Moving

When I came to Logan 4 years ago, a group of my co-workers came to help move me into my house. I didn’t know any of them that well, but I was very grateful for the help.

During the course of the move, Justin Ball, one of my new coworkers, dropped a box of bottled tomatoes, breaking one of the jars.

I felt bad.

Not because of the lost tomatoes. Those are cheap; probably 10 cents for the bottle, and maybe 12 cents for the tomatoes.

No, the reason I felt bad was first, he dropped the box after he tripped down our cement stairs. He hurt his ankle pretty bad. The second reason I felt bad was because I hardly knew all of these people helping me move. They pitched in because it had become ‘tradition’ to help the new member of the team get adjusted into their home. I didn’t want Justin to feel bad because he had dropped my tomatoes. I was going to work with these folks for who knows how long, and I wanted to get off on the right foot.

Last night, I went to a party. It was held at Justin’s house. If he has any ill feelings toward me for making him carry my tomatoes, he’s hidden it well these past four years. Justin, as well as every other member of COSL, including their spouses, have become very dear friends.

The members of COSL have played many a board game. We’ve ran many a raid. We’ve rocked out together, and shared lunches, dinners, and even an occasional breakfast. We’ve built things, and attended and presented at conferences. I can brag about what we’ve done, only because I feel I was a small part of it.

But as I’ve blogged before, my time at COSL has come to an end, and today my family moved. I hired movers because…well, because I’m getting old. And hiring movers isn’t as expensive as I thought.

But just as the movers were finishing up, I walked into the garage. There on the floor was a lone box, with liquid pooling around it. I opened the lid, and couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was a box of bottled tomatoes. And one of the jars had broken.

My time in Logan was christened with a bottle of tomatoes, and it appears my exit is heralded with the same.

My only hope is that second break does not mark the end of my Logan years, but only a pause.