A bad day all around
If you try and make sense of it, the world goes all soft and fuzzy.
She arrived to work fresh from a painful divorce with a new degree and an idea of what she wanted to do. But wide-eyed and quiet, to be sure.
And they stuck her in a cube with myself and Our Man in the Far East. Baaaad influences.
Since we played silly games to see who could unnerve the other on deadline. Stuff like staring at the other and saying, “Hey, you” over and over again until the other broke down and looked and then you said “Fuck you.”
Childish stuff, I know.
She heard a lot of swears. It’s that kind of business.
We taught her, the best we could, to cuss. We were so proud when she’d throw a few swears our way.
She was “separated from her employment” on Wednesday. After a 10-year career where she did nothing but work her ass off. To a point where she became beloved both in the community and at the office. She made a difference in people’s lives, and was told so every single day.
But it wasn’t enough, in the end. She stood up for her beliefs. She stood up for herself. And was asked to leave immediately, don’t stop to clean out your desk, come back when you won’t be such a distraction.
She held her head high, but could not stop the tears.
We followed her out the door and made circles with our feet in the lawn as she told us everything would be OK.
She hugged us all.
More tears came.
It came time for my hug, and when we broke apart, she smiled though the stream of tears that ran down her face and said:
“Fuck.”
She arrived to work fresh from a painful divorce with a new degree and an idea of what she wanted to do. But wide-eyed and quiet, to be sure.
And they stuck her in a cube with myself and Our Man in the Far East. Baaaad influences.
Since we played silly games to see who could unnerve the other on deadline. Stuff like staring at the other and saying, “Hey, you” over and over again until the other broke down and looked and then you said “Fuck you.”
Childish stuff, I know.
She heard a lot of swears. It’s that kind of business.
We taught her, the best we could, to cuss. We were so proud when she’d throw a few swears our way.
She was “separated from her employment” on Wednesday. After a 10-year career where she did nothing but work her ass off. To a point where she became beloved both in the community and at the office. She made a difference in people’s lives, and was told so every single day.
But it wasn’t enough, in the end. She stood up for her beliefs. She stood up for herself. And was asked to leave immediately, don’t stop to clean out your desk, come back when you won’t be such a distraction.
She held her head high, but could not stop the tears.
We followed her out the door and made circles with our feet in the lawn as she told us everything would be OK.
She hugged us all.
More tears came.
It came time for my hug, and when we broke apart, she smiled though the stream of tears that ran down her face and said:
“Fuck.”
Comments
I hate greedy people who don't get it... who don't have the basic core that makes people human.
She catered our weddings, baked our birthday cakes, gushed over our new babies and gave us flowers "just because." She was graceful in the face of repeated, unspeakable personal tragedy. I don't understand why anybody could treat her like that... but you know, her life is so richly blessed. Her amazing husband, her children, her extended family, her multitudes of friends (including so many who never met her in person but feel like she's an old friend). She, like many of us, began friendships at that place that blossomed into some of the most precious relationships we have today. And now she doesn't have to listen to the hate-spewing morons who weren't privileged enough to know her on a personal level, because everybody who knew her couldn't help but love and admire her.
The people in the glass offices can't take that from her. And they can't take it from you either, ThomG.
Good luck to all of those who want out.
Mike