KEEPING UP... Busy, busy, busy (Part 166w)

KEEPING UP… Busy, busy, busy (Part 166w)

One thing that I avoided doing was informing Bret that he’d be at the Mortgage Committee meeting as acting Secretary the next day. Knowing Bret, as I did, I knew he’d worry himself into knot over the evening and night. That, and he was already having second thoughts about dressing as the Mad Hatter. My job as a judge for the Halloween costume contest didn’t start until 10am, the time most retail stores opened for business. That needs a little explanation as far as the judging was concerned. The Chamber had designated two levels of retail… “Hard” and “Soft”. Stores that sold products… shoes, hardware, clothes, etc… were considered “Hard”. Banks, restaurants, beauty parlors and the stock broker’s office were considered “Soft”. Since I worked for a “Soft” retail business I was designated to judge the “Hard” retail businesses. So, with that in mind I’d held off telling Bret until that morning. It also gave me the opportunity to see all of our ‘contestants’ in full costume. Trish made the decision to have Joanie in her full Alice outfit until after the judging. I didn’t get to see her try to sit at her desk while wearing the crinoline type slip but Trish assured me there was no way it would work. Eileen seemed happy wearing the White Rabbit costume and enhanced her teller window area by decorating it with fresh carrots. That told me there was no underlying problem with her. A quick peek into the drive up window area made me smile. Even though Woody was basically shy she was having fun with customers and carrying on with them about her costume. Bret was definitely the big attraction as the Mad Hatter. He, Trish and I were the only ones to have seen his hat before he stepped out of the bathroom with it on and when he did the employees cheered him. I had to tell him what he was in for later in the day and he told me he would change out of the costume before stepping in to the meeting. I told him that it was up to him but I thought he’d win some friends among the Board members who didn’t really know him if he walked in with it on. He just gave me a ‘look’ and turned away. I smiled. As I headed out the door for my first stop I was satisfied that the all the effort concerning the contest and the costumes for the bank had been worth it.

There were over 20 participating “Hard” retail merchants in the costume portion of the promotion. I’ll spare you the details of my tour and just say it was ‘interesting’. The overall winner was the son of the owner of the local appliance store who, on his own, managed to fashion an early 1950’s portable TV out of boxes and fit it on his person and then emulated Red Skelton (a popular comedian of the day) through the opening where the tube would've been. I made sure I got back to the bank after the Mortgage Committee meeting had started so that Bret had no choice but to take it. The first thing I did was to ask if he wore the costume and Joanie, with a BIG smile, said he did but only with the urging of just about everybody there. I asked how it went during their own judging and she said she didn’t even know that they had been reviewed. I didn’t understand why because on my rounds I made sure those in costume knew who I was. She said that even without the crinoline it had been hard to get her work done. I just nodded and said that, in the end, it would be worth it. I went to take a peek at Woody who was in the process of proving up her cash and she seemed happy. I couldn’t help but wonder if she tried the sample panties and was wearing one of them right then and there.

They all had to wear their outfits a second day which was actually Halloween. I would like to have seen Joanie wearing the crinoline but it wasn’t to be. The hem of her skirt, without the crinoline, went halfway to her knees. I could just picture where it would’ve been when wearing it. A good memory was that it was definitely shorter than anything she usually wore. My desk was in a position that prevented me from seeing any ‘slips’ she might’ve made while wheeling around on her chair… but it was still nice to see that much of her thighs. Lillian, again, brought carrots to enhance her window area and seemed to enjoy her role as the White Rabbit. As far as Woody was concerned I put myself in an observers position where she couldn’t see me hoping that I might at least get a VPL what with her costume being one piece and form fitting. However, the purple and pink stripes made it too difficult. After a few minutes I gave up on that.

To get in the ‘spirit’ of the day, the bank provided ‘goodies’ in the form of locally pressed cider, pumpkin bread muffins and candy corn at a table decorated with jack-o-lanterns, dried corn stalks and some ghost and goblin paper decorations. I’d fully expected to have heard if the bank had won a prize (or more) by the time the doors closed to the public but no notification had come. I'd decided to let the employees partake of the goodies that were left over and they hit the table like vultures. I stood back to watch and wondered if anyone had eaten lunch. I saw our costumed employees mingle with the others but after a few minutes noticed Woody was missing. I took a look over towards the drive-up but didn’t see her. It was while this was taking place that a call came in for me. It was the head of the Chamber of Commerce with “Good news… and bad news.” The good news was that Bret had won with the best costume. But, the bad news was that he’d won with a “professionally” created one. Someone had complained. I was then told there was a rule that prohibited that type from being judged. I hadn’t seen it. In fact, I’d never even read the rules.

So, it was my job to break the news to him and to tell everybody what had happened. As I gathered everybody at the foot of the stairs to tell them I still didn’t see Woody. Since she was an integral part of the bank’s participation I felt she should be present. I asked Trish to go see if she could find her. I started my little speech without waiting for her to return. Basically, I apologized for not realizing we couldn’t use the things we did but told everyone that in spite of not winning any prizes the public had enjoyed seeing Alice, The Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat and that was what was really important. I think it was about then when I saw Trish return to the back of the group. I gave her a ‘raised eyebrow’ to ask if she’d tracked Woody down. I saw her put up a hand with her thumb pointing down. I was puzzled but went on by telling the group to finish up the ‘goodies’ and thanking them all. Then I asked Bret, Lillian and Joanie to come to my desk before finishing up for the day. As we walked in that direction I went over to Trish to ask about Woody. While still walking and without looking at me she said she had a bit of a problem and wouldn’t be joining us. As enthusiastic as she’d been in playing the Cheshire Cat I couldn’t understand what could be so bad as to keep her from joining in. But, time was running out and I wanted to tell the ‘players’ that they would each get a whole day off. That brought big smiles from each of them. In Bret’s case I knew it wouldn’t replace the $25 gift certificate he would’ve received if not for my gaffe but he seemed OK with it.

To be continued…