Starting in the Middle

It wasn't until middle age that I sought and landed a job involving writing and the creative process.  It was in the marketing department of a very weary organization.  Management looked and acted like the failed Republican candidates.  You know, the ones who were too dumb to keep their attitudes about women to themselves.

I think the only reason they kept me as long as they did was because my work was good and they were too lazy to figure out how to get rid of me.

I really liked my colleagues.  We distracted ourselves with endless rounds of gossip and inspired moments of push back.  When told one holiday season that we would be allowed to decorate our cubicles, we found a life-size Elvis and played an endless loop of "Blue Christmas."

I recently reunited with the heroine of my era in the workplace.  She was young, had everything to lose, yet found the courage to confront our impossible boss with "take this job and shove it," to pack up, and to walk out.

Recently, a very good looking woman with a great resume popped up on TV as the new President of this organization.  My first thought was: "she must have embezzled at her last place, or she's fleeing a bad divorce."  Or, could it be that times have changed?

Every month when my tiny pension arrives, I salute my survival -- then and now.

P.S. The title of this entry is a salute to my friend Judy Wax.  She also came late to her creative career.  She wrote her book "Starting in the Middle", was on her way to a book sellers convention in Los Angeles, then was killed in the plane crash at O'Hare.