Before you slap your hand to your forehead in response to what I’m sure you think is a horrible fish pun, allow me to set your mind at ease: okay, it is a horrible pun, but it’s not about fish.

Feel better!

Excellent. Actually, the title of this entry refers to the week I’ve spent alone at my company while the other employees––and the founder and president––enjoy themselves in sunny, Orlando Florida. I’ve been, at varying times, head administrator, web master, IT tech, accountant, client rep, grounds keeper and cat wrangler (of seven cats, all of which live next door and require at least two different feeding regimens). And I’ve done all of this, until today, in the pouring rain. I’ve put out fires (metaphorically) and bowls of water and food (literally) with equal determination, and not once have I had my silence interrupted by anything other than a phone (about ten times per day over the course of a nine-hour period) or the ministrations of one hungry feline or another. I have to say, I got quite a bit accomplished, including a healthy portion of my screenplay and approximately two-thirds of a new short story.

But there have been other developments, as well. For one, I’ve felt…relaxed. I know you’re thinking to yourself, “well, duh”, but there have been anxious moments that never really felt out of my control. I’m not sure if it had to do with the lack of an infiltrating din playing on my nerves, or the non-issue of dealing with the anxieties of others, but ladies and gentleman, I feel more at peace at work than ever.

That’s not to say I don’t still have things I’m dealing with in my life like we all do, I just don’t have anything in the way of my absorbing them and working them out. See, this is different than a vacation. I’m at work, but yet, I’m alone (as I’ve said, don’t worry I’m getting to the point). How many of us ever get the chance to do something like this? This is a first for me. I’ve come in alone on the weekends, but never during the week while matters were most definitely at hand. And viewing the company from the varied perspectives I have has really taught me, not just about the jobs others do, but about myself. It’s been fairly enlightening at times, and at others, just kind of cool.

This brings me to my final, abiding thought about the entire business: the danger the current global economic situation has put us in, and what we stand to lose. Thirty years this year this company has been around, helping people realize their dreams and taking employees from dorky college grads to mother and fathers and homeowners and such. My father built this place with his bare hands pretty much, and it grew with the help of folks that started out as faces and skill-sets who soon became members of a family. Many of them I’ve know since I was ten years-old. Now, like everywhere else, we come in every day wondering what more we can do short of growing money on a tree.

We’re still alive in this little woods, and we’re going to fight with everything we’ve got to stay that way. There are a few tricks up our sleeves, yet, even if those sleeves are looking a little linty and threadbare. But what do we stand to lose if it all goes down? More than simply a collection of individuals and the livelihoods on which they’ve grown to depend, we stand to lose a family. Not just close friends who can keep in touch on Facebook, but the kind that make each other miserable five days a week and can look to each other and say “thanks” on an almost daily basis. I’m sure there are lots of others like us, too.

And if I’m being honest, I’d be afraid to unleash a few of these people onto the world. Some of us are a little bit scary. 😉

Okay, perspective time. This video needs no introduction whatsoever, but when has that stopped me? Rarely, has a piece of art ever revealed its themes in such a bold and enduring way as the video you’re about to behold. So dim the lights, crank up your speakers, and hold on––for I give you a tale of olde so timeless, it continues to speak for all of us in this, our modern age. Such is its depth of understanding of the human spirit, and so forth.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you…Queenie in Trouble.