Rites and Rights of Passage

“Call me when you have a real problem buddy.” Arthur couldn’t think of a good response to that statement from one of his best friends – Fred. So he quickly made up a story of how he was in the middle of creating his latest painting, and he didn’t want the paint to dry before he finished what he was doing. So he had to hang up.  There was no such painting at this time.

After they both hung up at about the same time, he had to agree with Fred somewhat. He was being offered the plum job of being the well-paid CEO of a very profitable family business, something that he had been promised ever since he was a little boy. Now that he was about to turn 40, the promise was about to be fulfilled.

 Arthur, like Fred, was not earning much right now. He was an illustrator for a slow-selling artsy-craftsy magazine. Fred was a copy writer. Both were good at what they did, but neither was paid much for their work. Both had to seriously supplement their incomes through free-lance work. That did not pay much either, but at least it helped cover the rent, insurance on the car, food, and an occasional night out with the boys at a local bar. Fred was married, with two kids; Arthur was not. His art filled his life.

The Family Business

The family business had been started by Arthur’s great grandfather. Following him, his eldest son, was assigned the job when he turned 40, as did Arthur’s father when he reached the same age. 

The family business involved plastics. The factory, warehouse, and office building took up a block on a well-paved street on the outskirts of the medium-sized town in which Arthur had been raised. From the time that he was a small boy, Arthur had seen his father and grandfather treated like the princes of business that they were. 

He had early on been guided through the buildings by his grandfather, who held his hand, introduced him to the staff, and explained what the machines in the factory did. At the end of the guided tour, he was told, “Some day this will all be yours, Arthur. You will be the boss, like I am now, and your father will be in a year’s time, when he turns 40.

Arthur’s 40^th birthday was coming up in a week’s time, and he hadn’t yet decided what he was going to do. If he accepted the position, he would never need to worry about money problems again, although he would probably need to hire someone to do his taxes, not a concern before. He would also have the approval of his entire family, uncles, and aunts, loads of cousins, although there would probably be some ‘sucking up’ involved. 

If he refused the position, he would get to do the work he loved, and not lose sleep over the problems generated by the massive amount of responsibilities he would have, something he feared.

His Siblings

His siblings all worked for the company in a variety of positions. His younger brothers, twins, Frank and Mike worked in the warehouse, and were co-heads of the shipping department. They were good talkers, good at talking people into doing things for them. Arthur had been conned by them a lot of times when the three of them were growing up. But the twins were not good at organizing the people over which they had authority.  He had referred to them at a company get-together as ‘the two-headed monster.’ The name stuck when employees spoke critically of them. This was frequent, as their qualifications for the job were so apparently their family membership, not their competence in organization. Arthur had heard talk in his local pub of the resentment that people who worked with them felt.

           Then there was older sister Sally. She was the head of the accountancy department of four people. Sally had a good head for business, and had helped Arthur pass mathematics and business courses in middle school and high school. He wouldn’t have earned sufficient good marks to get into art college without Sally’s help.

The Day of the Decision

Arthur’s 40^th birthday was now two days away, and he still hadn’t decided what he should do. So he took a long walk to the river that flowed in soft curves through the west part of town. There was a place where the riverbank was high, and he could sit with his legs dangling down. He often sketched when there, got inspiration for his paintings. He brought a pad or paper and a bag of pencils with him this time, just in case.

It wasn’t long before he started drawing. But this time, he did not include the beauties of nature in his art. He drew pictures of people, his family members. The settings he put them in were of his own devising. And that included him. He had made a decision.

Arthur Calls Fred

As soon as he arrived back home, Arthur called Fred. “You said that I should only call you when I had a ‘real problem’. Well, I am calling you when I have a real solution to a real problem. How’s that?” They talked for a while, both feeling happy about what was said, and what would happen..

The Big Day

It was now the big day, Arthur’s 40^th birthday. His father had booked the poshest, most pretentious ‘event-focused’ place in town, and the crowd of family, highly placed employees in the family business, and political and business ‘notables’ in town packed the place.

Now it was the big moment. The people sitting at the head table (like in a wedding), Arthur, his parents and grandparents, brothers, and sisters, all stood up. The two men who had been the company heads walked up to the where the microphone was, followed by Arthur. They put around Arthur’s neck a red ribbon bearing a flashy round gold-colored medal at the bottom. It had been put around their necks when they were given the family business leadership – their moment of glory. Now it was Arthur’s turn.

Bedecked with the ribbon, Arthur walked up to the microphone on its stand. As he did so he carried his briefcase with him. He tapped the mike, and then spoke.

“I willingly accept this honour bestowed upon me. Along with that, I would like to make my first executive decisions.”

This was new,  It hadn’t happened before. There was a hush in the crowd.

“First, I would like to ask my older sister Sally and my two younger brothers Frank and Fred to step forward, as what I am about to say will affect them as well as the company.”

His siblings stood up and walked up to stand beside him. 

“First, I would like to give my brothers new jobs. Knowing as I do that they are very convincing speakers—they talked me into doing many foolish things when we were boys--, I am giving them the position of being in charge of a sales force that I am sure will increase our profits. Step up brothers.”

As they did, he took two ribbons quite like his own out of his briefcase. On both ribbons were written the words ‘Co-Captain of the Sales Force.’ The brothers accepted their ribbons with smiling faces.

“Now for my sister Sally, who has the best mind for business of the four of us.”

Arthur turned around, bent down to his briefcase, and retrieved another ribbon, at the same time, surprisingly, taking off his own.

“Sally, I am passing my ribbon and my job onto you. As you are much more naturally qualified for it than I could ever be.”

“But I am not leaving the family business. I intend to establish a company magazine, which speaks of our business, and of what goes on in our town. I will be the editor and illustrator, and my friend Fred, who is not here today, but knows about this decision, will be the copy writer. “

There was an initial silence, then applause began by Sally, then joined by Frank and Fred, and then their father and grandfather. Problem solved.