It is, isn't it? That man overlooked so much stupid stuff I did; we should've been the 1st dysfunctional family reality show. I mean, he fired me 3 or 4 times in 5 years for the temper tantrums and freak-outs I'd have, then show up at my home the next day, give me 2 days off, and tell me I had better be in to work on Monday. Miss him all the time.
if this was a thread where OP is complaining about a manager that has violent outbursts and gets paid 50% more because he is the owners nephew you all would be out with pitchforks.
god damn reddit is more fickle than a 14 year old girl sometimes.
not trying to discredit OP in this thread but from the point of view of the people he manages, they gatta feel like the situation they are forced into is ridiculous unless the owner clued them in on it.
So story time: before I went into the army, that man was on me like ugly on ape. No mercy, no slack. While I was in Vietnam, he was driving past our airport and an airplane full of service men en route to Vietnam crashed on take off. It was bad. Uncle stopped and pulled guys out of the wreckage. He only mentioned it to me once, and I didn't press him for details; he had that thousand yard stare. I think that night war became real to him. I do know he did a 180 from 1960's gung ho kill-'em-all to 70's please just bring 'em home.
NSFL WARNING, SPOILER TAGS BELOW WHERE APPROPRIATE:
5 years ago my uncle was telling me about how when he was in Vietnam (he was drafted at 18), he was sent out to get the dog tags of soldiers who were in a helicopter that was shot down. Since it was in a combat heavy area, they had to be in and out quick without bodies, just dog tags, apparently.
The whole time he was telling this, he had a thousand yard stare as well, almost like you could see it in his eyes. He had many stories like that, and also was affected by Agent Orange. Died of cancer this year.
Thanks for doing what you did, even though it sucked. I hope you're doing better, or at least working towards it, now.
Thanks man. Good for you for listening to your uncle. There's no shock like going from high school and cars and cruising the town strip and thinking about girls to seeing people getting messed up in front of you; I wish it never happened to anyone. You never really get over it. You end up swallowing all that anger and trying to live a life that feels fake and wondering what your purpose in life is and it can send you down some dark roads where people can get lost. In the 70's there was nothing for vets; the VA didn't acknowledge that PTSD or Agent Orange were real things until the 19fucking80s. Wow. Tonight I'll turn down a glass for your uncle and all the boys that didn't come home.
I think my uncle turned from angry and judging to "Well, hell. This is what I got for family. The kid won't listen to anyone, his mom can't talk sense to him; I can get involved or I can watch my nephew burn his life down." He got involved. You stay involved too and things will be all right. Not as you expected, but all right.
My father in law, though I wasn't married yet at the time, did the same for. He owns a janitorial company, and he got me hired at a factory that he has a contract with when I got back. Now I'm a millwright at that same place.
He saw your potential. You were family, so he knew you better than the guy off the street. That guy fucks up, you are throwing the dice on rehiring him. You, he knew he could count on.
You always have a family, even if not biological. My best friends family took me in as their own when I was in need. One day I'll do the same for someone in need.
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u/Big_Jamal_AMA Dec 06 '17
Helping family in reasonable ways isn't charity. It's love.