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Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 - 9:21 p.m. Today was MOM�s last day of employment at the NDDOT. She retires on the first of January, but still had 1 day of vacation to use or loose. Since we already had a plaque ceremony earlier this month, today was rather low-key for her at work. She was still handing out instructions at 3 pm. I told her, first thing this morning, to try to chill out and enjoy the day. That just isn�t her style. When she was hired by the state way back in 1977, she was one of two women in the entire district who did the job of highway maintainer. With her retirement, the total is now zero. She had to face the typical resentment from the men who worked with her, and didn�t let them run her out of the job. She was in charge of the toolroom when I started working for NDDOT back in 1982, and went from there to the #4 lead worker position around 1990. After leaving the job for a few years (while a lawsuit was working it�s way through the courts), she returned to finish her last few years at Mohall #1, the lead-lead worker. The years had mellowed her somewhat, but she still took what she did for the state quite seriously, and wouldn�t accept anything less from those who worked under her. Was she always right in her decision making? No. Most people aren�t. Did some of the guys still resent the fact she worked in a �man�s job�? Definitely. There were times (especially yeasr ago) when she was nearly impossible to work with (or for), but, right or wrong, you had to respect the fact that she did what she did out of duty to the job. I knew she didn�t want to have a big, drawn-out goodbye, so I went up to her in the office around 3 and shook her hand. I told her that I wasn�t telling her �goodbye�, because I would be giving her some of my bedding plants for her home garden this spring. Goodbye seems permanent, and I�m pretty sure she wants to come back as a �snowbird� next winter�. Oh yeah, the lawsuit? Sexual harassment. Not the �pinching the butt� type of sexual harassment�the �picking on her because of her sex� type. After a long trial, she won a large settlement from the state. COnsidering only a couple of her co-workers were involved, they should have had to pay the damages, not the state. But that isn't how it works. One of the conditions of the settlement was that she had to return to her job, in the position she held when she left. This was after she had been gone for about 4 years. Most everyone was in shock that she would be coming back, fearing that she would be after everyone's job for anything they did wrong. But during the time away, she became religious. She came back more at peace with the world, and lost a lot of the anger she carried around in the time before she left the first time. It worked for her, anyway�. So, yes it will be different without MOM around. I always got along as well as anybody did with her, even though we didn�t always see eye to eye on some issues (Example?Ibought my own paint brushes back in the 80�s, rather than using the ones she had in the tool room. If I used those brushes, I was required to clean them, wrap them in newspaper, and turn them in every night. That was HER rule, not the NDDOT's), and I can say that management won�t be as smooth without her running the show. I am in the toolroom because she wanted me in there, so I owe her thanks for that. I have spent the last few months trying to convince her that her retiring will take a load off of her shoulders, and that she should just enjoy watching her grandbabies. Not having to get up at daybreak to work every weekday should be nice, too. Hopefully, she will enjoy the change�. Two more employees work their last day tomorrow. I will tell you about them in tomorrow�s entry. These two are real characters, so I might need an entry each to do them justice� Today�s high temperature was 67�. Today was December the 30th. The normal high is around 38�. Last night, our low temperature was higher than that. It was warm, yes. It was also a humid, windy, and gray day. Hard to enjoy the balmy temps when the wind is howling at 35 mph. The forecast is for more measurable snow again on Thursday. Last week�s accumulation just finished melting today, and more will replace it in a few days. Damn El Nino�. One last thing: I was thinking about taking Codeman to the Illini game tonight. I�m glad we didn�t go, though. No, they didn�t loose. They won 65-37. That wasn�t the problem. The team they played tonight was overmatched at every position, and they knew it. The coach decided the only option was to stall on every possession, waiting until the shot clock reach 5 seconds or so to take a shot. I can�t stand that style of basketball. There were only a few fast breaks the whole game. The other team hung around for most of the game (trailing by only 6 with about 10 minutes to go), but there was never any doubt that the Illini would be the winner. I love the name of the school they played tonight: Coppin State. Coppin State? I don�t remember what the state capitol of Coppin is from my school years, but I DO remember coppin� a few buzzes back then��.
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