Late But Still Great

Hank is Worried About Being Late for an Important Date

Why is it that I can never find something I am looking for when I really need it? In this case it is my formal shoes.  I’m not old and forgetful as my father is fast becoming.  I seem to be way ahead of my aging with this aspect of life. The only shoes I can find are my old running shoes that I wear every day. That is not something that I should wear when going for a job interview in a hospital.  I need to find my formal shoes that I only wear going to a play or visiting my parents-in-law.  I wish Dorothy was here – not just because she could have driven me to the interview if she hadn’t needed to attend a very important meeting (not her words but my understanding), but because she is so much better than I am at finding my things. Unfortunately, I cannot return the favour with things that she cannot find.

Twenty Minutes Later

At last I found them. I guess its location shows that I rarely ever wear them. They were behind everything else on the floor of the clothes closet, underneath an equally formal white shirt that had fallen down and had been neglected probably at least for weeks. I have to hurry now if I intend to get to the interview on time. Formal shoes, you might become running shoes before this day is done.

I walk as quickly as my body and my shoes can muster. I genuinely believe that it is still possible that I can get to the hospital in time for the interview. Otherwise I would have called a taxi. This gig is very important both to me and to my wife. Dorothy has been our sole earner since I went back to school for my training. I am now fully qualified to be what used to be called an ‘Orderly’. I wondered whether if you were bad at the job you would be called a Disorderly. The new names are more appropriate and respectful: Patient Care Assistant (a bad one would be an Impatient Care Assistant), Nurses Aide (not a soft drink) or Patient Services Associate (not disassociated). I can have a job that both Dorothy and I respect. That means a lot to me.

Just as Hank Believes That He Can Make It on Time

Just as Hank believes that he is going to make it to the interview on time, someone grabs his right leg as he begins to pass a small sidewalk space between two large buildings. Caught unawares, he comes crashing down onto the sidewalk with her. Then the person who grabbed him by the leg calls out to him. “Please help me kind sir. I have fallen and I can’t get up (Hank has the exact same words from an old commercial repeating in his head which momentarily distracts him). I have broken my cell phone so I cannot call for an ambulance. Could you call one for me please.”

Hank answers in the positive, stands up and calls 911. At first he is told the typical lame excuse that ‘we are receiving more calls than usual’ (Why not hire more operators then?), so he has to wait for a couple of minutes before he can talk to someone employed by the hospital (which he hopes he can still become). 

“Could you lift me up so that I can stand?”

Hank does so slowly and very carefully. He remembers that he saw a bench on the sidewalk just before he encountered her. He points to it with his head, and asks her whether she wants to sit there. She agrees immediately. Hank then half drags, half carries her to the bench and sits her down.

Then the waiting begins. Hank is getting a little anxious about the time that is being spent not walking to the hospital, but he does not want to abandon the woman until the ambulance arrives. Actually, he hopes (without mentioning it) that he can hitch a ride with the ambulance to make it to the interview on time.

Time passes and passes, and still no ambulance. What he does not know is that there was an accident (no one was hurt seriously but two cars had to be towed), that blocked the road for about 20 minutes, with the ambulance held up until the two cars were removed.

While they were seated side by side Hank tells her about his upcoming job interview, but reassures her that he will not leave until she is safely in the ambulance. She tells him that he should get the job, as he is clearly a caring person.

Finally the ambulance arrives, and the ambulance staff load Marilyn carefully into their vehicle. Unfortunately for Hank, there was no legally binding room in the ambulance for him unless he was her husband, son or brother. The town had strict rules on that matter. 

This meant that he would have have to run to his destination, even though he was wearing his good shoes. As soon as the ambulance disappeared he started his run.

He almost falls a number of times, but still remains on his feet. When he arrives at the hospital, he consults his cell phone concerning the time, and sees that he is about half an hour late for his interview. Still, he hurries to the elevator and heads to the fourth floor, where the interview was supposed to take place.

Hank wanted to tell the interviewer why he was late, helping a wounded woman, (not looking for his good shoes), but he wondered whether it would sound like some kind of made-up, suck-up story to cover up his lack of responsibility. He knew that timing is very important for people who work in a hospital.

Meeting the Interviewer

He takes a deep breath as soon as he exits the elevator, and exhales with a ‘Here goes!’

He knocks on the door of the interviewer, and hopefully later on his boss, and the first few seconds before he receives a “come in” seem much longer than their actual time. Once he hears it, he opens the door and walks in somewhat tentatively. He is greeted by a man with a surprisingly big smile on his face, “You must be Hank. The ambulance workers told me that a woman recently driven to the hospital sang your praises. Apparently you rescued her while worrying about being late for the interview. You chose her need over yours. That is the right kind of priority setting we are looking for in the job for which you applied. I don’t think that I need to interview you to say that the job is yours.”