SURVIVING... Same ole, same ole (Part 129c)

SURVIVING... Same ole, same ole (Part 129c)

I could probably write a whole post just on J J... but I won’t. He truly was a nice guy, knew mortgages inside and out, meant well but he lacked common sense. What he wanted me for was to complain about the heat build up... as if it were my fault. He started in on me as soon as my visage appeared in his doorway. He said it was unrealistic for the women to have to wear stockings in the current conditions and that he’d told them they could take them off. Without stopping he continued on his diatribe about the dress code rules. There was no point in me trying to say anything so I just stood there and let him ramble on. When he finally shut up I just stood there and stared at him. That really upset him. I don’t remember how long it took for him to finally break the silence and asked what I thought about it.

I wish the statement ”It is what it is.“ had been around back then because it would’ve been the perfect retort. But it wasn’t so I started by saying that there was nothing written in the dress code about women having to wear stockings. If there was anybody who knew that to be a fact it was me. I’m the one who rewrote it after the approval for female employees to wear pants. I distinctly remember him staring at me with his mouth open. Finally he said that after he’d ”given the word“ to the mortgage department staff, Lena, the president’s secretary, told him that stockings were the rule for Winter. I remember looking at him like he’d just made that up. Even though she was in her late 30’s I knew Lena to be somewhat ”progressive” so couldn’t fathom her making something like that up. But J J was adamant. I could see Lena from the doorway so headed over to ask about it. I got the immediate indication that she was a bit embarrassed after I asked the question. She then motioned me into the president’s office (he wasn’t there) and tried to explain.

I was right that wearing stockings had never been put into print. It was something that was started by the previous president who had shared his belief that for a female to be properly dressed in a business situation she wore stockings. Lena went on that she’d been the one assigned to police it and, in her terms, "in a nice way“. She said he relaxed it during the Summer months though. She’d been avoiding my eyes as she spoke, mostly looking down. Then she looked up and said that she’d probably spoken out of turn when she spoke to J J. I just listened not knowing exactly what to say. Finally I sort of muttered something about it really being hot upstairs and there really wasn’t any harm in it if those who wanted to take their stockings off did. I also told her that I’d try to get it settled as soon as I could but didn’t know even where to start. As I went past J J’s office he called out something about him being right. I just shook my head.

Fortunately, Hobie was free when I got back to my desk. He’d been hired by the previous president so had lived through it. When I told him about J J’s pronouncement he just shook his head. It was obvious that he was displeased because he made a statement about how J J lived ”in his own world“. But what was interesting was he went on to say that he had no problem with it other than it should’ve been discussed before J J arbitrarily made the decision and announced it. I asked if it was OK to pass the word to the women on the banking floor and he shrugged and said the damage was already done and to withhold approval would only create more problems. As I moved towards Trish’s desk he said he’d address it with Bert, the president.

When there was a heat build up like we had the second floor would end up being about 4 to 5 degrees warmer than the first. Trish’s reaction was passive at best saying that she wasn’t all that uncomfortable. I told her the source and she smiled in a way that told me she wasn’t surprised. To be truthful the only ones who showed some excitement were Jerene, Katie, Jaz and Laura, all of whom had, from time to time and in a mild sort of way, complained about the cost of stockings on a beginners salary. I thought Gina would’ve been happy with it too since she was only making the base wage for tellers but she just smiled and continued on with her work.

I left early (for me) at 5pm wanting to take advantage of as much daylight as possible for painting the racecar. Elle, as you probably already knew, wasn’t happy with me but she did have something for me to nibble on for supper. I called Pete to confirm that he’d be there to help me. As I was talking with him I was hoping that Bebe would be with him but he said our base of operations was too ”rustic“ for her. I was, of course, disappointed. I’d purchased a cheap electric spray gun to do the painting. ”B“ had decided he wanted the car to be maroon and white and I was worried that the old paint on the car would bleed through so on my way home picked up some primer to cover at least the parts of the car that were to be white. By the time Pete got there I’d covered the tires, seat, steering wheel and dash with rags to protect them from overspray and was ready to start.

I’d never done anything like this before so it was a struggle. I had most of the car primed when the paint stopped coming out... the nozzle was clogged. While I was trying to find something to clean it Pete asked if I’d strained the paint before starting. I didn’t know I was supposed to. Typical male. I didn’t read the instructions. After trying to clear the nozzle and giving up I decided that we’d paint with brushes which is what ”B“ and I had originally planned before I got ”a better idea“. I started on the roof which was to be maroon. Pete started on the main part of the body with the white paint. We finished up about the same time we lost useable daylight. Standing back from the somewhat finished product I was pleased. One more coat of white and then painting the numbers on it and we were about ready for the track.

At home I found a note from Elle that our new neighbor had come over for a visit. There wasn’t much information on it but there was a somewhat caustic comment that I ”should’ve been there“. I had no idea how to take it. Did it mean she was good looking or was she a complete character. I decided on the latter, especially since she’d told me she was a hopeful author. I’d had a customer who told me she was an author/ poet  and ”off the wall“ was as good a description as I could come up with for her.

To be continued...