My last blog prompted my friend, Julie, to comment: “I
think I would have been nervous working with a heroin addict.” I responded: “Julie,
the heroin addict wasn't too bad, but the murderers made me a little nervous. I
shall post another blog from the vault this weekend about a very bad person
from Koos.” Because of this interest in my days at Koos, I shall do just that. As with all tales
from the vault, this one actually took place.
Please be forewarned that there
is graphic language and some rather disturbing violence. With that in mind, here is another tale from the vault.
Harmless. Ya Right…
It was
January, the sun was shining and there was only 45 minutes left in the shift. This
Friday afternoon had everything necessary to make for an outstanding end to the
week. Well, an almost end to the week; we had to work on Saturday from 6:00 am
to noon. Besides the shift being nearly over, there were twenty party pizzas from
Infusino’s Pizzeria being delivered for the plant meeting scheduled to start at
4:00 pm. For once, the production area at Koos Inc. would actually smell good. There
was nothing that could spoil this outstanding Friday afternoon.
What could possibly
go wrong? The pizza party masquerading as a plant meeting was to celebrate the
successful completion of the last quarter of the K.E.E.P. incentive program.
The acronym stood for Koos Employee Empowerment Program. I know it’s kind of
corny, but it wasn’t my idea. Oh wait… Yes it was.
Besides having
enough pizza to feed a third world country, the union employees were also
receiving considerable bonus checks for achieving the goals set for them at the
beginning of the quarter. The bonus checks, combined with their overtime
checks, made for a very happy workforce that Friday afternoon. There was nothing
that could spoil the jovial mood.
This meeting was
going to be epic. Every plant employee would be in attendance, union and
management. That was the reason for the 4:00 pm start time; it was thirty
minutes before first shift ended and thirty minutes before second shift began.
Not only would all
the plant employees be present, but the entire office staff would also be in
the factory for the event. We’re talking the owners - Peter and his wife Judy,
the vice president - Larry, the traffic manager -Jim, inventory supervisor
-Jerome and all of the “office ladies” – Louise, Laurie, Millie, Sandy,
Christine, Kristy and Kim. Everyone on the Koos payroll would be there.
The plant was humming
with excitement. The first shift crew was cheerfully cleaning up while the smiling
second shifters were steadily trickling into the production area. When the
plethora of pizza arrived, the humming soon turned into an enthusiastic buzz.
There was nothing that could spoil this special occasion.
Arnie, the plant
manager, grinned as he looked out the window of the small supervisor’s office.
He remarked, “Looks like Pete and Judy are getting what they wanted from this
program.” I nodded in agreement. The morale at Koos Inc. was definitely at an
all time high.
Before I could
respond to Arnie, Jim and Jerome entered the office followed by Larry who was beaming.
Unable to contain his exuberance, he exclaimed, “Look at those guys! This is
great!” There was no denying it; nothing could spoil the atmosphere created by the
success of the K.E.E.P. program.
Then the euphoric
bubble was suddenly burst. Jeff, the 2nd shift supervisor, barged
into the supervisor’s office and shouted, “Freddie is drunk on his ass again.”
Freddie was a 2nd shift employee who had a propensity to come to work
intoxicated or as Jeff so eloquently put it, “drunk on his ass”. He was
suspended recently and was given a final warning.
The Kumbaya moment
was spoiled and the collective smile left the cramped quarters. Arnie told Jeff
to bring Freddie into the office. The moment Freddie entered, the 10’ by 12’
room reeked of alcohol. Although the boozy stench was overwhelming, what came
next was even more offensive.
“F#ck you guys!”
and “Get f#cked!” were some of the more pleasant phrases that came out of
Freddie’s mouth. Intertwined with his profane tirade were accusations of racial
prejudice. The fact that Freddie was Hispanic had nothing to do with the
situation. The problem was that he was a violent and obnoxious drunk. And his
alcohol-induced onslaught was becoming increasingly more volatile.
To make matters
worse, Freddie wasn’t going anywhere despite Arnie and Jeff insisting that he had
to go home. Instead, he just kept cussing louder while the stink in the tiny
room got more unbearable. The shocked look on Larry’s face was unforgettable.
The situation was
deteriorating rapidly. With the owners and the rest of the office staff due to
arrive any second, it was obvious that someone had to do something to get
Freddie out of the plant.
Seeing that Freddie
wasn’t listening to Arnie and Jeff, I grabbed him by the shoulder, pushed him
toward the door and bellowed, “You were told to go home, let’s go!” Remarkably,
he didn’t offer much resistance and left the supervisor office as I guided him out
with my hand still on his shoulder.
As I led Freddie
through the stunned employees assembled in the production area, I looked back over
my shoulder hoping that one of the other supervisors would join me. Much to my
chagrin, not one of them made an effort to assist me.
The fact that no
one came to my aid did not please me. Freddie was a good-sized guy and was no
shrinking violet, especially when he was all liquored up. I had no idea what he
was capable of once we were alone and was in no hurry to find out.
When we left the
production area it would be just the two of us for over 100 yards before we got
to the front of the building. To say I was concerned would be a gross understatement.
When I slid the
door open to leave the production area, I did so with much trepidation. Not knowing
what to expect, what happened next astonished me. As I took my hand off of
Freddie’s shoulder, he broke down and started sobbing, “Paul, I know I f#cked
up, but I can’t lose my job.”
Completely dumbfounded
by this turn of events, we continued to walk to the front of the plant. I told
Freddie that he was in no condition to debate the issue. I suggested that he go
home and sober up and come back tomorrow to discuss his situation with Arnie
and Jeff.
When we finally arrived
at the front door, Freddie shook my hand and thanked me for listening. I reassured
him that this was his only hope of keeping his job. When he left, I quickly made
a beeline back to the production area. And it wasn’t to get some pizza.
As I threw open the
door to the supervisor’s office I roared, “Thanks a lot!” Arnie and the other
supervisors dropped their pizza, caught off guard by my outburst. Jeff asked
innocently, “What’s wrong, Paul?”
Shaking my head in
disbelief, I told them in no uncertain terms that I would have appreciated some
help in escorting Freddie out of the building. Arnie chuckled briefly before
telling me, “Come on, Paul, Freddie is harmless!” Frustrated, I grabbed a piece
of pizza and left the office to a resounding chorus of “He’s harmless.”
The next day, Arnie
and Jeff fired a sober Freddie. He never worked at Koos Inc. again. But it
wasn’t the last we heard of him. There was an article in the Kenosha News about
Freddie a few weeks later. Evidently he got into some trouble while babysitting
his girlfriend’s children and was subsequently arrested.
It seems the
youngsters were playing with their pet kitten and Freddie also wanted to play
with it. When they wouldn’t let him join in, he became furious and grabbed the
kitten and cut its face off with a large kitchen knife. The horrified children
called 911 as Freddie finished murdering their pet, smashing its faceless,
bloody body repeatedly against the wall.
Harmless. Ya right…
Until next
time…from the booth.
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