RRN Online Volume 23

November 18 '96

Volume 23

Assistant Leaving Advantage Casualty

Janis Hawkins is who you need," the Lewis Switchboard Operator said, as I inquired who could help me with a problem concerning an equipment need. I have forgotten the exact year, but it must have been at least 10 years ago. For a long time, she was known only as a voice on the other end of the line. She was always polite and helpful whenever I had occasion to contact her on behalf of a retailer, during the days that I functioned as a Meat Specialist.

I also remember her helpfulness on the day that I finally got to meet her. She accompanied me to the original site of the first Lewis Grocer warehouse where we searched the storage facility for some piece of meat equipment that I can no longer recall. Whatever we were looking for we did not find. The memory of that day remains not because of the fruitless search, but because an office employee at Lewis Grocer took the time to help me with a problem and went above and beyond normal expectations. I suppose it also helped that I found Janis Hawkins to be as charming in person as on the phone.

Janis begin her 20 plus years of service to Lewis Grocer Company on July 12, 1976, as a clerk for Mike Horton in accounting, but after a few years she moved into the Engineering Office where she blossomed into an extremely valuable and appreciated employee. Janis had 2 children, Shane and Tiffany, by her first husband. Somewhere near the time that I began my work as a headquarters employee, approximately 7 years ago, Janis married Rodger Carmichael, formerly of Jackson, Tennessee. Rodger is a Retail Business Consultant for SUPERVALU Lewis Grocer. He and Janis own a home in Greenville.

About 3 years ago, the Engineering Department moved into the main headquarters building in Indianola and occupied an area near the offices of Retail Operations personnel. This provided me greater contact with Janis and the opportunity to work more closely as well. With the dismantlement of Customer Service at our headquarters, a part of regionalization, Janis became even more valuable and appreciated by me. For the better part of this year, Janis has taken calls for me when I am out of the office. Additionally, she volunteered to fill customer requests for P.O.S. supplies that are sold by my department. It can be truthfully stated, "Janis is a team player."

Friday, November 22, 1996 will mark a turning point in her life as she leaves Lewis Grocer, a casualty of a restructuring initiative, inappropriately named ADVANTAGE. The termination package is attractive, but is relatively insignificant when viewed alongside the dedicated service of Janis Carmichael. Almost all headquarters’ personnel apart from warehouse and transportation people have found themselves struggling to deal with the ADVANTAGE initiative. Practically all found it necessary to face the real possibility of termination, during a process that began about 2 years ago. Some positions were eliminated within the first few months, some employees had to wait well over a year before knowing if their job would be eliminated and then continued to wait for an uncertain termination date. Others such as myself were required to submit to a stressful focused interview process in order to even qualify for continued employment. The entire process is comparable to the divorce process. The pain, hurt, and stress both physically and emotionally are great. Years may pass before any advantage for either party is realized.

I asked Janis what was the most rewarding or satisfying experience she remembered, and she replied that it would not be easy to define a single experience, but in general it was the many lasting friendships formed through meeting people. Certainly, Janis is a people-oriented person.

Upon her "retirement" from SUPERVALU, Janis plans to work for Roberts’ Marketing of Greenwood, a company that deals in specialty and promotional items. She explained that some of the work could be done from her Greenville home with about 2 days a week spent in Greenwood.

It is my wish for Janis that she find as much satisfaction and success with her new work as with her former work. My wishes are also echoed by many others at SUPERVALU. This issue of RRN is dedicated in honor of my friend, Janis Carmichael.

Global Missions Lightbulb Exchange

There appears to be something bewitching about my living room light fixture in Pontotoc. A few weeks ago, I discovered why it was striking my head when I walked under it and proceeded to solve that problem. There is now a more serious problem. Perhaps you remember my explaining why I purchased the present fixture soon after we moved into the house. It was because the existing fixture had a broken globe.

Since turning over the day-to-day operations of our Pontotoc estate to our son, Jason, that which was once routine has now become a subject of neglect. Clean towels for the two baths are not normally found by Friday night, clean dishes are available only if Jason and crew have not needed all of them, and garbage cans placed at the road on Sunday afternoon by dear ol’ Dad are often left until the weekend even though they were emptied on Tuesday. Therefore, it is not surprising that burned-out light bulbs go unreplaced.

