I worked in the advertising business for many years, so I’m well acquainted with the tendency of corporate executives to meddle in ad campaigns. When it comes to advertising and sales promotion, management is especially prone to overruling the staff — creating the themes, coming up with the slogans, writing the copy. It’s easy to [...]
Archive for the ‘Recollections, 9 to 5’ Category
A Place Where People Count
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Humor, People, Work on December 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Leaving Fort Lauderdale
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Life, Memories, Work on November 3, 2010 | 2 Comments »
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to one of my former bosses, Harry (not his real name), and wrote about his epic clash with Art (not his real name), a soon-to-be-fired employee. Like most people, I worked for some competent, fair-minded people over the years. At other times, I suffered under villains and [...]
Blaze of Glory
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Memories, People, Relationships, Work on October 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It began as a routine staff meeting. For most of the 1970s, my family and I lived in South Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, one of the jewels of the Gold Coast. In our case, the jewel was a rhinestone. We couldn’t afford to live in Fort Lauderdale proper, or anywhere near the ocean. The only [...]
Then and Now
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Family, Life, Memories, Work on December 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
When I was a kid, we moved constantly. Dad was in the Air Force, and especially in the early years, we packed up and moved often — sometimes every few months. The pace slowed as the years went by, but Dad still got reassigned regularly. According to Mom, we changed residences 25 or 30 times [...]
Strong Letter to Follow
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Humor, Memories, Work on July 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A few years before I retired, pads of the buck slip below quietly surfaced at work. When I realized the form had been tampered with, I confiscated a small supply for my souvenir file. I suspected that my friend Larry was responsible. But then, Larry was blamed for everything, whether he did it or not. [...]
Keeping It Clean
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Humor, Memories, Work on July 8, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Back in the 90s when I was working at Lithonia Lighting, one of the higher-ups issued orders to have the warehouse cleaned up. The dirt and dust were pretty bad out there, and it got trashed quickly. After the clean-up project, someone printed a stack of signs and posted them in the warehouse aisles nearest [...]
Who Goes There?
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Memories, Military on June 13, 2009 | 1 Comment »
One of the defining characteristics of every Air Force base is the presence of transient flight crews. It is, after all, an Air Force base. Every day, huge numbers of aircraft are criss-crossing the world, engaged in all manner of business. At the end of the day, the majority of them land somewhere so the [...]
The Rest of the Story
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Friends, Humor, Memories, Work on May 9, 2009 | 2 Comments »
It was vintage Larry Flowers: a clever prank on the perfect foil. This one had all the earmarks of legend. In 1997, I was a copywriter in the Marketing Communications Department at Lithonia Lighting in Conyers, Georgia. Larry, my boss, was a proud and accomplished trickster. Larry wasn’t merely skilled at perpetrating practical jokes; he [...]
We Are Pleased to Announce…
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Humor, Memories, Work on February 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In 1986, restless for a creative outlet, I indulged in a modest office prank that I felt was harmless enough to risk. This is what happened. A common business practice, as you know, is to send out announcements about promotions and new hires. At Lithonia Lighting, printed notices heralding the latest changes were posted daily [...]
The Glare in the Lacquer
Posted in Recollections, 9 to 5, tagged Humor, Memories, Politics on February 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The date: February 5, 1971. The time: 10:00 A.M. The place: Georgia State Capitol, outside the Governor’s Office. The players: Honorable Ben Fortson, Secretary of State; Honorable Lester Maddox, Lieutenant Governor; various bystanders (Capitol porters, staff workers, tourists). The scene: Fortson and Maddox are looking up at the Lieutenant Governor’s official portrait, which was hung [...]
