Things had been mostly the same around there, same faces, same work, same greasy lunches in the cafeteria across the street, with only a few people leaving and being replaced (and one dying who was never replaced) for several years. It felt like it would go on forever, same work, same faces, same lunches.
Then the manager got himself into a bit of trouble, as everyone had known he would one day, with his predilection for dating women who were just not good for him at all; they always thought it would bring him down, and finally, it did.
The assistant manager had been licking his chops for years, wanting to take over, but carefully concealing it behind his slightly goofy demeanor that didn't fool quite everyone; you could surprise a look of, well, something, out of him every once in a while, and it wasn't a pleasant look.
The board promoted the assistant manager, who had supposedly been "groomed" for this, and, his slightly goofy demeanor gone, within two days he had axes falling and heads were rolling and the place just wasn't the same at all.
Once he got the board members who were on his side properly lined up, they got rid of other board members and appointed new ones, and the takeover was complete.
Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the word prompt is Axes.
Today is:
Armed Forces Day -- Mozambique; Peru
Barnesville Pumpkin Festival -- Barnesville, OH, US (pumpkins are just the start of the fun; through Sunday)
Constitution Day/Recoronation of King Norodom Sihanouk -- Cambodia
Do Impressions of Famous People Around the Office Day -- again, i wonder about the intentions of those who start these things
Fairmount Museum Days/Remembering James Dean Festival -- Fairmont, IN, US (celebrating Dean and other famous people from Fairmont; through Sunday)
Feast of Our Lady of Mercy -- Catholic Christian
Lady of Mercedes Day -- Dominican Republic
La Merce -- Barcelona, Spain
Festival of the Latest Novelties -- an internet generated holiday to celebrate everything from traditional whoopie cushions to some of the more modern and weird novelty gifts out there; a great day for practical jokers
Gallbladder Good Health Day -- seems unsponsored, but there's information about keeping your gallbladder healthy here
Going Forth of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Great American Beer Festival -- Denver, CO, US (festival that holds the Guinness World Record for most beers tapped in one location; through Saturday)
Haustmanuour -- Icelandic Calendar (beginning of traditional Autumn Month, during which all the summer chores are finished, including livestock rounded up, before winter begins)
Heritage Day -- South Africa
Independence Day/National Day -- Guinea-Bissau(1973)
Innergize Day -- the day to take time for yourself! always on the day after the equinox, so either the 23rd or 24th, depending on where you live
Mahidol Day -- Thailand (commemorates the passing of Prince Father Mahidol Adulyadej, the "Father of Thai Modern Medicine")
Moose Day -- the day Bullwinkle J. Moose, from Frostbite Falls, MN, US, and his pal Rocky the Flying Squirrel debuted in 1959
National Bluebird of Happiness Day -- US (and no one knows why, but it's supposed to be a day to go spread some happiness)
National Cherries Jubilee Day
National Punctuation Day® -- US, but good punctuation matters everywhere, so make sure you are using those punctuation marks correctly! Jeff Rubin can help
National Teach Ag Day -- US (streamed live from CHS Inc. headquarters)
New Caledonia Day -- New Caledonia
Preston County Buckwheat Festival -- Kingwood, WV, US (something for everyone at this fun annual event; through Sunday)
Republic Day -- Trinidad and Tobago
Santa Cruz Day -- Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving -- Pennsylvania Dutch followers of Silesian Reformation theology
St. Gerard's Day (Patron of Hungary)
St. Rupert's Day (Patron of Salzburg, Austria, where it is an official school and government holiday)
Transatlantic Telephone Day -- the first cable across the Atlantic was completed on this day in 1956
Virginia Peanut Festival -- Emporia, VA, US (and you thought all peanuts came from Georgia! come enjoy peanuts and carnival, quilt show, a peanut butter sculpture contest, fireworks, and more the Virgina way; through Sunday)
World Maritime Day -- UN (this year's theme is “Maritime education and training", chosen to focus attention on the wider spectrum of maritime education and training, in particular adequacy and quality, as the bedrock of a safe and secure shipping industry)
World School Milk Day -- UN
Birthdays Today:
Morgan Hamm, 1982
Paul Hamm, 1982
Nia Vardalos, 1962
Kevin Sorbo, 1958
Alan Colmes, 1950
