RUBBER GLOVES
By; Gerald A. Polley

We've been telling the stories of what happened while I worked with an obnoxious manager. The other day at work one of the waitresses was kidding around with the rubber gloves, and it reminded me of several incidences that were very similar. But one of the first was while working with this manager. I was working with some really harsh chemicals. I had to wear heavy rubber gloves that went way up my arms. I was putting them on when one of the obnoxious cooks cried out in a loud voice, "Bend over, Bobby! Gerald's ready to begin the exams!" I immediately told him to shut his mouth and never humiliate me again. If they wanted to insult and degrade each other that was up to them, but they didn't make fun of me! The cook began to scream "You don't talk back to me! You don't tell me I can't have a little fun with you! I'm a man! You're a man! I can joke with you! Who in the hell do you think you are?"
"I told you to shut up!" I answered.
"I won't tolerate this!" The cook screamed, "I won't tolerate this! No damned little punk talks to me like this! Nobody tells me I can't horse around!"
The boss came in from the diningroom and said "That's enough! Gerald told you, if you want to horse around with each other, go right ahead, but leave him alone! He's not like you, he doesn't appreciate your mouth, and he has every right to complain. Leave him alone!"
"I won't work in these conditions!" the cook screamed. "This place is nuts! This place is crazy! Why do you put up with this whimp? Why do you side with him?"
"That's enough!" the boss screamed. "If you don't like working here, leave! It won't hurt my feelings at all. But if you're going to continue to work here, act like an adult, not like a three year old child!"
"I AM the adult!" the cook screamed. "I can take it. "I don't mind a little ribbing. He's not the adult!"
"Shut up or leave!" the boss answered.
The cook went back to work and glared at me all day. That afternoon the manager came in and came right up to me. "Gerald, I want to talk to you in the office!" he snapped.
"Don't wanna hear it!" I answered. "Haven't got time! Don't wanna be bothered with your crap!"
"It's not crap!" the manager screamed. "You can't bond with men! You can't act like a man! There's something wrong with you! Someone wants to joke with you, someone wants to be your friend, someone wants to associate with you, and because he has a little fun you tell him to go to hell! You've got serious, serious problems!"
"Get out of my face!" I told him.
The boss came in and the manager said "I want to talk to him in the office!"
The boss answered "He doesn't want to talk to you! He doesn't believe in that crap and I don't wanna hear any more trouble about it! If you and your drinking buddies can't grow up and understand that there are decent people who don't behave like you do. There's nothing wrong with Gerald! Just because he doesn't deliberately irritate people and go out and get drunk every weekend, doesn't mean he's not a man. He's got plenty of male friends, including me! And I guarantee you, you don't want to irritate some of them! So you and your drinking buddies take your lifestyle and live it! But stay out of other peoples' faces."
The manager went off in a huff and the boss just smiled at me. A couple of weeks later the manager's minister came in and wanted to help me with my male bonding. The manager was equally irritated with my reply to him! But that's another story!
This scenario was repeated three or four more times at other jobs, almost the same exact story! Two of those places ended up the same. The obnoxious cook eventually left, couldn't deal with someone that couldn't take a joke. In the other one I got fired because I didn't respect other peoples' feelings. It doesn't matter how many places I work, sooner or later somebody obnoxious will show up and can't understand why I don't like his sense of humor. It's almost inevitable! Fortunately my present job is one of the quietest I've worked on. Let's hope it stays that way!

THE END

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