Along for the Ride

I wrote this a few years ago as an entry into a Christmas writing contest. I wasn't happy with it (and am still not) when I turned it in, but deadlines are deadlines...but I still got 1st place.

The coffee in the cup in front of me is a creamy, caramel-colored lifesaver. A waitress, (Jan, by the name printed on her tag) tilted the carafe towards my cup as if to ask if I needed a refill. I covered my cup with my hand. I had it just the way I liked it and topping it off would make the combination of coffee, creamer, and sugar off balance. I don’t know about the other diners in this mellow, out-of-the way coffee shop, but I don’t like coffee straight out of the pot, a bitter black concoction more apt to strip paint than provide warmth and that little jolt of energy, a jolt that I so desperately needed this morning. Last night had been the longest night of my life…but strangely enough, it was possibly the best night of my life.

I work for a package delivery service. It doesn’t pay much and the work sometimes is harder than what the pay is worth. It gets especially busy this time of year, with all our clients almost tripling their demand for on-time shipping. Why must they wait until December to finally get their act together? It really would help if we knew ahead of time what we were shipping and where we were delivering it to. It would really help if we had the shipping order in our hands at least by October, but because of others’ procrastinations, our boss doesn’t give us our orders until it is almost too late. And it would really help if we didn’t try to ship all our orders in one night.

At the root of it all, we like to blame it on the list of customers itself. I can always depend on having a job to do, but you can never tell how the list is going to change. There are always some clients who, for one reason or another, choose not to ship this year. Some are taken off of the list for non-compliance with the shipping agent’s stringent rules. Yet, others are put on the list when they make an order for the first time. Our boss, who is the main person in charge of the list, has a team of helpers who help with the ongoing task of maintaining the list, gleaning information from customers’ wishes in order to fulfill their shipping requests in a timely manner. Even with that team, the upkeep is overwhelming.

The end of this year was particularly hard for me. I have worked for the same company for… let’s see…well, as long as I can remember I’ve held the same job. My parents worked for this same company until their retirement. I was still a few years away from employment at the time, but I was already being taught the tricks of the trade for the day I too joined the ranks of the greatest shipping company in the world. They both taught me the ropes, like how each customer is unique and how their orders were tied to them in a special way; and the proper way to package the products to be shipped so as to protect them from the slightest damage. All of this and more were important to keep the company going from year to year. But even having been taught all of the secrets of proper shipping, that’s not where I started.

My first job with the company was in the Department of Transport Maintenance. Some of the others on my team inspected the vehicle, going through a pre-flight checklist, mainly for safety and proper operation of the transport. It was my job to make sure that the delivery transport was cleaned, stocked with all the necessary in-flight accessories needed for the pilot to make the delivery, and lastly, to ensure the pilot’s cabin was free from clutter that could obstruct his view. Also, the cargo hold had to be emptied out and cleaned to make room for the new order of packages. That’s what I did. It wasn’t a menial job...it was important for the pilot’s comfort and convenience, but it still wasn’t what I wanted to do. I had to work my way up, just like in any other job.

I quickly rose up the ranks, moving to Pre-flight Inspector, on to Transport Propulsion Manager, on and on up to my current job: Manager of the Packaging Department. It was what my father did before he retired, overseeing the entire preparation, labeling, and sorting of packages to be delivered. This is where I was meant to be. Every male in my family, from generation to generation was destined to be Packaging Manager, some whether they wanted to or not. For me, though, it is exactly where I wanted to be.

I guess I’ve drifted…I was thinking about this past year and especially last night, wasn’t I? Yeah, that’s it. Let me get a sip of my coffee and I’ll go on. Mmm…that’s good. OK.

I guess it was back in October, and everyone was on edge, waiting and knowing that soon we would all be tested to the utmost of our abilities; tested by only doing what each of us were trained and ready to do. I was going over our inventory of packing supplies (boxes, paper, shipping labels, tape, etc.). Come the end of the year and we don’t have enough…boy, would I look stupid. Since our warehouse and packing plants are several days travel from the nearest city, we needed to place our orders in enough time to get here to enable us to cover our bases for the busiest time of the year. It was close to quitting time and I was closing the inventory program on my desktop, the newest addition to our never ending quest for the newest technology to keep us on the “cutting edge”. Elroy Snowden, the Warehouse Manager for our entire operation poked his head into my office.

