"[ I'm a ] Wild and Crazy Guy!"

 


I just got back from Tampa, Florida. Went to a class for two days for my new job. My old company never sent me anywhere. I take that back. They did send me to L.S.U. via Baton Rouge, circa 1981. For a class on management fundamentals. There were 30-40 in the class hosted by Mr. Bennett, who had ties to a cafeteria chain based in the "red stick."

I still recall the one situation that had the class stumped. Volunteers from the peanut gallery [ apologies to Buffalo Bob ] attempted to move a piece of cargo, which weighed about 25 lbs., from one spot to another via an employee who was one of the mgr volunteers. [ role playing, eh? ] Each manager failed to persuade the employee to move the box. He just stood there and said no, he wasn't gonna do it. Why? After all of us charges showed him how to pick up the box with bended knees; instructed him on where to place it; blah, blah, blah.

The secret or the answer to the problem was: no one asked him why he wouldn't attempt the task. Seems he had a hernia and couldn't lift more than 10 lbs. It never occurred to us to axe him.

I liked the meetings we had in Tampa. Not much of a segue way. On Tuesday class started at 12 and ended at 6. Not a bad gig. And, today, 8:30 to 4. The instructor was a lady [ 52 ] who was quite a character. Which made the work less boring and mundane. Plus, she let us take breaks every hour and a half to 2 hours. And she was a wild and crazy guy, er, gal. Allah Georg and Yortuk Festrunk, the two czech brothers from back inna day.

After our short meeting on Tuesday, me and some of the others went to TGIF Friday's. The appertifs were lukewarm. Where's the manager, eh? And I tried the Jack Daniel hamburger with a salad and fries. The salad was delicious but the burger had that unmistakable taste of the new millenium. Can you say soybean?

And to think when I hired on at a cafeteria chain, we used to make those babies from a fresh chuck after dispensing with the bones. Then we added a few rolls and garlic bread , combination seasoning [ white peppa and salt ] and H2O. Voila. They don't make 'em like they usta.

Anyway, back at the casual dining soiree known as Friday's, I purchased a tall Mick Ultra draft to wash down the soybeans and later returned to enjoy a slice of vanilla bean cheesecake. Can you say expense account? It was okay and a huge slice. No wonder since it cost $5.00. Which is obscene in a way. But then Howard Stern gets 100 million a year for 5 years, plus a bonus of 200 million for sparking signups in the wonderful world of satellite radio so nothing's surprising anymore.

Anyway, back to the meeting. Today we covered a lot of ground, and I learned a lot. Implementing and executing will be the biggest challenge. I can hear my boss now.

"Cat, why haven't you implemented and executed what you learned in Tampa? We didn't send you down there for your health!"

Seems he went to the same mgmt. class I went to in '81. No wonder he's the G.M., the head honcho, the big boss man. He knows how to ask the tough questions.

Well, it's good to be back home. Kitty made me a salad and a baked potato for dinner. Damn, she makes the best salad. With a homemade dressing pinched from some Mediterranean cookbook. But tomorrow it's back to the old grind.

Gimme shelter, v.c.

P.S. I stopped at Pizza Hut after our meeting and had a personal pan pizza. One of those tiny individual ones. Of course, it was less than lukewarm. Ah, the restaurant business. Like a box of chocolates-you never know what you're gonna get.