265 lines
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265 lines
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet!
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March 14, 1991
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FILE_SYS.ASC
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This file courtesy of Double Helix BBS at 212 865 7043.
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THE WORLD'S BEST FILING SYSTEM
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by Geoffrey E. Dolbear, PhD (Copyright 1989)
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Anyone working with facts and ideas, and that includes most writers,
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learns to be a packrat, storing away notes and articles for future
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projects. But being a packrat is no good when you can't find what
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you stashed away. You must adopt some kind of system for storing
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and finding things, a filing system. I'd like to tell you about the
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filing system I consider the world's best.
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I have been collecting articles for over twenty years in my career
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as an industrial scientist. My collection now totals almost fifteen
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linear feet, filling two filing cabinets and invading a third.
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Yet this mountain of paper is so nicely organized that it is rare
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that I cannot find a needed reference in less than a minute. And
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now that I'm spending all my "free" time on my freelance writing
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business at home, I've developed a filing system for those files as
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well.
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Before I describe my filing system and how you can make one like it
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for yourself, let's explore what you should demand from any system
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which keeps track of your valuable information.
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What Makes a Filing System Good?
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A good filing system must meet two criteria:
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* Savability, providing a place to save everything you want
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to save, and
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* Findability, providing a fast and reliable method for
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finding things later.
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Anything less is unacceptable. If it's not obvious where to put
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something, and its not easy to find it afterwards, then saving it
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wastes effort and space. Both savability and findability depend on
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a cross reference system, either in the user's head or on paper
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where it does not need to be remembered when the user is in a hurry.
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The antithesis of what we are talking about is the "haystack" file.
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Page 1
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This is a stack of folders, letters, memos, photocopies, and
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magazines. Every large office has at least one haystack, and I have
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seen several that were more than two feet high.
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Savability is excellent, since each new item is placed directly on
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the top of the pile, but findability is terrible because nothing can
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be found without sifting through everything on the pile.
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Along with savability and findability comes the requirement that the
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system keep together things which logic tells us belong together.
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It would make no sense to file topics like "Audi" and "Volkswagen"
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at opposite ends of a filing system just because their names begin
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with a and v. Better to put them together under automobile or
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German, depending on whether we're mechanics or economists. Then
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when we build the cross reference system we can include Audi and VW
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as alphabetical entries pointing to the correct files.
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Both savability and findability are reduced when the system has too
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many files which contain too few items. The optimum is one or two
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dozen items per file. When individual files get much fatter than
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this, they should be broken into subsections, to allow faster, more
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convenient searching.
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BUILDING A PERSONALIZED SYSTEM
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My filing system is better than just good because it meets an
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additional important criterion: it's personalized. I tailored its
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logical structure, sections and subsections, around the kinds of
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information I save. This is much different than copying the
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structure out of a book.
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I began by spending a couple of hours looking over my files, making
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a list of the labels I found on the folders.
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Then I put this list into a logical structure using a 1.A.1.a.
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outline. I like the I.A.1.a. outline because it makes the system
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both flexible and expendable to deal with new subjects. Since 1977,
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my seven original headings have grown to nine.
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Next I reorganized the file folders into this structure. This was a
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big job and consumed several hours.
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As I removed each file from its drawer I attached its new outline
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number using temporary stick-on labels. The files then went back
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into the drawer in the new order.
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Over the next six months I used my new system daily, changing it
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wherever appropriate to increase its utility. When the time came to
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formalize it, I convinced my boss to allow me to hire a temporary
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clerk. She was a genuine luxury in a company chronically short on
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clerical help.
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In a week she typed and installed permanent labels for all the
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files, and generated an alphabetical cross reference system in a
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three ring binder.
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Page 2
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In summary, my filing system was assembled in five steps:
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1. Prepare an inventory of existing files,
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2. Organize existing titles into trial groups, using the
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outline format,
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3. Rearrange, using temporary labels,
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4. Use the system for several months, polishing its
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structure for ease of use,
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5. Install permanent labels and prepare an alphabetical
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cross reference.
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Because I was willing to take my time with these steps, the filing
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system fits my needs like a glove. For a decade it has worked hard
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for me, helping me store and find the information I need whenever I
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need it.
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The well-thumbed cross reference file has been updated twice and is
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about to need it again.
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It is so important to everyday use of the files that I would
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recommend preparing the cross reference when the first rearrangement
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of the files is completed. In fact, that is just what I did when I
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set up a filing system for my articles on fly fishing.
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WRITING FILES
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One of my freelance writing areas is fly fishing. I have collected
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what seems like tons of articles, maps, and newsletters. For a
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while they all fit in a few folders, but the packrat in me ensured
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that the collection would outgrow its simple beginnings.
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Applying what I learned from my scientific files, I have also
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created an efficient system around these files.
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I was able to use the outlining feature of my word processor to
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construct the subject outline, a luxury not available ten years ago.
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For the cross reference index, I made a copy of the outline, copied
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the outline numbers after each entry, and erased the numbers on the
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left.
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Then I went through and added synonyms for several of the entries,
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and split all paired items so that both entries appeared in the
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list.
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Finally I alphabetized the list, polished the formatting, and
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printed it off. My net investment was two hours one evening.
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PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
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As long as it is neat, the physical structure of the filing system
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is less important than the logical structure.
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Notes and reprints can be stored in folders, envelopes, or even
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paper bags, collected in drawers, boxes, baskets and even garbage
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cans, I suppose. You can spend a little or a lot.
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I prefer hanging files. Most filing drawers and cabinets allow you
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to install rods for hanging files, and some even have them built in.
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Page 3
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For my fly fishing files I've purchased the plastic milk crates
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which are designed for hanging folders. They are convenient and
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certainly cheaper than good filing cabinets, although right on the
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verge of expensive.
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While neatness is inherently pleasing to the eye, that's only its
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third most important virtue. Second is the ease of using a neat
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file. First is that the paper saved in a messy system gets messy
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and harder to use.
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Something else that keeps a filing system neat is occasional use of
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the garbage can. An hour spent culling files will produce enough
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outdated data and unneeded duplicates to generate free space that no
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filing system seems ever to have.
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SUMMARY
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Everyone who collects information for current and future projects
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eventually faces the prospect of developing some kind of filing
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system.
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The truly dedicated packrat soon moves on to the point where even a
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simple system is inadequate. You'll know you're there the third
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time you cannot locate a critical item you filed only a few weeks
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before. If that's happened to you, take the time to reorganize into
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your own World's Best Filing System.
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GEOFF DOLBEAR is an independent writer and consultant doing contract
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and freelance work with high tech companies. Trained as a physical
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chemist with degrees from Berkeley and Stanford, he worked in
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research and development for Fortune 500 companies for more than 20
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years. Seven of those years were spent in management assignments.
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His articles have appeared in several national magazines. He is
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a regular contributor to the American Chemical Society's
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prizewinning magazine CHEMTECH and editor for its monthly column
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"Heartcut". Geoff's scientific work has resulted in over 25 papers
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and talks, and he is inventor on seven U. S. Patents. He is also a
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contributor to The World Book Encyclopedia.
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This article is copyrighted, and permission is hereby granted to use
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the information in it in your own business. You may also distribute
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the article to others for free.
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Geoffrey E. Dolbear, 23050 Aspen Knoll Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765;
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714-861-8934; CIS 72371,2250.
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If we can be of service, you may contact
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Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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Page 4
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