Maintenance Department,
Jim, was unjobbed eight years before retirement, but he could not
complain because he was not fired. The qualifications for his job
that he had held for twenty years had simply changed so that he was
immediately turned down when forced to reapply for his position. He
could even stay on at the hospital and continue to be jobbed as the
head overnight custodian.
Jim had mechanical expertise, but no college
degree. However, the cashier from the gift shop had a degree in
history and became the Team Guider of Continuity Rejuvenation
Services, which had replaced the Maintenance Department. An
eccentric comic one told a joke about how burglars broke into his
house and replaced everything with exact replicas.
This was that, but worse.
Things still got done and the cashier was
heralded as a success. The fact that some important things went
undone; the fact that the cashier had outside people come in to fix
things that Jim could have fixed; and the fact that the cashier had
the maintenance guys fix things that should have been contracted
out were only minor adjustments that were expected with change. But
Jim had only created ethereal silence with properly repaired
heating and cooling units and significant symphonies with
electrical systems. He had only worked magic with a pair of
pliers.
The twenty-six year old cashier was friendly,
courteous and always gave the correct change. He wore a tie, but he
genuinely cared about the appearance of contentment of his staff.
He did everything to get the men to like him and to share their
thoughts.
“ I think I might have to kill that
new jerk-off supervisor,” Craig, a maintenance man of ten years,
said sharing his thoughts at lunch. Craig did not seem to know that
his Team Guider was not a supervisor, but an ex-cashier from the
gift shop making five thousand more a year than Jim had made. After
all, he needed to be compensated for his years of study on the
Civil War. He did not know how to rewire a fuse box, but he knew
who invented electricity. The Team Guider’s desk was in Jim’s old
office though, so, Craig called him a supervisor. Craig wasn’t
smart enough to know the difference between a supervisor and a Team
Guider.
Chapter 10
Joe drove home recklessly in sheets of rain.
Next to him was The Pretty Housekeeper, Susan. They had been going
out for almost a year and she sometimes spent an entire week at
Joe’s. Joe had, of course, noticed her when she began working at
Saint Jude’s, but she had garnered so much attention from the male
employees that he didn’t want to be one of the pack of men that
would leave their assigned work area to bump into her. A lot of
maintenance got done on the wing that she worked and non-smoking
men began to smoke so that they could meet her on her break. When
her three-month probation was up, the men gave her a party with
decorations, a cake, and gifts. These were the same men that let
people that they worked with for decades retire without so much as
a pat on the back.
To Joe’s credit, he wanted no part of that. To
his shame, he didn’t take part because he figured he didn’t have a
chance. However, one day he was talking about NASCAR with Bigger in
the Butt Hutt and he overheard Susan say to her co-worker and about
eight men around her that she hated shopping. Joe’s heart began to
race with love, but he continued on talking to Bigger like nothing
was happening.
Then Susan divided the guys around her, leaned
over to him and said, “Dale Earnhardt was the dirtiest fucking
driver ever.” From the moment on, he knew he was in wonderful
trouble. She seemed to always be complaining about an elderly
housekeeper that smelled of BO, but Joe was able to tune that
out.
Joe and Susan ran to his door. They stripped
off their wet clothes and made love. Then they put on some
comfortable clothes and ate a pizza. At seven o’ clock, Bigger
showed up at Joe’s door, drunk. “I’ve gotts ta
Jim, was unjobbed eight years before retirement, but he could not
complain because he was not fired. The qualifications for his job
that he had held for twenty years had simply changed so that he was
immediately turned down when forced to reapply for his position. He
could even stay on at the hospital and continue to be jobbed as the
head overnight custodian.
Jim had mechanical expertise, but no college
degree. However, the cashier from the gift shop had a degree in
history and became the Team Guider of Continuity Rejuvenation
Services, which had replaced the Maintenance Department. An
eccentric comic one told a joke about how burglars broke into his
house and replaced everything with exact replicas.
This was that, but worse.
Things still got done and the cashier was
heralded as a success. The fact that some important things went
undone; the fact that the cashier had outside people come in to fix
things that Jim could have fixed; and the fact that the cashier had
the maintenance guys fix things that should have been contracted
out were only minor adjustments that were expected with change. But
Jim had only created ethereal silence with properly repaired
heating and cooling units and significant symphonies with
electrical systems. He had only worked magic with a pair of
pliers.
The twenty-six year old cashier was friendly,
courteous and always gave the correct change. He wore a tie, but he
genuinely cared about the appearance of contentment of his staff.
He did everything to get the men to like him and to share their
thoughts.
“ I think I might have to kill that
new jerk-off supervisor,” Craig, a maintenance man of ten years,
said sharing his thoughts at lunch. Craig did not seem to know that
his Team Guider was not a supervisor, but an ex-cashier from the
gift shop making five thousand more a year than Jim had made. After
all, he needed to be compensated for his years of study on the
Civil War. He did not know how to rewire a fuse box, but he knew
who invented electricity. The Team Guider’s desk was in Jim’s old
office though, so, Craig called him a supervisor. Craig wasn’t
smart enough to know the difference between a supervisor and a Team
Guider.
Chapter 10
Joe drove home recklessly in sheets of rain.
Next to him was The Pretty Housekeeper, Susan. They had been going
out for almost a year and she sometimes spent an entire week at
Joe’s. Joe had, of course, noticed her when she began working at
Saint Jude’s, but she had garnered so much attention from the male
employees that he didn’t want to be one of the pack of men that
would leave their assigned work area to bump into her. A lot of
maintenance got done on the wing that she worked and non-smoking
men began to smoke so that they could meet her on her break. When
her three-month probation was up, the men gave her a party with
decorations, a cake, and gifts. These were the same men that let
people that they worked with for decades retire without so much as
a pat on the back.
To Joe’s credit, he wanted no part of that. To
his shame, he didn’t take part because he figured he didn’t have a
chance. However, one day he was talking about NASCAR with Bigger in
the Butt Hutt and he overheard Susan say to her co-worker and about
eight men around her that she hated shopping. Joe’s heart began to
race with love, but he continued on talking to Bigger like nothing
was happening.
Then Susan divided the guys around her, leaned
over to him and said, “Dale Earnhardt was the dirtiest fucking
driver ever.” From the moment on, he knew he was in wonderful
trouble. She seemed to always be complaining about an elderly
housekeeper that smelled of BO, but Joe was able to tune that
out.
Joe and Susan ran to his door. They stripped
off their wet clothes and made love. Then they put on some
comfortable clothes and ate a pizza. At seven o’ clock, Bigger
showed up at Joe’s door, drunk. “I’ve gotts ta
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