The Peasants and the Land Remain

There were many changes at work. It is tough seeing so many close friends I worked with move to another area. There will be new friends and a few old foes returning. I have remained in my office with a really great manager. Like the proverbial peasant and the land I remain in the area called the slums.

I always liked the slums and never wanted to leave it even when offered a window. It is an area away from most and i found peace there. For me it was a place to pass the years and serve the public. It is a short walk to the waiting room, fridge and copier. The vegan was there for a spell. A wonderful coworker I mentored who later became a beloved boss was there. A promising new rookie, I mentored, passed through likely on her way to bigger things. A new cast will be joining me soon including a person I went to training with and another who I had a good relationship with years back.

The landscape changes yet, I remain in the slums. Oddly, I have been in the same office longer than anyone else in my area. In the end the land and the peasants remain and the years pass.

I even joke about the peasants remaining while the world changes. We don't see Fonzie still at the garage riding the motorcycle while Richie has grown up with kids in 1970. Yet I am still in the same spot with artwork on the wall listening to surf music and preparing for another hectic day. Over years the lawyers appreciate my style and work ethic. Most don't forget their immigration officer and every now and then I get a thank you from people I have long forgotten about.

Part of me wonders if it would be a good thing to have moved with some of my old friends. Then again my office has become larger than me. The joke is the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium, The Giants play in the Meadowlands and still Playing at the Oasis in the Slums is Beakerkin. I remain in the Oasis a midst the art
and movie photos still cracking jokes. I will mentor a new cast and tell new jokes as time goes by.

I remember when an obnoxious type started up with me. I pointed out " I will be in that office long after you are gone and forgotten. This has turned out to be truer then I ever would have grasped.