Thursday, August 17, 2006

Way back when...

A few years ago, I worked for a company I affectionately call The Demon Spawn of Satan and Medusa. I loved it there. Really. It gave me all kinds of fodder for my writing. ;)

While I was there, The Powers That Be decided to hire some interns to work under me. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sit on the other side of the interview desk for once, and I got to help choose who would work for me. There's one intern in particular whose interview I'll never forget. He walked into the room, sat down, and greeted us with the most melodic voice I'd ever heard. It sounded British but with a twist. A few minutes into the interview, my good ol' southern boy boss asks him, "Where you from?"
He says, "Kenya, sir."
And the boss says, "Well you talk Enlish real good."
At this point, the little voice in the back of my head is screaming, "He DID NOT just say that!"
So then the intern replies, "I grew up speaking Enlish."
Remember geography? As it turns out, most people in Kenya speak English, because it was an English colony.
Lucky for us, he wasn't offended. In fact, he found it pretty funny. I'm sure the phrase Ignorant Americans crossed his mind once or twice, or maybe hundreds of times before his internship was over, but he never let on.

I heard from that intern this morning. He's running a triathalon in California to raise funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. As some of you know, I lost an uncle to cancer last month, and Mr. Honey's grandmother died of lymphoma last November. My intern couldn't have known how very close to home his email would hit, but it makes me proud to know people like him are out there working to find a cure. You just never know who your actions are going to touch.

For the record, I loved my interns. They were some of the funniest guys I've ever met. They noticed I was having a bad day once, and the next day they all came in with pictures they'd colored out of a little kid's coloring book. They pulled their first office pranks under my watch. I was their mama hen for ten weeks. It was hysterical. I expect nothing less from engineering students.

Have a great Thursday. :)

Posted by Honey :: 7:48 AM :: 4 Comments:

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