It was a very hectic day today and the next few will be the same. I have two big meetings tomorrow and an arbitration coming up that the lawyer thinks we should drop everything to prepare for, even though they have known about it for two years...
The day started off badly right after I got to work and mass was just getting out across the lot at the church. I had gone over yesterday to see if our students' grad gowns had been left in the church basement after grad, but it was locked so I went back. We have not been able to find them since school started. As I walked into the basement, the custodian was just coming out. I greeted him and he walked right past me. He came back less than a minute later as I was looking for the gowns and asked me if I was looking for something. When I told him, he said he called the company to pick them up and they told him he could throw them out, as they were disposable. I said, "but they were ours". Then he says they've been here for more than two months. I said, "two months that no one is there." He told me that this is a church, not the salvation army. When I reminded him that it was the church used for our students grad, he told me that lots of other places had their grad there and didn't leave their stuff. When he tried to point out where the rack was they had been on and said that I could take it, I had to walk out. I never felt more like punching someone in my life!
I went back to school and had to calm myself down before I could even talk about it. Several other people on staff have run into him before, but were still shocked. The principal was out so she will deal with it tomorrow.
I was still pretty upset when I went to toss my keys in my lunch bag, and saw my food. I had an immediate intense desire to eat everything in it, but it passed so quickly that I almost laughed about how strong it had been. It was a comforting feeling to know it has less control over me!
As for the man, I pity that he has to spend 24 hours a day with himself! I don't have a lot of hope for the institution of the church, but help like him, nobody deserves. Thank god I have supportive coworkers, as it helped me leave it behind fairly quickly.
"Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact." Bertrand Russell
"I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it." Judith Sitwell
Great story and great quotes. Almost as good as yesterdays. I looked up Joseph Campbell and was so hooked with the guy I immediately downloaded a book called "Reflections on the Art of Living".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration.
.....oh and you should have punched the fucker!!. He would have been so embarrased to be laid out by an old fat lady that he would have just skulked away...
Love
Peter
Very interesting story, and while it may have made you feel better for a very brief moment, I am glad you did not punch the guy. It may sound strange, but upon reading your story, I almost immediately saw it from a different perspective than both you and Peter. A few different things came to my mind right away. I would consider this. When he totally ignored your original greeting, maybe he didn't hear you, or see you, or was focused on his work, or had something else on his mind. I have this happen to me all the time where people reach out to shake my hand and I don't notice it. They look at my like I am some kind of asshole because I am ignoring their offer of a handshake. I also know that I have been on the other end of this as well when I was too focused on something I was doing and missed someone saying hi or whatever. As far as the gowns, I would suggest you consider this. When he found them, he made a concerted effort to call whomever he thought owned them and was told by them that he was free to throw them out. Another thing that I would think about is that even though it is foremost in your mind that schools close and teachers are away for 2 months, most people have jobs that do not shut down for this period of time, so it is natural for them to think that if something has been left for 2 months, that it may have been abandoned. It happens at my work all the time. As a matter of fact, it was just the other day when my boss called me to explain why there was an outstanding invoice for a customer dating back to the end of June. He was concerned that this was too long to wait to follow up and that we may end up losing this if we didn't follow up more quickly. My boss is an intelligent and thoughtful person, but it never occurred to him that the outstanding invoice was for a teachers union office that has been on holidays since the day of the invoice.
ReplyDeleteIf you consider these things, most likely, he was reacting defensively and trying to justify his reasoning for his mistake as he thought he did all the right things and you were obviously not happy when you found out the gowns had been tossed. Just my two cents worth.
I love you and I am very proud that you were able to overcome your frustration and not succumb to the urge to eat.
Love Happy Odd John
And that's why they call him "Odd" John. You're version only works if you weren't there brother. As I hear Elly tell the story I see a miserable, cantankerous person who needs some enlightenment. If there was even a hint of the person you describe, then Elly would have smelled it out. I think rather that she smelled an asshole!
ReplyDeleteThat being said I agree that punching him in the mouth would not be called for. Maybe a swift kick to the groin would have sufficed.
Love
Peter