Taking Care Of What I'm Leaving

I don't mean to say I'm the best server in the world but can say with confidence am a strong one and valuable asset to other servers I work with.

My days are winding down at the best job ever, working for for the best restaurant group ever.

I've made strides as a server professionally, personally and financially and even more importantly have made friends...wonderful friends.

I've laughed more than I have in almost a decade and felt even better getting paid beyond handsomely for doing so.

I've witnessed things on a daily basis which have never seen before in my over half century on this earth.

In other words..it has been a Ball.

 How do you forget one shoe when you walked in wearing a pair?

 Never seen a woman zip a purse over seventy times in less than two minutes.

Have never enjoyed seeing my daughter blossom more as a young woman.

 She even met famous director, Ang Lee.

 I cried from laughing so hard on the shuttle that one day with my son, leaning over to tell him "Nobody puts Bobby in a corner" and yes he still says I said it way too loudly.

 Dang, Boyce Avenue?

 Greatest General Manager ever.

 The top of my inner thigh was killing me and did this with an ice pack in the back everytime I went into the kitchen. Classic Cotton moment.

 Waited on bad ass, Michonne from The Walking Dead.

 Best shuttle drivers in the world almost make it worth paying twelve bucks a day to park.

 If Momma's happy, everybody's happy.

 Yes I've been alone with him on the plane train with another co worker and yes he's pretty hot.

 I worked with and quickly came to love some of the best management team to ever leave. Just glad I was able to work with and learn from them all.

Saw the biggest plane I ever have..

Met and was humbled by...but gained respect and love for workers behind the scenes who make pretty much everything possible.

Learned a lot about pop culture from my youngest.

Had a lot more fun with a selfie stick than ever thought possible.

Old managers were replaced with excellent decisions from the higher ups.

They're my favorite Ebony and Ivory.


I decided a couple of months ago that would try and find a couple of people to get on board the Crazy Train and actually be assets, while also being handsomely rewarded.

Pay It Forward is the simple... easiest concept ever and one that could save this (currently needing salvation) world if applied in everyday life...by every one of us.

My sister first recommended a server she knew. He was mid forties, seemed to be a real go getter and thought would be a dependable employee. She had gone to church with him briefly but is a good judge of character so I contacted him.

That's the kind of person who deserves to get my job when I leave. It was a salvation for me getting this job and continue to appreciate it every single day, every single shift.

Someone who wanted and deserved the chance to succeed...just like me. It took a hot minute but finally convinced him after many phone conversations.



He was (almost literally) balls to the walls thrown into the job with a crammed in training period during the busiest peak of our travel season combined with the start of the Summer Olympics and upcoming annual Microsoft convention. Bless his heart.

He'll be just fine, I (eventually) was.

He's totally overwhelmed but coming in every day, always early and eager to help.

I can just tell he's a Lifer like me. He probably feels just like I did my first four months. Throwing up mentally on the inside while having to appear calm and reassuring in your facial expression and with your demeanor.

My first few months was the hardest acting class a person should ever have to take. I probably got a "B" if I had to guess.

Then to Pay It Forward once again...got a message from someone I grew up with in my ole stomping ground all my (60's 70's early 80's) youth in East Point. Her family lived literally one block away from our family. There was a whole slew of em. Seemed like they had fifteen kids back then but was probably about five or six.

One of the boys married a girl I went to school with K-12. I still stay in contact with her.

Another of the girls recently contacted me after following my blog for a while. She had a son who was serving at another location of the Western Sizzler I used to work for and was wanting a more professional position. I called my manager and he gave the guy an interview the very next day and hired him on the spot.

BINGO!

It was a 'Two-Fer'.

I've trained him the past few nights and couldn't be more pleased.

Not bragging (maybe I am) but going to leave a pretty significant hole in the wait staff department. In the almost three years have been there I have missed two days of work, when I had the flu. They have never asked me to pick up a shift that I didn't. I've had maybe five shifts since starting there that only made streetside money...in other words what I used to make on a busy weekend night (if I was lucky).

I want someone else like me, or who cares like me to have the chance I did...to grow and make a difference, for yourself and for others.

So fast forward...


It was my day off today and heard my cell phone ping downstairs around one PM.

Not checking it. If was an emergency would call back or call our landline. I checked it around one thirty when I went downstairs for something.

It was from my General Manager. They were short staffed, another server called out and asked if I could come in?

It was raining outside and always like a gravy shift so agreed to go in.


OMG....

