Mr Mascellani's Musings

And I Can See?

The other morning at work about 4.30 am we (my workers and I) were working ahead of schedule and, so, we found ourselves with some spare time on our hands.Consequently, I did what any dedicated Senior I/O Controller would do.

I tried to walk with a cardboard box balanced on my head while singing:

"See me walk so straight and tall. I won't let my basket fall.
Eyes ahead and don't look down, keep my basket off the ground."
(But, to be honest, my basket kept on falling.)

Romper Room exclaimed Guy One.

I used to watch all the time when I was a kid. The basket bit was my favourite. I used to empty the fruit bowl and use that as my basket?

“Yeah, I used a fruit bowl or a bread basket? I said

.“You know my name was never once called out,?said Worker One.

?No, it wasn’t?said Worker Two.

Worker One and Two have the same first name.

“I wonder why not, it’s a pretty common name.?

“I don’t know, but Miss Patricia never called it out,?said Worker One.

?She called my name out a few times, I said. She even noticed once that my pyjamas weren’t tucked in.

?You lucky bastard!?cried out Worker Two.

Worker One spent some time in his parent’s village in Greece when he was a kid.

“They used to have Romper Room in Greece? he said.

“Really??asked Worker Two.“Yeah, but in the Greek version, Mr. Doo Bee was a guy dressed up in a bee suit, not a puppet.

“Fuck me dead,?said Worker Two, holding up a pretend mirror, I can see Con, and I can see Nick, and I can see Spiros, and I can see...

"“Man, my name wasn’t called out by the Greek Romper Room woman either? Worker One said, bitterly.

“Let it go, man, let it go.?I said.

“Yeah, but my name wasn’t called out on the Greek or the Aussie show.?

Silence.

“We all need to get more sleep? said Worker Two, listen to the crap that we were carrying on with?

He had a point. But as a shift worker, I have worked with people who may have had only two hours sleep in 36 hours, sometimes I have been one of those people, so to hear grown men talking about Romper Room isn’t the craziest crap that I have heard. At least we weren’t discussing it in bad Italian accents ala Chico Marx- a true sign that a tired shift worker has entered the ‘Zone.?