Strange Days at the office...

I got to work late this morning. Bad. Emergency meeting - 1st thing as soon as I arrive. We heard through the grapevine that a customer was upset. Bad. Coffee was all gone when I got out of the meeting. Bad. I call and explain to some employees that they are incompetent. Bad.


It's not even close to lunch yet.

So, needless to say I am a bit down.







And then to my great surprise, there is a knock on my door. This warmed my heart, at the perfect moment in time - this could happen. I actually became excited and happy.

The knock on the door was a very polite one. This usually doesn't happen. Normally it's someone barging in to complain about something one of our employees has done - or an employee complaining about another...

Guess who was at the door...





None other than one of my best friends, Mr. Al E. Gater.


Now, it's been a while since he's come by. We first met down near Naples, FL where he lived with his family until one day (the day I met him) he decided to go out on his own and visit the big city. Al & I have been friends since. And today he happened to stop by to give me some encouragement.

After talking about my day...er morning...we started reminiscing about when and how we first met, right off the infamous "Alligator Alley".

I'm not sure what sparked the resentment in Al, but he started becoming very agitated. I asked him what was wrong and he proceeded to string off obscenities at me.

I was aghast! I couldn't believe he felt that way after all this time. After all we'd been through.

I starting telling him how I didn't mean for him to become a prized trophy that people enjoy gazing upon. I told him I was sorry for having his mouth permanately opened to look as if he were "smiling". None of this phased him. He was determined.



Fear gripped me. The last encounter with an Alligator was so long ago...I had won. And now, years later, the very beast that I had defeated, found me and was determined to get revenge. His friendship had been a ploy. He waited until I was down so his attack would be easier.


As I gazed into his cold steel eyes, I was determined not to let him get the best of me. I did it before, and I could do it again! The memories of the razor sharp teeth, the foul stench of his breath, the wryness he encapsulated and the overabundance of agility on his part were starting to cloud my thinking.


What would become of this encounter...????


Quickly, I looked up at the clock..time had passed so freely, it was just past 11AM. How could this be?

Noticing it was so close to lunch time, I immediately excused myself from this unannounced conference and informed Al, that if he wanted a piece of me he would have to wait until after lunch. I could tell he was miffed. No matter. I quickly reminded him of his "stature" and all was well...until next time.


However, now I know he will be watching for his next more opportune time.