A Rose by any Other Name

Kathy Gladden, the author of numerous children’s books, was once again a guest and I looked forward to sitting down with her to hear more stories about her books and the Crawford Ranch compound. Maybe you remember the story from her last visit about the secret service guys helping her neighbor and best friend Pam, deliver a calf. Pam came with on this visit so of course I wanted some juicy gossip about her infamous neighbor and his tax paid guardians. Unfortunately their schedule and mine did not allow for a long chat so no good secret service stories this time. Kathy, however, has finished outlining her book about Mandy the Manatee and Pam has almost completed her first novel. She got her idea for the book due to her proximity and friendship with the agents next door. The premise is an Al Qaeda operative is under cover in the secret service and has been assigned to the president’s protection detail. The female lead in the book lives on the ranch next door where their paths cross and she eventually falls in love with the pseudo secret service agent. From there the twist and turns of assassination attempts, accidents on the president’s ranch and numerous fires finally peak the curiosity of our female neighbor until she finally discovers the truth about the man she loves. Every good novel has some basis in truth. Think about the ramifications of an Al Qaeda operative in this position and if it could happen.
When we first started doing events at the halls they were small and easily handled by the two of us. Eventually they became bigger and bigger until we had to find people we could depend on to help us and we did. From the first, Pam, Amanda, Chris and Rose worked each event with us without anyone having to tell them what to do or when to do it and were always professionals. Here we were down to our last three events. Pam, Amanda and Chris were still on board, still professional but had to take up the slack at the last minute because our fourth waited until a mere two hours before crunch time to let us know she was not coming to work; twice. No one believed the excuses and frankly no one cared; we all just went into another gear and took up the slack. We have had a hard time finding people who actually want to work, housekeepers, chefs, waitresses etc. Oh they love the job, just ask them; they love the money, just ask them, but they either get lazy or they bring their emotional problems to work and expect sympathy or they begin to think they are too good to wait on people or clean a room. If you need a job, as some profess they really do, then you do what you have to do to make it work, put your personal differences aside, leave your problems at home and come to work to work. You’d think that forty something year olds would have a good work ethic and would be mature enough to leave the thorns of their problems at home, but then I guess a rose by any other name is not a rose. The leaves have been stripped, the grace and the beauty gone and a rose can no longer be depended on to be a beautiful dependable flower.
Speaking of events. The very last event is this coming weekend. I am very sad. Not only am I going to lose my job but lose something I was meant to do and that is cook for and entertain people. What is sadder still is the thought of the two most historic houses in North Augusta closed and locked until or if someone decides to purchase them. Those magnificent structures sitting idle in the summer heat, the grounds unkempt, no joy, no laughter no tender loving care. Whatever are the ghosts going to do without us? And, yes, it will be sad to see Rhonda and Larry pull out of the driveway for the very last time and head back to Virginia.