CHAPTER EIGHTY :
Wakie-wakie ! Time to wake up !
Captain Perky's naughty today, and she will twist the knife. But just the once will not hurt, will it ?
So, let me remind you that the countdown is on !
Come on, don't play dumb ! You all know that reverse count invented by Fritz Lang in 1929 to give more thrill to a rocket launch sequence in his film " Woman in the Moon ".
Anyway,today I'm not talking about any spaceship launch ! No, no Space Odyssey in my post !
Just the kick-off of back-to-work season ! Bye,bye the carefree days of July and August : September is fast approaching.
It's time to shelve swimsuits,straw hats and flip-flops, to throw away unfinished suncream lotion, even though you are reluctant, cause next year they'll be out-of-date and then risky.
The postcards you bought at the very beginning of your holidays ?
Just a few days left to drop a line to your friends !
Yes,time has come to bid farewell to 2016 so long-awaited vacation !
All good things must come to an end.
Mind you ! The landing can be hard,cause September blues sometimes makes the tarmac slippery.
But, I know that you are as keen as mustard to make a fresh start, aren't you ?
Don't get me wrong ! I'm not made of stone, either !
When Summer parties and BBQ treats are over, getting back to everyday routine sometimes makes me gloomy, but my perky busy inner self usually manages to take over.
Yet, things have not always been going on that way...
When I was a student and working part-time to get some extra pocket money, when my Summer holidays were coming to an end, I used to feel like calling in sick.
I never had the guts to.
Once, I nearly took the plunge, but at the very last minute, I behaved like those people at the swimming-pool standing on the dinving board, and unable to step off : I just shied away !
Let me tell you :
That Summer had been absolutely gorgeous : going to parties, making bonfires on the beach and staying up all night. You know, that kind of holidays you'll remember for the rest of your life.
Unfortunately, it was just a kind of no-brainer that after August, September would turn up, and that year was no exception to the rule.
I didn't want to go back to work, all the more as my friends had still one week off left.
But what could I do ??
. Sprain my ankle to get a sick leave ?
Ouch , too painful for a softie like me !
. Catch a sunstroke ?
No way ! The weather had been rather wet over the last few days !
. Lose my train ticket ?
My boss would think I was scatterbrained, and then not really cut out
for the job I had in his company !
The more I racked my brain, the less I was able to find a plausible excuse. All were bogus and totally wacky !
I had to face it : I couldn't escape my fate. I was doomed to go back to Paris, and carry out my ' harsh work '.
On my departure day, to cheer me up, my friends decided to come to the station to see me off. We arrived there two hours before my train pulled out.
One of the jolly fellows of our group suggested having dinner in a nearby eatery, instead of pacing up and down the ominous platform.
It would change my mind off things and avoid long tearful goodbyes.
The meal went on so cheerfully that when the waiter brought the dessert, I had already made up my mind :
one very last clubbing, and I would take the morning train, and go straight to the office. I wouldn't be fired for half-a-day late.
We danced through the night, and on the train journey back to Paris I slept like a log.
I guess I was not widely awake when I stepped into the boss's office, otherwise I would have given a better excuse, such as oversleeping for example.
Instead, I said that the night before I had not been able to get on the train, cause it was overcrowded.
An apology that could have worked as in those days you didn't need to book a seat to take the train.
I thought I was out of the woods, but then the boss asked me :
" Which train was it ? "
" The 11pm train from Quimper, sir ", I answered.
" Funny ", he replied, " I took the train at the first stop after Quimper, and it was nearly empty !
Jeez ! I got red all over and felt so ashamed of my poor lie that I could feel my nose growing like Pinocchio's !
Fortunately that was not the only common point I shared with Disney's famous puppet !
He had a Blue Fairy, and I realized I had one, too, when I heard my boss say :
" Come on, I have been young, too, and I know the side effects of September blues ! But remember that an uncomfortable truth is always better than a lie ! ".
That taught me a lesson, and I hope those of you who were about to call in sick will think twice !!
In the meantime, wherever you are, enjoy yourselves and don't forget :
Be perky !!
I guess I was not widely awake when I stepped into the boss's office, otherwise I would have given a better excuse, such as oversleeping for example.
Instead, I said that the night before I had not been able to get on the train, cause it was overcrowded.
An apology that could have worked as in those days you didn't need to book a seat to take the train.
I thought I was out of the woods, but then the boss asked me :
" Which train was it ? "
" The 11pm train from Quimper, sir ", I answered.
" Funny ", he replied, " I took the train at the first stop after Quimper, and it was nearly empty !
Jeez ! I got red all over and felt so ashamed of my poor lie that I could feel my nose growing like Pinocchio's !
Fortunately that was not the only common point I shared with Disney's famous puppet !
He had a Blue Fairy, and I realized I had one, too, when I heard my boss say :
" Come on, I have been young, too, and I know the side effects of September blues ! But remember that an uncomfortable truth is always better than a lie ! ".
That taught me a lesson, and I hope those of you who were about to call in sick will think twice !!
In the meantime, wherever you are, enjoy yourselves and don't forget :
Be perky !!
