My wife still believes anything can be accomplished with hard work and perseverance, poor naive soul. Many years my junior, she has not yet come face to face with age discrimination. I on the other hand, have come to terms with some very harsh realities indeed. But over time I realized I needed a different perspective. Although achieving success is usually a product of determination, it occurred to me, advancement could also be accomplished through the process of elimination. If there is only one horse in the race, it’s much easier to pick the winner.
At this point, I would like to disavow any implication of mental instability. I have been tested several times with only inconclusive results. Sure there is a history of mass-murder on my mother’s side, but since the execution of the mentally disabled is a violation of the Geneva Convention, I can only assume a state of complete lucidity at the time of her demise. But, I digress.
Having been passed over for promotion several times by clearly inferior co-workers, I decided to thin the field of competition. My sights first fell on my cube-mate Ron. Ron named me Professor Evil since discovering my penchant for writing hate mail to the kids I support through Children International. Who was he to judge? He doesn’t know me! But I knew him. Yes, I knew Ron alright. I knew about his love for handguns and Bowie knives. I had just finalized plans for an overly elaborate clown-suited home invasion and disemboweling when Ron accepted a position at a different company. I wasn’t disappointed to see him go, one down. Two days later, I decided I had expended too much effort on my plan to simply let it go to waste, so I went ahead with it anyway.
Rex was the next to fall prey to my cunning machinations. He was the office manager, an honorific title at best. His position on the organization chart fell somewhere between supervisor and lackey. In addition to a name common to Labradors, he also shared their fascination for tennis balls. He kept a bright yellow one on his desk for strengthening his grip. He had the habit of bouncing it on the floor as he emerged from his office periodically throughout the day like a deranged cuckoo with his ludicrous announcements. I dispatched him by taking his ball and throwing it out into the parking lot. He immediately ran out to retrieve it and was promptly run over by a UPS truck. It was almost too easy.
Bill I eliminated with African ear mites placed into his headphones. The deadly parasites, purchased from a leather fetish nun (whom I know strictly on a professional level and recently returned from Botswana), burrowed deep into his brain and eviscerated his frontal lobe. He went unnoticed for three days, sitting at his desk cursing at himself and asking, “Where the hell am I?” It was only when he fell from his chair that anyone realized his pathetic condition. The parasites went completely undetected during his autopsy and his death was ruled as stress related to a recent Volkswagen rebuild gone horribly awry.
Tom went with an arsenic laced Beef on Weck. Jim starved himself to death as I methodically and subliminally convinced him, the only safe consumables were frozen prunes and water biscuits. Mike, my final competitor, succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to add yet another cargo attachment to his already over-burdened motorcycle. I swear I had nothing to do with this one. The investigating officer could find no good reason as to why the engine was running with the garage door down. Mike’s wife eventually informed him, in a suspiciously fake British accent, “He just liked the smell of it, Gov’ner”
At last, I was at the top of the promotion list. At the peak of my potential, where my years of experience in employee relations and dedication to my craft marginally suggested I should be. Unfortunately, the recent lack of manpower had resulted in the loss of several lucrative contracts resulting in a terrible third quarter revenue report. The remainder of my group, namely me, was laid off. Furthermore, I have recently been denied employment at several establishments due to lack of current references.
rdfindlay 