Shameless

The day after Duff-Bloom's successful presentation in Denton, she was doing the mail with Cathy Rozelle, her ebullient assistant, when she stopped and pondered something. "Cathy, got an idea. Send the chairman my speech and highlight the part where I talk about the two best things he ever did. It's on the first page."

"A note?"

"Yes, say I thought he'd get a kick out of the way I start off, but the whole script is included. Then say I'm doing it at the University of Florida next Tuesday afternoon, just a couple hours after he's finished at Pebble Beach. A coast-to- coast one-two punch."

Roselle's shorthand had it down almost as fast as Gale could say it. "I know you probably think I'm shameless," Gale said.

"Not really," said Rozelle.

"Well, I am. But it's for a good cause. I'm setting him up so I can go in someday and let him know there're some things bothering me."

"Yes?"

"Well, one thing I can tell you, we never talk about merchandise around here anymore. We talk about everything else, God knows , but not merchandise."

"Merchandise?"

"Yeah," Gale said with a grin. "You know, the stuff we buy and try reselling in stores?"

"Oh, sure, ˜merchandise, I heard about merchandise."

Doing mail three days later, Roselle handed over a large envelope from the chairman. Her speech and note had gone to him, the compliment highlighted on page one. He had shamelessly returned the speech with a note handwritten on her original note which was still clipped to the cover:

Gale ”I completely agree!
W. R.

Duff-Bloom had one more rehearsal, giving her speech at a "Workforce Issues Network" conference in New Orleans. She returned to Plano as Carol Edwards, Kim Lang, Mark Shoener, and W. R. Howell were enplaning for the West Coast. Soon Duff-Bloom herself would again be airborne ”in the opposite direction ”to spread the same word. She was as ready as she would ever be for her national debut.