God Drops Ball, Clown Saves Day

Ugh, the God rant goes on, and this pisses me off to the highest degree.

Molly is an acquaintance. She may best be labeled "co-worker" but we do our thing in very different places and occasionally borrow stuff from each other. She is really good at what she does, has been doing it for a decade, and we share productive ideas here and there.

I was sad to find out that her work visa was expiring and that she could no longer work in the USA. She was going to have to move back to Canada, even though she was doing well here. Worse yet, she found herself with the news of pregnancy, good news for sure, just with the worst possible timing. Molly carries a pretty specific tool box. She has exceptional skills in a finite area. A job for her does not grow on trees, especially in Canada, and she was facing the specter of challenging times ahead, possibly in telemarketing. It was really sad.

While on a work-related trip to Toledo I noticed my host had the facilities and personnel that would mesh well with Molly's expertise. I asked him if he could use any help. He told me that he had a funding line availale and took an interest in Molly. I explained that her work visa was expiring and he told me that he could work with the local congressman to get her resident alien status resolved. After I explained her qualifications, he became extremely interested and encouraged me to twist her arm into an interview.

So I did. I shared his enthusiasm with her, and told her to write her own package from salary to vacation, define the parameters of her dream job. I helped her assemble a seminar to present and coached her on the content. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as her husband would still be a Canadian citizen and could work in Windsor, only a short drive away. It was perfect for them, and a great situation to start a new life with a new baby.

She interviewed. He asked me for a formal referral and I gave her a glowing, honest review. She was offered the position at her terms.

When I heard the news I sent her an email that said, "What a great coincidence that I happened to be in Toledo that day, I could not imagine a more perfect scenario for you". I then smiled, put my feet up on my desk and waited for the fruit basket to arrive.

I checked my email messages to find a note from Molly. She replied, "Yes, God works in funny ways and I owe him greatly for this gift. It has really helped us at a bad time."

Whaaaaaaaa? If I get this right it was "god" that dropped the ball on her. He didn't come up with a work visa resolution, he made her old situation expire at the worst time, he got her knocked up when all of this was hitting the fan. "God" did nothing, except get her INTO the unfavorable situation.

Enter some two-bit part-time clown named Schmootzie. HE asked the questions, HE wrote referrals, HE coached seminars, HE carried on supportive conversations with the prospective employer that steered him to a generous offer. Don't thank your god, thank Schmootzie! HE is your freakin' savior! That fetus should have the name "Schmootzie" all over it, at least as a middle name. St. Schmootzie, the patron saint of grease paint.

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Wouldn't it be a great world if we all noticed who really was making things happen? It is us, ourselves. WE make the decisions, ask the questions, put our asses on the line. Shouldn't we thank each other? Shouldn't we at least notice that circumstance, nature, coincidence, god, etc give us situations that WE have to navigate?

Thank God? No, thank Schmootzie. If it was not for the Clown of Science you'd be back in the Great White North rubbing a rosary while your Wendy's uniform was in the dryer. Let's make sure we properly assign our gratitude and acknowledge the gifts we all bring to each other.