The Company Picnic
Earlier this week, we observed the anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. I paused to think about those killed at Pearl Harbor and those who served in our Armed Forces during World War II - including Dad. Dad wasn't at Pearl Harbor during the war; he was on the other side of the world, stationed in Italy and North Africa. But one of his treasured memories was the visit he made to Hawaii and to the USS Arizona Memorial a few years ago.
Dad worked as a building engineer at Peachtree Center, a large office complex in downtown Atlanta. The complex was built in the 1960s and was undergoing an asbestos abatement project, which involved the maintenance staff working many Saturdays and Sundays. This particular Sunday, however, was the company picnic for the employees of the property management company that owned the complex. Yet somebody had to work that day, because the asbestos abatement people were going to be there - and you guessed it, Dad was one of the two who were asked to work and miss the picnic.
Dad was never one to feel sorry for himself, no matter what happened to him - or at least, never one to let on that he felt sorry for himself. So I was quite surprised to hear him grumble that Sunday evening, "Everyone else got to go to the picnic today, but I had to work." I knew he'd been working many long days and many weekends, though, and it seemed only natural that he'd have enjoyed an outing instead. Since he lived closer than most of the others in the maintenance department, he was frequently asked to take most of the weekend duty, and he'd never have told his boss "no."
The next morning, Dad had a doctor's appointment and did not go to work until late that morning. As he entered the building, everyone he saw greeted him with "Congratulations!" Dad was mystified - he didn't have any idea why he was being congratulated. When he got to the maintenance department, he was asked to go upstairs to the company president's office. He wondered what that was all about, but he really didn't think too much about it - he'd been asked to take care of several requests for the president, including picking a lock at the president's home. "Probably locked himself out of his darkroom again," Dad figured.
When he got to the president's office, he was greeted with a lei and introduced to the company's travel agent. It seems that there was a drawing held at the picnic, and the prize was a week-long trip for two to Honolulu, Hawaii. Dad's boss had told one of the others in the department who was going to be at the picnic to be sure to enter Dad's name, along with the coworker who'd also worked instead of attending, for the drawing. Dad won!
My mother was ill at the time and couldn't travel. My brother and I assured Dad that we would be able to take care of Mom. Mom thought that was a fine idea, too, and
I gave him firm instructions: "Under NO circumstances are you to even consider not going on this trip!"
He and my aunt Louise had been planning a shorter trip to Tampa to visit their uncle, and he decided to take her to Hawaii since Mom could not go. Dad went to her house to tell her. "How would you feel about going somewhere other than Tampa?" he asked her. He watched her begin to pout as she asked him, "Where?" "How about Honolulu?" "How soon do we get on the plane?" she replied. She'd always wanted to see Hawaii.
Neither of them had ever flown before, and Louise has always been a very fearful person. "Bet you'll never get her on the plane," warned her son Sam. Well, guess what, Sam - you missed it that time! Louise not only went with Dad, she had a chance to go again a couple of years later and enjoyed it just as much the second time!
They visited the USS Arizona, and I think that was the real highlight of the whole trip for Dad. I could tell he was very moved by what he saw there. They also enjoyed the tour of Oahu, and the Polynesian Cultural Center, where Dad said the hula girls had "ball-bearing hips!"
And of course, I never let him forget the Sunday he'd spent feeling sorry for himself because he didn't get to go to the picnic, and got to go on a much bigger picnic instead!
Dad worked as a building engineer at Peachtree Center, a large office complex in downtown Atlanta. The complex was built in the 1960s and was undergoing an asbestos abatement project, which involved the maintenance staff working many Saturdays and Sundays. This particular Sunday, however, was the company picnic for the employees of the property management company that owned the complex. Yet somebody had to work that day, because the asbestos abatement people were going to be there - and you guessed it, Dad was one of the two who were asked to work and miss the picnic.
Dad was never one to feel sorry for himself, no matter what happened to him - or at least, never one to let on that he felt sorry for himself. So I was quite surprised to hear him grumble that Sunday evening, "Everyone else got to go to the picnic today, but I had to work." I knew he'd been working many long days and many weekends, though, and it seemed only natural that he'd have enjoyed an outing instead. Since he lived closer than most of the others in the maintenance department, he was frequently asked to take most of the weekend duty, and he'd never have told his boss "no."
The next morning, Dad had a doctor's appointment and did not go to work until late that morning. As he entered the building, everyone he saw greeted him with "Congratulations!" Dad was mystified - he didn't have any idea why he was being congratulated. When he got to the maintenance department, he was asked to go upstairs to the company president's office. He wondered what that was all about, but he really didn't think too much about it - he'd been asked to take care of several requests for the president, including picking a lock at the president's home. "Probably locked himself out of his darkroom again," Dad figured.
When he got to the president's office, he was greeted with a lei and introduced to the company's travel agent. It seems that there was a drawing held at the picnic, and the prize was a week-long trip for two to Honolulu, Hawaii. Dad's boss had told one of the others in the department who was going to be at the picnic to be sure to enter Dad's name, along with the coworker who'd also worked instead of attending, for the drawing. Dad won!
My mother was ill at the time and couldn't travel. My brother and I assured Dad that we would be able to take care of Mom. Mom thought that was a fine idea, too, and
I gave him firm instructions: "Under NO circumstances are you to even consider not going on this trip!"
He and my aunt Louise had been planning a shorter trip to Tampa to visit their uncle, and he decided to take her to Hawaii since Mom could not go. Dad went to her house to tell her. "How would you feel about going somewhere other than Tampa?" he asked her. He watched her begin to pout as she asked him, "Where?" "How about Honolulu?" "How soon do we get on the plane?" she replied. She'd always wanted to see Hawaii.
Neither of them had ever flown before, and Louise has always been a very fearful person. "Bet you'll never get her on the plane," warned her son Sam. Well, guess what, Sam - you missed it that time! Louise not only went with Dad, she had a chance to go again a couple of years later and enjoyed it just as much the second time!
They visited the USS Arizona, and I think that was the real highlight of the whole trip for Dad. I could tell he was very moved by what he saw there. They also enjoyed the tour of Oahu, and the Polynesian Cultural Center, where Dad said the hula girls had "ball-bearing hips!"
And of course, I never let him forget the Sunday he'd spent feeling sorry for himself because he didn't get to go to the picnic, and got to go on a much bigger picnic instead!
posted by Brenda King | 5:40 PM
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