprise.
He called me, he said to offer some advice.  He said, " You have to decide what you are going to charge."  'Charge for what?' I replied.  They are going to trip over some problem that they will need you to fix, because they did not know they had it.  Something you would have just handled.  They will try to get you to do it for nothing but its a temp job.  Figure out how much you are going to charge to fix their problem.
Every worker should be fired at some point in their life.  It is not very much fun while it is happening but it is an excellent learning experience.  You get down on yourself.  What did I do wrong?  How will I go on?  If you are part of the engineering staff of a company, you often operate under the illusion that you are part of the management cadre.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  You are a worker bee like everyone else.  Your work however is to think, design, plan and create the product.
Bill's little advice made me realize my value.  Anything I did had a price.  And that price was value for my time, experience, problem solving ability, cleverness and elegance of design.  More importantly that price included time away from things, family, people and situations that might be more important to me than doing some job that the only tangible benefit was a pay check.  He had put it in perspective.  Life is too short.
Next time you are in a cemetery read the stones.  How are people remembered?  Life has priorities.  Do not loose track of their precedence. 

My prayers and heart go to the family and friends

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William "Bill" Robert Weisgerber

August 30, 1943 – May 14, 2020

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