...Izee's Thread

[Izee]

...Learning to not trust the creek...

As a very young child, there was a nice creek behind our house.  I would climb over the back fence, and get into it and explore.  Sometimes, it would be deep, and I would have to just walk along the banks, other times it was shallow and I could wade in it.  I was too young to understand 'tides', the creek emptied into the Bay Area, so the Ocean Tides did affect it.  I studied the creek very much, and collected plants and creatures, and put them in an aquarium.  The plants survived, but I learned to not place crawdads and other such creatures into it.  The creek was fun, and I would wade as far as I could in each direction.  It would pass under a military fence in each direction, and I stayed on my side.  I was afraid that if I crawled under the fence that I would get shot by the sentries.  Once, though...I did quickly crawl under and scurried to a ball that was on the other side, and grabbed it and crawled back onto my side.  It was a basketball...probably thrown over the fence by a kid.

But, as I once described, my parents were scurrying around, and I was told to pack a little suitcase with my favorite toys.  "You can't take them all" my Mother had said.  So, I did, and looked out the back window and saw the boy next door sitting on the fence.  So, I put on my raincoat, and climbed up beside him...and the creek was now a RIVER!!!  I was amazed...it was flowing VERY fast...and it was very deep!  NO WAY could ANYONE wade in it or even swim.  My Mother yelled at me to get back, and we drove across town to a Motel.

When we got back to our home three days later, the floor was covered with mud.  I was happy that my good toys were sitting on cabinets, Mom had seen to that.  So, Dad washed out the house with a hose...the floors were concrete...they were cheap homes built after WWII...and they were able to wash the walls and get us back living in them.  And... ...we children had the nice experience of the woman who drove by, and handed us each a HUGE Easter Basket full of candy and sweets.

So...I had a different attitude towards the creek after we got flooded out two times...

[Izee]

...Badges...

..."HA!!!  I doan need no stinkin bodge" I snarled to Security.  The man just nodded, and pointed, "Go over there" he said.

...He had probably heard that lame response before.  (BODGES??? HA!!! WE DOAN NEED NO STINKIN BODGES!!!...one of my favorite Movie quotes)

I walked in my high heels to a desk, and showed them my Company ID card, and was told.  "The rules have changed, everyone HAS to wear a badge, even the Big Boss does."  I sighed, and calmed down and sat in a chair for a few minutes.  I was then called back into a small room, and was told to stand against a white wall.  I could see the HUGE camera, and knew that my picture was about to be taken.  So...I quickly freshened my lipstick and put on some powder...and then took the position they instructed me to.  I briefly thought about how I should arrange my face...Should I be sullen...dull...resigned...or with a huge smile on my face?  I just did a small smile, barely turning the corners of my mouth up.  That is what I did when I was trying to appear friendly.  It usually did NOT work.     My face is naturally in a rather stern expression, the ends of my mouth are downturned, and my eyes don't appear to be friendly.  I was bullied VERY badly as a child, and learned to not trust anybody, so my usual expression is very passive...I don't want to be looked at.  My face is expressive...I could SCARE witnesses when I didn't like what they were saying.

They took my picture, and I was told to sit back down.  I did, and then in about 10 minutes, I was handed MY BODGE!!!!

I LIKED it!!!  I didn't look too bad, and it had all sorts of stuff on it.  I was told, "This will get you into every floor of the building, except the top floor.  Someone will need to escort you there."  I just nodded, I had a corner office below the top floor, and never really WANTED to go to the top floor.  That is where decisions were made that I did NOT want to be associated with.  So, I clipped it to my collar and got into the elevator.  I had to use my new bodge to get it to take me up.

All of the Bodges had colored borders, mine was blue, and I didn't see many others with blue borders.  I was told that since I was a High Level Manager, I had a blue border. 

Hey...I LOVED IT!!!...

I could strut through the Building, and people would know that I was IMPORTANT!!!  Even though they had NO idea of what I did.

Again...I am easy to entertain...