Gordon Clapp, 1948
Phil Hartman, 1948
Linda McCartney, 1941
Jim Henson, 1936
Anthony Newley, 1931
Sheila MacRae, 1924
Jim McKay, 1921
F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896
John Marshall, 1755
Horace Walpole, 1717
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Nevermind"(Album release), 1991
"No More Lonely Nights"(McCartney single release), 1984
"The Love Boat"(TV), 1977
"60 Minutes"(TV), 1968
"Daniel Boone"(TV), 1964
"The Munsters"(TV), 1964
"Love of Life"(TV), 1951
"Once in a Lifetime"(Play), 1930
Today in History:
Prophet Muhammad completes his hijra from Mecca to Medina, 622
The last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire, Manuel I Komnenos, dies; the empire slips into terminal decline, 1180
The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England, 1664
The first autopsy and coroner's jury verdict is recorded in the state of Maryland, 1657
John Jay is appointed by George Washington as the first Chief Justice of the then six-person Supreme Court, which was instituted by the Federal Judiciary Act passed that same day, 1789
US Attorney General Office is created, 1789
The Northern Daily Times becomes the first provincial daily newspaper in London, 1853
Alexander Dey patents a dial time recorder, 1889
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy, 1890
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument, 1906
Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong, 1946
The Honda Motor Company is founded, 1948
Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England, and a Blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe, 1950
Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe, is opened in Barcelona, 1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation, 1957
The United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, 1962
Swaziland joins the United Nations, 1968
Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service, 1979
Periodic Great White Spot observed on Saturn, 1990
Hurricane Rita devastates Beaumont, Texas, southwest Louisiana, and finishing off some of the parts of New Orleans and southeast Louisiana that Katrina missed, 2005
The G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA, US, marks the first use of LRAD for crowd control in the US, 2009
Nigeria's government opens two swollen dams and displaces about two million people, 2010
All those years of waiting finally paid off it seems, great story. Greetings and best wishes!
ReplyDeleteSometimes this is good change and sometimes it's not. Not sure what this one is, but it's well written and very clear.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Change happens and not always for the best. Love the writing.
ReplyDeleteGood story. That assistant manager, who didn't fool anyone with his deprecating demeanor, had it all planned. Do we call that a hostile takeover? Do you think he contributed to the demise of the manager? Interesting questions arise.
ReplyDeleteI hope this change brings about good results and a happier work environment.
ReplyDeletelying in wait...
ReplyDeleteHaving commenting issues.... Hope this works. Anyway. This takeover stuff always makes me so nervous in real life...your story elicited that... Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteHaving commenting issues.... Hope this works. Anyway. This takeover stuff always makes me so nervous in real life...your story elicited that... Nicely done!
ReplyDeletePeople do get eliminated sometimes when there is a new boss...they like to have a clean slate and hire the people they want...which seems the case here.
ReplyDeletePeople do get eliminated sometimes when there is a new boss...they like to have a clean slate and hire the people they want...which seems the case here.
ReplyDeleteAxes falling and heads rolling. Good story, that is exactly how it happens. So glad to be retired with those worries outside my daily realm.
ReplyDeleteThere is always somebody in an organisation that is ruthless and unfeeling whose ambition can be a misery to his fellow workers. Luckily they don't always succeed if management have got their heads screwed on.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I have seen this very thing happen, and just as in your story the end result was a tragic replacement of something fairly good with something very bad. People can be so deceptive, we never know what's lurking behind their smiles!
ReplyDeleteThis sort of thing happens all too often in life and is often tragic for those involved. You just never know when something like this can happen and, sadly, it's terrifying sometimes for those who have to live with the uncertainty.
ReplyDelete