Shot Who?

I had the bestest job in the world while on our last duty station in San Diego. I worked for the Department of the Navy in a very cool department that did very cool classified stuff. Meaning that I worked with some of the coolest people on earth. It's true that some of the most brilliant minds work for the government.

It's also very true that real geniuses (not me) are abnormal people. There were 90-ish peeps in this department which was the largest maze of cubies you can ever imagine.....it was fun. Work but work....

When you work with such a large number of people in direct contact, you are bound to have your share of interesting cases......and since I no longer work there, it's with found memories that I think of them.

My boss was probably the most outgoing person on earth. In charge of the motley crew, his door was always open. He proctored all my college tests for me, while eating donuts and drinking coffee and occasionally throwing out a math answer, cause he couldn't help himself. He gave me alot of leeway with my kids as I was a "perpetual deployment wife". He let me get involved with any project that caught my eye and whenever I said there was a problem, he fixed it cause I said it was a problem. And no matter where he was hiding or from who, he always answered my calls, even if he had to whisper.

However, if there was one thing that I loved most about that boss, it was his response to anything he didn't like.......screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Shot who?"

Military folks, they crack me up.

So when one of our coworkers became a devout budda follower and stocked his cubie with temples and candles and started chanting during the work day......it was "Shot who?"

Whenever another would stand in front of our tiny little community fridge and eat things out of other people's lunches...... "Shot who?"

Whever the Gunny would forget to clean his face camo paint off before storming the office, sidearm in place........ "Shot who?" (I think this was more a question than a statement on this one)

Whenever our peeps "retired in place" sat in their cubies playing solitare awaiting retirement instead of working........ "Shot who?"

Whenever he'd need something and have to walk 1/2 mile out back by the towers to the pitiful smoker's alley looking for me, he'd simply stand in the doorway and scream "Shot who?" and when everyone else scattered and I simply stood up, he'd storm my way telling on someone else.

But I count him as the bestest of bosses......in a line of awesome bosses cause honestly I'm pickey about who I'll work for.

The same boss who when I went and sat crying in his office cause I was moving to Salt Lake City and giving my notice, stood up and yelled in my face "Shot who?" then yelled at me some more that he'd give us the apartment over his garage if we'd stay and Dave found a local job.

I tell you that to tell you this.........when I got so frustrated at someone today that the only words I could even think of to let fly were "Shot Who?" .... instead of flying off in a tempered rage and verbally slashing someone, I had to sit down cause I was laughing so hard I cried.

It's times like this that I have to remember that even though I am not a fan of people. Even though I get so irrated at people's work ethics and the Utah persistance of "I'm right and your not, and I don't care why"........

Even though I have a gun in my car.......

I got "Shot who?".

Thanks for making me smile today sir, I hope your still causing trouble, hiding from people, eating donuts and way too much coffee..... cause frankly, I wanta be you when I grow up.

Posted in: About me