American Airlines had a pesky little nepotism policy stating that husband and wife shall not work in the same department. This was a bit of concern with inter-company transfers on hold because the company was undergoing a “restructure.” This venture was orchestrated by an outside consulting firm. Perfect strangers with New York accents gathered 25… Read More Clouds and Bicycle Horns

The 90s brought a new set of common terms to the business world. There was “reorganization” and “downsizing” instead of “lay-offs.” There was also a new term for good office manners. “Politically correct” or “PC” for short (or should I say vertically challenged). PC became a major focus and many companies required PC training. American… Read More The Perils of New Terminology

The American Airlines compound was a conglomerate of buildings connected by underground tunnels. Headquarters, where I was summoned to get my work ID, was on the other side of the very busy Amon Carter Blvd. (I loved this name.) I decided to go through the tunnel. Once on the other side, I was faced with… Read More Something Good

The hunt for a job offering life after Eggs-on was short and sweet. A few weeks before my contract ended, I received two offers. The first offered a permanent, full time job with compensation of $35,000 per year. The employer was Lindcrest, a documentation firm specializing in writing and maintaining procedure manuals for small businesses.… Read More Answered Prayers

Over time, the position in the Documentation Department became more difficult to navigate. The major difficulty was maintaining boundaries with Cheryl as my boss from the platform of friendship. It is quite odd to get chewed out for the latest offense and giggle about the George Michael adventure all over the same cup of coffee.… Read More Exxon Etiquette

In 1988 George Michael was all the rage, beating out Michael Jackson for the top spot on the charts with the unlikely combination of titles “Faith” and “I Want Your Sex.” His concert tour that year included Texas Stadium in Irving. George Strait and Randy Travis were more my speed so I paid little attention… Read More Hortense Fudpucker

I returned to work from maternity leave as Manager of the Word Processing Center. In June of 1985, I hired a friendly woman named Peggy. Debi Morris came to the bank to have lunch with me one day and was introduced to Peggy. Later, Peggy asked if Deb and I were sisters and I explained… Read More Puppies and Politics

At the age of 30, I registered for college for the first time. My goal was to earn a degree in education and teach school so that I could be off work when Susan, and other prospective children, were out of school. Within two years, I accumulated a decent number of hours by taking classes… Read More Training Triumphs

My go-to phrase when facing disappointment is “When God closes a door, don’t stand there pounding on it, turn around and look for the window.” After my abrupt exit from the Star-Telegram, I reworked that saying as something like “When a door closes in your face and breaks your nose, look for an ice pack… Read More It’s in the Bank

The last months at work before my maternity leave were a delightful time of baby showers and advice in the break room from experienced mothers. Debi Morris hosted a baby shower for my work friends and Carolyn Hinds, my other sister by choice, hosted a church party. My Star-Telegram family was so generous; almost every day… Read More The Cost of Crusading