Hey folks,
I have told you folks before about the characters I have worked with. Well a person that is the complete opposite is leaving my company. His name is Joel. This guy is a great guy, smart and very easy to get along with. He is the person no one has a bad thing to say about. But you know how in the movie unbreakable, Bruce Willis was unbreakable. And Sam Jackson would fall apart if fell down. His opposite, or as I like to say his bizzaro Bruce Willis. (see Seinfeld). Joel's bizzaro would be a guy named Rick I worked with at a Chemical company about 20 years ago. Now I knew he would be a gem the minute I met him. He has every issue known to man. Bad child hood, bad marriage with a built in cheating wife. We were both computer operators. And this was a very small shop. We had 3 shifts so we only had 3 operators. So if someone got sick you were working 16 hours. And with all of his issues he was never late and rarely sick. But when I first started he had to train me on running the different applications we ran, Payroll, Accounts Payable, General Ledger and so forth. Well the night he was going to train me on Payroll he had into a knock down drag out fight with his lovely wife Mary. I only met her twice. I called her "Scary Mary". She was not a good looking gal. My co-worker Tom told me, "WOW, he must have met her at a Rock Fight". Nuff said. So Rick gets the Payroll Jobs running and says "Hey I'm going to lunch". Warning bell should have gone off. One its nine at night and Two I had never seen him eat anything. Just chain smoke Lucky Strikes and down coffee by the gallons. So when he didn’t return at 10:30 I was very worried, when the phone rings and its John the Head of Payroll asking to speak to Rick. I said he's still at lunch. When John slams the phone and yells "Dam it." I said what wrong? He said he must have had a fight with his wife. He is either one or two places drunk and passed out in his car or drunk and at the strip club. He say's "Vinny can you finish the payroll run?" I said "No, Rick was training me." So now he informs me that I have to get him out of the back of his car or the strip club. I said, "No Way." Well after a little prodding from John. And this being my 2nd week. I agreed. And of course he was not in the parking lot. If I did not have twin babies at home I would not have done it. So I get to the strip club and yes Rick is there up front waving dollar bills like he's trying to get the attention of Bob Barker on the "Price is Right". I'm pleading with him to come back to work. No way. He say's "Vinny, buddy, have a drink with me. Tropic Tanya will be out next." So thinking my life had just turned into a Quentin Tarentino movie. I had a beer, watched the storm that was Tanya and then forcefully dragged Rick out. But he can't drive and won't get in my truck unless I agreed to go to the package store and buy him a bottle of Jack Daniels. I said 'No Way." So as I walk into the liquor store, I'm thinking no one is ever going to believe I was not in on this from the beginning. I get Rick back to work, and not only did he run the Payroll jobs flawless he did a pretty good job of training me. Now I did not mention this episode to my boss for the fear we would both get canned. But I told all the details to John of Payroll. About a week goes by and I get called into my boss’s office and he says I just got off the phone with John. Well right there I was so nervous I think I peed a little. And all he does next is hand me a twenty dollar bill and says, "Been there!"
So I will go to my friend Joel's going away party tomorrow, sad that he is leaving but will be very happy no cash will exchange hands and I don’t have to say to someone. "Been There!"
See ya
Vinny
