Everybody Needs a Happy Thought.

Three careers ago I was the Night Manager of the Student Center of the University I had Just graduated from.  I loved that job.  I was "The Building Manager".   I was in charge of making sure parties were fun and safe. I worked hard and my staff were all my friends (I married one of them!).  We were the people that you had to find to get anything done in the Student Union.

I looked forward to going to work every day.  However, the month of May was not so much fun.  The parties stopped and it was all about Commencement.  We had to make everything look clean.  We painted the dirt on the walls, literally swept a lot of dirt under a lot of rugs.  We even spray painted the dirt green, to make it look like grass. Also I had to do it myself, because most of my staff was graduating.  They had finals and then they had to move on.  I had to stay and make the place look pretty.

But I had a good boss, he never hesitated to roll up his sleeves and help me get the job done.  He also came to me in a dream and made everything much better.

He told me that once the summer started there would not be much work for me to do on campus, so he signed me up in as an exchange worker.  I was to show up to work the Monday after graduation, he told me all I needed to bring was a smile, the other job would provide everything I needed.


He drove me to the airport and after a long flight,  I was greeted by my "summer boss".  He picked me up in a golf cart with a grass roof and took me to my new home.  It looked like the photo at left.

They through me a party like there was no tomorrow.  Cheech and Chong actually came buy to take notes for Up In Smoke, Lost in Tahiti.  After three days of reckless abandon, I asked my new boss, what I have to do?, What is my job?  He laughed so hard he dropped his massive spliff.  "No, no, my friend, this is it, this is your job.  We just party here.  Your staff that just graduated has to make sure everything is safe and fun."


I laughed so hard I woke myself up.  When I realized it was a dream, I was not sad.  I was happy, happy to have that wonderful, stress free vacation.  It was not real, but the next day when I had to repair white chairs with Liquid Paper I was able to sit up, take a deep breath and remember the great time I thought I had. (BTW, Liquid Paper was invented by Betty Nesmith Graham, mother of Mike Nesmith.  Mike was a member of the band The Monkees, he did not die the day before yesterday.)


I know what you are thinking now. This "dream" of mine was an idea implanted in my brain like in Total Recall and Inception.  You are thinking that these movies put this dream in my head.  No, Total Recall came out in 1990 and Inception came out in 2010.  I had this dream in like 1987.

Well anyway, when ever I was having a hard time at work I would always take a little break and remember how good my boss was to me.  It was great to have a boss that would send me on this dream vacation.  Even if it was not real, I was always able to close my eyes and remember the good times that I really did not have.

For the past 11 years I don't have to think of any make believe stuff to feel good.

I have this....

A true story inspired by  my friend Majo's Meryl Streep's Taxi