An Open Window

Eyes are the window to the soul. Many who are not interested or no longer interested refuse to look up. Women should realize when they don't make eye contact men look at the next most interesting part of their bodies.

Breasts. Also learning that liars have trouble making eye contact- it is better to look someone in the eyes. A couple supervisors make eye contact. It deepens the connection.

It shows they see me, take me seriously and in the beginning- back when I was a sixth round draft pick and a fourth string quarterback- the supervisor who looked me in the eyes got through to me.

Does that make him my Bill Belichick? In a way. Good triumphed over evil in my first year. There was an abusive supervisor. He screamed a lot. Did that cause the work to be completed more efficiently?

No. John might have been upset with me occasionally. On a day when my performance was not up to par and he probably had to clean up after me I saw those baby blues and he said "There is a lot of room for improvement."

He wasn't wrong. By looking at me and mentioning in the nicest way possible it was time to step up my game- that meant more than some ex-military supervisor who acted like we were in Basic Training for life instead of twelve weeks- his noise pollution fell into the ether.

He acted like he could do whatever he wanted and if I didn't like it- quit. Treat your spouse that way and you're going to sleep on the couch. Had I quit he would have yelled irrationally at the next new employee.

Every day I walk into the building proves how much of a failure that supervisor was. I shall describe his failure on the day I retire. Makes you wonder how many social media sites will rise up and fall away between now and 2040.

LinkedIn will introduce and remove two thousand "New Features" by then. Meanwhile, I hope John is still working with me. I don't see much of him. He's the kind of person who can cultivate the highlight of the day in passing.

There are many who fit the bill. Surround yourself with the best people. Eye contact was the gateway to trust. There are people I trust implicitly on the job. Others are not to be trusted. Assist them enough to finish the job.

I never regret starting when I did. There were a lot more jerks when I started. Most have retired or found other positions. Quite a few of the friendly, helpful workers are still around. That inspires me to be friendly and helpful in my own way.

The current belt supervisor who looks deep into my eyes was not mentioned. I'll help him whenever needed. His supervisor (and mine) does not look us in the eye.

She could break up The Beatles. I'm pretty sure she did. Some people have it. Others do not. When you make a deeper connection the work improves. It is still challenging. Every day seems manageable. At least I know what to do and follow through.