“All set?” he asked. I didn’t have the fondest liking for Elroy. He was only a few years older than me, and even though our jobs were on the same pay scale, he acted like he was the List Maintenance Manager, who in turn was only second in command, just under the boss himself. He had his nose so far up in upper management’s “business area” that I wondered how he ate food with that smell lingering just above his mouth.

“Yeah, just let me finalize a few things here and I’ll be out of here.”

“Well, before you go let me give you a heads up on something…something that’s going to seem real important in a few weeks,” he said. I didn’t look up from my computer, but I could just sense the smug look of self-importance on his face. “I hear that the list is going to be big this year. It seems that we have had less people dropped this year than ever before, and that’s going to affect everyone, especially your department.” That was something I didn’t want to hear.

“OK, Elroy. I suppose I’ll hear all about it in a meeting, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose. You’ll be the first to know as soon as I find out something, OK?” He said that in a manner that reminded me of just why I didn’t like him…or any of his kind, for that matter. He faked compassion, he tried to conceal it, but I knew what he was…he was condescending.

Just go away. Leave and never come back. I thought this as I grinned and said, “Well, I’m ready. Let’s get out of here. Tomorrow is just another day that is going to come too soon.”

2

The next day, I arrived at work to a buzz of activity. Workers were huddling together in groups, with some looking harried and worried, others sitting around with their heads in their hands, while others just sat with blank looks of confusion on their faces. I pulled the first worker I could find and called him into my office.

“What’s going on out there?” I asked him. I had my feelings; the news had gotten out…of that I was sure.

“It’s the list! It’s the list! Oh, we are so screwed!”

“What about the list?” I demanded to know.

“You won’t believe this, but they say that the list is going to be at an unprecedented level this year. While only 65 million have been dropped from the list, at least 75 million more have been placed on the list since last year. That brings our total number of those on the list to over 6 billion! That’s the highest it has ever been!” His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull at any moment.

“Calm down now, just calm down. This is not something that we can’t handle. We’ve had increases almost as much as this in the past. I wouldn’t get so worked up about it.” I said this almost not believing it myself. This was the biggest increase, or at least the biggest increase that I could remember. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it looked like Elroy was right.

“Top you off, honey?” I looked up and Jan was trying to give me more coffee.

“Not yet. I’m not ready.” I almost forgot that I was not in the office at that moment. I’m still sitting at the end of this counter, a counter filled with people; some with their own cups of coffee and their own stories to tell. But I’m telling mine, so now back to it.

Elroy was right. After attending the meeting, complete with every project and warehouse manager available, including the boss (the main man, the head honcho, the big cheese) I determined that even though the news was not good, the results could be. I set out to prove that what my father had taught me long ago was going to keep me in the best light possible, even maybe shine brighter on me and my department. I was given a secondary crew to support the crew that I already had. It was wonderful! It looked like things were going to be alright after all. And they were.

The tale of how everything came down to the wire up to just a few days before shipping day is pretty boring, I must say. But let me just sum it up a little. With the extra help that the boss had granted my department (well, not really just my department, but the whole process had extra help), things went smoothly. Not that I was looking for a promotion or anything, but maybe there was this little notion in the depths of my thinking, not whacking me over the head with a stick, but more like tickling me with a feather, making me wonder if one was in store for me if things went like I planned. Maybe that feather was all I needed. And maybe I, in turn, used that same feather to tickle a little enthusiasm into my workers. Something worked…because we were ready for shipping two days before the deadline. More than 6 billion packages were sitting in the warehouse, ready to be distributed to each and every client who had requested them. It was pretty amazing, but what really was better than that, was the fact that the number of orders increased from last year (over 10 million!) and we had done it! The boss was going to be pleased.

3

Now, right there in the middle of my outright joy and self-satisfaction of a job well done, I almost forgot one thing that could have distracted me from the task that needed to be done. I was professional enough, but when personal matters invade into your professionalism, you never know what will happen. I had found out, somewhere in the last days of pushing my workers to finish the job, that my parents were getting a divorce. A divorce! They had been married for what seemed like centuries and now, for whatever reason, they were giving up. If I had still been a child, this news would have been a whole lot worse than what it was. It was still bad enough, though. I was their only child, a likeness of my father. I was who he was, and I am who he is. Without the help of both of them working as a team, I never would have stepped into my father’s shoes; that I am sure of. News of this spread among the warehouse and even though my workers didn’t come up to me, offering hollow or sincere regrets, I felt they all knew.

