My little robot brain is spinning! Oh the other hand, my long-suffering cat-herding boss has hit a bit of a lull. I’m sure it’s a temporary one. When he asked this afternoon if there was anything I could use help with, I blurted out, “You could go open up a cash register!” Ooops. Wrong job. Wrong boss.

I worked at the Sault Ste. Siberia Tempo store back in the Jurassic Age on my college vacations. Excuse me, that would be “your Tempo store” as the managers used to say. It was a discount department store, a lot like KMart back in the old days, something like that anyway. It is long gone now. I think it was a Wolohan’s Lumber for a while and I am not sure what it is now. Odd Lots or something? Before “our” Tempo store opened, virtually all of our shopping was done “downtown” on Ashmun Street and thereabouts. There was a variety of stores down there but us kids liked the dime-stores the best. Woolworth, Kresge et al. The shiny new Tempo store was out at the “plaza”! Siberia’s first strip mall. We were pretty excited about that and I can remember going out there and spending an hour or two shopping. Er, when I could get a *ride* out there. I could *walk* downtown. I can’t believe I could’ve spent that much time walking around a discount store. Meeeee? I hate shopping. But I did end up working there, so I guess I was practicing?

Siberia has a few more strip malls now and it has its second Woldemort. I will never understand why they tear out about a billion trees to build one Woldemort and then maybe 15 years later decide that Woldemort isn’t adequate, tear out a bunch more trees and build a new Woldemort in a different location, leaving a trenormous empty building and a gargantuan parking lot. Park park park park ooooh park park park park, put up a parking lot. Sigh. Anyway.

I worked for Mr. Drysdale at Tempo. I started out running a cash register. I was paid minimum wage, which I think was $1.45 in those days. No sooner did I get my first pay envelope, which contained actual cash in the princely sum or $30 or thereabouts, the Engineer asked me if he could borrow some money. Say what, bro’? I dunno what he wanted to do with the money. Put a down payment on a vintage Corvette down in Georgia or somewhere maybe? My first day at Tempo was not auspicious. I was SICK with a cold virus. I mean feverish with a raging sore throat and the whole works. It was a Tuesday. The assistant manager who was training me said, “come back Friday.” (I got the job because Mr. D. knew my dad and I’m sure the asst mgr was not terribly impressed…) Of course I went back (it was a jooooobbbb) and somehow I stuck. They liked me enough that they put me to work back in the “office”. You know, where you go to argue with somebody when you want to return something or whatever. That was a promotion of sorts, although I doubt it was associated with a raise. Whenever there was a big backup at the cash registers, Mr. Drysdale would say, “KW, will you please go open up register 4?” And I would promptly go open a register and get rid of the backup. One rather slow afternoon, Mr. Drysdale was hanging around the office and he said, “I don’t have anything to do!” What do you think I said? Fortunately, he saw the humor in that.

Today when I told my LSCHBoss that story he laughed and I dunno what he found to do but there is plenty to do and I think it was just a very transient loss of direction. Now, I don’t remember my boss back in my *old* computer-type career ever asking me something like that. He would just disappear for a few days weeks. Yes, really. Oh, it was okay. He would show up to take care of stuff that I didn’t do. Like wrangling the snake pit.

What do you do if your boss asks you for something to do? And, if you are a boss, do you *ask* your employees that kind of question?

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