Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Other Four-Letter Word

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say life can be overly scrutinized. Work, school, internships, and no fun make Jack a dull boy; you know? Fortunately, there are those of us who will have fun at any cost, or at no cost. What follows is a story of one of those unique few who really just do not give a F@$&.

It happened last summer. Since then, my co-worker, the Guy, has been “let go” making my job less interesting. (visit: http://wherethereisawrongthatiswhereiwrite.blogspot.com/2008/09/student-at-work.html, for my take on jobs vs. careers) He was built like a fridge, but instead of being covered with magnets he was covered by self-inflicted tattoos. I remember he would show up at work with a fresh tat and say, “Check it out, you like?” Then I looked down at his leg and there it was a huge pirate ship covering his entire calf.

Moving along, again it was last summer. We were at work and it had been mind numbingly slow. The Guy’s attitude wouldn’t allow another boring day to pass. He needed to shake things up and that is exactly what he did.

Later that day I was standing near the walk-in-fridge and Stacey reached for the door. On the other side of Stacey the Guy stood with an anticipatory look on his face. As Stacey grasped the handle of the walk-in his gaze turned to excitement. Confused, I glanced upward to a bucket resting atop the fridge door. At this point it was too late for me to do anything but stair with the same excitement as the Guy. Stacey opens the door and the bucket dumps what looked to be a pound of oregano on her head.

There it is; we all had a hearty laugh. The Guy did it again. He had turned the mundane day into a moment of pure joy, and with what? A bucket and the spirit to enjoy life. It should be no surprise we all have people in our lives who truly do not give a F@$&! That F might stand for one specific four-letter word this time, but it also stands for another: FREE. I think there is a moral to this story. I guess the moral is people shouldn't always take themselves so seriously and enjoy life’s simple FREE-doms.

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