My Old Boss

Today I left my office to go get me something to eat and I passed the house where my favorite boss used to live. He died two months before my husband died. I knew his wife and thought why not stop in and say hello. I went up to the door and she was sitting there. She came to the door and just said, Diane! I went in and she hugged me. She said it was so good to see me. Her son Randy was also there. I told Randy I had heard so much about him and that was the first time I had ever met him. It was wonderful to sit and talk about Joe. He was the best boss I ever had. My fondest memory is when he created a job for me. Well, let me back up. He was over Safety and was moved to be over Administrative Services. He told me who my new boss would be and I said oh I really like him. Joe said you will not like him. Well, after two weeks I went to Joe and told him my new boss was the worst boss I ever had. Joe just said I told you. Joe had a secretary who eventually retired and they downgraded that position. Joe refused to hire anyone at that grade level. Guess it was an ego thing. Well, the director of our division came to Joe and told him that he was going to have to do something about the girls who filled in the director’s office. He said they didn’t dress appropriately, chewed gum, and just didn’t fit the picture of what the director’s office should be. Joe called me down to his office the next morning and he said I have fixed your problem and my problem. He said he sat straight up in bed the night before and said my problem and Diane’s problem is solved. He said Joyce said what in the world are you talking about. Anyway, he wrote a job description just for me. I would only be working for him and when someone in the director’s office or the Office of Power would be out, I would fill in. I was already part of the director’s office and knew how everything worked. I told him I would have to think about it. Well, he said a few little words I can’t mention here but he said I created this job for you and you’re taking it. I went back to my office and my boss came out and told me that Personnel had called and was offering me a job to work for Joe. My boss said he had not seen that job advertised and I told him it wasn’t. It was created for me. My boss said well, you are not going to take it and walked down the hall. He made my decision for me. I called Personnel and accepted it. I went from being overworked to really a wonderful position. Joe was the best boss I ever had and it was so much fun talking about him to Joyce and Randy. I think they enjoyed it too. When I left I thought of how many blessings we must miss by just not stopping to see someone. It really made my day. DR 6/25/13