I reached the finish line

Thanks to everyone who sent well-wishes here and in personal messages. It means a lot.
Vers, work on your spelling and keep in touch.
-- Chris

 

That was really a good read. Reading that I think of the hook in the Grateful Dead's song "Truckin" -

What a long strange trip it's been

 

Good read. Congrats, Chris Long.

Versatile tripled-downed on being a royal jerk. Too bad.

Chris' tale of impulsive, furniture-moving managers is one of the things I've come to hate about this business. Office slugs who have no other way of justifying themselves, in too many cases, jerk people around without regard for their preferences. I'm not saying beats/roles should never be changed, but there ought to be collaboration with the staffers whose lives are arranged around their duty. To go from a pro beat to second-shift deskwork is an immense change to throw at a worker and the worker's family, for instance. Boss and his/her world doesn't change one bit. (I'm getting riled up just writing this, thinking about what dicks those people can be when jerking the chains of staffers who have bust their asses in a role they've come to enjoy.) Many of us know people who were given crappy duty with the intent of getting them to quit, because the boss didn't have the class (or company practice embraced this sort of bullshit) to simply terminate and make the staffer eligible for severance or unemployment benefits.

I too met my spouse due to a shift in duties, from one I took pride in to one I wanted no part of. I give credit for that to me and my spouse, not to the petty little fuckwad who decided to define himself by throwing into tumult other people's careers and lives. (That person did come to an ugly end at that particular publication, a big sweet smooch for karma.)

Can only think of one or two things I despise as much in newsrooms. Maybe click counts will become someone's salvation this way, like sales figures we can tout to measure our competency. Till then, everything is subjective and one middle-manager's whim is as valid as the next one's inspired use of manpower.

 

Very well said, Joe.

 

Managers like that shouldn't be given any notice when one does end up quitting. They don't deserve it.

 

That is just fantastic.

You have my thanks.

 

And the masses are grateful he's grateful.

 

I certainly am. I am swelling with pride for having enlightened him.

 

Phenomenal.

Just phenomenal.

You guys are great.

 

We aim to please!

 

It's utterly-appropriate payback.

 

Willy Loman never bragged that he reached the finish line.