"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony."
--Thomas Merton, an American Catholic writer, mystic, and Trappist Monk.
Every Saturday, I leave my house at 7:30 AM so I can be the first to arrive at the BK Club. At this time of the day, the air is still fresh and crisp from it's night time slumber, barely a car is on the road and the sounds of birds can easily be heard. Often times I will see a family of deer getting their early feeding along with some exercise. My car pulls into the Corner Deli around 7:40 AM and as usual, I am one of the first cars in the parking lot. The staff greets me as I walk in the door, pleasantries are exchanged with genuine excitement and enthusiasm, I pour my own coffee and walk back to the porch to set-up 2 or 3 tables. For 15 minutes or so, I sit by myself in total harmony as I sip my coffee, read the day's news and wait for the arrival of the rest of the BK Club. This is a schedule that I have been following now for close to a decade. It brings me great comfort. The routine of my Saturday morning is the balance, order, rhythm, and harmony that Thomas Merton was speaking of. This past Saturday, my rhythm, and harmony; the rhythm and harmony of the entire BK club was disrupted.
Everybody in the BK Club has their own unique skill set or role. For example, Rick is considered a Subject Matter Expert in College Football and wagering. If anyone has a question on spreads, giving points, getting points, over, under, we go to Rick. Jim is a food connoisseur. If we are all out to dinner, Jim orders all the appetizers. Why, you may ask? The answer is because Jim is a Subject Matter Expert when it comes to food and Jim has never left anyone disappointed. I will get into the skill sets of the others in a later posting.
Well, I am not an expert on anything but I do have an important role to play that all members rely on me for. My role as Head of Security is to secure the tables early Saturday morning so we all have a place to sit. We sit at the same tables in the same chairs week after week. It is order and harmony. Order is good! This is my only job and I take pride in my job and this past weekend, I failed. A couple had sat down at our tables shortly before I had arrived. I was nervously waiting for these interlopers to leave with the hope that I could right the ship before my BK brothers arrived and it never happened. One by one the BK members arrived expecting to sit in the same chair they had sat in the week before and the week before that; expecting the same person to be seated on either side as had sat on either side the countless times before. They had all turned to me with a puzzled look seeking an explanation and I had none. The conversations didn't flow freely, the food didn't taste as good as it normally does and the mood was not where it belonged for a Saturday morning at the BK Club. We were all lacking balance, order, rhythm, and harmony. This will not happen again.
"Order is good"
-- BK Club of NJ Security Team
nice piece
ReplyDeleteTake the points and Ga. Tech vs Clemson on Thursday night.
ReplyDeleteNice job.
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ReplyDeleteTrust is defined in the dictionary as “belief that someone or something is reliable”. You trust the sun will rise. You trust you will wake up in the morning. You trust your car will start. For approximately the last 8 years we trusted on Saturday mornings our tables and chairs would be waiting for us on the Porch at the Corner Deli.
ReplyDeleteLast Saturday a trust was shattered. A simple task as reserving 2 to 3 tables and 8 – 9 chairs was not completed. So simple it can be accomplished even with a bad back. This task is not nearly as difficult as writing the BK Bylaws, a document equivalent to the Bill of Rights. Or tracking and recording the numerous BK Fund transactions such as, monthly dues, prepayments, buying and verifying lottery tickets, sports betting pools. Or coordinating and planning the date, location, transportation and menu for the annual BK Christmas Gala. No we are talking about 2 -3 tables and 8 – 9 chairs!
The looks on the BK members faces as they turned left onto the porch last Saturday was heart wrenching. To see two couples sitting at two of our tables on our chairs. I heard one member say it was like coming home and seeing a stranger in bed with his wife.
How will this loss of trust affect the BK? Will we start questioning the facts on Jim’s stories? Question Rick when he tells us who the backup trainer is on the Ball State Football team? Will we want memberships cancelled for missing meetings? Will we start picking on the old guy? Will nonmembers now be discouraged from sitting at our tables and sharing their stories?
Please Mr. Security. Whatever it takes. Whether it be shortening the dogs walk, delaying the vacuuming, or even showering after BK, (last resort), please get those tables and chairs this Saturday.
Restore the trust.
If Coach Ash can #FenceTheGarden, can you please - #SecureThePorch!!!
Another easy A+
DeleteHumiliation is defined in the dictionary as being asked to post a critical comment of yourself because of a lack of proficiency in technology by some BK members.
ReplyDeleteTwo words...The Moth
ReplyDelete@HankyHanky