BACK TO WORK... surprises & changes (Part 137f)

BACK AT WORK... surprises & changes (Part 137f)

I had the panties in a paper bag. Not exactly the most enticing presentation, for sure. Without too much detail I explained that Elle had a ‘dribble’ problem and that we’d created some panties to handle it. However, when a doctor saw them and asked he suggested that with a plastic shield (the doctor’s word) they might have a market... and that was what I wanted to talk to him about. I’d just pulled them out of the bag when the food arrived. I know the waitress (who, thankfully, I didn’t know) saw them.

Willie was nice about telling me he wasn’t interested. First of all, there were some already being marketed, although not like the ones on the table. Secondly, to be able to do it I’d have to have a patent and lastly, he’d have to buy new equipment to do it. We spent about ten minutes on the panties and then, after looking at his watch, Willie got up, shook my hand and told me that if ever I got to New Orleans to look him up. That was it. I never really got to say much. He’d been ‘all business’. I was disappointed but there was noting I could say or do. A look at my watch showed that we’d been together for less than an hour. At least I wasn’t going to be late getting back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I’m going to interrupt the flow of the blog at this point with an interesting irony (at least to me). Right after I posted the last part (137d) I received a catalog in the mail. Looking through it I discovered something that had been near and dear to my interests... an offering of incontinence panties. I’m posting it here along with one of the pictures from that last post. I’ll ask you to compare the illustration with the picture. You should be able to see the sameness of the two. The ones in the color picture were made in 1967 and the other is current. It’s a reminder that I should’ve pursued the idea further.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back to 'business'...

Hobie and I did a run through of how he hoped it would go about an hour before the scheduled meeting. I was told to be ready to join the meeting when I got the telephone call. I was to be there to answer any specific questions that members would have but wouldn’t be there for the actual vote. I asked if I could tell Bret and Trish what was going on as I left the room. He shook his head from side to said and uttered but one word... ”Wait“

Back at my desk I could see Bret was clearly upset about not being told. I was sure Trish was as well but she knew she was ‘in the dog house’ for the incident with Moira’s application so she was keeping a low profile. I’d not had time to address that situation but when Hobie left for the meeting I got on the phone to Bette and told her I wanted to see her. She resisted saying she had to finish a report. I was having none of it and told her to be at my desk in five minutes. Technically, I had no ranking above her other than being an officer of the bank so I didn’t know if she’d come. Aside from that, there was the problem of where to go that had some privacy. When J J took over the one small conference room the bank had as his office the only place that could be used was the Board room and that was being used. So, the only thing I could find was to move to Hobie’s desk which was in a corner. I’m sure it was a conscious decision by Bette to be late. In my mind it wasn’t that important. The fact that she’d come was. I called Trish over as well and proceeded to hear their stories on how Moira was called in for an interview.

In summary... Basically, when leaving on Monday night Trish and Bette walked out together. Bette was still upset with me for not responding to her call about her sister’s retiring and her need for a replacement. Trish, in making conversation, said she’d just taken an application for a woman who had some bookkeeping experience and Bette jumped on it and asked to see it. Trish resisted and thought the matter had died. Bette hadn’t picked up on the fact that I wouldn’t be in on Tuesday and had come down to speak to me about it. Then she asked Trish about the application and wanted to ”take a peek“. Trish was busy so just handed her the form. Bette claimed she waited for Trish and when she didn’t come back took the application upstairs with her. At her desk she was so impressed that she, impulsively, called the woman.

In listening to the explanation I think I was more upset with Bette’s attitude than anything else. She stood there with her arms folded across her chest and ‘spit’ out her answers with obvious annoyance. In my two plus years at the bank I’d had limited exposure to Bette with the ‘Janet experiment’ a few months earlier being the first. I was struggling with what to do when Trish sort of bailed me out when she turned to Bette and explained how the hiring procedure was now being handled. Bette then mumbled something about the old way being better. My discomfort with the situation was in knowing that Bette was a close friend of Hobie’s wife and I knew, somehow, Hobie would be brought into it. So, not wanting to escalate the matter told Bette that I’d have Moira come in on Friday and that we’d interview her together. Still with her arms folded she turned and started walking away. She put me in a very difficult position because I had no real authority over her other than I was an officer. She was a department manager but not an officer. Because of where we were we were exposed to the public and to other employees so I didn’t say anything. However, I knew it wasn’t to be the end of it.

Getting back to our desks, Trish found two men waiting at the gate to our area. I sort of recognized one of them but didn’t know from where. It turned out that they were from the Chamber of Commerce with the bank’s tickets to the upcoming community picnic. As a member, the bank not only supported the affair by buying tickets for the employees but also provided volunteer assistance at the event. In my first two years I’d volunteered to help lay out the parking area at the site, a large, local areospace company’s facility. As opposed to working at the actual picnic, this work was done the night prior so it would free me up to enjoy the event with Elle and the kids. As a volunteer, I was also awarded two more tickets. In past years we’d invited friends to go with us and for this year Elle had suggested Sabrina and Martin, her boyfriend. But, with Sabrina gone that wasn’t going to happen. We’d gone over our list of friends and couldn’t come up with any who would be available but I hated to see them go to waste.

Seeing a steady stream of Trustees walking across the lobby told me it wouldn’t be long until I’d be called upstairs to their meeting. I’ll admit to being both nervous and anxious. When I saw Gee, the attorney/Trustee, I remember hoping that he’d done a good job of lining up other Trustees to back the proposal to sign on with a service provider. One of the last things that I’d done in making up the flip charts for Hobie was to show the cost benefits, over time, for making the switch. With the prospect of a new branch it was even more beneficial. The problem was the small group of ‘old timers’ who hadn’t yet accepted the new ways of doing business.

To be continued...