[Izee]

..How NOT to prepare for a Court Hearing...

As I have written, the asshole Jr Partner of a firm I worked for did NOT like me.  Probably because I wouldn't kiss his shoes and tell him...over and over...how WONDERUL he was.  (I Did kiss my Ex's shoes and tell him how wonderful he was in a sex game we played.     But I would grab his shoes before we started and wash them... )

Anyway...He would tell the Secretaries to assign me ALL of the shit jobs.   

So, one winter day, I drove up to a remote Court in the mountains, it was snowing a bit, and I was very careful.  It was an assignment from the Jr Partner...I had NEVER worked on the case. I found the Courthouse, it was a small one room structure, and I sat in my car for a while.  Then...a CAT jumped on the hood of my BMW...and I quickly got out and pushed it off...it was scratching me hood. 

As I was doing that, a very elderly man came out of the place and called to the cat.  I glared, and he glared back...and the cat ran up to him.

I got back into my car, and watched the clock, and when it was 8:30...I quickly got into the Courtroom...and...

...The elderly man...was THE JUDGE!!!!  and the cat was sitting by the bench, drinking some milk..

...I lost my Motion...

[Izee]

...Washing the Golfers clubs...

I guess that this activity does show my submissive side, it is just not a part I play in a sexual R/P.

When I was caddying, after I learned how to handle the job, I would usually get out on an early loop.  Two of the golfers would have a riding cart, another pulled his bags on a small cart, and I would CARRY a bag for my golfer.  It would last the morning, and I would carry my golfers bag into the storage area, and carefully wash them, and place them in the reserved spot.  There would ALWAYS be other clubs brought in, and so I would stay and wash them.  The Caddy Master would watch over me as he ALSO washed clubs!!!     I had thought that the Caddy Master was some sort in important person at the Country Club, but...he would wash clubs.

I thought it was better to stay in the Caddy Shack and wash clubs rather that sit by the golf carts below and wait for my name to be called to caddy.  That was a rather unique experience when I sat with the other caddies.  We would stay quiet, many of the caddies were middle aged men, and didn't want we kids to carry on.  Plus, the Caddy Master watched over us, and if you made trouble...well...you would not get out on a loop.  So, I just sat, as a female some guys wanted to talk to me, but I just brushed them away.

But, I actually enjoyed washing clubs.  I would bring the bag to the sink area, and pull the irons out and set them in hot water...just the heads were in the water...I was always VERY CAREFULL to not get water on the grips.  The irons would soak as I examined the woods...there was usually only three of them...and they could NOT be soaked in water.  So, I would wipe them down, and use a tee to scrape any dirt from the indentions on the front.  The irons often needed a scrubbing with steel wool, but the clubs would be nice and clean, as if they were new.  I would then carry the bag to it's spot and put it away, and then go back and pick up another bag and get to work.

I earned a lot of money carrying clubs, and saved it all.  I put it in the bank, and later, bought 'Katherine'...my 1910 cello.

Hey, performing such work as a young woman led to me going to college and getting a BA, JD, CPA, Attorney at Law, and I am SURE that many other people had menial jobs at an early age.  A good friend who had a paper route became a PhD in Entymology...a BUG DOCTOR!!!!

[Izee]

...Just have to re-post this...
https://youtu.be/Kx3W4F80L04?si=4qQuabAVenkioLa4

Winston Churchill...what a Historic figure!!!     I interesting how famous men in WWII had such names.  Churchill *Church on the Hill*  Stalen *Steel worker" Eisenhour, *Iron Worker*, I guess Patton just had to rely on his own name.  What a job they had...guiding men into War.  My son was a Marine Medic, and they wanted him to become an Infantry Officer.  I asked him why he didn't...he was home from one of the Iraq Wars...and he replied that he did not want to order men to attack knowing that some would be killed.

That is something to ponder.  I mean, the Officers do issue such orders.  There was a situation in WWII, where the Allies had the Germans in a bad position, and the Colonel called the back HQ, and asked what to do, and the reply was...

...ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK...

So, they ATTACKED...and won...

But, they also lost men.

 

[Izee]

Just a passing thought...washing the clubs...

Probably why I ALWAYS got an early loop at the Country Club.  The Caddy Master KNEW that I would bring my golfer's bag to the place, and wash them and put them away.  And, being me, I would wash ALL the other clubs that were brought up.  It was more FUN than sitting on my ass in the caddy area.

So, HE didn't have to wash them and could whatever else he needed to do.

Once, he asked me if I played golf, and I said "No, I don't have any clubs".  He smiled, and walked into a back room and brought out a club and set it on the counter.  "Well, now you do, that club is yours."

I almost peed my panties, I was SO excited.  So I finished washing the clubs, and then picked up MY CLUB and walked to the bus stop and got back home...I had been staring at the club as I washed the other clubs.

It was a very old pitching wedge, and I bought a few dozen plastic golf balls and hit them ALL OVER our house.  I would have to climb onto the fence, and pull myself into the roof, and seek the  balls out in the rain gutters, and jump down and then hit them all over the house again.

[Izee]

A conversation I had with the Partners of that AWFUL Law Firm before we parted company...

As I have reported, the Junior Partner didn't like me, and had the Secretaries assign me every SHIT job that came up.  So, I would spend the morning driving up to a remote Courthouse for an OEX, (Order of Exam), and grill some poor person about their finances so I could try to collect $853 for a goddamn INSURANCE COMPANY for non-payment of premiums!!!  I could have stayed in my office, and billed $550 an hour for complex tax advice, and COLLECTED IT!!!  I would drive back with NO collected money.  (I just left their money in their wallets.  in an OEX I could get them to hand over their wallets and go through them, and take any currency.  I would be alone, and not want to confront some ugly guy as I tried to take the money out of it.    )

The GODDAMN Secretaries also followed his orders, and I would try to handle THREE court appearances in one morning in THREE different Cities.  Once, I was very late for the second hearing, and after the other attorneys got away from me, the angry Judge asked me where I had been.  I was NOT in a very good frame of mind, and I just told him that I had been in another Court.  He got VERY angry, and asked why I was so careless as to schedule TWO different Court appearances so close together.  I decided, "Hell with the Firm", and I explained that I was just an associate, and did what I was told to do.  And if the Jr Partner wanted me to appear in two different cities an hour apart...well...I would try to do it!!!

The Judge sat for a moment, and said..."I will speak to your Boss, they should respect the Courts more. and not assign an associate an impossible task."  (The Goddamn Jr Partner had just sat in his Office a block away from the Courthouse that I was late to).  I got back to the Office, and a bit later, I was summoned to the Boss's Office, and both were there.  They had received the call from the Judge, and demanded why I had spoken the way I did.  I got angry, and said, "I was assigned an IMPOSSIBLE task, I HAD to explain what had happened to protect the CLIENT!!!!  To protect the CLIENT!!!  If I lost the motion because I was late, the CLIENT would have been hurt!!!!  If D----wants to assign me an impossible task, well, that is on HIS fucking back!!!"  I then got up and left the two idiots, and began to pack my office stuff up.  I left a week later.

A funny follow up.  When I became a Litigation Manager at a large Ins Co, the Partners at the old firm invited me to a very nice dinner at a Conference, and suggested that I refer cases to them.  I ordered Steak and Lobster, and had three glasses of wine...and ate and I drank it all as I listened, and stood up...and...

...Told them BOTH to go to HELL!!!...

I giggled a LOT when I got back to my room...

[Izee]

...OK, Yeah. Yeah, Yeah...

