Hitting the Road, Jack

"Hitting the Road, Jack."

...or, A User's Guide to Industry Transiency

 

I woke up today and decided to jot down a few disjointed thoughts on one of the main and most prevalent distractions in the foodservice industry.......transiency. Be it through termination, relocation, or the desire to move on to the proverbial greener pastures, it is one that is redolent among those who toil in foodservice. Make no mistake, all industries demonstrate a degree of employee transiency. It is human nature for employees to want to go abroad and do something that they feel will make them more whole. Fair enough. But in some cases, especially where I am concerned, it doesn't ease the sting any. I have been experiencing more than my fair share of it lately. The real rub here is losing that personal contact with friends and colleagues when they decide (or have that decision made for them) to weigh anchor and sail on.

Colleagues are very special people. They wear alot of hats for me in my life. They are the shoulders to cry on, the sympathetic souls who gladly lend an ear, the people who fight the very same fight you do, and the confidantes you sit down with after work and share a drink with. Their presence is my life has been and always will be....invaluable. Unfortunately, at some point, they all ultimately pass through that revolving door, easing so brutally and suddenly in and out of my life; the old, comfortable and familiar being replaced with the shiny, the new and the strange. The endless cycle. The most peculiar thing about this sort of relationship is this: you have to share the common fight. Once that strand is broken, future conversations and interactions become increasingly more difficult, and perhaps strained. It is truly that common fight that binds colleagues, and brings them together. It is such a precious, delicate strand.

I wish to convey my sincerest good tidings to the two people that have found the doorway out most recently, by means of their own, or by circumstances beyond their control. I envy your courage, your outlook, and the fresh start elsewhere that awaits you. Somebody out there is going to gain a couple of really good colleagues. Thanks for all the memories, good times, and the laughs.

The revolving door spins again.

Please don't forget to visit.  I have the barstool waiting, and the glass is on ice.

-D