February 18 – My Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
A long time ago—long before I ever got involved with the police and all these murders started popping up … so basically a few months ago—a manager asked me in a job interview what words of wisdom I might give to a new employee who might work for me.
This was a terrible question. I wasn’t interviewing for a manager’s position and this had nothing to do with how good a job I might do as an engineer at their company. I had a difficult time coming up with anything even remotely suitable. I had to hurry since the interview took place during my lunch hour and I didn’t have much time to waste. So I threw out:
“If the appetizers are good, eat up. You never know if dinner will be any good.”
“‘No, I don’t want any shave ice today’—said no one ever.”
The interviewer wanted more business-relevant examples and I realized I was merely hungry. So I tried to block that out, but apparently my mood was still negatively affected by my recent divorce because all that came to mind was:
“Figuring out women required far more understanding than I expected to gain in this lifetime.”
The hiring manager didn’t like this attempt either. She objected a second time so I tried to come up with something—anything—appropriate. Yet, all I managed were fairly mundane ideas:
“Nodding in agreement to yourself allows you to have at least one person who clearly concurs with your opinion.”
“Don’t let reality cloud your perceptions.”
I was quite pleased with this final attempt, but apparently it didn’t mesh with the company’s core value of relentless honesty. I couldn’t see myself working for a place that couldn’t handle the occasional, minor falsehood and decided to demonstrate my own relentless honesty. Needless to say, I didn’t get the position.
Once my sister and nieces became a bigger part of my life, lots of things changed. Beyond Dad jokes returning to my life, I found myself saying things like:
“Uncle-ing wasn’t hard when you made good decisions. I mean, who didn’t like flavored ice on vacation?”
Once life began throwing dead bodies in my direction, I noticed my words of wisdom started evolving:
“Dangerous moments were best left to the police. It was good to let the professionals have the spotlight at those times.”
Finally, I think I’ve settled on my latest favorite that merges my recent experience with my lifetime appreciation for food:
“No one should face danger on an empty stomach.”
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