No Idle Hands

What a day today was! I was so exhausted after writing non-stop for hours that I had to lay down. When I was in the hospital last week, the interruptions and regular hospital chaos frustrated me. I couldn't put a thought together. At times I wondered if I ever would again.

But today the flow was easy, open and constant. I even hated to rest for a while for fear it may not return. I even forgot to eat and that's not good considering my health. But the fruits of my labors made me happy and that is a commodity much needed in this neighborhood lately.

During one lull between writing spurts I thought about Jim. My goodness! I hadn't thought of him in years. He was one of the best bosses I ever had. I was a woman working in a man's world but he never made me feel as though I was less than anyone else even when my physical body couldn't match the strength of the men. He would just improvise and always left my dignity intact.

He had this way about him that made you want to do more and more and you were never left feeling like you got cheated when you received your paycheck. He was a kind-hearted man who ran a tight ship without having to belittle anyone. I learned more in the year working for him than I did in other jobs that I stayed for multiple years.

I overcame many fears in that year and I noticed that my confidence, not only for the job but for life in general, improved twenty fold. It was a hard job, a physical job. But when I slept at night I knew I had been tired for a reason. I learned many things that I can still use today in my own home.

But one of the lessons I learned had little to do with the job itself. It had to do with respect and earning your own way. One day he went out to get coffee and donuts for us. He was kind like that. Every other day or so he would insist on it being 'his treat.' He really knew how to take care of his people and to make them feel important.

You've heard the old saying, 'When the cat's away, the mice will play.' It was no different there. He wasn't out the door two minutes when the guys decided they would go out on a smoke break. Of course that meant they would be outside until they saw his truck coming in the distance and then they would run back in like little boys trying not to get caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

They prodded me to join them, but I was using a tool that I couldn't simply lay down for fear of the heat damaging its surroundings. Any other tool would have been cast aside I'm sure and I would have been as guilty of not working as they were. But instead I kept to the task at hand.

The one thing they didn't count on was that he was going to come from a different direction than usual. I doubt it was a sinister plan of his. Maybe he had another errand to run also. I don't know. But when he pulled into the driveway from the opposite direction, he caught all ten guys out there goofing off.

He wasn't one to harp on things. He gave leeway where it shouldn't have been an option sometimes. But his main concern was helping others to maintain their right to be themselves. I can't ever remember anyone saying that someone in the past had been fired. His way was to nurture people and give them chances that perhaps other employers wouldn't. What he ended up with most times was a group of people who would literally do just about anything for him out of the same kind of respect that he bestowed on others.

He came into the house as he usually did announcing break time and come and get it. The first few minutes were very awkward. Finally he broke the laborious silence.

"Bob," he said. "How long have you worked for me?"

"Nearly eight years, Jim," was his response.

"And you, Willie, how about you?"

Willie spoke up saying, "Add two to that. Ten years in August."

"Well you two are the senior workers here today. Have either one of you ever seen me lose my temper?"

They both shook their heads no.

"Well," he began, "that's because anger only hides other feelings. I choose to live differently. I choose to work things out. And today I have a problem."

As I looked around I saw all the guys with their heads down. Instinctively it seemed, I lowered mine too even though I had done nothing wrong.

"But before I state my problem, let me ask you guys this: Do you think you're well paid? Do I take care of you all right?"

All heads came up and voices could be heard from all of them saying yes.

"Then here's the deal. As long as I'm the one signing the checks, I get to say what gets done and by whom. You get scheduled breaks, and more than what's warranted by law. I think I give a good wage for the type of work I ask you to do. If you have any grievances, I need to hear them now. There's no secrets here. You can speak up. we're like family here."

He looked around the room and as his eyes would meet one of theirs they would bow their head.

He continued. "Look you guys, you know I'm not a hard ass. But there are some things that just drive me nuts. And today I saw one of those things. I saw all of you, except Sally, out there screwing around on MY time. Now if I was one of those bosses that drove you into the ground that would be another story. If I was disrespectful to you in any way, you could feel justified in doing that I suppose. But I'm going to tell you the same exact way I heard it in my very first job working for my father.

"This is the law: I always want to see you doing something if I'm the one paying you. I don't even particularly care if you happen to be doing it wrong. Mistakes can be fixed. What I care about is that you are idle. No idle hands here. That is not going to happen. Even if there's no one to ask, just keep doing your job until you can find out. But don't ever let me walk in and find you doing nothing again when it's not your break time. Do SOMEthing... even if it's wrong. Got it?"

I looked around and the guys were all standing there wallowing in guilt. Inside I knew I was as guilty as they were. I just happened to be using the wrong tool at the time or I would have been out there with them.

Jim walked over to the newest guy, Brian. He put his arm around his shoulder.

"You going to drink that coffee or you going to let it get cold?" he asked with a big smile on his face. The relief could be felt for miles, I swear. It was a matter of respect for Jim. Fair wages for a fair job that came with fair treatment. A short speech and no resentment. End of lecture.

I never forgot that lesson. I needed to get back to my work. Because after all Jim said, "Do SOMEthing... even if it's wrong." I had spent enough time reminiscing.