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Date with fate - Post 24 - and, Fourteenth Job of Bob - Park and Rec Part XVIII - Fuck those trees and fuck you too
This entry was posted on 9/15/2010 2:28 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob, Fate Fairies.
I wrote about co-worker and good friend Ol' Charles before in Fourteenth Job of Bob - Part XV - Charles . But it bears one more visit; and, a reflection on, yet one more date with fate. This episode, I must agonizingly live with 'til the day I die.
Almost from the first day of my 10 year stint with the City of Dallas, I kept crossing paths with a guy named Charles. We were not too different in age. We had seen the same history pass before our televisions. We both started with the City about the same time. We were both married - a once social norm that even by 1980, was already becoming a custom from a by gone era.
Ol' Charles and I weaved in and out of being in the same work crews, being under some of the same supervisors, and traveling through time in the same department division. We traveled in time using the same maintenance equipment and taking care of the same city parks and property.
Ol' Charles could be an antagonist - but, I came to enjoy his crass outlook that departed from the yes-men and perpetually obfuscated environment of government work. I eventually began to look forward to what he might say about any given subject. He for all practical purposes, became a very good friend.
About the time I had enough of working for the City and was about to embark on my own business, Ol' Charles had some health issues and had missed a week of work here and there.
Charles was one of the last people I talked to the last day I worked for the City. That last conversation has always haunted me. Charles had come back from yet another close call with his health. We were sitting on a picnic table in front of the office to our service barn. It was February in Dallas, but hints of spring come around early in that part of the country. The sun was getting warm. Charles looked tired, but did brighten up a bit when talking about getting back to work. He commented that while he was in the hospital, he had hoped to get back and dive into a tree planting project.
I had become bitter over the years with the whole municipal government play house. To me, someone was probably running for reelection and had commissioned new flowering trees to be placed in strategic locations to "calm" the public perception of city property, hence manipulating the greater collective demeanor in regard to their leaders.
So, with little thought, I blurted out, "Fuck those trees...and fuck you too."
Charles looked at me a bit sad, but did reply as he always did, and said what he always said, "Boy...you are a crazy mother fucker." Then he chuckled a bit like he always did.
My attention was diverted and I moved on to another person and subject. It never dawned on me I would not see him again. He lived just down the road from me. Our work service center was just down the road in the other direction. We were never far apart as compared to other employees that drove 75 miles to get to work. We actually lived in, worked in, and experienced our neighborhood together.
Years later I realized how important the social activity of just plain getting back to work could be, after I my self almost died a couple times during various hospital visits. For all practical purposes I did die a couple times. But, on that day with Charles, now so long ago, the charm of appreciating simple things like planting a tree after a near death experience was lost on me.
About a week after I left the employ of the City, another friend of mine called to tell me Charles's medical condition had suddenly got the best of him. He had left work one day not feeling so good. The next day he was going to try to come in at noon...
- he never made it - he died.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Captain Rhett William Schiller, 26, Waterford, Wisconsin, died Thursday, November 16, 2006 in Balad Ruz, Iraq. He was killed when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. Captain Schiller was assigned to Troop C, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Waterford is a small city in South East Wisconsin in Racine County. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Schiller was a West Point graduate in the class of 2003. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry. He had been in Iraq since August of 2006. He was remembered as a leader who led from the front lines. After completing Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was assigned to the 82nd, as a platoon leader in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was later the executive officer for Company A. In September 2005, Schiller's brigade was assigned to New Orleans for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. The unit was deployed to the area almost immediately after duty assignment announcement. The Journal Sentinel also noted at the time Schiller's sister was a warrant officer at Fort Bragg, and his brother was a U.S. Marine. They went on to quote sources as saying Schiller attended Shanghai American School in China before enrolling in the Military Academy at West Point.
The Web site jounaltimes.com dated August 2010, noted a bill to rename the Waterford Post Office in honor of Captain Schiller will be coming before Congress in the coming months. The bill was introduced by Representative Paul Ryan of Schiller's Wisconsin Congressional District and would designate the post office in Schiller's honor. The process was initiated by Schiller's uncle. Schiller went on to West Point after receiving an appointment from Congressman Ryan. The Web site mentioned Schiller's parents moved to Waterford while he was attending West Point. The city of Waterford was said to be a special place for Schiller and a place he loved to visit, especially the Fox River.
Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 3 notes Rhett Schiller was born on November 7, 1980, in Racine, Wisconsin. Schiller attended the International School of Amsterdam and graduated from the Shanghai American School in May of 1999. His major at West Point was Chinese. Awards Captain Schiller was given include; the Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Iraqi Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; the Ranger Tab; the Combat Infantryman Badge; the Expert Infantryman Badge; and, the Master Parachutist Badge. The Resolution noted that at the time of his death Rhett Schiller was survived by his parents, William and Karla Schiller of Waterford, Wisconsin; his fiancée, Tiffany Phelps of Fayetteville, North Carolina; his brother, Marine Captain Ryan Schiller, sister−in−law, Martha, and niece, Olivia, of Temecula, California; his sister, Rhonda Sutaria and brother−in−law, Raj, of Long Island, New York; his sister, Renee Ray, brother−in−law, Captain Brian Ray, and nephew, Kyle, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina; his grandmother, Augustine Evelyn Schiller of Burlington, Wisconsin; and, his best friend, Neil Munger of Racine, Wisconsin. Army Captain Rhett Schiller was the 63rd Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,691 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1278 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
793 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,934 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,951 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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