I am sorry to read this news.

HOWEVER, I am certain that this will be a good thing for you in the long-run. A government gig is a hard one for a free spirit.

I am pulling for you, and I know that your creative mind will come up with a creative solution to this “problem.” It will turn out to be a blessing in disguise, I’m sure.

The powers that be are meeting tomorrow (Thursday) to decide our fate. All of us minions are of the same mind – either no-one goes, or we all go. We can’t do our jobs effectively with an amputated crew and we’d rather go out on our own terms then let the bad guys whittle us down to nothing. Half our staff has been together over 30 years – my boss is refusing to make the cuts.

I go on vacation (stay-cation?) next week and when I come back, we ought to know 100% what’s going to happen. We’re about 87.9% sure now, thus we are all polishing the resumes and figuring out what’s next.

The irony is, because I’m the only one here who does my job, I most likely would’ve been able to keep it one way or the other – but, like I told my boss – the job is more than a paycheck (regardless of how much I’ve bitched and moaned about it, I’ve had it pretty good).

ONCE upon a time, a thief dipped into the wrong purse and was caught red handed. As the King’s hunting party was nearby, he was brought before him for summary judgment. The King, still astride his favorite steed, looked down upon the thief and said but two words.

“Execute him.”

“Wait, your majesty,” cried the thief as the guards tried to haul him away. “Give me but a year, and I will teach the horse you sit upon to sing!”

“Sing?” said the King. “Sing? I’ve never heard such a thing.”

“Indeed,” replied the thief. “In a year you will hear the horse sing.”

Out of curiousity, the King remanded the thief’s sentence to exactly one year to the day. The thief was to be given a (relatively) comfortable cell, (relatively) good food, and daily visits to the royal stables so he could undertake the horse’s singing lessons. If the horse sang at the end of the year, the thief would be pardoned. If not, the thief and his head would part company.

As he was conducted to his new residence, the thief was heard to be softly whistling through his teeth.

“So, are you a wizard or a fool?” asked the prisoner in the next cell over, who had been told the thief’s story by a (relatively) friendly guard. “How do you propose to teach a horse to sing?”

“Not a clue,” said the thief. “But this morning I had only ten minutes left to my life. Now I have a year. In a year many things could happen. In a year I might escape. Maybe I’ll be pardoned. Or perhaps the King might die.”

“Who knows? Or maybe in a year, the horse will learn to sing!”

A lot can happen given time. You’re a smart, resourceful person, and if necessary you’ll teach the horse to sing.

Best,

Fred

See you next week!!!!

G

IT

Is there much of that kinda thing in OK?

Sorry to hear about the situational downturn–we’re thinkin about ya