Downsizing

Being frail and weak is a gift that not many men see the beauty of. Most consider it a punishment or something of that nature. There is another gift that many men don't see. That gift is affirmative action. Most other people lose the chance at some excellent jobs because of their race, creed, sex, etc.

As you can guess, I am one of the men that are frail and weak. Due to that factor, I spent most of my years in college doing intellectual courses. I wasn't one of the guys going out for football, baseball, or basketball. I didn't even go out for the sports that were more inclined to get the physiques like mine, such as swimming or track.

Now don't get me wrong, I do hang out with the guys. Watching the state college football team and cheering them on. Or occasionally a basketball game or two if it's going to be a good game like Duke and Kentucky. Beyond that, there is nothing really in common between my male friends and myself.

Being male is what gave me the edge when I went to look for a job after we all got out of college. I was chided terribly by my friends when I took a computer analyst position at one of the cosmetic companies. For the first few times when we would get together for a night in front of the big screen to watch the game, as I walked in the door someone would holler "Avon Calling."

When I learned to ignore the rest of the guys as I walked in the harassment stopped like the rest of the guys had been told by some higher being they were going to go to hell for heckling me.

That's where this memory takes off. The company I worked for no longer exists. The company was bought out by a competitor during the nineteen eighty-seven stock market crash. There was a lot of downsizing, and many people lost their jobs. I was quite good by the time the take over went through, and had a decent job security, or so I thought. When the new manager of the business departments came through, she started going through the staff to do some cutbacks. Anyone not up to par on attendance and performance was cut no debate. I felt I was pretty safe when she was done cutting people.