{"id":30143,"date":"2024-08-23T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/?p=30143"},"modified":"2024-08-22T23:17:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T03:17:07","slug":"the-safety-dance-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/23\/the-safety-dance-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Safety Dance \u2013 Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Safety Dance \u2013 Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Jim Locke was on the 10:30 commuter train headed into Manhattan.\u00a0 Of course, at that hour it was a local and stopping at every empty platform on the line.\u00a0 Which suited Jim to a tee.\u00a0 He was trying to make up his mind whether he should apologize for even setting up this meeting or hear them out.\u00a0 Last night when he broke the bad news to Judy, she had looked truly scared.\u00a0 And when he told her about the possible job offer in Missouri she had cried.\u00a0 It was all happening too fast for her.\u00a0 Too many things changing at once.\u00a0 Of course, nothing had been mentioned to the kids but somehow, they seemed nervous, as if they sensed something was wrong.\u00a0 Or was it his imagination?<\/p>\n

By the time they rolled into Penn Station he had made up his mind.\u00a0 He would listen to the spiel and then \u201cdecide\u201d that the job wasn\u2019t for him.\u00a0 Maybe if he could impress the hiring manager that he was a strong candidate they might remember him for another opening closer to home.\u00a0 Entering the office building lobby, he found the elevator bank for his floor and headed up to the fortieth floor.<\/p>\n

When he got off, he was in a reception area and he announced himself and asked for Dave.\u00a0 Five minutes later he saw his two hosts walking toward him.\u00a0 \u201cJim, how the hell are you?\u00a0 You look like you haven\u2019t aged a day.\u00a0 In fact, I think that\u2019s the same suit you were wearing the last time I saw you five years ago.\u00a0 This is Milo Faber.\u00a0 He\u2019s the hiring manager for that job I mentioned.\u00a0 Milo, this is Jim Locke, the guy I told you about who called me out of nowhere yesterday.\u201d\u00a0 Jim and Milo shook hands and waited for Dave to subside before exchanging a few words of greeting.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Mr. Locke why don\u2019t we head out for lunch.\u00a0 I know Dave only has an hour before a meeting but I have a good long opening in my schedule and I\u2019d like to talk with you a good bit about the position I\u2019m looking to fill.\u00a0 If you\u2019re hungry there\u2019s a very good new restaurant that\u2019s opened up on Park Avenue that everyone says is pretty great.\u201d\u00a0 Jim was actually pretty hungry because he had missed breakfast while trying to calm his wife\u2019s nerves that morning.\u00a0 All he\u2019d had was coffee.<\/p>\n

During lunch Dave did most of the talking, filling up the silence with somewhat embarrassing stories from his time working with Jim.\u00a0 In fact, Jim was beginning to think that Dave was somehow intent on sabotaging his chances with Milo.\u00a0 But there was nothing he could do to end the babbling short of physical violence so he concentrated on the very good plate of food in front of him and chalked up the whole interview as a mistake.\u00a0 Eventually the lunch hour expired and Dave excused himself to head off to his meeting and told Jim he\u2019d talk to him later and then left.<\/p>\n

Milo waited a few minutes while they finished their entrees, then asked if Jim wanted dessert or coffee.\u00a0 \u201cMilo I\u2019m stuffed but I\u2019ll take a coffee.\u00a0 He signaled the waiter and gave him their orders and then looked at Jim carefully and said, \u201cWere you and Dave close friends?\u201d\u00a0 The question caught Jim off balance but he decided for some reason to answer it candidly.\u00a0 \u201cNo, we were casually friendly but Dave and I have somewhat different personalities.\u00a0 I was somewhat surprised when he recommended me for this interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milo continued to peer into Jim\u2019s face and said, \u201cSo were we.\u00a0 Dave\u2019s responsibilities with the company are decidedly unrelated to the kind of work involved in the position we have in Missouri.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure he doesn\u2019t understand the scope of work involved.\u00a0 And that\u2019s mostly because he isn\u2019t the right fit for that kind of work.\u00a0 So, if your temperament aligns with Dave\u2019s, the job we\u2019re discussing probably wouldn\u2019t be for you either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Jim was becoming both confused and intrigued.\u00a0 This was the strangest interview he\u2019d ever sat for.\u00a0 What was next?\u00a0 A scavenger hunt?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Milo, I haven\u2019t a clue as to what kind of job we\u2019re discussing but you\u2019ve got my attention anyway.\u00a0 What would you like to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

During the interval, their coffees had arrived.\u00a0 Milo took a sip from his coffee and sat back and shifted his gaze back at his guest and asked, \u201cWhat do you want out of life?\u00a0 What is most important to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright,\u201d said Jim, \u201cI\u2019ll play along.\u00a0 First of all, I\u2019ll tell you that \u201cthe good of the company\u201d is not my highest priority.\u00a0 So, if that\u2019s what you want to hear then it\u2019s game over.\u00a0 My highest priority is keeping my little family in groceries and school tuitions.\u00a0 My wife and kids are the reason I work.\u00a0 So, moving them down to Springfield Missouri would require it to be the best environment I can afford to give them which seems kind of unlikely to me.<\/p>\n

Faber nodded slightly and displayed the faintest hint of a smile.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have family connections that would preclude relocating permanently away from the Northeast?\u201d\u00a0 Jim shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, neither my wife nor I have any close family left. \u00a0Our ties to New York are at this point just our personal history.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been thinking of moving out of the metropolitan area for some time but I haven\u2019t found the right job and location to make it worthwhile yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faber pushed his coffee away and leaned slightly across the table toward Jim and speaking in a low voice asked, \u201cWhat do you think is the biggest threat to you family\u2019s long-term well-being?\u201d\u00a0 Locke tilted his head to one side, opened his mouth slightly and blinked, \u201cMr. Faber you ask the strangest questions I\u2019ve ever heard from an interviewer.\u00a0 You sure you\u2019re not recruiting for the CIA?\u201d<\/p>\n

Milo looked down at the table and said, \u201cOf that I\u2019m very sure.\u00a0 But it\u2019s an interesting analogy.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say secrecy is involved.\u00a0 But humor me.\u00a0 What\u2019s the biggest threat to your family\u2019s long-term well-being?\u201d\u00a0 Jim thought about it for a few seconds and said, \u201cOur own government.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Safety Dance \u2013 Part 1 Jim Locke was on the 10:30 commuter train headed into Manhattan.\u00a0 Of course, at that hour it was a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1289,1263],"tags":[76,1290],"class_list":["post-30143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction-by-me","category-stuff-that-personally-interests-me-miscellaneous","tag-fiction-writing","tag-my-fiction"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Safety Dance \u2013 Part 2 - Orion's Cold Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/23\/the-safety-dance-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Safety Dance \u2013 Part 2 - 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