Category: Love

It was known as the top sheet –
two sides of A4.
Age. DOB. Qualifications. Work experience. Interests
and reasons for wanting to go to Antarctica.
Used to cull wheat from chaff for interviews
grain from husk for employment –
given to each shift supervisor : speed dating appraisal of staff.

On paper Alison looked pretty impressive
•  Head girl
•  Trained Teacher
•   Sales manager for an innovative company.

In Person she appeared
•  Well bred
•  Well presented
•   Not the type to be affected by the Antarctic 10.

The Antarctic 10
rebuffed men’s revenge on the male-female imbalance –
women called the shots
5/10 at home, 10/10 here.
Sexist, that’s what they said
still,
some very plain women found previously unfelt influence.

Alison, probably 7.5 in civilian life
but here ………
On the first Saturday she left the bar with a man
showered and returned
for seconds,
going home with a second. It set the pattern.

A quick calculation … she would be ….  49 now
her wedding finger sparkles
the clothes are prosperous
her eyes said the past was inconvenient,
a reminder,
that hopes not.
I went to the unnecessary restroom. It gave her time to leave.

I always intended to look him up
but youth is careless with time
and when there was, I had to look down –
a headstone.
Legend said he was a lawyer in a former life
some rumours spoke of ejection …. others, of spectacular abdication.
“I’m a painter son ” – the reply to the teenaged question.

Paint. It’s what we did
while the sun holidayed south.
Bleached mansions in a faded suburb
a once star, off the bottle and thinking comeback.

Hard work,
and no occupational health and safety –
unscreened sun
un-dust masked lead paint
three tier scaffolding … “ Okay, time to shove the plank along.”
Still,
it was worthwhile for the money and entertainment value of the boss – Morrie
two syllables … nothing more ever needed.
At the hardware store. No invoice, only statement… “ For Morrie.”

Stories !!!!
Even if half, were half true!
With coffee, first-hand accounts of his battles –
with the town planning department
the resident’s association
the Heritage Society
the finance company,
his wives : past and present. All abominable aching hilarious.

Flippant about himself and his ambitions
he told me, when the time came to purchase a house, to consult him
and he would tell me which ones not to.

Not a painter, a property developer
wide awake to the wide boys
a wheeler dealer and rogue, who every Friday lunchtime
handed over a bundle of notes … then drove me to the bank
and made sure I did : for my education.

For the back story click Backstage

Had it been a university
he might have been made Emeritus Professor
or Reader
or Fellow.
Not so much sidelined as blindsided
by cunning – his rival’s
amalgamation : two research facilities – one position –
double or quits?
He couldn’t – his pension dependent on finishing his time –
five years –
brief when developing a research programme –
forever,
when not allowed any useful purpose.

He had only a few months left when I started
by then had been the subject of joke
and ridicule, ….. for four and half years
many did
I did once –
about his zero productivity.
One of the old staff looked at me sadly
and said,
“yes, but when he was the boss, things were done properly then.”