Uh-oh! #3

First chapter of "What, Me Retire?"   

*Continued from previous post

(Covid-19 has forced many people to retire and, as expressed in their social media posts, home 24/7 is such a lonely place. Perhaps by sharing my own retirement story, they can find humor in their change of pace, and may even discover that retirement is a blessing in disguise.)                                                   

Scene 2:  The Tin Man strips the EVP of authority plus more 

I armed myself against the many changes Tin Man instituted in the company. 

First change: The people reporting to me started working on their own and reporting directly to Tin Man. Something in me suddenly crashed — Ms. Ego!Uh-oh. Now, nothing pushed me into storming Tin Man's office anymore. I was disabled for assault.  

On the plus side, I had less work to do. But more changes: Tin Man ordered Human Resource to instruct new hires in my department to report directly to him, bypassing me.

I came close to waging World War III, but when I looked inside of me, I realized that Ms. Courage had likewise scampered away.  Am I too old for combats?

Two new young hires, artists, were walking down the corridor the next month. They were  both sporting uncombed long hair and jeans with holes. Once upon a time I interviewed their kind before they could set foot in my department. 

“Hi!” I said, “my name is Grace. Welcome to the agency!” 

“Hi, Grace!” they replied, and asked in a duet, “ From what department?” 

“Guess!” I said, slinking away.  

Farewell, Ms. Authority.  

Changes, changes, changes. “Hey, Grace!” a friend from a competing agency called up another day. “Your new boss attended the meeting last night. Where were you?”  

“Meeting?” I asked.  

“Don't miss the next one tonight, and join the Ways and Mean Committee.” 

“Ways and Means Committee?” I was out of the loop. 

Ms. Stature, are you leaving, too? I had lost my place in the industry. Uh-oh. 

To be continued next post