Yes, it's true, I actually met John Galt a few weeks ago.
Funny, he wasn't good-looking, a snappy dresser or buffed out. But Ayn Rand wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes, so it isn't so surprising, I guess.
Anyway, it turns out he's the guy who sells construction equipment and repairs my company's tools in the nearest medium sized town down the road. I was taking a table saw into him to get the motor replaced, and was tipped off to his identity as I noticed a handwritten sign on the front door as I entered the store:
Notice: Due to government interference we will be forced to close at 4pm instead of 4:30 each day. Sorry for the inconvenience.
"That's interesting," I thought as I walked in; he also had the same notice behind the register. "What's that about?" I asked as I approached, pointing to the sign.
"Damn feds," he snarled, teeth bared.
"Really!" I sympathized, "what happened?"
"Well they notified us that our one employee couldn't work more than 40 hours a week without getting overtime."
{Blink blink}
"Oookaaayy.." I left some dead space for him to fill in the blank.
Nothing.
"And????"
"Well, obviously," he condescendingly went on, "If Bill has to go home at 4, we can't leave the store open, can we?"
I hesitated for a few seconds, looking for signs of intelligence in his face (faint glimmer) and wondering whether my table saw would come back in one piece if I left it with this bozo. He was nodding at me in a peculiar way (his eyes were squinting and he had his lower lip between his teeth) and with a shudder I realized that it was a gesture that George Bush made at a press conferences when emphasizing a baldfaced lie he'd just told.
"Um, can't you stagger your hours with Bill's so you can stay ope.."
"You don't get it, they forced us to cut his hours back to 40 per week! How is that so hard to understand?"
"Well, that's the law. {beat} Has been for decades. (beat) You work over 40 hours and you get overti.."
"Right, like I don't know how to run a business. So what's with the table saw?" This conversation, mercifully, was over.
I ended up leaving the saw with Mr. Galt despite my reservations (only tool repair show in town). When I went to get the damn thing a couple weeks later, the shop was pretty much out of business. "Everything goes" said the sign. "50% off selected items"
"You guys shutting down?" I asked.
"Well we can't stay here, the rent's too high," said big John. "We're just shedding some stock so when we find a new place the move can go quickly."
I thought about suggesting he try negotiating with his landlord since the industrial area they were in was loaded with vacancies, but it quickly dawned on me that this was just another deflection tactic, putting the blame for his business' collapse on anybody but himself.
"Good thinking," I concurred.
So I just picked up the saw and left.
The motor ran ok, by the way, but the blade and fence were totally out of alignment. Still, I considered myself lucky -- to have met a real American hero!
And yes, this is a true story.