Mini-wilson

When I worked at Honeywell about five years ago,  I became friends with a guy named Andrew.  He preferred Andy, but I called him Andrew, Andy or sometimes Drew.  He was young. He was probably about 25. He was thin and tall with red hair and a goatee. He had sexy blue eyes and a great personality.  I admit, I checked him out, but he was obviously straight.    He was attractive, but not my type.  He always had girls from the company trying to date him. He enjoyed the attention. Most women were not shy about acting like a cat in heat around him. It was obvious he liked to flirt back too.  He was in a long term relationship with his high school girlfriend.  They were a couple for many years but parted a few times due to issue in their relations hip.  I worked next to Andy for about a year.  We both worked in receiving and part of our job was to inspect incoming orders of parts and unload trucks.  He and I were a great team.  We enjoyed being friends at work. We both liked to joke and talk while working.  There were many times we were talking and laughing too much.  Our boss would come by and give us a scolding glance.  I think other people would tell on us and the boss was just following up to keep the peace.  Jealousy was a catalyst at Honeywell and lead to many unnecessary petty dramas.  Andy and I would keep our cool. But really I felt like the General Manager of the facility did not like me and always was looking for reasons to get me fired.  He didn’t like how I dressed, and would tell my boss.  He also didn’t like my long hair and felt it was a bad reflection on the company image. Really, I felt he just had a problem with gays.  Our work group always watched out for him and alerted each other when he came around.  He was always watching to see who might be in the internet or texting on their phone at their work station.  We would whisper “here comes the Weasel” if he came around the corner to spy on us.  Andy was the one who came up with that name.  He said he would pop up anywhere like a weasel.  Weasels have been assigned a variety of different cultural meanings. In Greek culture, a weasel around the house is a sign of bad luck, or even evil.   Especially if there I is to be an upcoming wedding.  The weasel (based on its Greek etymology) was thought to be an unhappy bride who was transformed into a weasel and consequently delights in destroying wedding dresses. In more modern meaning, a weasel is some one who can’t be trusted.  And you could not trust the General Manager at Honeywell.  He would always try to get people in trouble. 

Andy and I worked very hard, slinging boxes, counting freight and inspecting paper work.  We also tried to help each other if one got behind. It wasn’t unusual for him to steal my chair and hide it. He enjoyed the confused look on my face as I searched around for it. We were true buddies.  Andy was cool with me being gay, but I never told him about drag.  It was not a big deal to him. We were just good friends, but I don’t think he would have ever come to a show or stepped in to a gay bar.  We did however hang out a few times out side of work. We would go eat or even join other coworkers for a few drinks at happy hour at a near by restaurant.  It was more of a social thing.  Andy is the one who got me calling everyone DUDE, or MAN. It‘s funny how much you pick up from your friends at work. 

Honeywell’s business was on the down hill slide. The company was bought out by another company.  The Weasel had told everyone that it would not happen and jobs would be secure, but he lied.  Never trust a weasel.  Luckily I got out when I did.  Old co-workers were given notice after I left there and they scrabbled to find work. That was a sad situation.   Andy got another job about a month before I, myself, left Honeywell.  I was sad that my friend was leaving the company.  Andy was such a great guy to be around.   On his last day he gave me a golf ball, with a red hand print and face drawn on with permanent makers.  He called it Mini Wilson.  He said “if you think you no friends, you will always have mini-Wilson just like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway”. Tom Hanks plays an executive who must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island. His only friend is a volley ball with a face/hand print on it that he calls Wilson. I left Honeywell and came to work at my current job. I like it here and have been able to advance.  My time at Honeywell only lasted about a year. .  Honestly, I didn’t like Honeywell.  It was not a good work environment.   I was offered a better job and never looked back.  I don’t know what happened to Andy.  I assume he is still working in Fort Worth.  And knowing Andy, he still has girls chasing him. He was a good friend and I still have Mini-Wilson on my desk at work.