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A Wealth of Geekiness
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A Wealth of Geekiness
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Most people dreaded the beginning of work and were elated by the end of it; Jim was the opposite. He loathed the end of the day so much that he constantly asked for extra assignments or practically begged for overtime. In a struggling economy, overtime was rarely an option, but Jim’s supervisors took advantage of his enthusiasm in an attempt to boost morale. Unfortunately, no one else shared Jim’s enthusiasm for working in a call center to that degree. In fact, they grew to hate being compared to Jim. Sally decided one day to find out what made Jim want to be at work so much. She thought and pondered and postulated a multitude of reasons for why someone would want to work and not go home. “He must have a terrible home life,” she told a co-worker Mike. Mike did not think that that was it, as Mike had met Jim’s wife and at least one of his kids. “He must have hellions for children then,” Sally said. Tom had joined the conversation by then and said that his children went to school with some of Jim’s kids and that Jim’s progeny were practically saints in class. “Well then, maybe he is practically broke and needs the money?” Sally asked. Jim’s supervisor George had been listening the whole time and decided it was time to break up the conversation by sending everyone back to work and directly telling Sally that Jim was not broke. Sally was deflated but no less determined to get to the bottom of the office mystery, so she followed him home from work one day, careful to avoid being seen doing so. Jim pulled into the garage of a large house with three children playing in the acre front yard. Through the living room window between curtains, Sally was able to see the wife greet Jim with a warm hug. Sally was completely baffled. The house was lovely. The children were well-behaved. The wife obviously cared for him. She knew she would get no straight answers staring at the house. She parked and got out of her car. She walked past the playing children and gave them a smile. They smiled and waved back at her. She walked up to the door and knocked. Jim answered with a curious look on his face, and Sally asked, “How can you want to spend so much time at work away from this gorgeous house, these wonderful children, and your loving wife?” Jim blinked at his co-worker, unsure of how to answer her. Sally pushed past him and found the wife standing a short distance away. Sally asked the confused woman, “What makes Jim stay at work so much?” The woman said, “I do not really think that is any of your business. Now, please, leave before I call the police.” Sally turned back to Jim who shrugged and held open the door. Sally huffed and asked one last time, “Why, Jim? Why must you make us all look bad by constantly showing us up? Why do you want to be away from these children and your wife?” Jim frowned and said, “The wife you refer to is dead. The young woman behind you is my daughter. Those are her children, my grandchildren in the yard. Her husband died in Iraq. I am here because I lost my house when my wife passed. I work so much because I do not want to be a burden. Now get out of her house.”
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Posted on 06:32, June 26th, 2009 by 
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Wow. This'll teach you to pry into the lives of your coworkers — or at least to assume things about their lives. It's also very telling about the motivation of characters. What you see on the surface may come from a completely different motivation than you can imagine. Then when you find out the truth, your hold world of assumptions falls apart.
That is marvellously written, sensitively done, and a very good twist at the end.
Thankyou for bringing your writing into my life.
I found it gripping from the start, I felt for Jim, I identified with Jim.
Good job. Sorry can't give any constructive criticism, you are just too good!
Great job! Really points out how we only see the surface, while there are so many layers underneath.
This was well done, layered and complex. I liked the twist and the way Sally just assumed things (like many of us do way too often). Thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed this story and didn't anticipate the ending. In my job (a church minister) some of my congregation assume that I have a (literally) God-given right to intrude into the lives of others, and sometimes get quite upset when I explain that I have not. I am well-acquainted with the "Sally"s of this world.
Even the reader (this one anyway) was trying to come up with reasons for Jim's behavior. The last paragraph was perfect – completely wrong-footed Jim's co-workers who likely had, as many do, their own reasons for needing him to be as unhappy with work as they were.
[...] This post was Twitted by 2maraA [...]
I very much enjoyed this story. However, I found it difficult and distracting to try to read it against the background you are using. I would suggest something easier on the eyes.
Yeah. In my update post, I mentioned that I need to go in and change the theme. I think in the mean time, I can at least disable the background. That should make the site MUCH more readable in the mean time.
Well, I'll see if this works. I've tried to leave a comment three times now and it just never seems to take. You got me pegged as a spammer?
It's a little late, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I have to admit to being a bit like Sally. I've been know to speculate on why the heck so-and-so doesn't retire when he/she is well beyond retirement eligibility and has a very nice pension to look forward to. But then I have to kick my self and remember that everyone is unique, with different needs and desires. I think we all tend to judge where we shouldn't. Hmm, that sounds awful judgmental.
Good thought provoking piece.
~jon
P.S. I do agree with mathsinger (I usually do) that a clean background would improve readability. ~jon
Apologies for the late comment, I was away for a long weekend. Really enjoyed this piece, an interesting premise and thought-provoking twist.