Be still my beating heart...it was Michonne's Boo from The Walking Dead, sitting with his wife and kids at my very first table.

I was still training my second PIF (Pay It Forward) so he also got to meet him and his family.

I think this may have been the most convincing training shift ever for the new kid that he's landed the serving job of a lifetime. I can already tell he's gonna be great and look forward to working with our two newbies for another minute or so.

Absolutely and hands down dread saying goodbye to this job and what it means to me, in every facet of the word.

"Means" in my use of the word is described by Webster as "A method, a course of action, or an instrument by which an act can be accomplished or an end achieved".

I've achieved the  means to my goal. I snot up every time I think about leaving these people but must.

My torch is passing and feel pretty good about who I'm passing it two (small pun).

I hope they enjoy Ecco as much as I have and almost sure they will.

I had a rebirth around the age of fifty. Ecco had more than a lot to do with that and thank them wholeheartedly for simply taking a chance on this old skinny broad. Trust me, they've made me feel Phat!

Nobody's going to get you up those stairs but yourself and the people who love you.

Lucky for me am loved by many and also have The Big Guy on my side.

I went from desperate to panicked then suddenly scared out of my wits. I stepped out of the box and took a chance...and  paid off in more ways than I can count.


I'll be the first one to admit that am basically nuts, always have been and always enjoyed being a crazy person.

 Jimmy Buffet said it best...

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane.

Massey's last day at Ecco is this Saturday. I'm not sure how I feel about that. She's also become a valuable asset to our team and will miss working with her five days a week.

Guess it's a good thing she's my daughter, still loves and lives with me.

I still can't talk about actually finally leaving for good with any of my managers at work because immediately well up with tears and way too much emotion.

It's hard to walk away from what helped save you which also includes my sister.

 We weren't really that that close as little kids but have admired her for as long as I can remember. Once we had kids of our own have been  tighter than tight and fought the fight...always together.

True fact...

Since being grown have never been with her for over thirty seconds and not laughed.

Guess it's also a good thing she has free flight privilege.


The times (my times) are changing...but for the better and have to keep that in mind.

Til next time...COTTON

It's Me Burfday!

                          At my age birthdays are like "Let's celebrate not being dead yet".

I didn't ask for my birthday off at work this year, haven't in quite a few. There's nothing at my age which makes me happier than being alive and having a job to go to.

Airport Security had other plans. All employee badges expire on your birthday. A bartender who works with me had a birthday last month and when getting his badge renewed the fingerprints and background check came back in less than twenty hours. Then he went back the next day and got his new badge. I waited later than I ever have but still went thirteen days before my birthday...plenty of time, I thought.

One of the managers went two days after I did and already had his fingerprints back. Everybody told me not to worry, they would let me work on my birthday, just had to be clocked out of the airport by midnight when it expired. My birthday was on Sunday so was pretty nervous when they hadn't come back on Friday. Now I'd have to wait for Monday and hope they came in early enough to go by the badging office before work at 1:30.

So on my birthday, Massey offered to drop me off at work so I wouldn't have to park and come back and pick me up after work. What an awesome kiddo. She wouldn't even take gas money.

I strolled in, scanned my badge, punched in my number and waited for the green light and BEEP.

Didn't happen.

Didn't happen when I tried it a second and third time.

Ruh-oh. 

I knew immediately there was a slim to none chance I was getting through security and going to work.

I called my manager, who came outside of security to try and get me through.

Didn't happen.

He had a gift bag in his hand which he handed me, said my co worker sent it to me (also thinking I had a slim to none chance) and wanted me to have it on my birthday. He hugged me, told me to enjoy having my birthday off and go home.

I had called Massey the minute my badge didn't work telling her to turn back around. She came back and parked in the deck connected to the terminal.

It felt really strange to be prohibited from going through security, especially since so many of them know me by name. Massey and I will go through together and the TSA guy running the metal detector will say say "Cotton one..." then when I walk through "Cotton two".

I can make a lot of things happen when  determined but this time didn't have a snowball's chance in hell so simply gave up and went back home. At least I had Massey picking me up curbside, that's always a big deal to airport employees...trust me.

I opened my gift bag from the co worker (lovingly known as Sister Bitch). Just opening her card made me feel better.

Then looked in the bag.

OMG...it was a two-fer!

Two of my favorite work sayings ... "Bitch please" and "You're killing me Smalls".

The immediate  next thing I thought was,  in forty days I'm not going to see these people or work with them forty plus hours five times a week.

