The other day as I was leaving a specialty store (as opposed to “general merchandise”) a fellow whose wife I used to work with waved hello. What we have in common is her so I asked and learned in brief that she’s been award more responsibilities at her job and is pretty happy. Wrapping those vague but enthusiastic details were descriptions of her co-workers, my former colleagues.
It was an earful.
“A” is difficult, you know that, “A” is always right and won’t hear another side, and (spouse) just quietly slips past and does what she finds works for her. Oh, “B” is a pushover, you know that, don’t you. Everybody gets by with murder with “B.” Didn’t you find “B” a doormat, Ben?
Well, no, but maybe I wasn’t that observant. Yes, I just let people talk. It’s not tacit agreement, but saying anything up or down can tend to encourage them. I just wanted this to play out, soon. This man knows what he hears, but what he chooses to talk about to me, whom he hasn’t seen in well over a year probably, is a study. All I wanted to hear about was my former co-worker, whom I should e-mail more often.
“C,” though, Ben, takes the cake. She’s lazy and tricky. “C” takes long lunch hours, fills out her time sheet any way she feels like because “B” isn’t paying attention. Why, “C” has called in with the same dental appointment three times this month. That’s just like an Arky. Ben, you know Arkies, and aren’t they always this shiftless?
I’m an Arky, I tell him immediately, not to goad him but just from something automatic. I’m like fourth-generation.
But you’re not from around here.
Yes, I am, born and raised an hour away in Fort Smith.
The man — he and his wife are college-educated and from a major metro area in another part of the country — turns to go into the store just like that, says it was nice to see me. Was it something I said? I call after to say I hear their child got a good job, he says they’re real proud, and that’s all he says. No time to brag, just time to be petty.
There are other terms for what he ended up saying. I’m just surprised at what came out of his mouth in the parking lot that morning.
