One of the great things about thumbing through
the Annual Report is the infallibility of discovering something buried inside to peg one's
indignation meter,and for a Savonarola-esque
scold like me, that's the tragic devolution of
boards from hardnosed overseers of management to
lap doggish yes men prepare to overlook failure
while shoveling truckloads of perks to failed
CEOs. LeCroy paid Tom a $300K retention bonus
in 2005, and is paying him another $300K next
year. So in tribute to a board whose obsequiousness is matched only by its willful
blindness, I present my next opus:

The board gave Tom 300 grand.
Is he REALLY an indispensable man?
The board so believes,
but between you and me,
I think they did it 'cause they can.

Did they think Ton would pack up his bags,
unless being bribed with 300k swag?
Are they that big a rube,
or simply Tom's stooge?
Either way of course, it's us that's been had.

So 300 grand that was once on the books,
is now in Tom's pants- no need to look.
With a sycophantic board
dissension's ignored.
Surprising what little effort it took.

How did this happen? Did Tom drop a word?
Did the board react to a rumor it heard?
Sure it's shareholder's dough.
Do they care where it goes?
How much toadyism until one's inured?