Be Grateful June

You can’t call this a sequel to The Cleveland Clinic & The Widowmaker but it is connected.

Got U2 and Mary J Blige singing One in the background and am pleased to say today didn’t hurt as much as I suspected it might.

I haven’t managed to figure out some of the physical changes that have taken or are taking place yet but I am working on it.

Everything hurt last night and I wondered if I have reached the age where I grunt when I move.

But this morning things felt alright and when that one door got jammed I was able to use brute force to get it open and then adjusted it so that ideally I won’t have to deal with that again.

Got the results of those tests I had been waiting on and muttered, Be grateful June I am not going to drop dead today or tomorrow…I think.”

And then I just laughed at the absurdity of it all. I didn’t expect to get bad news but I didn’t expect to hear things were perfect either.

This aging thing isn’t easy sometimes.

Facebook Says We’re Nearing The End

Facebook memories informed me that six years I had just returned from a trip back to LA. That was the last visit where I thought maybe we’d get Dad through the end of 2018 and maybe part or all of 2019.

So we’re about to reach the time I memorialized the race to get back to LA and to the hospital because the docs weren’t sure how much time my father had.

I have noticed as time passes I remember bits and pieces of things that I had forgotten about from that time. The gaps fill in and sometimes I stop to stare and see whether they contain something worth seeing or not.

Last night I alluded to a couple of things that were going to happen today and it occurs to me I might have been more amped up because of the time of year.

Or not.

That fire burns hot and bright year round so maybe it had nothing to do with anything else or maybe not.

I left a message for someone today saying that if I wanted to be ignored I’d get a cat and asked if they preferred I just show up at their desk.

“If it is easier to resolve this in person I can get on a plane and come meet you. Let me know your preference and I’ll accommodate you. I get things done.”

They returned the call and apologized for having been difficult to reach and told me many people have voiced similar concerns.

“That doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy nor do I feel any sense of accomplishment for having gotten you to take care of this.”

For the second time in a week I heard about how blunt I can be but this guy asked if I thought there was a benefit to doing so.

“Instead of getting angry that I called you out on your bad behavior consider that I didn’t go over your head or send screenshots of emails you sent or the green light on Teams that says you’re available. I showed respect by keeping this professional and between us.”

There was a pause and an unexpected thank you.

Later on I sent a box of cookies and my own thank you note and wondered why some things have to be so hard.

Two hours later someone asked me how I made things happen and I said I look for ways to game or break the system but that most of the time that is not necessary.

“If you find the right person and ask nicely good things happen.”

The younger Mr. Wilner heard me say that and told me he had seen me be less nice. I laughed and asked how many times he has heard me raise my voice.

“I don’t think I have ever seen it in a professional setting. But I have heard you yell.”

I laughed and nodded my head.

“I don’t want people in my professional life to ever say they have heard me yell. It is ok if they have heard an edge or seen a strongly worded email as long as it is professional. The people that yell destroy their credibility.

Try not to ever be that guy.”

He left to go shower and I thought back to when I started working and the advice my father gave me. Smiled thinking about how he told me not to be the guy gossiping at the water cooler.

Can’t remember the last time I used water cooler in a sentence and made a mental note to ask Mr. Wilner if that is a phrase he is familiar with.

Come Here For A Minute

Dinner time is approaching and it is time for the men living the bachelor life to talk about what we will or will not do.

“Come here for a minute, I want to talk to you.”

He yells back, “Is it a real minute or one or your minutes.”

“I can carry you down the stairs and we can see how long that takes.”

He doesn’t hear or see me snort as I realize I have just channeled my father again.

“Remember those tests I took last week or the week before?  I got the results. I want to share them with you. Grandpa didn’t keep me in the loop so some of what came about surprised me a little bit.”

We go back and forth a bit and then it is time for other things. He has a much earlier start to his day than I do so he’ll head off to bed and I’ll wander around the house playing chess inside my head with the future I see ahead of me and the one I want to build.

Past Posts

• How To Handle A Snake Bite
• It’s The Scary Love Story You Won’t Read
• Don’t Waste Time You Can’t Get Back
• I’ll Drive Myself To The Hospital
• Job Titles Are Not Impressive