HERSCHEL'S TEST DRIVE

Herschel Ostripeller grew up in Miami, Florida. The furthest north he had ever gone was  Disney World in Orlando. At twenty five he had lived a pretty sheltered life, and travel was not high on his priority list.

Herchel's family owned ''La La La Bra'' a company that manufactured comfortable and fashionable bras for women. They were growing at such a rapid rate that keeping up with demand was getting more difficult all the time, so the only answer was expansion.

The family sat down and decided to make an offer for their biggest rival, ''Bra Patrol'' and after six months of intensive negotiations they bought the company. ''Bra Patrol'' did all their manufacturing in Canada because it was less expensive than the United States.

It was decided by Herschel's three sisters that Herschel would go check out the Bra Patrol manufacturing plant  just east of Toronto, Ontario.

Herschel got on an Air Canada plane from Fort Lauderdale and found himself in Toronto. He rented a car and put the factory address in the GPS system and headed east on the 401 highway.

The plant was exactly forty five minutes from the Airport and Herschel was very impressed. The place featured state of the art technology and employees who seemed dedicated to the company. Herschel looked at every part of the factory, and when he left to go back to Florida, he was happy with everything he saw.

 The integration process between La La La Bras and Bra Patrol took a couple of months, and the family decided to have a special meeting.  Herschel had no clue what it was about, but since it was nearing the middle of December he thought it either had to do with Advertising plans or bonuses. He was hoping it was about bonuses.

The family seemed to have everything worked out before Herschel had a clue. They needed someone in Toronto to run the Bra Patrol operation and Herschel had been nominated for the job. He would receive a slight raise in his salary and a bigger bonus, but he would have to leave for the new job immediately. It was a two hour and forty minute flight.

Herschel thought about it and decided that a raise in salary and a bigger bonus would make everything worthwhile. He accepted the position and received hugs and congratulations from everyone.

After consulting with a Toronto real estate company, Revolution Realty, a rental was found for Herschel in downtown Toronto. It was in a new condo building and La La La Bras would pay the monthly rental fee.

Herschel called his girlfriend Mindy and when he told her he was going to be living in Toronto, she thought it was an excellent idea and packed her bags. When they arrived in Toronto it was minus six and snowing. Herschel's first reaction was to not leave the airport and return to Florida.

After some convincing  by Mindy they grabbed an Uber to their new condo and were delighted. It had a view over Lake Ontario and was spacious and beautiful.

That evening they walked around downtown Toronto and were very impressed. It was cold but clear, and it was the first time Mindy and Herschel truly experienced winter. They stopped at a place called Tim Horton's and enjoyed hot chocolates and maple glazed donuts.

The next day Herschel went to a car dealership and leased a Cadillac Escalade.  He was told it was excellent for winter driving. He decided to find out and went from the dealership to the factory on the 401. He had to take the Don Valley Parkway to the Highway and it was a shlep. The falling snow mixed with freezing rain caused the roads to be slick and as a result traffic barely moved. Herschel was extremely nervous during the drive and said numerous prayers for survival.

At the factory Herschel received a warm reception from all the employees and got to work. He read through invoices, met with salespeople, and talked to the shipping department. It was his experience that if things didn't get shipped out in time, clients would get frustrated and think twice about new orders.