On Saturday, 11/09, I discovered we were out of replacement light bulbs, and needing one for the light fixture in our bedroom, I removed a bulb from the living room fixture. My intent was to purchase some bulbs for the house that day, however I did not get the task done. Then on Friday, 11/15, I discovered a dark master bathroom that needed 4 bulbs. I had invited Sarah to come over so that we could grill hamburgers, since Sarah does not yet have a grill. Barbara Ann, on her way to Hilton Head South Carolina for the weekend and beyond, would not be among those dining at my place Friday night. Realizing that my company for the evening would likely need the bathroom facility, I borrowed a second light from the living room fixture to give some illumination in the bathroom, and resolved to purchase bulbs Saturday.

My first to-do on Saturday morning was a haircut in Ripley, but soon after lunch I went to Wal Mart to purchase a massive supply of GE 60 watt soft white incandescent light bulbs. Back at home, my first stop was the living room to replace the lights that had been earlier removed. Perhaps, about now, you are wondering how many old men it takes to screw in a light bulb. I do not have an answer for that, save to say it sometimes takes more than one. Keep in mind that two of the glass globes had been previously robbed and contained no light bulbs.

It is not normally a chore to replace a bulb in the living room fixture. I must have replaced at least a hundred in this fixture over the past two decades. It is a relatively simple task, requiring a bit of stretching for a six-footer, but with a slight tilting of the fixture the replacement should go smoothly (should is the operative word here). Something of a struggle ensued, as the fixture resisted my efforts to screw the bulb into the base. Seconds passed with no success. Seconds became minutes, and though the minutes did not become hours, it certainly seemed that I would lose the battle. Instinct told me to stop, get something to stand on or in, and thereby more comfortably position myself to insert the bulb. There was no giving in to be done. It was now me or the fixture, and having been made in the image of God, how could I possibly lose to an inanimate object.

The next few moments should be viewed at half speed or in slow motion. Imbued with extraordinary concentration in the struggle, I failed to remember that two of the globes held no bulb. Without a bulb inside the globe, there is little to hold fast the globe to the fixture when the fixture is tilted from the horizontal plane in which it normally rests. The globe immediately to the left of the one that was absorbing my energy and consternation, suddenly began to disengage itself. Peripherally, at first, I saw it begin this act. Now, my eye was diverted to this unexpected movement, though I continued to hold the fixture with my left hand as my right hand tried desperately to find the right combination of twists and turns to get the bulb started into the base. The globe grazed my left forearm as its downward movement continued. Mentally, I was ready for quick action, but an instantaneous bit of brain activity relayed to my consciousness that I was standing on soft and padded carpet. Before I could say to myself, "Good, no problem," I heard a resounding crash.

The second sound was inaudible, heard only by my mind. Almost as loud as the sound of breaking glass was the sound of my crashing ego. It thundered throughout the chambers of my brain, rebounding off the concave surface of the cranium. A dormant curse reared its ugly head from my subconscious, but failed to achieve verbalization. Having determined many years ago to set aside all vocal expressions of foul language and cursing, I now strive to suppress the inclination to express an oath or curse. While my success rate in verbal suppression is quite high, I cannot claim the same for my ability to "think no evil."

The glass shards from the globe were bespattered over the large area that forms the center of the living room floor. The first piece I touched, as I surveyed the damage, pricked and clung fast to the ring finger of my right hand. Removing it carefully in order not to leave behind any remnants, I was again reminded of my vow of clean speech.

Our Filter Queen vacuum cleaner effectively extracted even the finest of glass particles from the carpet. I mention the brand name of the vacuum cleaner, merely because for the price of the vacuum you would expect it to suction the upholstery off the furniture. It is not that strong but, it has a powerful enough suction that I do not begrudge the price every time I use it. The metal piping, through which the glass raced, resonated with the crackle and pop of a thousand bumps as the glass bits navigated a path to the particle storage container.

Remarkably, the base of the glass globe remained intact. I decided to set it back on the fixture to help maintain a more or less even balance. Besides, I might need it as a template when looking for a new set of globes for the light fixture.

The opportunity did not present itself to explain to my son, Jason, the excitement of Saturday afternoon. The following Wednesday night I received a phone call from an obviously concerned son, who wanted to know if I knew we had a broken light fixture. I assured him that I was aware of the circumstances. He was calling to let me know he was not responsible for whatever had befallen the light fixture. I could only smile, after hanging up the phone, as I imagined Jason’s panic. He tells me that I think he is responsible for everything that happens around the house. That is not true, and I need to make clear to him that it is only the detrimental things that happen to the house for which I think he might be responsible.

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