One of the ones that got away

[susandennis]

I got a Christmas card today from a guy I used to work for. He was an IBM VP which was a pretty big shot and I worked for him when he headed up the real estate division.

My job was to ride herd on some properties that IBM owned but did not use. One of these was an historic mansion in Leesburg, VA. It was a funny and fun assignment. I represented IBM at planning commission meetings and historical society events. I mean, someone had to do it, right? And I could curtsy (see earlier references to Southern prep school).

I can't remember the details but there was some big big big historical event gala in Washington, D.C. that I had to go to. It was so big that my boss (card sender) and his wife came, too. We were assigned a table with several couples and another non-paired attendee. That other non-paired attendee (that's how the briefing thingie read) was John Warner who was a Senator but more famously known at that time (about 1986 ish) as one of the ex husbands of Elizabeth Taylor.

He may well have been brilliant and fascinating but at that event, he was a boring and kind of sleesy little guy. And I had to dance with him and he was a dance floor dud.

At that time I was very image conscience, trying to represent IBM appropriately, impress my boss and be nice to his wife. It was exhausting. And on top of that, I was trying to pretend that John Warner was fascinating.

Only after I moved on with my career and my boss became my friend, did I learn that he and his wife spent their evening in hysterics at my predicament and how I was trying so hard to make it all not horrible.

Today, in his card, he sent me the NY Times spread on John Warner's latest marriage with a post it note chastising me for letting this one get away....