“Please, Leave, A, Message, After, the Tone…”

I listened to my generic factory-installed answering machine greeting the other day and thought, “Hmph. That really sucks.” It’s a digitized male voice that blathers, “Please, leave, a, message, after, the tone.” He’s the same guy that sputters out commands when navigating through the menu: “The, time, is, eight, forty-five, pee, em. Press, OK, to, … Continue reading “Please, Leave, A, Message, After, the Tone…” →

“Play It Again…”

If you don't know who Dr. Gene Scott (1925--2005) was, let me fill you in. He was a TV preacher. He was nuts. He was entertaining. So entertaining was his weekly show that my brother and I would watch it, and forgive the pun, religiously. We never quite understood what he was talking about, what … Continue reading “Play It Again…” →

That’s a Big Burger Alright

I stayed home from work on Friday to nurse a stomach that had been exposed to that thing which a certain hut passes off as pizza. Yeech. Anyway, I was all better after the weekend. It was back to work on Monday. I hopped on the Blue Line and then walked up the steps to … Continue reading That’s a Big Burger Alright →

The Day After

People around the office are roaming aimlessly, eyes glazed over. Cubicles that would once echo with the sound of people chatting have been replaced with people quietly working. There's definitely a feeling of hopelessness around there. And it really sucks. I get the feeling that it won't be three years before things start happening. I … Continue reading The Day After →

Not Again…

Back in 1997 I was working for a bulk photo processing plant. I had been there almost a year when rumor had it that they were about to begin laying off people. Once it was confirmed that our largest account had not renewed their contract and chose another processor, I was one of the victims … Continue reading Not Again… →