A True Friend

[Cap'n Jib]

Employees

Those who have had management experience know the trials and tribulations of dealing with employees. “Taint easy!”

It is important for management to keep their distance from staff. However, from time to time, it is necessary to ‘get down’ with the employees. At their level if you will.

El cuento de Marc 6

Two weeks after the afore mentioned ‘employee adjustment’ episode, Marc decided it might be a good idea to find out a bit more about HIS employees. In fact it was the day after the police spent a couple of hours talking with two of his employees.

Marc: “So tell me a little about your family? What is the background of the guys working here?”
Strong Boss: “Why do you want to know?”
Marc: “Well the police seem to know all the guys working here, so I thought I’d ask”.
Strong Boss: after a pause “They should. Four of the guys here have gone to prison for attempted murder. Will that be a problem?”
Marc: after a quick nose count and the percentage WAS under 50% said “NO, not a problem.”

El cuento de Marc 7

One of the brothers told Marc about his half-brother who was a pretty good fighter. “How good?” Marc asked. “He will be here tomorrow asking for work, you can ask him then.”

In this neck of the woods, guys get plastered on Saturday and Sunday. Friday nite is set aside for ‘Fight Club’. The indigenous and psudo-indigenous settle discussions and display acts of manhood on this night. As for the prize….well…...

Although there are the occasional knife fights, the police have clamped down on the indigenous with respect to knives and matters are settled in a more civilized manner as you shall learn.

The next day, the ’Would Be’ employee, talked about his rather successful career fighting.

Marc: “Well that was successful, why did you quit?”
Would Be:“Couldn’t afford it any more.”
Marc: “I don’t understand…YOU were the winner…”
Would Be: “The winner gets the other fighter’s wives (and kids always go with the wives). It is VERY expensive to feed everyone.”

El cuento de Marc 8

Two months later Marc’s wife returned to Europe some three weeks ahead of him. He decided to fulfill his agreement to work through the end of the month. AND Marc was board!
Marc: “What are you doing Friday night?”
Me: “Don’t know…probably nothing.”
Marc: “How about you backing me up if I need it. ‘Would Be’ is going to introduce me to the Fight Club. Found out one guy there is undefeated. I want to take him on.” Competitive juices were obviously flowing.
Me: (after some extremely fast thinking, came up with). “Don’t think I would be much good” (62 years and all. Plus a body that will give the medical examiner laughs when the time comes).
Marc: “Well I know you aren’t scared….so what is it?”
Me: Thinking to my self. Why does he think I wouldn’t be scared? He has a lot of nerve! If I knew the pain I often feel today, I might…just MIGHT have been a bit more prudent when I was young….but then again. I didn’t answer for a fair amount of time.
Marc: “Are you afraid I might lose?”
Me: The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Then I came up with “No, I am afraid you MIGHT win. What are YOU going to do with the additional wives?”

El cuento de Marc 9

Went over to his house and the cleaning gal (she is also ours) let me in. She said Marc was taking a nap. I left wondering. This was not Marc!

Later that night he told me he had been having headaches and was feeling ‘strange’ for over six months before his wife returned to Europe. He made a promise to her that he would go to the hospital for a physical and had done so two days earlier.

He was told that his testosterone level was exceedingly high 1445 ng./dl. at 3 pm in the afternoon, when it should be at it’s lowest. It appears that in his earlier years, when he pumped himself up to fight, the dang pump didn’t shut off. It kept pumping away without change for over 15 years. Definitely giving him headaches and an extremely high risk of a heart attack. Marc was a freaking testostrone time bomb!

I did the best to console him. Told him he could start receiving estrogen shots. May be even start thinking about a sex change operation….who knows? He took it better than I expected.

The bruise on my shoulder, where he hit me, is all but gone after a couple of months. The Doc said I might even regain full use of my shoulder….with extensive physical therapy. And I was right! Wouldn’t have been much use to him as a back up. Can’t take a punch (it hurts) anymore.

When it came time for him to leave, I didn’t even wave him goodbye..….shoulder and all!

Yep a true friend!

[Cap'n Jib]

Found out Marc has just spent 5 days in the hospital. The place he is staying at is still under construction. He heard a noise in the apartment next door, which was rented by a single lady. He approached across a common balcony only to confront a burglar. A tussle took place and a railing gave way.

A piece of marble sliced through Marc’s leg and needing 96 stitches. Then of course getting the obligatory staff infection in the wound the second day at the hospital. And yep the burglar got away. Boy is Marc ticked off!

[John Wayne]

I would be too.....I hate to see "Bad Guy's win.....