Numb is the new deep...

I don't know why I started to think about this today. But now that I'm on this track, I can't get off. Years ago, in NY, I used to work for this gay dude. He was fabulously flamboyant. He wore large, gaudy Dolce & Gabana belt buckles and flawless fake tans and loud flashy suits. I can remember when he first started working there. It took us all about an hour to figure out that he was gay. It took us all about a day to fall in love with him. He was obnoxious and spontaneous. He loved to jump on top of the conference table and start wiggling his bum and showing off his Justin-Timberlake-Bringing-Sexyback shoes. He was one of those bosses who would hug anyone around the shoulder. He was a force of nature. I know that sounds a bit cliched, but everyone wanted to be around him. To bask in the lunacy of his very existence. He shook the company up, and changed all our lives forever. Even Leo.

My gay co-worker, Leo, was always a bit skeptical of our boss, Bobby. Bobby had a synthetic aura. He was super perky every morning. A cheerleader who delighted in dubbing all his workers with odd nicknames (he called one blonde gal, Betty). Leo shied away from all the spontaneous attention, and fun and games. In fact, Leo set out to deliberately cause ripples with our boss. There were very public displays of power when Leo and Bobby would butt heads. But eventually it sorta came to an end when Leo was assaulted by his lover at work. The lover followed Leo on the elevator at work. And not wanting to deal with him Leo phoned Bobby for backup. And Bobby delivered, shielding Leo with his body and pushing the lover away as soon as the duo stepped off the elevator. I had the misfortune of serving as receptionist, so the whole thing played out in front of me. I liked Leo's lover, but I was forced to call the police by a shouting Bobby. I felt so bad. But the situation was clearly a do-as-you're-told one.

Funny how the whole thing ended between us all. Bobby was fired a few months after he started. He moved to Florida with his boyfriend... with the FBI on his heels (as the story goes). He created a lot of corruption at our office and did a ton of damage. And then he left us all holding the bag. I'm not sure how it worked out and I realized that I don't want to know. As unusual as his management style was, he taught each of us something. I think I've been able to hold on to my personal Bobby lesson: Attitude is everything.