One of the great things about having a diverse workplace (and by this I don't mean lots of different people, but lots of different workplaces - Road Warrior duty rocks) is that you get to meet a lot of people and see a lot of things. In fact, it might be good to remember that no matter how immersed we service techs are in the job at hand, we ARE gonna notice when you tell your best cubicle girlfriend exactly what you and the boss were doing at that motel last night.
But every now and then, you happen to be in the right place at the right time. I remember seeing my first bear (with 3 cubs) on a Xerox service call years ago. I told everyone here about my work on the "Evan Almighty" set a few years ago. And it was sad but memorable to be in a Mennonite church working on a copier on 9-11-01, informing the Pastor about the breaking tragedy in New York, and seeing a young woman come running in moments later to cry "My father works in the Trade Center!"
But today I got the second half of a belated Independence Day gift. The first half was at Church last Sunday. It was our monthly "Fast and Testimony" meeting where congregation members stand and tell their testimonies after fasting for a day. On woman thanked God for all of his blessings, and especially that "greatest blessing" he gave her on July 4, 1958 when she became a naturalized citizen. How cool is that, huh? But the second half was even cooler.
While walking through the local hospital on a service call today, I happened to be walking through a hall just as two foreign-accented doctor's greeted one another. The first said "Hey, were you in Washington D.C. on the Fourth of July?" The second replied "No, I was in Monticello." "YES!" Said the first, apparently slightly geographically confused. "I saw you on TV as you raised your hand! Congratulations." Then a few more staff members who had overheard came over to shake the new citizen's hand.
You might say that's the long and short of it.
Yeah, I'm proud.
