FINISHING THE YEAR... Odds & ends (Part 167q)

ENDING THE YEAR… Odds & ends (Part 167q)

As I mentioned, the number of kids spawned by the families that comprised the ‘group’ totaled twenty two. We were, for sure, a prolific bunch and what was somewhat surprising as only one couple was Catholic and they only had three. We settled for the second Saturday of December which gave everybody ample time to get babysitters. Once everybody had arrived at our house the ‘group’ split with the men in the kitchen and the women in the living room talking about… what else… kids. For the men… football… because the Super Bowl was coming up. The only thing I really remember about that was that four of the five (one husband, a doctor, was away) of us were rooting against the Cowboys and, of course, the other guy was a big America’s Team fan. The discussion got lively, especially after a few drinks. “Goodies” were served around nine and then we all convened in the living room. Even though we had a big house, the living room barely held all of us with some having to be seated on the floor. Back when the ‘group’ was in its active stages I knew where to be to have the best chance for an upskirt peek because everybody seemed to gravitate back to the same places. On this evening it was whole new ‘ballgame’. It wasn’t just because the women had chosen different places to sit. It was also because wearing a dress or skirt had become somewhat passe. Pants were in vogue and, being Winter, dark colors were the most prevalent choice. I was bit disappointed when I first walked into the room as I didn’t see much of an opportunity. Over time, Ginger was the only one who hadn’t gained weight and had lost a fair amount. Even though she’d had five kids she was the most trim of them all (not including Elle). We were all munching down when Pat (the PTA lady) got up and walked over to where I was sitting on the floor and very boldly announced that she thought it would be a “great” idea for me to run for the school Board of Education. Talk about being blindsided! I’d been asked, casually, about running in past years and turned it down. Before I could even think about saying a word Jon (the milkman) and Rob, both of whom were on the school board, started in ’selling’ me on why I was needed and especially needed at this particular time. I tried to protest but the two of them were relentless. To shut them up I promised to talk with them after Christmas. One memory I have after I did that was the look on Pat’s face… like the cat who’d just caught the canary.

One other take-away of the party was the promise of a renewal of the once close friendship between Elle and Ginger. As I said, the number of kids we all had and their growing demands on our time through extra curricular activities had taken a toll on the various friendships. Of all of the women in the group I liked Ginger the best. Phyl, Rob’s wife was a bit of a ‘flake’ and Nanci, Fritz’s wife, was, for lack of a better word, dull. By describing her as dull it was because I seldom heard her voice an opinion on any topic. Aurilia, the doctor’s wife, was by far the most intelligent as she’d been a university instructor but came across as being superior. Pat, by far, was the ‘voice’ and driving force behind the 'group' and I was reminded of that by her ‘attack’ on me about running for the board. As Elle and I picked up after everyone had left she brought up Sandy and Johnny who'd been a part of the original group. Sandy had been diagnosed with spina bifida as the cause of her incontinence and had pretty much drifted away from the group after that. I’d remained in touch with her husband through basketball but with the hiring of the new principal he’d not been re-hired as a coach and pretty much dropped from sight. They were nice people and it seemed a shame.

On Monday morning I got what I felt was an early Christmas present in the form of a call from Morris letting me know the branch committee had made it’s decision on a location for another branch. He also told me it was to be presented to the full Board at their next meeting which was Wednesday. Reluctant to ‘push’ for the exact location, I thanked him and as a gesture of thanks told him I was looking forward to working with him as the project progressed. I wasn’t expecting an answer and was a bit shocked when he proceeded to give me the location of the site. I wrote the address down and immediately began to come up with a way to visit the site before the meeting. I hadn’t visited the existing branch in over two months relegating Bret to that duty to avoid Jerry, the manager. But it had been a number of weeks since his last visit. I, more or less, knew the general area where the new branch would be located. I planned on leaving my house at around 7am and do a drive by before visiting the existing branch. At home I dug out my county road map and planned my trip. I was truly excited about it.

Other than the weather, it was a good trip. The parcel of land was on a corner and on a major North/South road. I knew a little about land costs and knew this piece would come at a high price based on the types of businesses in the area. My only concern was I wondered if there was enough land to house a decent sized building and the parking to go with it. On my way to the existing branch I couldn’t keep from hoping I’d have a say in the planning for it. Sometimes you get lucky and on this day I did. Jerry wasn’t there. Betsy, the head teller who I talked with at least once a week, was who I wanted to see anyway.Things were still very quiet with little to no lobby traffic. I just had to ask what Jerry did all day with few customers to wait on. She actually laughed out loud. Her answer was almost funny as she explained his day… Upon arrival he’d go in his office and get on the phone (she thought it was to his wife) until he’d go and unlock the front door. Then he’d walk down the lobby side of the teller counter to say “good morning” to everybody and disappear back into his office until lunch time. He’d leave and she thought it was to go home. When he came back he’d stay in his office until it was time to close up. On my way back to the bank it was all I could do to keep from screaming.

I told how I’d gotten lucky not to find Jerry there. Well… when I walked back into the bank I had more good luck. I ran into Bert, the president, and he told me to go ahead with the Christmas party. As soon as I got to my desk I was on the phone. The restaurant, being a member of the Chamber of Commerce, was willing to give the bank a break on price and the fact I’d made a tentative reservation made the work that had to be done relatively easy. Even though it was on short notice and just three days away it was set for Thursday. Basically, it was for employees only and was to be from 4pm to 6pm. The hard part was in getting the ‘word’ out, especially to the people at the branch. It had already been decided to do away with the gift exchange. “Gee” the Trustee/attorney who was chairman of the salary committee had let me know there was a 95% chance there was going to be a bonus declared at the Board meeting. I’d worked up a formula and done all the calculations by hand and presented it to him. If the Board approved what I’d worked up it came out to be approximately two weeks pay for the employees and a flat $300 for the officers. With that I knew I’d have to give upon my idea of getting a half day off for Christmas shopping but I was happy. The Christmas party would be the perfect time to make the announcement of the bonus.

To be continued...