Okay, I know it is not even Winter yet, never mind it being the Christmas Season. I just decided I couldn't wait to share this true Christmas story with you. This really happened to me!!!
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a young man (we’ll call him Jack) who got hired at Chubb Securities in Concord, NH.
Now Jack was a quiet sort (at least until he got to know you). Being somewhat shy, he never liked to draw attention to himself. Jack was also very proud to work at Chubb as a Securities Trader, dealing in selling stocks and bonds and mutual funds. He saw this job as a conduit to a long and fruitful career in the Financial Services industry.
Well, in early December of his first year of employment, Jack’s company held their annual Christmas Party at a local restaurant and bar. The same place they always held it year after year. The hall was decorated quite nicely with poinsettias, fake snow and other Christmas accompaniments. Christmas music played softly from the speakers. The crown jewel of the decorations was a beautiful artificial Christmas tree decorated magnificently with lights, glass ornaments, tinsel and red bows.
As is typically done at many Christmas parties, the alcohol was freely flowing. However, since Jack didn’t really know anyone too well yet, and the fact that this was his first Christmas party at Chubb, he slowly nursed a beer quietly in the corner, just watching all the shenanigans playing out before him.
One of the traditions at Chubb parties was to play silly games and win prizes, such as gift certificates to local restaurants and bottles of booze. As the night wore on, the games got louder and crazier. Finally, a game sort of like Let’s Make A Deal was started. The MC shouted out “The first person to bring me a comb will win a prize.” Employees scrambled to find a comb until someone ran up to claim the prize. “A movie stub will get you the next prize.” and so on. Everyone was having fun enjoying and laughing at the general mayhem that was occurring. All the while, Jack sat, quietly amused, sipping his only beer of the night.
The MC yelled, “The first one to bring me a Christmas Bow will win the next prize!!” The employees frantically searched through pockets and purses and presents for a Christmas Bow. No one was having any luck at all. In the mean time, Jack could not believe that these idiots didn’t see that beautiful tree covered with 50 red Christmas Bows!!!
Finally, having enough of their stupidity, Jack raced across the dance floor to the tree, grabbing a red bow. He turned to run back to the MC to claim his prize. Suddenly, from behind him, he heard this terrible crashing sound. Jack noticed the room had gone deathly silent. Slowly he turned and the blood drained from his face, while his heart desperately worked to rip itself from his chest! There, behind him, like the wreckage of a car crash, was the tree! The bows had been wired to the try to keep them from falling off.
Jack looked at his hand and there was the red bow. However, attached to the red bow was the top of the tree. Attached to that was the Christmas lights. Attached to the lights, 30 feet away, was the bottom of the tree surrounded by broken ornaments and scattered tinsel! For someone who did not want to bring attention to himself, Jack had certainly failed. He sheepishly unwound the wire from the tree and presented the bow to the MC and received his prize.
To this day, nearly 18 years later, this story is still told at the company Christmas party. Although this incident didn’t ruin his career, Jack was sentenced to serve on the Recreation Committee indefinitely and each year that they went back to the restaurant, the bar tender would always ask Jack “Are you going to destroy my tree again this year?”
The moral of this true story is “If you wish to remain quietly incognito, don’t play in any of the Reindeer games!!! Merry Christmas and protect your trees!!!
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