vacancy for a FALL GUY
the bailbondsman is a unique feature of the American judiciary. If a person has been held on bail for, say, us $5,000, then the bailbondsman will stand surety (for a fee, of course) until the case comes up for trail. If, however, the accused jumps bail, then the bailbondsman will have to give chase with a pair of handcuffs to bring the fugitive back to justice. Normally ex-cops or detectives become bailbondsman. In the Star Plus serial, The Fall Guy , tv actor Lee Majors portrayed a stuntman who also acted as a bailbondsman to meet expenses. Then there is that early 40s movie, The Maltese Falcon , in which Humphrey Bogart tells Mary Astor that he does not want to be a fall guy.
I did not imagine that I was close to being one when I responded to that ad for a board level appointment relating to industrial safety. Months passed, and then one afternoon the phone rang. Through a mouthful of toothpaste foam (I get up late), I mumbled hello. The voice at the other end said that the director personnel would like to have a chat with me. It is difficult to talk with a mouthful of toothpaste, but I managed to reply in the affirmative. I searched in vain for the far (Fatal Accident Ratio) of Indian Industries, listed the priorities while assuming risks, checked the mtbf (Mean Time Between Failures) of safety equipment abroad, went through the steps suggested for improvement of stress-related performance