I attended a luncheon today with my father. It was thrown at his work to celebrate his length of service with the company. He's worked for the same company for 40 years. To celebrate, the company gave him a full set of new luggage and invited him and a guest to this luncheon in the executive suite.
I work for the federal government. This sort of employee appreciation is wildly unheard of in the federal government. We get a pin and a heartfelt hand shake. I'm busy thinking about how good the other half has it when they put a plate of steak in front of me. Before I even get to the steak, did you notice I said they put the plate in front of me? Right. There were waiters at this shin dig. We were served 3 courses. And one was the steak. Mine was so big I couldn't even eat the whole thing. I was so appreciative of the fact that they served steak you'd have thought I'd never eaten steak before in my life. I was marveling over it the rest of the afternoon. But, dude, wow. Steak.
My dad's boss made a point of telling me they don't eat that way everyday. She mentioned the lunchroom serves enchiladas on Thursdays and it's a big mess of goo and that's as good as it gets all week. She said they roll out the big guns for 40 years of service. I'm thinking at least they have guns to roll out. We've got pins, woman. Pins. And sometimes a Kudos bar. You know. To say kudos. Get it? I know. World's away from steak and luggage.
6 comments:
Wow... Steak and luggage... I read that part to my husband and we just looked at each other. I think it was shock. We live in pins and Kudos town too. Well, actually this year it was root beer floats and a enthusiastic pat on the shoulder. Steak. Huh. *sigh*
Wow! I guess I didn't realize he had 40 years with them! That is fantastic! When my Mom hit 20 years with the govt, her boss gave her a hug and a pin. HAHAHHA! She would have preferred the steak and luggage.
-JB
The other half may live nice, but the Federal gummint employees usually have job stability, regular raises, and a decent pension. In Canada, anyway.
It was lovely that your father chose you to be his luncheon partner.
childlife - I know. My dad's employer clearly values their employees. I'm not even their employee and I felt valued after the luncheon. Crazy.
JB - My dad's pretty lucky. He has a job he loves, it pays well and the company appreciates having him. What on Earth. And I'd definitely take steak and luggage over my stupid old pin anytime.
witchypoo - I cannot tell a lie. We have almost complete job security, great health insurance, lots of paid holidays, guaranteed raises every year and a decent pension. I probably shouldn't complain. And I thought it was lovely of my dad to invite me to the luncheon too. It was actually the first time I'd ever been in his building. He works in a rather sensitive field and they never allow visitors. Just getting in the building meant this was a very special day. I had to be escorted the whole time and I couldn't go into top secret areas but I did get to walk the floor of the work area and saw the products they make in production. Exceptionally impressive.
As a fellow government drone, and nod my head and wish that I lived like the other half does...
Until I remember that I can retire really early!
But wow..steak...still a little jealous over that. Congrats to your dad!
Take care.
My husband works for the government too and he likes to rub it in how early he'll be retiring too. I guess I should try to remember stuff like that next time I hear about my dad's new luggage set. That and when I have holidays off no one else gets off. For example, I enjoy making my annual pap smear appointment for Martin Luther King day.
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