“I’m Just Sayin’”
by Alan P. Scaglione
You’re going to have to stick with me
on this one.
It may take a minute to set up, but…
it’s worth it, I promise!I have spent my professional life in corporate America!
Always worked for Big Fortune 100 companies!
From Big Blue(IBM) where I grew up professionally…
To Larry The Elk(The Hartford) where I just celebrated 5 years on October 22nd!
All of it—from the water cooler discussions all the way to the nitpicky gossip about being bought out or sold or the worst—Outsourced!
I love it all!
Knowing an average of over 100 people’s names at any one time, and passing by each of them on a daily basis—love it!
And sometimes, something big happens in Corporate America…
This time… we got a new phone system!
Yep!! That’s prêt-ty Big in Larry’s World—Hartford calls its mascot, the Elk(It’s Not a Moose), Larry!
So we have been working on this Big Bang – code name for the national new phone system being implemented in all 5 offices, on the same day!
You have to know—for a company who does ALL of its business over the phone—that’s a BIG Event!
And They called it the Big Bang—but, we employees called it at the water cooler—the Big Bust!
So…. The Implementation Team shows up a day before, to prepare us—there really were a lot of changes happening at one time.
The head of the team, Nancy, met with me, and I found out that she lives in Tampa, my home town, so we hit it off immediately!
We talked about where we went to high school, our one and only zoo, the best way to travel fastest down the I-4 Corridor!
She ended up using me as a resource to check on the status of the initial hours of the switch over to the new phone system.
I always seem to be the point-of-contact for new projects!
Could be my left-hand naturally raised to the sky as I mouth the words “Pick me! Pick me!”
So at one point, we needed to do some testing by calling out on our cell phone to someone’s new extension.
Nancy said, “Alan, use your Telephone Directory and look yourself up so I can call your new extension.”
We have a national directory, like every other Big Corporate Company, that has info on every active employee—and we show their picture!
It’s the picture you took for your badge on the first day of work! Everyone hates it! No one says “That’s a good picture!”
So… I pulled up my directory entry.
The next words were unplanned and spontaneous, and they came from the person standing behind me.
And it was said in low, under the breath, in that “in my mind, not spoken out loud” voice that we are sure no one hears but us!
“That
does NOT look a thing like you!”
Hmmmm? Wonder what she means by that?
If I were a woman, I would have swung myself around and said “Just what does that mean? I look better now
or worse?”But…I am not…so I DIDN’T!
But…I have to admit… it stuck with me the rest of the day!
And I looked at my directory picture—the same one you looked at when you saw the column today—and just stared at it and wondered??
“Just what DID she mean?”
That picture was taken on October 22nd, 2007—my first day at The Hartford!
I was 47—I had just moved to Orlando—had just lost a ton of weight—just stepped into the Next Chapter of my life!
And I reflected on those last 5 years-- heart attack in 2009, so much family drama it should be on Jerry Springer, and those painful empty nest growing pains.
He didn’t know any of that was waiting for him—he had no idea the “changes” his life would take in 5 years!
And yet through it all—God was faithful…He has never left my side nor forsaken me!
And I thought of that scripture:
“I once was young and now I’m old(really?)…
But I’ve never seen the righteous FORSAKEN or His seed out begging bread!”(Psalm 37:25)
So maybe I DON’T look anything like I did 5 years ago—
But one thing IS still the same – God’s
still FAITHFUL!
Until Next TimeI’m Just Sayin’…
Brother “A”
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