A lot of, most of, the majority of... will may (probably) never see again.

Wow.

I've learned and grown more these past (almost) three years working at at the airport more than any other time in my life I can think of.

That's a good thing.

I got to work with two of my three kids and the job was good to all three of us. I'd say we all three made the name 'Cotton' well known and liked on concourse F and the parking decks.


My finger prints didn't come back until late Monday afternoon. Now that my badge had expired couldn't get to HR or the restaurant to pick up my letter of confirmation to take to badging so one of my managers said he'd print off a copy and meet me in the badging office on Tuesday morning. His birthday's next month so he was going anyway.

Got there and spied him in line for his finger printing, stopped by and snagged my paperwork from him and joined the other long line for the test you have to take before getting in yet another line to finally get your badge.

That was so nice of him, he had plenty of time to get his own badge but went ahead and did it that morning so could bring me my paperwork.

That's the kind of managers I work for.

He handed me my papers and said "I left you a birthday present at work, it's on the manger's desk".

That's the kind of people I work with.

I retrieved his present when I went into work later that afternoon, yes my new badge beeped and the light turned green.

I opened his card and my heart swelled with bittersweet emotion. I was really really lucky to have landed (airport pun) this job.

How cool was that?

He's a cool cat anyway.

He gave me a bag of  every one of my favorite snacks and even a Skittles candle with so much meaning behind it made me laugh outloud. (old blog post)

Another manager and two other co workers gave me a box of Godiva chocolates; the box is so pretty I dread opening it. I think it's the first time I've ever gotten Godiva chocolates.

My sister and bro&law had sent me the greatest (to me) card ever in the mail.

Another co worker had left me a gift bag too. A pack of pens, small note pad, magazine and even baked me a cake!

I don't think I've ever gotten so many things for my birthday from co workers. It was totally and completely overwhelming.


I had the greatest birthday ever. I was turned away at security but was loved anyway. I got to go home and cut grass, my favorite thing to do. My son made me a cake from scratch at his restaurant, my daughter bought me a huge (what I call 14k) cookie cake from Great American Cookie Co. and all my family called me, even ole Jed.

Hard to believe we're the same two people almost three decades down the road and Thank the Lord we both changed hair styles.

As excited as I am about us all being together again as a family, am more than anxious about leaving what I know now as my life. Working in an insane, eclectic and fascinating place which wears me out but pays me handsomely for it. I've met people from literally all over the entire planet. It's actually been a really cool serving job and chance of a lifetime for a lifer like me. I've bonded with my co workers and even a few strangers. I feel like after almost three years there can finally say with conviction that am an asset and vital part of the team. I know this sounds stupid to people who have never worked in the service industry but as a lifer is a wonderful feeling of satisfaction and even appreciation.

I think one of my greatest qualities (of about two) is seem to find laughter in almost any situation. Crying seldom helps... my eyes get all puffy, and my snot locker gets full up and the problem's still there. Laughing always seems to make the problem smaller and easier to deal with.
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I keep waiting for something else horrible to happen to us, have been for well over two years now.

It hasn't.

 So I'm obviously on a roll....after our fumble, tumble and sometimes rumble.

It was a long hard uphill six year climb but sure looks pretty up there from where I stand now.

I think this was about the best birthday ever except maybe for my fiftieth surprise party my daughter helped arrange... one year into our six year debacle and a much needed laughter break.

I'm totally ignoring the fact that in forty days will be living in another state, away from my sister and away from my best job ever, forever. That makes it much easier to not process at this given point in time.

Here I go again, starting over again..Maybe I should have kept that joke six pack of  Ensure at my fiftieth birthday party.

I've decided to enjoy the last few weeks I have left and not think about my exit until I hand in my badge. I've decided to quit thinking about not being able to be at my sister's house in thirteen minutes if I want or need to see her.

I'm just going to continue to laugh, find something funny about every single thing that happens at any time of the day or night and just enjoy my chaotic life here, then go start another one in Florida.

Case in point.

Tonight a co worker had a six top of women. After they paid and left, she came up to me and said "I'm not even sure what to say about the randomness of what's under table 120." I walked over and looked...and immediately took out my cell to take a pic.

Bitch please.

You didn't notice one leg seemed to feel three inches shorter than the other when you upped downed your way out of the restaurant?

That's classic! ...and no she never came back for her shoe.

I'm just going to enjoy these last few weeks, then throw our crap into a truck and take my show on the road to Orlando.

I hope they aren't a tough crowd.

Til next time...COTTON