Adventures of a Former Detailed Recruiter

This blog represents my opinion and my opinion alone. In no way, shape, or form do my inane ramblings represent any sort of official statement from the Army. This is my insanity and mine alone.

Join | List | Previous | Next | Random

^{Powered by RingSurf}

Prev | List | Random | Next Join Powered by RingSurf!

Future Soldier Roster

At Training

Rambling Thoughts from a FS
Not as Easy as It Looks

People I Read Becuase I Like Their Stories

Mauser*Girl
Some Soldier's Mom
Yankee Mom
Lucrative Pain
Johnny Law
SPC Spencer
Comfortably Numb>
Dairy of a Police Officer
Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper
A Day at the Hall

Daily Reading

IMAO
Jeff Jarvis
James Lileks
Astros Daily
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Crank
Volokh Conspiracy
Oliver Willis
Wizbang

Endorses Hatred of Astros

Blackfive

Because I Might Get a Kickback

Iowahawk

Comics

Cox and Forkum
Homestar Runner
WTF Comics
GU Comics
8-Bit Theatre
PVP Comics
Least I Could Do
Looking for Group
Order of the Stick
VG Cats)
Cyanide and Happiness
I can has Cheezburger

The Rest

Milblogging.com
The Truth Laid Bear
Screw Loose Change

**The NEW Transformers movie!!!!**

Actual Army Stuff

America's Army

Monday, May 29, 2000

Unknown

The Fourth of July weekend was going to start in two days. Gregg Theems, and his wife of 10 years Carmen, were going to drive South Padre Island for a week at the Bahia Mar resort. It was all they had talked about for the previous month. This was Gregg's last day at work before he started his vacation. He stood in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

SportsCenter was the only sound in the downstairs living room as Gregg went about his routine. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts, a white t-shirt, and a two month old pair of Asics. He'd bought the specifically for their vacation. They were going to spend a lot of time walking and he wanted them well broken in. As he shuffled his feet in place they felt nearly perfect.

The percolator began to gurgle as the last drops of coffee went into the pot. Turning off the machine Gregg poured himself a cup and then filled the carrath with the rest. It would remain warm and fresh in that air tight pot for a couple hours. He filled the rest of the cup with creamer and stirred it. As the drink lightened he lamented the fat-free creamer which Carmen had purchased. Although they were both watching their weight, he missed the simple pleasure of real cream in his coffee. "Oh well," he thought to himself as he sipped it.

Carmen was still asleep upstairs when Gregg backed the car out of the driveway. As the sunroof pulled back and the bright light filled the car's cabin, Gregg turned up the radio and pointed the car to downtown Houston.

The commute was unremarkable. The sun got into everyone's eyes and caused some minor slowdowns, but fortunatly no accidents. Gregg pulled in to the parking lot of Systech Information Systems and took his usual spot near the exit of the lot. Although it was a longer walk because of the distance from the building, it made the trip home in the evening so much better; traffic in the parking lot was often worse than on the freeway. Systech shared the seven story office building with about 20 other companies. Most were in the finance field and the recent issues with home loans had thinned their ranks. Gregg could always tell when things were going well because the lot was full. It was far less than full now.

Gregg swiped his ID through the reader and was let into the building. He nodded to the security guard at the desk and the guard replied in kind. "The universal guy," nod is how Carmen described it. She was right of course. Men who had never seen each other before, and will likely never see each other again, will exchange that same nod if and when they make eye contact. "Just one of those things," thought Gregg as the elevator closed behind him.

Systech was on the fourth floor. Surprisingly no one else was trying to go up this morning. Between the layoffs and the approaching holiday the building was obviously less crowded. Gregg exited on the fourth floor and walked into his territory.

Gregg was the human resources manager for Systech. It was a painfully ungalmourus job, but it paid well and the benefits were hard to beat. It was also something Gregg enjoyed doing. The work was low-key, detail oriented, and when done right made the entire organization function better. He'd only been with the company for two years, taking a promotion and a raise to leave another information technology company where he worked on the finance side.

Although Gregg's title was "manager", he was more-or-less the entire human resources division. Systech was not a large company, less than 50 employees, but there was high turnover for their entry level positions, and Gregg's approachable attitude and professional competence helped retain those who worked out, and replace those who didn't. His assistant was the only person he officially managed on the organization chart. His name was David Sloan and he was already in the office.

"Morning Gregg," David said cheerily. His fast food breakfast was already finished and in the trash. While David had some issues with prioritizing his time, he was a hard worker and knew what he was doing. Gregg knew he was looking for a new job and was going to regret losing him when he left.

"Hey David, y'all have a good evening?"

"Yes we did. 'Becca and I went to Old Chicago." Rebecca was David's wife of three years. She and Carmen knew each other from high school. It was a strange reunion when they met each other a year ago at an office party after not seeing each other for over a decade.

"What is on the agenda for this morning?"

"You have a staff meeting with Mr. Ramsouer at nine, and then an interview with a Diane Hawkins at 10:30." Mrs. Hawkins was one of the candidates for an open senior programmer's position. She came highly recommended and was well-versed in Scala. That experience would likely be vital since Systech was just contracted to develop some applications in that language.

"I'm trying to get out of here early David. Think you can handle the interview?"

"Get an early start on the weekend?" David asked and Gregg nodded in agreement as he logged into his work station.

"Yeah, we've got a long drive what with traffic and all. Sooner we get started the better."

"I got it covered," David made the change to the office calendar and returned to his desk.

