Who Are You?

Over the weekend, I wrote about the Classmates website. The site attempts to connect former classmates via the web. It’s really hit and miss since you’re not listed on Classmates unless you want to be.

I started to think about the people I went to school with and one name came up: Eric Drucker. He was not on Classmates.

We were not best friends, though we were friendly. Like me, Eric was an apartment dweller, inconveniently far from our all-city high school. If I remember correctly, he was even farther away than I was.

I remember Eric because of one specific incident. I had followed him to the Bronx to see some homebuilt ham radio equipment. We were in our teens and both ham operators. What was amazing to me was he could build this stuff on his own in the little apartment he shared with the rest of his family.

It was early evening by the time we hit the Bronx. Eric was showing me a power supply. That’s the unit that converts what comes out of your wall socket to higher voltage DC. We’re talking comparable voltage to the third rail on the New York subway!

Somehow, Eric got a little close. A spark flew and the next thing I knew, Eric was flying across the room toward the wall. It was a blur. It happened in an instant. There was no warning.

I’ll never forget that, even though it happened around 40 years ago.

I found Eric using Google. His name brought links to an electrical engineer with the right graduation year for college, advanced degree (Eric was very bright) and an email address at a high tech company in California. I sent off a quick email to see if it was who I thought it was.

Are you the Eric Drucker who nearly flew across the room while accidentally discharging a high voltage power supply filter cap through his body in an apartment in the Bronx?

Just wondering?

All the best,

Geoff Fox

I sent it over the weekend. This morning there was a reply waiting when I turned on the laptop.

Yes, who are you?

I suppose near electrocution increases your memorability.