I was sitting at my desk, on the eve of delivery, when a knock came on my office door. I expected it to be Elroy coming to offer his counterfeit condolences. I looked up, and to my utter surprise, there was the boss himself. I thought I hid my amazement pretty well as I stood up to welcome him in.

“Sit down, sit. No need to stand,” he said as he stepped just inside my office door and closed it. “I heard some things and wanted to stop by to say that if there is anything that I can do, just let me know.”

I was still in shock of him coming to my office. He rarely even left his own while at work, much less visited his underlings with condolences. “Thank you. I think I will be all right.” I knew I would be. After all, I wasn’t a kid. I could take a little disappointment without letting it defeat me.

“I also wanted to tell you that you have done a heck of a job getting the packages ready for this delivery. In spite of your personal matters trying to let you down, I think that you stepped up and rose above it all. I’m sure that all of our customers will be very happy, don’t you? I know I am.” He said this with an honest, yet sly grin on his face. What was he up to? Where was he going with this?

“I remember your father. He was a great worker. And I’m sure an even greater Dad,” he said, closing his eyes as if to draw up a picture of my father at work.

“Thank you. He was and is.”

“Enough about that…let me ask you something,” he said. “You know that as well as being the one in charge of everything that goes on here, I am also the one who pilots these packages to their destinations.” I knew that. He was pilot, co-pilot, and delivery person wrapped up in one package. He worked alone.

“Yes, sir, I do know that.”

“In light of the excellent job that you have done this year, and also as a deterrent from your personal matters, I would like to invite you to join me on my flight. You don’t have to lift a finger to help; I can take care of everything. I just feel like it would be nice if you could get away from here, don’t you?”

“It would be nice,” I said. Who was I, that he would single me out of all these other managers to go out on the only flight of the year that he himself directed like a long running Broadway play? No one, I thought to myself.

“Well then, be ready. We leave at midnight.” Without another word, he turned and walked out through the now-empty warehouse that only hours ago, still held most of the packages destined for their respective destinations all over the globe. I was still reeling from it all. No, not the news of my parents impending divorce…that was small change compared to what lay ahead of me now. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. Did Elroy know? I don’t think so, for if he did, he would already be standing in my office doorway, congratulating me but secretly hating me. Deep down, I hope he did know. I really did.

4

So now, here I am. The darkness outside is slowly creeping away, making room for the light that will soon wake up the world to a brand new day. Not just any day, though. It is Christmas day. I spent the entire night, globetrotting with the best deliveryman in the world. We had delivered all 6 billion packages with me hardly even noticing it. Time seemed to have just flown and stood still all at the same time. I could only imagine all the people finding their packages, ripping them open to find that they got exactly what they ordered. I knew this happened each year, but this time was very different. Instead of just checking the list of deliveries that went into the cargo hold of the transport and sending them on their way to be delivered, I was able to take a peek first-hand of what happens when they leave my warehouse. Promotion or no promotion…I didn’t care. I was able to see a little bit of what every manager, employee, and customer would never dream of seeing. I saw the master deliveryman at work. I saw a little bit of what he does when he leaves his post for that one day of the year, that one day that the rest of the world holds so dear. This was one experience that I would hold dear, one that I would be telling my children about many years from now. Yes children, Daddy rode along…and what a ride!

The bell on the diner door jingled a little, telling those who would listen that someone was coming in for a little coffee, maybe one of those glistening cheese danishes or a doughnut even. I sensed the other customers looking up as they do every time that bell chimed. I didn’t need to look to see who it was. I could feel who it was. It was him, with his bushy white beard, that ridiculous yet all-too-cool red uniform covering a larger-than-life body. I knew there was snow on his black boots and a red and white cap on his head. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Yep, white gloves.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Yes sir, I’m ready.” Jan came over and asked if I needed a refill yet. Gathering up what sugar and creamer lay in front of me, I allowed her do it this time. “Just make it to go. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. A long trip indeed.”