Workplace stories.
Stories about bosses, coworkers, customers and the jobs that shape us.
The Morning the Whole Plant Stood Outside
Mr. Keasey did not look up when I came in. It was 5:30 on the first Monday of October, and the only light in the... Read more
The Counter That Moved Across the Highway
Ron Schaefer folded his hands on the desk the way my pastor does before a funeral. Then he told me that a mother of four... Read more
The Grills We Set Up Across the Road
“Thank you for your service, ladies.” Travis Kemp said it from the front of the ag room on a Tuesday night in September, with the... Read more
The Chair on My Mother’s Sun Porch
Kendra Moore slid the paper across the front counter while I was still sweeping up after Mrs. Halvorson’s cut. She did it the way you... Read more
The Write Up Before My Pension Vested
Tyler Beck set the paper on the desk between us and turned it around so the print faced me, the way you’d slide a check... Read more
The Watch From the Ones at Home
They called eleven names at the Eagles hall that night, and I counted every one of them, because somewhere around the sixth I began to... Read more
The Woman Who Only Did the Books
“There is no place in this store for a woman who only did the books, Jan.” My brother-in-law said it to the filing cabinet. He... Read more
The Flower Shop Across the Street
I had a boutonniere in one hand and a strip of green tape between my teeth when Dale Petrie Jr. came into the back room... Read more
The Envelope They Did Not Hand My Husband
“Dwight,” Mr. Garland called, and that made eight. Dwight got up off the picnic table bench, wiped barbecue sauce on the leg of his jeans,... Read more
The Man I Let Go Before Christmas
Earl Dobbs sat across my desk with his cap in his lap and read the paper twice. He read slow. He did everything slow. That... Read more
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