royc@mtdca.uucp (Roy A. Crabtree) (04/13/89)
Reflections on His Way We all know now the Chairman of AT&T Has passed this way, and gone along His Way I felt, within, the need because of this to say A cantry which expresses feelings raised in me In hopes that those who read these words will also see And find perhaps some things, within, to live by day to day A former note which came from one of us among Our group whose feelings here are seldom, softly, sung Which pointed out someone who Brashly dared to say That Naming Products *we* build here, if not His Way Indeed could lead us to the loss of well made sales And bring on all of us the things which that entails For by our deeds - or Things *Not* Done - from day to day AT&T, you see, _our_ Company, succeeds or fails It isn't very hard to sum the sales we lost Because in former years we raised the user's cost Just look and see, the tools we use in company They are not cheap, but costly to AT&T For by our deeds - or Things *Not* Done - our soul's embossed And dreams within us, shackled tightly, slowly struggle free So while at work, what e'er you do, please do it well Remember when we once had Pride in Old Ma Bell? With words pejorative, but maybe true, I say As we do business, building, selling, day to day Just do it right: Let's get out there & give'm hell! (to have some fun AND make a profit while Along The Way) I must say this with words which may sound dialectic: It may be true the Job we face will be Quite Hectic To meet the Goals which in our products we have set We must scale Heights, and look towards Sights we've seen Not Yet I think you know that You must be A Soul Eclectic: >From Life's Confusions, Face it: Choose Your Ethics: *the*best*set* I'm sure that all of us who work here truly see That UNIX OS software doesn't come for free The users of our hardware pay a lot of cash To buy a system from us, folks, Which Shall Not Crash And if it does, not one of us should seek to flee It is _Our_ job to fix it then, and do it in a flash I'm sorry, Folks, this cantry took so long to write I didn't want to say it wrong, or too polite It should be written down just right, with verse that's true Without a phrase which Paeans meanings trite or blue For if some phrasing does amuse it may bring light and Reach Out, Touching, gently, inside _each_and_all_ of you As long as all of us each day intend to grin By punning try to tap each other on the chin With each jibe said by each of us with fuss and finicks To prod and poke and gently heal in humor's clinics As long as we can jest in fun and find no sin With in a sense: we won't become, at heart, just jaded cynics In naming, daily, products of our Company The trade mark "UNIX", granted by AT&T When written down must have at end an English noun Or else perhaps Someone upstairs (you know!) will frown And so, by day we shouldn't from the challenge flee Or nightly speak with gloom and act the frowning, cynic clown It's hard; I know the verse above would phrase much better Were I not held, by metric rules, hard to the letter Because in prose: Adjective, noun is hard to meter By breaking form it could perhaps be said the sweeter Though form at times may seem to badly bind and fetter You may find soon the syntax will march on in step much neater To keep AT&T from growing stiff and pompous (or else competitors around will surely stomp us) Perhaps We should begin each day again anew By gently chiding all within which isn't true And if we gently _cull_it_all_ we could go far Since, after all, I hope you know, you guys, it's OUR Death Star! >From quality (in quantity) we must not budge Through sleepless nights and lonely days, yes, grind & drudge We should in selling Tell no Tall Tales with Our Voice For in the end, If We Build Right We Shall Rejoice: When we sell goods, our Customers will *always* Judge And having done so, promptly *do* make _the_ Right Choice It's time to look around yourself, and stop to think: "Just what is it that _I_ will write with my Life's Ink?" It sometimes seems we never will make any gain And all we build is lost, with lack, or loss, or pain As day to day we stumble, halting, brink to brink If _each_of_us_ give _all_ we have, you'll know it's not in vain. So look around, and find your way; be not frenetic And should you _lose_ once, don't become an Apathetic Since in the end, it's you Yourself you do protect For those of you who do demur, on this reflect: It's true that those who Doom Say *will* become Prophetic Though Life Abounds, it _does_ become, in deed, What You Expect royc