I just froze
I hope this post finds you well.
I graduated from college 2 months ago, June 1984, it’s my first day and I’m sitting in the anteroom waiting for a human resources representative to show up. I get my company badge and guidelines document today. A couple seats over is a woman, sitting nervously like myself, she was here before I arrived. She turns to me and says “Hi, are you starting today?”
I respond “Yes”. She seems polite and sincere, I continue the conversation and respond, “I graduated last June. This is my first job.”
“Me too. They offered me the job at the end of the interview, last week. … What’s your name” she said. She seemed to be more relaxed.
“My name is Paul and you.”, I said.
“I’m Julia. What school did you go to?”, said Julia. I couldn’t tell by her attire, where she went, although she spoke very confidently and a little complacent.
“I just graduated from Boston University”, I said.
“I went to Wellesley College. … What did you get your degree in?” she said inquisitively.
“In engineering”, I said.
“What’s your position here?”, Julia said.
“They’re putting me in the Product Introduction Department. How about yourself?”
“I will be in Graphic Design. I start in Drafting and Copy.”
“What did you major in?”, I said. Knowing Wellesley College is an exclusive school for women.
“I majored in Arts and Humanities, and I minored in Women’s Rights History.” She seemed to emphasize Woman’s Rights like it was more important for her than her, Arts and Humanities degree.
A representative from human resources walks in and interrupts, “Good, your both here. I hope you had a good weekend. Let me take you to our meeting room and I will get you all squared away with a security badge and health care information. OK!”.
After the meeting she walked me to engineering and handed me over to my new manager. I was introduced to three technicians, Joe, John and Bill. They are my age. Bill is wearing a Red Sox baseball cap. While John had a Bruins t-shirt on. Diehard sports fans for sure. I imagined them at the pub watching their team, cheering wildly, and spilling beer, some used napkins on the floor.
For my first assignment, my manager, gave me a manual for the computer product I was to learn. After maybe a couple of hours of reading, it started to feel a little chilly. So, I got up to walk around and warm up. I walked into the main engineering room and saw Joe and Bill there.
I spoke softly, “Hey Bill, Joe is it cold in here, or is it me?” lifting up my knees alternatively, trying to get my blood flowing so I can warm up.
Joe stared at me, “Paul … I left my sweater in my car, I’ll be right back.”, smirking and blowing into his hands as he rubs them together as he walks away.
“It’s actually cold in here. … I say, we get an oil barrel, throw some wood in it and light a fire.” I said to Bill, laughing, and we start rubbing our hands together and move over to our imaginary barrel, trying to capture the warmth. We enjoy the humorous moment.
John, just walking in, knew exactly what we were doing and announces, “They’re some wood in receiving, pine, I think.” Laughter follows.
A moment later, the girl that I met this morning, walks in, looking at the floor, with her sleeves pulled down over her hands.
“Who’s that?” Bill said, starring at her, a little bit longer than he should have. Fortunately, she wasn’t looking at him.
I inch closer to Bill and whisper, “Julia, … I met her earlier today. Nice person. She went to Wellesley College”
John looks at me then says. “Mensa”
I look at Bill and John, “What’s that?”.
“It’s some high IQ society. You have to be higher than 98. Her name is Julia” said John, while staring at me with that who cares look. “She probably is one.”
“She said to me she graduated with a Arts and Humanities degree, but she emphasized she minored in Women’s Rights History.”, I said.
“Then she’s probably a feminist. Ouch!”, Bill said, shaking his head, “Now we have to be careful at what we say and how we say it.”.
Julia sits down at her desk, facing the hallway, Bill, John and me. She looks over at us and smirks, silently acknowledging to us that she understands why we are standing over an imaginary barrel, trying to warm our hands. We all smile, then stare at each other.
Then just as we recover from bonding a building and grounds manager walks in from the hallway. He’s an older man, done his time at the company and will be retiring soon. He looks at everyone and says, “OK, so who’s the broad that called and said there’s a problem with the heating?”
Suddenly, Bill, John and I fall into this suspended animation. None of us know what to say. I look over at Julia. She has this expression that could kill. Because he was older, no one wanted to call attention to that uncalled for word, so we just stared, transfixed.
“OK, I’ll go check the next room.” said the building manager and walks away.
Julia exhales, looks over to us and says, “You have got to be kidding me!”
Note: This is a true story.
The definition of broad, taken from The Urban Dictionary:
Broad: A term originating in the 1930’s meaning woman; derived from the fact that the most defining characteristic of all females are their hips, which are proportionally wider than the hips of their male counterparts.
Broad: Word for a woman. Less respectable than lady, but much more respectable than bitch.
Example usage: “Man, look at those two broads, they are smokin.”