Getter Poseidon Twenty after eleven. This day is over, and I'm beat. Today was payback for yesterday. There was no call this morning, and Mary was off to visit her mother, so I figured I had the day to myself. It was just after noon, and I was just getting ready to leave for a walk, when then the phone rang. Work tonight. Stephen King Elementary. maybe. Can I do it?
I like to work. I am always happier when I'm doing something productive. But the shift that splits Stephen King Elementary, and the Beachside campus is long, tough, and tedious. There's a level of physical labor that is healthy, invigorating, and that I actually enjoy. But too much past that level, and it starts to beat you down. The needle on the strain meter for this job is way outside the green, and hangs in the yellow just a hair off the red zone. Plus I had some bad vibes from the day guy up there just last Tuesday.
"Yes, I can do it."
But it wasn't certain. The Boss said he'd call me by 1:00. That gave me an hour of feeling like I'd been pulled over for slacking, and was looking at eight hours of hard labor for my crime. Unless I was lucky, and got a suspended sentence...
The phone rang exactly at one O'clock. I was on for tonight, and possibly longer. Possibly very long term. The Kid who was the regular night guy split, and took off for Texas. The Kid was supposed to finish out the month, but he just said, "The hell with it", and took off yesterday. I guess he has a job lined up, there. I don't blame him in the least for just taking off. That's exactly what I'd do.
Just exactly what I felt like doing, to tell the truth. But I went in there, and I did it, and it mostly wasn't much fun. I talked to the Day guy over there at SKE, and he was cool. No mention of last week. I'm fine with that. He confirmed it. The Kid is gonesville, Daddy-O.
So it's the classic good news/bad news delivery. I have a rare opportunity to earn some much needed money. But earning it won't involve pastoral mornings on the dewy fields. Just a hard eight hour slog through dirty classrooms that runs until ten thirty at night. And maybe ending up posting on the blog after midnight, when I should be in bed.
JWM
Make like a politician, and spin it, spin it, until the bitter pill just melts in yer mind and goes down smoothly. That, and the money: we sell our Slack for American dollars.
ReplyDeleteThat kid probably heard that the Governor of Texas reaffirmed that Texas is a sovereign state under the Constitution, and just said "Scr*w Arnold!" as he closed the classroom door behind him for the last time. He was headin' for the Alamo, and the big Tea Party there later today!
Hang in there, John!
Or maybe the kid heard that Davy Crockett quote made to his fellow Congressmen: "You can go to hell; I will go to Texas."
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling that way a little myself this morning.
Thanks, guys.
ReplyDeleteI just finished breakfast, and got a call from the boss. It looks like I've got the long term assignment, which will keep me on full time nights for the remainder of the school year and through the summer to boot. This is a good thing. Otherwise I'd be looking at maybe four or five days a month, and no work at all through June July, August, and most of September. The web of coincidence turns, and this time it would appear to have turned in my favor. It going to be tough, but we need the money, and I will adjust. I'll just have to wait and see what happens with posting on the wfb. Maybe I'll make it a late night thing, or maybe try to write in the morning. At any rate, things will work out exactly the way they are supposed to.
John M