Happy St Patrick's day

There was a time when my office was much less rigid about some things and much more rigid about others. For example, men wore ties and slacks with long sleeved button down shirts, and ladies wore dresses. Managers wore suits. And, everybody smoked. This will come as a shock to the young whippersnappers that think shorts and flip-flops are appropriate office attire and wrinkle their noses as they pass the smoking area.

All our work was done on paper. We had access to computer terminals, but they weren't interactive and I shared a monitor with someone else because we didn't look at things on the computer much. We wrote things on paper. A keypunch operator keyed them into the computer and then we got a copy of the output to see if it was right. With all those steps, it often wasn't. How different that was than today when everything is computerized and pencils are old-fashioned.

But, I worked for a pretty relaxed company and every year, on St Patrick's day, they'd bring in a keg of green beer to the breakroom. The office had set hours (remember when customer service was only available during regular business hours?). After hours, we could all go to the breakroom and have a beer or two and visit. Those were the days. 100 people crammed into a space the size of my living room, ties loose and stocking feet. And, laughter all around.

Then, we'd all get in our cars and drive home or to a happy hour at an Irish pub. It was such a different time. The police were much more likely to pull you over and call a cab than to arrest you for DWI. Back then, the company could just let us all go. Now, if they have an event, they only give 2 drink tickets per person and even with that, they have to provide cabs for anyone that overdoes it.

Not gonna say that times were better then. Clothes are certainly more comfortable now. Companies have to consider the good of the employee even when the employee isn't. You can't drink and drive. But, you can wear shorts and flops to the office.

On a regular basis, you're going to hear me reminisce about the old days. But, I hope I don't romanticize them (we're getting enough of that from Glen Beck.) What I want to do is tell what I remember and it wasn't all good or pretty (despite copious amounts of hair gel). I lost a friend after drinking at an office event. People did embarassing things that they hoped no one remembered. It wasn't a golden age. But, it was part of "my time". And, that's what Way Back Wednesday is for. To share the memories of "my time". And, to remember the folks that are part of my history. And, to tell you about how we used to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Take care, wear green and enjoy the day safely! We're going to the rodeo carnival. All the rides we can ride for $15 and a milking competition at 12:30. Whoopee! Lane