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said he was there to apply for a job. He called
someone on the phone and after a couple minutes directed Marcus to
an elevator bank taking him to the Human Resources Department.
    He was so nervous he almost wet his pants. Sitting
across from a person who reminded Marcus of his junior college
teachers, he reviewed the openings: Mailroom and Security Guard.
The HR recruiter liked Marcus’ gentle demeanor and was conscious of
his large body frame. He offered Marcus a job as a security
guard.
    “Of course you’ll have to pass a background check.
Then, we will send you to the county’s firearm training session.
Assuming you pass this course, we will get you outfitted with a
uniform and secure a firearm, handcuffs and other tools of your new
trade. How does that sound young man?”
    “Outstanding,” Marcus replied without hesitation.
“When can I start?”
    ***
    He quickly cleared the background check and easily
passed the firearms training course. He worked the same guard desk
where he first stumbled in looking for work. Marcus was the first
contact that traders saw every morning as they entered the coliseum
of commodity trading.
    “How ‘bout them Sox?” he learned to say to the south
side traders.
    “This is the Cubbie’s year, right?” he said to the
north side folks.
    In the fall or winter he would ask, “When are we
going to get a QB for ‘da Bears’?” or “Did you see how many points
Michael scored yesterday?”
    Many employees traded sports barbs with Marcus. He
became so beloved that around Christmas time he had the most gifts
and holiday tips of any employee at the Board. He occasionally had
to break up heated disturbances by angry traders in the pits. He
was big enough to split the combatants and he got along with
everyone, so when he intervened, the temperature of the fight
dropped right away. He enjoyed the attention and took his
assignment seriously – turning away vagrants and unauthorized
patrons. Members really came to like his friendly disposition.
    One of the members of the Board of Trade was Jon
Handelair. He was an entrepreneurial immigrant, originally from
Holland, who found his way onto the Chicago Board of Trade. As a
young man, Jon made a fortune trading wheat futures during
President Nixon’s export embargo to the Soviet Union. He stopped
trading futures contracts after he had accumulated substantial
wealth, and was now working as an administrator at the Board of
Trade. Mr. Handelair knew most members either from trading days or
as a department director. He was certainly an executive, but he
made it a point to know people by name. Exchanging hello’s before
the day began was a normal ritual between Marcus and Mr.
Handelair.
    No matter the weather or economic conditions, Mr.
Handelair greeted Marcus by saying, “It’s a beautiful day to trade
today!”
    And Marcus, paying homage to the ever optimistic
hall of fame Cub player Ernie Banks, would respond, “Let’s play two
today!” Both laughed and high-fived each other to start each
day.
    ***
    A few years later, the Board of Trade administration
decided to sponsor a recreational basketball league at the Chicago
Club to foster after-hours fun with member firms. Fighting to buy
and sell wheat, corn and pork belly contracts daily was a high
stress, physically challenging way to make a living. Many market
participants were ex-athletes, or at the very least, had
competitive personalities. It was no accident that most traders
were under forty years old. Rigors of trading shortened most
members’ careers. The purpose of the basketball league was to let
the member firms blow-off steam and establish sportsmanship that
might spill over onto the trading floor. Jon Handelair asked Marcus
to play on the exchange’s staff team. Marcus was flattered to be
included in an otherwise good-old-boys culture consisting of
high-income traders and well-educated staff members. Marcus had a
sense of his place on the team and in the league. Although he