WHO'S MORE IMPORTANT, ME OR YOU?

Blog number 401 **** 29 July, 2010

Back when I was in the Air force protecting Sacramento from any Viet Cong incursions up the Sacramento river, I spent a period of time "working" in an office along with a secretary. She wasn't my secretary any more than I was her flunky - although at times it seemed like I was, at least to her, but that's another story for another time.

My job was to make sure each department in A&E (Armaments and Electronics) was up to snuff using timely tech orders. I can't remember any other jobs I had to do. I spent a lot of time just walking around the base, going to coffee, to the cafeteria, to the base exchange, things like that. I visited the various departments in the A&E building - Radio, ECM (Electronic Counter Measures), PMEL (Precision Measuring Equipment - I don't know what the "L" stands for) and Bomb Nav, which was my AFSC. Your AFSC was the number for your speciality. My number was 32170E.

Government jobs sure love their acronyms, don't they?

Anyhow, this sergeant from Radio used to greet me with, "Hello, Reynolds, " when I met him in the hall and I used to respond with, "Hey, Man." He always had a troop of men with him. Why, I don't know.

Anyhow, one day after this exchange, he asked me, "What's my name?" I didn't answer, I just looked dumbfounded 'cause I was. He reamed me up one side and down the other while his sycophants looked on in pity, I guess. He said, "All this time and you don't know my name!' I was crushed.

I went to "my" secretary and asked her the guy's name. She told me, but every other day or so I had to ask again. I tried to "Hello, whatever his name was," but he never responded, passive aggressive dork that he was.

I really felt bad about my sin until one day years later I got to thinking about it, and right off the bat I realized, "I don't have to know this guy's name! Who the hell does he think he is, O.J.'s get-away driver? "

This guy obviously had an ego problem along with a low self esteem problem. And he blamed me for not seeing what a great guy he was. I still don't see it.