Vinegar

In my role as president of my Local Lodge, my main job is to maintain order and calm at our meetings. Oh, I have lots of other responsibilities as well... but in an air transport lodge, it is not my job to know the ins and outs of every contract or even to sit in on contract negotiations. However, I am frequently called in to handle any internal disputes or to guide people in the right direction.

About eight months ago it came to my attention that a member was saying some pretty vicious things about me. Several people heard it first hand, and then came the rumor mill... The hard part is that I've had to remain civil to this person. I didn't want to file any union charges because that is never good for the membership.

Today, I received the best revenge. They called me for assistance. They were questioning verbiage on the FMLA paperwork their company provides. Then, it was that their FMLA was denied because of the age of their child. I advised that they could not deny it if the doctor determined that their adult child had a temporary physical disability. We talked at length about what happened and what needed to be done. Even following it up with e-mailed information from the DOL site.

At the end of our conversation I was told, "Thank you Melissa for your time and help." For some reason I'm thinking of the conversation between Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side.

Sean Tuohy: You really expect Michael to lay down on a couch and talk about his childhood like he's Woody Allen or something? I mean, Michael's gift is his ability to forget. He's mad at no one and he really doesn't care what happened in the past.
Leigh Anne Touhy: You're right. 
Sean Tuohy: Excuse me? "You're right?" How'd those words taste coming out of your mouth? 
Leigh Anne Touhy: Like vinegar. 

So, I just bet that thank you tasted just like vinegar.