Gregg checked through his email and answered what needed answering. Much of it was simply CCs and FYIs. They were rapidly deleted. There was a message from Carmen reminding him that she was going to be late that night because of an appointment to get her toenails done. Gregg made a mental note and continued to work.

The 9:00 meeting ran late and didn't break until after 11. Gregg was glad he'd asked David to cover the interview for him. He walked past the smaller conference room and saw David and Mrs. Hawkins talking. She was sitting at one of the computers in the conference room, apparently showing David what she knows. Gregg left a note for David telling him to call when the interview was concluded. He left the office and exited the building, nodding to the security guard as he walked out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carmen had packed already and left her luggage by the door. The large suitcase was bulging and Gregg's back twinged just looking at it. The thought something about stereotypical women and went upstairs to pack for himself.

After an hour of rummaging through closets, dressers, and the dryer Gregg has assembled his requirements for the trip. The week's worth of clothing and accessories would barely fill the carry-on bag he he usually used. Mostly jeans and shorts with a single pair of slacks and a dress shirt for a romantic dinner Gregg had planned for their third night at the resort. His cologne, deoderant, toothpaste, toothbrush, and comb were packed into his toiletries bag and slid into the side pocket. In less than 70 minutes Gregg was packed and ready. He carried the bag downstairs and placed it next to Carmen's. Her's dwarfed his.

Gregg took a bottle of Pyramid from the fridge and poured it into a stein from the freezer. He laid out on the couch and sipped the beer as he flipped through the program guide. Carmen had obviously cleaned this morning as the dust that usually covered the pictures on their mantle were clean. In the middle was a picture of the two of them. Carmen in her cap and gown, him in slacks and a royal blue shirt with a tie. It was their first picture together and it was Gregg's favorite.

Gregg had known Carmen for 12 years. They had met at a bar in St. Louis. She was there waiting for her boyfriend at the time, and he was preparing to move to Colorado, after graduating from Webster University. Gregg was a soon-to-be-starving teacher with a hefty student loan to pay back and Carmen was working on her Masters in Computer Education at Fontbonne. Gregg had tried to pick her up that night, but she quickly, and rudely, shot him down. However, they remained seated next to each other at the bar and struck up a friendly conversation. Although Carmen left him that evening after her boyfriend arrived, they did exchange numbers.

Gregg moved to Colorado and began teaching history at a high school in the Denver area. Six month later, during the summer, his phone rang and a Missouri number he didn't recognize came up. Thinking it was a school friend calling he answered. It was Carmen. She had found his number in her cell phone one day when she was transferring numbers to a new phone. She hadn't recognized it and she decided to call to see who it was. They talked until the early morning and Gregg still remembers how badly the phone burned his ear because it heated up from being on so long.

Carmen and her boyfriend had broken up a month before. It was an amicable split as they just had different places they wanted to be. She was more saddened than hurt by the break-up and just wanted someone to talk to. Gregg was friendly, willing to just listen, and he was far away. For Carmen, he was the perfect shoulder when she needed it. Over the next two months they'd call each other twice a week and exchange email daily. Her graduation came and Gregg surprised her by showing up. TO that point in his life that was his most stressful day. He never told her what he was planning and had no idea how she'd react.

She went back with him to Colorado the next week and they were married four months later.

Like any couple life was not perfect for them. There were arguments, harsh words, fights, and tears. Gregg had spent nights on the spare beds of friend's, and Carmen had preferred the couch to their bed on several nights. But they persevered and made it through. After 10 years together they had managed to make a house into a home. Gregg found the latest James Bond film playing on a movie channel and watched it. The early morning and a second beer closed his eyes.

The sound of Maroon 5 woke Gregg. He fumbled for his cell phone and looked at the number. It was a local number he didn't recognize. Clicking ignore he saw four missed calls from the same number and one from Carmen. It was dark out and Bond had been replaced by some movie starring a face to which he couldn't put a name. "What time is it?" he wondered checking the cable box. It was 1:20 in the morning. Gregg was confused. How had he slept so late? Why didn't Carmen wake him up when she came home? They had a long drive and wanted to get started last night. It didn't make any sense. Their bags were still by the door.

In the darkness Gregg walked upstairs and checked the bedroom. The bed was still made, the impression in the comforter where Gregg set his bag as he packed was still visible. Gregg checked the office she used and the lights where out but for the cluster of LEDs from the electronics. He began to get worried and went to check the garage. Her car wasn't there. He checked his phone again and there were no messages. He called Carmen, the phone went straight to voice mail. Either the phone was off or the battery had died. On a whim he called her work number. She did sometimes work late, but she always told him. Her work voice mail said she'd be away for a week and wished everyone a happy Fourth of July.

The names and numbers clicked through as Gregg checked his phone book, trying to find someone who might know where she was. Gregg and Carmen did not share many friends and he had no one to call. He tossed the phone onto the couch and tried to think. "She was getting her nails done," he muttered to himself as he looked through the notepad by the house phone. He remembered taking down the salon's number one day when they called to confirm an appointment. He hoped that page was still in there. Maroon 5 played again.

Practically sprinting to the couch Gregg was upset to find it had fallen into the crack of the cushions. He tore the couch apart, finding the phone just in time to see "missed call" flash across the screen. Redialing the number it takes a second for the phone to connect.

"Hermann Memorial Hospital, how may I direct your call?"

Gregg's world stops.

posted by SFC B at 10:58 AM |

About Me

Name:
SFC B
Location:

View My Profile

Merry Christmas
The Past Month
On the Road
Not Much to Say...
Search Complete
House Hunting
Tightening
The First Day
Richard James Stadelberger
Well that was dumb