What I Did On My Holiday Break

Condo life has afforded me some opportunities to do some things that previously took a back seat to chores such as raking leaves, cleaning roofs/gutters, and all the other stuff that goes with maintaining a wooded half-acre.  This time of the year, we get a generous bunch of holidays between Christmas and New Year's Day (courtesy of my employer) and this is the first time we haven't been churning through the rain and mud in late December just to try and keep the place looking respectable.

This past Friday, I took a short drive to Issaquah, WA to have lunch and visit a guy I used to work with (and for) more than 25 years ago.  Dick Rosenkranz was the Tooling Manager in the Boeing group that I was hired into back in May of 1986.  Dick was responsible for large parts of several big government contracts.  He was good at what he did but that's hardly the reason that I keep in touch with him to this day.

Dick Rosenkranz With BowlingJoe

 He made coming to work a lot of fun.  How many managers have you seen who bring their trombone into work to give an impromptu concert?  Or taxi remote control airplanes up and down the aisles of the work area?  I'll bet not many.  Especially in the age of politically correct, buttoned-down, image-conscious managerial hacks that roam our offices these days.

Dick is in his eighties now and is enjoying a much-deserved comfortable life at what looks like a pretty nice condo development that has everything.  His wife is in an assisted living facility next door, a mere two minute walk for him to see her as he does every day.

We talked about old times and ex co-workers who are still alive as well as those who have moved on.  He suggested that I write a book of stories about some of the characters we used to deal with in those days.  Well, if only I could find an audience that would find a MEAC funny (or even know what that is).

Most of all though we laughed.  A lot.  Before I left him, he told me that was the most he'd laughed in a long time.  Me too, Dick. Let's not wait until the holidays to get together and do that again.

The Ministry of Silly Walks Clock

In my younger years I was a bit of a fan of the series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  Not as big of a fanatic as some of my friends, but many of their sketches were funny in the 1970s and to me they’re still funny today.

They brought us “Twit of the Year” and a hilarious soccer match bit between German and Greek philosophers (spoiler alert: Socrates scores the only goal of the match).  And then there was Ministry of Silly Walks featuring John Cleese, which lampooned England’s thick bureaucratic structure.  Rather than try and explain the scenario in this post, you can watch it here.  Even if you’ve seen it, it’s worth seeing again.

I recently saw a “Silly Walk” watch that was being marketed that included Cleese’s crazy legs as the hour and minute hands.  Wondering if there was a corresponding clock for sale, I did some searching but came up with nothing.  So I took things into my own hands and grabbed an unused but functional clock out of the garage.

Using nothing more than Silly Walk images that were on-line, glue, scissors, and some light cardboard backing, I made my very own custom Silly Walk Clock.  Here’s the result:
 

My plan is to rotate it amongst the members of our Plummeting Tortoises Book Group, making it our official clock.  And if anyone knows these guys it’s an extremely appropriate clock.  Whoever is the next book group host will get to take the clock to his residence for the month before and during the meeting, and then give it up to the next host.   Each of us will have the honor of it gracing our living space for three months out of the year.

BowlingWidow has expressed interest in me making another clock to occupy a permanent place in our condo.  She really has no idea what she’s asking for though.  It may inspire me to take up public Silly Walking as my next hobby.