Let me introduce you all to Norman. Norman performs all maintenance on our office, my boss' properties, and my house (since I live in one of my boss' homes). He grew up in Baltimore, in a neighborhood that was not so nice. The drug culture sucked him in for a while and he's no stranger to prison. Many people he knows have been shot, and sometimes killed. However, Norman had a come to Jesus moment and is a changed man. All of the conversations I have with him end with a "Have a blessed day little lady". He is older, and has a fiance. One time he requested I type a letter he had written her, and mail it for him. It was very sweet.
He has his own way of thinking and doing things, but it is all motivated by a good heart and the best of intentions. The methods often are a bit, shall we say, unconventional. My house is an old, old house, and has its fair share of maintenance issues. Let's just say it is always an adventure to see how the repairs have been done. We had one incident where we had a leaky faucet, and he really wanted to replace it with the best of the best for us. He returned using all of the money we had given him for two bathroom sink faucets, spent on one fixture that had an extendable hose, so we could wash our hair with it if we wanted.
Great intentions, the execution isn't always on point. Communication is not his greatest strength.
He's a man of stature - maybe 6'3" and with all of the manual labor he does, he definitely has some bulk to him. Not someone you'd want to run into in a dark alley unless you knew him. However, knowing him, he's the most loyal person you'll ever meet.
One of the guys in our office, made the decision to tell Norman about my admirer next door. Norman didn't take the thought of me feeling uncomfortable well. He wanted to threaten my admirer, inform him that I was scared of him, and force him to apologize. I quickly protested and told my co-worker to stop Norman immediately! Can you imagine how uncomfortable that interaction might be? Norman came up to my desk shortly thereafter and informed me, that he had told said admirer that he wasn't allowed to come into the office, and that I deserved an apology. So, from what I can tell, he didn't threaten the poor guy.
The tables have turned. I'm now less worried about being stalked, and more worried about having to accept an awkward apology.
Such is life!
He has his own way of thinking and doing things, but it is all motivated by a good heart and the best of intentions. The methods often are a bit, shall we say, unconventional. My house is an old, old house, and has its fair share of maintenance issues. Let's just say it is always an adventure to see how the repairs have been done. We had one incident where we had a leaky faucet, and he really wanted to replace it with the best of the best for us. He returned using all of the money we had given him for two bathroom sink faucets, spent on one fixture that had an extendable hose, so we could wash our hair with it if we wanted.
Great intentions, the execution isn't always on point. Communication is not his greatest strength.
He's a man of stature - maybe 6'3" and with all of the manual labor he does, he definitely has some bulk to him. Not someone you'd want to run into in a dark alley unless you knew him. However, knowing him, he's the most loyal person you'll ever meet.
One of the guys in our office, made the decision to tell Norman about my admirer next door. Norman didn't take the thought of me feeling uncomfortable well. He wanted to threaten my admirer, inform him that I was scared of him, and force him to apologize. I quickly protested and told my co-worker to stop Norman immediately! Can you imagine how uncomfortable that interaction might be? Norman came up to my desk shortly thereafter and informed me, that he had told said admirer that he wasn't allowed to come into the office, and that I deserved an apology. So, from what I can tell, he didn't threaten the poor guy.
The tables have turned. I'm now less worried about being stalked, and more worried about having to accept an awkward apology.
Such is life!
