Month: March 2024

Old Goats

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WP Daily Prompt: How has technology changed your job?

AI Artwork by CURSEJOURNEY

I  have been working in warehouses since the late1980’s.

I was there when we went from using paperwork, file cabinets, clipboards and pens to using phones and computers  and tablets.

Going on line  made keeping track of my inventory and where and when it was shipping, where it was at that second so much easier. On top of that  there was this little chubby icon in overalls with a big demonic ( I suppose it was supposed to be a reassuring smile ) that would pop up and ask me if I had a question when I tried to feed the system bad information.

So I suppose you could say it made the clerical  a breeze.

Every once and awhile though systems crash, or  the power fails and to give it a human spin our computers have a nervous breakdown.

 

One year I was working for a company that had eight warehouses and when our system failed all but 2 warehouses continued to function.

One was mine.

Me and one other warehouse went back to the old school way of shipping and receiving and the other 6 had Managers who had never worked under the old way of doing things had no way of moving anything forward.

I have to admit, when we got back on line it was no fun to go back and have to do all of that data entry but donuts and pizza were involved- so it was all good in the end.

 

Since then, me and the other warehouse manager have moved on to other companies and I know that when there are issues there now with the computer all  eight of the warehouses shut down now.

 

I’m Gen X-  some of us  used to buy pens with scented ink. I miss those days. My shipping documents used to smell like strawberries.

 

 

Box of Bones #1

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RDP Monday: SOPHISTICATED

I learned the story of my family from  little box in my Grandfather’s workshop in the basement of  his house under a picture of Marilyn Monroe.

I thought the picture was beautiful and Marilyn looked so sophisticated. I always fought the urge to ask her image,

” what is a beautiful lady like  you doing in a place like this? ”

The box used to have a label on it, but it’s faded away and the string  holding  it shut is brittle  age- unlike the picture of Marilyn which looks as new as the day my grandfather pinned it to the wall in 1961.

I used to wonder what was in the box, but I figured it was something boring like a tube for one of his old radios- or screws or little wooden knobs.

As time went on though, I assumed that whatever was in that box wasn’t boring- after all it had a special spot under an ageless picture of Marilyn Monroe and for as long as I could remember that little old box had not moved an inch.

 

Just before he died, I was down in the basement, watching my Grandfather  work on an antique radio.  He said he was going upstairs to look for some tools- but I knew he was going up for his Sherry and on that day my curiosity got the better of me and I plucked the box from the shelf and turned it over in my hand

I pushed on the box gently at its ends and it opened just enough for me to see what was in there.

I saw two little bones and a tooth.

That’s not much, you might think.

But the truth is, if those little bones could talk they would have a story to tell.

But they can’t talk, so I will have to do it for them.

END OF PART 1

The Ghost

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WP: Daily Prompt

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

Artist Unknown

When you are a ghost like me,

you don’t have to worry about anyone tossing up a roadblock

to keep you from your goals.

I used to think that was sad

but now I am starting to think it isn’t so bad

to be a ghost like me

passing through each day, each minute

unnoticed by the world raining despair around me.

 

What Happened?

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And She Never Returned. Painted by Alfonso Simonetti (1840-1892)