Rampant Surprise

I dreaded coming in to work yesterday knowing the first thing on the agenda was a board meeting. The political leadership had been teeth gnashing all week and reminded me of young women waiting for prom date invitations. As I sat back and watched the monthly proceedings get underway the usual voices of inappropriate worth from the public filed in for their usual diatribic venting.

It was with intense surprise and a feeling of almost wonder when the most powerful member of the board and usually the quietest simply stated that he was convinced the changes were the right thing even though they impacted the route he personally takes to work everyday. You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather – finally – someone exhibiting some courage.

It did help that the office seeker decided not to attend this meeting so we were spared his posturing. The “voices” did start up their usual rants but after the earlier statement made by the board member you could literally see everybody tuning them out – AT LAST!!!

My excellent boss and I were sitting in the glow of a battle finally won, and in decisive fashion, when the chairman of the board, in some futile effort to gain some credibility said that he was looking for a way to restore the route for the courageous board member. I could have choked him if I was sitting close enough. Some people just don’t understand when they’ve won.

Work yesterday after the board meeting was transformed. You could tell the serious “pucker factor” the political leadership had inflicted on the entire organization for the last two months was gone.

When I returned home last night I decided to finally tackle the basement floor damaged during my son’s engagement party. The beer soaked floor where the Beirut Table had been located still bore the scars of that memorable night. It bugged the hell out of me since I had to look at it every day from the stationary bike.

Before

The funniest thing was that Buddy considers the basement his domain. He did not understand why I wouldn’t let him accompany me for the painting. I may not be the brightest bulb on the circuit but an energetic dog tracking gray paint over a hardwood floor is not a good option. Even after I finished and while the paint was drying Buddy was frantic to get down into the basement, you would have thought a squirrel was on the loose down there. After a couple hours I let him down and he charged around the basement trying to figure out what had changed. He ultimately looked at me as if to say, “What were you so excited about?” Dogs.

After