Hi Stampers
A year……. 365 days. It sounds like a long time but it really isn’t. Last year, we lost a great friend, mentor and co-worker and it seems like only yesterday.
There were many moments at work this past year where his name would come up and a tale would fondly be remembered.
The young Engineers would listen, not quite “getting” the legend of Mr. Bush, but laughing along with the stories.
- Walking through the office with his bull-horn pronouncing that vacations were cancelled… in jest.
- Finding an “unlocked” computer and sending a message to the person’s boss that “they quit”. I can’t tell you how many times I have quit in the past 25 years. 🙂 Once you found out it was usually….. Ugh… Mr. Bush!
- His collection of rubber ducks and of course the toy chest tucked under his desk.
- This year as Valentines Day and Easter came and went the Admin Assistants all quietly commented on the fact that we missed having our desks “LOADED” with Cinnamon Hearts and Chocolate Easter Eggs….. really…. we were still finding them months later… they were everywhere.!
- He loved the cottage / outdoors and Moose. He thought I could make earrings from dried moose droppings. Ahhh….. they are still in a baggy pinned to the bulletin board on my desk – forever to be treasured… and no I didn’t make earrings 🙂
- Then there was the cheap gas station Pine Scented car deodorizer. You know the one.. shaped like a pine tree and smells horrid. I came to work one day and after a half hour I could smell something. I couldn’t figure out what or where it was coming from. Tore the desk apart – nothing. Thinking it could be the shoes under my desk, I boxed them all up – scent was still there. I finally ended up in the bathroom washing my neck until it was raw thinking that my perfume had gone rancid – nope. Just before lunch I called one of the other Admins asking her to come to my desk to see if she could smell something……. and she started laughing. Immediately I said…. Ugh…Mr. Bush! He put the car freshener under my keyboard. That air freshener went around the building for a while, finding a different victim each time.
The stories are numerous….. something as simple as Tim Hortons releasing their “Canada” app that included a Moose caused a few of us to tear up and remember Mr. Bush.
His office is still empty, no one wants to sit in it. One of the Managers was recently talking to me about it and you could hear the words get stuck in his throat as he said…. “you know the anniversary is just next week”.
After his passing his wife Jo-ann held a celebration of his life…. hundreds attended, family, friends and co-workers past and present. He touched everyone.
That my folks is part of the legend of Mr. Bush. We all have our own memories and those are some of mine. For me he was like that older brother I never had, you could go to him for advice, commiserate with or just laugh. And if you are wondering…. yes I always called him Mr. Bush… or we would just “buuuuuck” at each other when we passed in the hallways. After 25 years you can’t remember why you do the things you do.. but whether he was in a meeting, sitting at his desk or with a Customer, we would acknowledge each other with a ‘buuuuuuck” . Eventually we had others “buuucking” along with us. And do you know that in the past year… I have not heard one person say “buuuuuuuck”.
A Year, 365 Days, A Lifetime.
A treasured picture…..a work event at the Air Canada Centre watching the leafs.
Thanks for stopping by,
Elizabeth, Your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
www.StampScrapAndMore.com
A very lovely tribute to your friend and I am sorry for your loss.