Fishing with the Prez - Part 1

Each month, I choose the staff member who, in my opinion, has made the greatest positive impact on the company. It may be someone who has gone the extra mile, someone who had a great idea, someone who has improved upon a procedure, taken on extra responsibilities, or brought in doughnuts most frequently. The lucky winner gets to go on an all-day fishing trip with me.

This month I chose Blick Das Fensterwield (Supervisor of Curtains, Shades, Blinds, and Other Window Treatments*). Blick accomplished an extraordinary feat in the past month that "Blew my Mind". He rolled a company vehicle six times and walked away, unscathed. But wait! That's not the best part.....he manged to get an on-the spot out-of-court cash settlement from the guy who's lawn the vehicle landed in. Apparently, this guys lawn was encroaching upon an easement in violation of a city ordinance and he didn't want to get to police involved (in other words, his lawn was not supposed to be there). Blick was driving a company vehicle so obviously the company took the $14 million payoff.


Anyway, it was dawn on the lake when we eased my boat away from the launch ramp and headed out to relax, make idle chit-chat, and perhaps catch some fish. We motored across the lake to one of my favorite spots. I killed the motor and we coasted into a serene cove where a small feeder creek trickled in. The lake was glass. The air was crisp. I looked at Blick. Suddenly, before either of us had said a word, his pocket chirped, then beeped, and then played a few bars of "We Will Rock You" by Queen. He ignored it.

I looked at him and said, "What does all of that nonsense signify?"

He said, "I just received a text message and an email, and my Mom tried to call, but I didn't answer."


I said, "You set your Mom's ringtone as 'We will Rock You'?"


He said, "Yeah. Why not?"


I said, "Nevermind that. Am I paying for your phone?"


He said, "You reimburse me when I turn in the bill."


"So your Mom can call you?", I asked.


"Well", he stammered, "Not really.

"What does that mean?", I asked.

"Well," he replied. "You actually pay for it so that you can call me and I can call you."

I thought for a moment in silence, pissed that he may be right, and even pissed-er (more pissed)at this modern device. Then, another beep and two chirps from the pocket of Blick. "What now?" I asked.

"What? Oh that!", he said. "An email and two text messages."

Frustrated, I asked, "Were they all from me?"

"Well of course not!", Blick replied.

"Then give me your phone!", I demanded.

He did. It sailed about forty feet through the air and plopped into the lake.

"Hope it can swim too!", I said, rather proud of myself.

Blick had a slight mental breakdown and I had to subdue him. We didn't fish. We went home.

*Blick's Title may be confusing. I didn't want you to think that Crock, Inc. makes, sells, or repairs any kind of window treatments. We have nothing to do with them except for using them to...well...treat our windows, which is what Blick supervises.