A Tribute to Old Goldie

Dear Readers,

I don't know if you've heard, yet. I hate being the bearer of bad news, but last week, I lost a valuable asset to my school and a true team player.

Old Goldie died.

I know! I was shocked too!

For those readers who don't know, Old Goldie worked at my school, mainly with the staff lunches. My school doesn't have a kitchen, so she was relegated to a closet of sorts, right near the ladies room. Old Goldie has been at my school for years. She had already been there for a long time when I started 11 years ago. Although she had a coworker who did her exact same job, she was the one with seniority. The Grande Dame of lunch.

To be honest, I think we all saw it coming but didn't really want to face the truth. She was getting up there. Her generally stoic demeanor had been peppered with some signs of discomfort recently. We all heard her soft groans and whispered sighs, but we ignored them.

Just the other day I was standing next to her while waiting for the ladies' room, I could feel the heat radiating from her side. If that wasn't a sign of trouble, I don't know what is. Of course, I chose to ignore it in the hopes that she was just having another busy day. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Besides, I never felt comfortable addressing concerns with her. I thought it would look strange if I was found talking to her. What a snob I am...

Truth be told, many of us found her to be a bit cold, dare I say frigid; but now in hindsight I realize that she needed that personality trait to do her job well. She also struggled with an odor problem that kept many people at a distance. Now I see that was a result of all her hard work. We asked a lot of her and, while she might not have done it with a smile, she always made sure it got done.

I now realize how we neglected her needs. I find myself counting the ways I could have shown I care. I could have helped her get cleaned up so that others didn't shy away from her...but I didn't. I was remiss in my duties as a coworker and a friend and vow never to repeat my mistakes again.



Where ever she is, I hopes she knows we all appreciate what she did for us. Her tireless efforts to ensure lunches were there, ready and on time each day, are no longer unnoticed or unappreciated.


Thank you, Old Goldie. Rest in Peace


And now for the hardest part.

I would like to say that Old Goldie is irreplaceable, but reality forces me to admit that there is still work to be done and we will have to find someone to do her job. With that being said:

Does anyone out there have an old fridge they'd like to donate? With California's drastic budget cuts, there is no way we will be able to buy one ourselves. It's a great tax write-off!

Besides, with the entire staff sharing one fridge, my PB&J's keep getting squished.