Izee' usually has this toy hanging over her shoulder...and she wonders why she never gets asked out on a date...

https://youtu.be/d82ORj4FjUs?si=hG38IhBl2K52JOUI

[Izee]

..Ode to Joy...

https://youtu.be/Ah__4g01y_M?si=G9J-2KoNMLXEL4Tj

A wonderful performance, and you can see why it is so difficult to perform.  I would be wet after playing this, and would sop my face with the kerchief I placed over the shoulder of my cello so my hand wouldn't wear off the varnish.  (Didn't work...I forgot my kerchief a few times, or maybe my hand sweat soaked the kerchief,  Playing the cello is a PHYSICAL demand,,,I would be very physically tired after a performance.)

But...WHAT A WORK...

Beethoven did know how to go out in style...

[Izee]

When I first started my career as an Accountant, there was a little sandwich shop around the corner that I would go to when I saved up some money.  The sandwiches were handmade as you watched the man slice turkey, ham and beef from large roasts and a full turkey.  A guy liked me, and would often go with me. 

One day, we had placed our orders, and filled our cups with coke, and were sitting, waiting for our order.  The guy making the sandwich, "Sandwich Man?", would call out the items on the order, and you would walk up and present your receipt, and take them back to your table.  One time, the guy called out...

..."Two Turkeys"...

The guy with me said, "Hey they are calling us names!"...

I laughed my ass off, we had both ordered meat sandwiches.

[Izee]

Hotel California...

I think that I actually stayed there, in Monterrey, when I was working.

I had a case in that County, and someone suggested that I stay there.  So, I drove, and parked my car in a garage, and pulled my suitcase down the street.  It was in an old area of the town, near the wharf, and it looked safe.  I stopped outside, it was an old Mansion, and was clean.  The door was locked, so I rang the bell, and a woman opened the door, and smiled at me and invited me in.  I followed her in, but my mind was racing...

She was a late 30 something woman, and she was lovely, and dressed up in 18th Century clothing.  She spoke very softly, and the check in was easy.  I just handed over my credit card, and she processed it, and then handed me an old KEY!!!  Not a card.  She smiled more, and said, "Your room is on the third floor, and it has a balcony, please enjoy."

I got into the elevator, it was very small, and rode up, and pulled my case to the room, and opened the door, using the KEY!!!

The room was small, and there was a small bathroom on the side.  It was all decorated in an Elizabethan style, a lot of white lace all over the place and a lovely canopy bed.  I did walk to the balcony, and it overlooked the harbor.  I unpacked, and got the HELL out and went to do some window shopping!  I was scared, for some reason...

That evening, after I had had dinner, I brought a bottle of wine with me, and sat on the balcony and watched the lights of the ships in the harbor...

I finished the wine, and sat for a while...not sure if I wanted to get into the bed...

I did, and woke up feeling good, the bed was very comfortable.

If I ever go back to the city...I will see if I can get back in, again.  It was a very nice period place...

[Izee]

The 'Talking Stick'...

I was very active in Girl Scouts when I was young, and was delighted to be invited to join an Honor Group in the County.  I would get to wear a lovely sash over my uniform, and there would be other activities.  They had an Initiation Event that took a weekend, the Actives would test us Initiates mentally, and physically.  The physical aspect was that we camped in a Public Campground, and we Initiates did a lot of cleaning and other chores.  An Active was always watching over us.  One of the rules for we Initiates, was...

...We could NOT SPEAK!!!!   

So, we had to gesture, or do other things to communicate.  But, they had the 'Talking Stick' that you could get if you needed to speak.  There was a gesture you would make, and an Active would hand you the Talking Stick, and you could speak.   

At one point, I had been in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and when I was dismissed, I headed back to where the group was.  As I walked through the Campground, I saw the TALKING STICK on a table!!!!

Well, I grabbed it and headed out...an Active was in a restroom, and had left it out...

So, I sauntered to where the group was, singing, and spouting all of the nonsense I could, and the Actives stood, and shouted...

..."YOU CAN'T TALK!!!"..,

I shouted back..

..."YES I CAN, I GOT THE TALKING STICK!!!!"...and held it out...

They took it away from me, and I did extra chores.

The Adult who was watching over us told me, later...

..."I wanted to laugh so hard, but I couldn't"