Farewell

Yesterday I had a luncheon appointment at one of my favorite restaurants.

I arrived a few minutes early and was seated. A few minutes later I was drinking a large glass of sweet tea and relaxing before my meeting.

My cell phone dinged and I looked down and noticed that the people who joining me for lunch were running a few minutes late.

I looked across the restaurant and noticed a party of about twenty co-workers who were saying farewell to one of their fellow employees. It was a rather subdued event.

Finally, the time came for presenting farewell gifts. There was a ten gallon hat, a large silver belt buckle and a couple of other gifts that were obviously not meant for public display. There was lots of laughter and the party began to pick up.

A few of his co-workers make some obligatory remarks.

The party's host eventually said to the honoree, "well, we want you to say a few words."

The fellow stood up and here's what he said.

"Well, ummm, we have worked together for 20 years, and we have had our share of fights. Sorry. I'm gonna miss y'all. Thanks for the party."

And he sat down. That was the extent of the speech. Nothing more. In less than 20 seconds he summarized a 2o year career.

It made me wonder what kind of work he did. It made me wonder where he worked. It made me wonder if it was more of a celebration party for his departure rather than a farewell.

How can you work with people for 20 years and only come up with 26 words (if you count "ummm" as a word?)

My friends arrived and we began our meeting. It was a great conversation and time flew by. This morning I woke up and thought about the speech given at the table across the room and I am still puzzled by the whole thing.

Here's a thought...."May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight."