What I really learned from Hans

Among the many things I learned from Hans was how to smoke crooked cigars called Brissago.

Back in the days when such adventures were allowed on airplanes, Hans, Fred Dettwiler, Marcel Olbrecht and myself were on a flight to Houston to establish what was to become the Bayport plant. We were sitting in the back row of a 727 smoking these crooked cigars. After a few minutes, a blue haze developed over our seats. We were having a good time. A passenger from the front came to the back of the plane and passed through our blue cloud. This poor man immediately collapsed and required oxygen from the flight attendant. We hid our Brissagos and tried to look not guilty. I think he was OK after a reasonable recovery period.

Another important skill was learning to drink Fernet Branca. This was a hard lesson, as Hans and I consumed a full bottle by ourselves while he visited us in Liestal. I was green for 2 days after this lesson. However, I put this knowledge to great use and impressed the hard nosed buyers at Pfizer - Brooklyn who thought they were tough based on the amount of scotch they could drink. I challenged them to a few shots of Fernet and the true matter was settled. They signed the Contract, probably out of fear that I would ask them to drink more Fernet.

Happy Birthday Hans. We enjoyed many wonderful experiences together. I hope we can still share some more.