Well, folks, I have been in the laboratory medicine business for 17 years now, and in the blood bank for much of that time. But, as many know, my background is railroading, and I have been an active locomotive engineer for 35 years. I still run passenger trains on weekends. The railroad has called me back and made me an offer I cannot refuse. I am going to be rail operations controller for all passenger, commuter and freight service in Austin. My hospital has always undervalued medical technologists, and they could not even begin to match half the salary I will make working for the railroad. I will also work less hours than I have at the hospital. This is ironic because the main reason I took early retirement from the railroad was because of the long hours and the many nights I spent away from home. But, under federal law, rail controllers can only work 9 hours a day. As a locomotive engineer, I can (and did) work 12 hours on, 8 hours off, up to 365 days a year.

So, it is with regret that I bid farewell to bloodbanking, which I do love, and to all the fine people I have talked to over the years, many of whom are members of this site. I can be reached at my home email: rt.currie@gmail.com .

Best regards,

Bob Currie

Sorry to see you go. We will all miss your posts and it is sorry state of affair of how undervalued we are. I hope that you will on occassion pop on and say hi.

Monica

Bob, I will miss your unique insight, your valuable information, and your hilarious (and sarcastic) sense of humor. You have touched many people, both near and far, that you may never know. You may not have been appreciated by your hospital, but always know that you have been appreciated by many of us. Best of luck to you!

Best of Luck to you!!!!

Congratuations, but we will miss you. I have always enjoyed your posts and looked forward to hearing what you had to say on a subject.

I certainly understand what you are saying on salaries. I know with the same talents I could make much more in another field. But I do enjoy the Blood Bank Team and that's what keeps me here.

Best Wishes,

Belva in Lincoln

Bob,

Many thanks for your terrific contributions to the site, and best of luck to you.

It's sad to see you go. Hopefully your institution will miss you when you're gone and realize the importance that we blood bankers have to the overall care of their patients.

On a side note, have you ever thought of combining your careers into one? How about a rail-based mobile blood collection unit? I can see it now - a blood red train coming down the tracks, full of qualified and well-compensated medical personnel ready to collect your blood in one car, screen it for diseases in the next car, and store it safely for delivery in the next town. You could take your train all over the country doing good for all of mankind. If you ever decide to go down that track (pun intended), I'll send you my resume:cool:

John H.

Elmira, NY

Good luck with the railroad! You will be missed. I love reading your posts. You have such a wonderful sense of humor.

They've said it all, you will be missed here!

Bob...Jeeze, now I guess I'll have to resort to reading the newspaoer funnies....which aren't very funny! Thanks for all the questions you fielded for me. This site won't be the same without you! Best of luck....

Bob -

Thanks for all the information and insight you have shared with all of us. I don't post much but when I have been frustrated with issues it always seems everyone else has a similar frustration. I could always count on finding your input somewhere in a post that summed things up much more elequotenly than I could have done.

Congratulations.....

Angie

Dayton, Ohio

Oh sure, rub salt in the wound. "I'm leaving for more money, shorter hours and less stress." Just what we needed to hear.

There's nothing that says you can't stop in and visit now and then. I did appreciate your unique perspective on the law and it was quite helpful on occasion.

Stay in touch.

John

Thanks, everyone. I will check in from time to time. I have BloodBankTalk in my favorites, and always check for new posts before I shut my computer down at night.

John, you may have something there. I would make it a turn-around local. We collect blood on one leg, do component prep and testing, then on the return leg drop it off to hospitals that need it ;-) If only it were that simple.

This is a great group of dedicated professionals on this site. It has been my pleasure to be a part of it.

BC

Bob, you will be missed!

I always enjoyed your posts and learned somthing from you.

Thanks

Good luck.

Linda Frederick

Which railroad will you be working for?

My hobby is trains.

sjl

I will be working for Veolia Transportation. Veolia is the contract company for Capital Metro in Austin. We will run the commuter rail system and the freight rail system (with Watco as the freight subcontractor). Watco took over freight operations last month, and I was part of that process. I will train the commuter train operators and dispatchers (called rail controllers in commuter rail terminology), and be over the rail controllers once the operation begins full time next year. My responsibilities are supervising field supervisors and operators, training, special projects, troubleshooting, and general operations control.

I have been a certified locomotive engineer for 35 years, running high speed freight most of the time, and passenger trains for the last 6. I have run high speed passenger trains at 90+, and had a turn at the throttle of our 150 mph train between Baltimore and DC.

Here is a link to Capital Metro's website telling about the MetroRail commuter service.

http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorail.shtml

Watco will operate as the Austin Western Railroad:

http://www.watcocompanies.com/Railroads/AWRR/AWRR%20main%20page.htm

I also run excursion passenger trains: http://www.austinsteamtrain.org

You can see some of my pictures on my blog:

http://locomotiveengineer.blogspot.com/

I am more well known in the railroad industry than I am in blood banking. I have been the engineer in several movies, including Smokie and the Bandit II with Jerry Reid and Burt Reynolds (I give Jerry Reid top billing because he came up on my engine to talk to me and ask questions, while Burt stayed in his trailer) and more recently Infamous, with Sandra Bullock, who rode with me and talked to me for several hours about Jesse James' little railroad he has on his property. My train is seen in two scenes in the movie- once when Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee comes to "Kansas" (it was filmed outside of Elgin, Texas) to stay with Truman Capote while he wrote In Cold Blood, and once when she left "Kansas."

Anyone who comes to Austin should look me up and come ride on my passenger excursion train, the Hill Country Flyer.

BC

Rcurrie, I learn lots of professional knowledge from your posts. I always think you are a good technologist and wish myself can do this work as good as you. We will miss you.

Bob

I am with everyone else . . . thanks for all your insight and best of luck with your renewed endeavor in transportation.

Dave/Littleton, NH

Bob

I am really glad to hear that you will be working for a commuter rail authority and am especially glad to hear that the capital of Texas is embracing the commuter rail alternative. That will be a big boost to the promotion of passenger rail in our region as an alternative to the automobile and toward a solution to increasing energy costs and adverse environmental effects. Best of luck to you.

Just wish us luck with ISBT 128 (I will need a good train ride after we tackle this tough nut).

sjl -- Oklahoma City (personal email sjl@prodigy.net)

Bob,

Your posts will be missed both for your insight and for your wit!

Thanks for all you've given,

Jane

OK, fine, but what am I going to do when I need those obscure OSHA or FDA regulations that you always had on tap? Can I still email you for them? That would be easier than hunting them all up online through the government morass.

Like everyone else, I will miss your unique contributions.

Thanks, Mabel. Sure- ask away. If I don't know it off the top of my head, I can probably put my fingers on it quickly.

BC

Hi, Bob,

I was affraid to open the post with title Goodbye and your name.....I am really going to miss your posts. I do not know how we are going to have live discussions without your input!!!!!!

Can I ask you questions anytime I need your help...Please.......

We will miss you:cries::cries:

No problem! I am still here- just running trains instead of a blood bank QA department. I am definitely going to keep my certification current, do CMLE, etc. Thanks for your kind words.

BC

Hi Bob,

Glad to see your presence here still, you're truly a valued contributor.