Some Fridays I will think about a young lady who was a classic manic depressive kinda of girl.
Quick aside here: evidently the expression “manic depressive” is now frowned upon as this just popped up to advise me:
OK, so let me start again.
Some Fridays I will think about a young lady who was a person with bipolar disorder. I worked with her for a number of years on Base and on Fridays she was literally bouncing off the walls about her upcoming weekend. On Mondays, she was back in her cubicle silent as she could be to the point that we didn’t even know she was there.
Come Friday though, she was insufferable. I never much cared for her and made sure that I stayed as far away from her as I could.
One day however, my boss came to me and asked if I could do her a favor. Because she had always been good to me and I liked her, I told her “No problem.”
She proceeded to tell me that the above individual was in Valley Lee, had locked her keys in her car and needed help. My boss, knowing that I lived down that way asked if I knew of anyone who could help her. I immediately said no.
My boss then said “I know you don’t care for her, but would you mind running down there and try to help her out.” (Note we had had previous talks of using a coat hanger to get into a locked car so she knew that I knew how to do that sort of thing.)
I quickly did the calculus of getting out of the office for an hour or two versus my dislike of the young lady and agreed to accept the mission. Also, as stated, my boss had prefaced her request along the lines of me doing her a favor.
I found my coworker parked at one of the three churches in Valley Lee and sure enough she was cooling her heels leaning up against the car when I pulled in. Because she had an older vehicle, I had no problem jimminying the lock and getting her access. She thanked me and we both went back to work. My boss thanked me and that would be the end of the story except for what transpired a few days later.
I was taking wedding pictures back then. On the Saturday following this car incident, I took photos at that same church where the young lady had locked her keys in her car. As I greeted the pastor, whom I knew from previous weddings, he laughed and said “I watched you helping So-and-So out the other day. That was nice of you.”
I said “Wait a minute. I came all the way from the Base. How come you didn’t help her?”
He went on to tell me that he had been counseling So-and-So and had told her that he would only see her by appointment. When she showed up unannounced at his door that day, he re-stated his “No drop in” policy to her and turned her away. He said he then watched her through the window as she proceeded to intentionally lock her keys in the car and return to his front door to ask for his help. Knowing she had intentionally locked the keys in her car, he then refused to help her but did let her use his phone to call someone.
Not knowing what to say to the Rev, I just shook my head and moved on to take some photos. (In retrospect, I guess that he was trying to set some boundaries with or teach her some tough love. However, I am not real sure just what was going on.)
Moral of the story I guess is – never try to guilt a preacher man into helping you.
Wonder if today Jimi would had to have re-titled and updated his lyrics to say “Bipolar disorder is a frustrating mess.”
Buzzy’s Country Store tough love policy is that you get your own beer and fix your own drinks. But hey, we do have a cool new front door knob you simply push to enter! Come and check it out.