January 24, 2020

Compromise

Ms. Rella stuck her head in my door. “Chocolate or vanilla cake?” she asked. “What kind of icing?” She was planning the retirement party I didn’t want.

“For the last time,” I said, “No party. I’ll shake hands with The Other Ken and Max The New Guy. You and I will hug. We’ll keep in touch.”

“I’m inviting the management team, everyone in the outpatient sites where you train, your wife, and folks who buy your training series every year.”

“I’ll give you ten names.”

“You’ll give me fifty,” Ms. Rella said.

“I’ll give you twenty-five and their contact information to verify they exist and plan on coming.”

“Done,” Ms. Rella said.  “And I will verify.  And don’t waste my time with imaginary names like ‘Beau Guss’ or ‘Anita Mann.’”

I hated the idea of a retirement party.  People I cared about loved the idea. So I compromised. I didn’t want to be one of those rigid people building up his self-esteem by always getting his way. Having retirement party wasn’t a violation of principles. Nobody was asking me to lie or steal. Besides, I like cake.

Today I will compromise, just not my principles.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com

https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/