A Man Walks Into A Bar...

 

It was 3.00 pm on a cold and wet Wednesday afternoon when Jake walked into the bar. The place was quiet apart from the TV on the wall which was tuned to the local sports station. He sat on a stool at the far end and ordered a beer.

Dave, the barman, who was a pretty good judge of people, could sense the anxiety within Jake.

“You look a little tense, not having a good week?” he asked.

“Does it show that much” Jake responded.

“It’s my boss, he told me to take a walk and cool off… things were getting a little heated back at the office”

Dave was a good listener, so he let Jake talk, not that he had to say much for him to start telling his story.

“I’m being forced to work back late, again! We’ve got a rush order and we can’t afford to upset this customer. But I promised my daughter I’d be home in time to play before she goes to bed. That’s the second night this week.

“I haven’t had a holiday in two years, and every time we seem to get somewhere with the new product line, we hit another brick wall.

“I’m just so frustrated. I gave up a secure job to get involved in this, because I knew I could make a difference.”

Jake sat silently for a few moments before continuing, “I’m really good at what I do, but it’s all the extra stuff that’s being heaped on me. I’m expected to manage the rest of the team, fix all the production problems and find new customers, and I don’t really like marketing!

“Sometimes it just gets too much. So, today, I said enough is enough – I can’t do this anymore. And here I am… letting off steam.”

Dave allowed Jake’s last statement to hang in the air, before asking, “Are you going to go back?”.

After a moment’s hesitation Jake responded “Yeah, I’m in too deep to give up now. I really do think we can do this. I just wish it wasn’t so damn hard all the time”.

Jake finished his beer and pushed the empty glass back towards Dave. “Thanks for listening… I just needed someone to understand how I feel.”

“You’re welcome”, said Dave.

“Hey”, he added as Jake got up to leave, “Just in case this boss of yours comes in here one day, what’s his name?”

“His name… no, I’m self-employed. There’s only me.”

Dave grinned to himself as Jake left. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard a similar story.

Do you work for yourself?

What’s your boss like?