I just learned something interesting yesterday.
It seems that the so-called 'American Flag Blue' paint used on the Reflecting Pool wasn't actually paint, nor was it what they normally paint swimming pools with. It was a urethane material that was normally used to line the bed of pickup trucks and such, what's known as a spray-on 'bed-liner', which is traditionally applied to smooth metallic surfaces which already had a coat of paint. What caught my attention was that I heard a reporter remark that the material used came from a company named 'Rhino Linings'.
Well as soon as I heard that I knew exactly where it came from, a company just north of San Diego. But that's not all. I know the CEO of the company. In fact, he and his wife are very active members of our church. He and I were on the church's building committee together. We've participated in at least two weekend men's retreats together. And his wife and my wife worked for years together helping organize an annual women's event which was held at the church. We've been to at least two or three events that they hosted at their house, which is only about a mile from where we live.
I first met him over 30 years ago when he was still the CEO of Mitsubishi of North America (their office building was less than a mile from ours). He left there about 25 years ago and went to work for Rhino Linings Corporation, eventually replacing the founder of the company, first as president and then eventually at the CEO (the founder, a chemist, wanted to spend more of his time doing R&D).
Now, I have no idea if the company played any role in actually applying the 'paint' on the floor of the Reflecting Pool. It's quite possible that all they did was sell the contractor, who actually did the job, the material that they used.
Now Rhino Linings makes several different products, mostly used in industrial applications, including things like spray on urethane foam insulation, sound deadening material, and other industrial coatings. But their original product and the one that you hear about the most, is the spray-on trunk bed liner, as there are many places which offers that service using their products (they used to do that themselves, but now they license their process and products to private retailers).
We see him and his wife almost every Sunday, but I suspect that I'll not mention this to him as I wouldn't want to put him on the spot as we do have a cordial and spiritual relationship that we've enjoyed for over 30 years.
But as they say, it's a small world...
OCU
