Dad Does What?

As a child I had a vague idea of what my father did for a living. He worked in the John Hancock building, he had seats at the White Sox games, and sometimes he took us to the circus to sit in "work" seats. I remember him pointing to the tarp used to cover the field during a rain delay at a Sox game and explaining that the phrase, "Near North covers the infield" was his work. Somehow, I had learned it was insurance.

But, knowing these things lent no real concept to what it was he did all day. As a 5th grader struggling through long division, I sat in his office, read his door plaque and it hit me. I looked to my dad and asked, "Since you're the division manager, can you help me with my math?" Yes, I was clueless as to why he broke into gales of laughter...

That brings me to the present. Kids today tend to have a better idea of what it is their parents do all day. Just the other day Youngest was telling me, "boys want to grow-up and do a job like Dad's."

"Really?" I inquired, "Why, what does Dad do at work?"

Youngest: "He goes into his office at work. The ladies all work, but he stays in his office and sometimes he goes out and talks to them."

Me: "Oh yeah? And what does he do in his office?"

Youngest: "He has a whole bunch of paper in there. Sometimes he writes on it."

Me: "So writing on paper is his job?"

Youngest: "Well, he doesn't work with the ladies and he has a whole bunch of paper. Oh and he sits at his desk too. There's a computer there, right in front of him. So, I guess he does the computer too."

There you have it, management summed up in a neat little kindergarten package.

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