It has taken me too long to write this. I met George 18 years ago. I was working for a small company that had barely survived the dot com boom, I mean bust. I remember the day that George was introduced as our new manager, and I remember that we all liked him immediately. “We” consisted of Chris Spahn, Mark Ritch, Sonia and myself. I cannot remember Sonia’s last name.
Our project work was around energy and technology. The energy sector of our company was basically all that survived the dot com bust. Chris and Mark were two of the most talented senior consultants that I would ever work with in my young days. It is a testament to how talented and genuine George was because they latched on to him immediately.
What I remember about George – people and integrity always came first, no matter what the price. George was unwavering in this, and there were many times where George stood his ground on what matter instead of advancing his own career. Second, George cared about us all as if we were his own. Lastly, and most importantly, if you knew George at all then you knew how much George loved Linda.
We would all meet Linda at the first company Christmas party, and we all adored her before we had even met her.
Of all of the memories that I have of working with George, the best will always be when I was pregnant with Brainy Bird. Crazy that was about 17 years ago. I had what I perceived as a difficult project. The company was not difficult, there was one individual on the project that drove me insane. His name is Tracy. Tracy and I would eventually come to understand each other and appreciate our different perspectives, and become friends, but this was many years before that.
So, here I am. I am pregnant (very pregnant) and working in the Woodlands, and the people that work with me on my project get together (without my input) and decide that if I go into labor, that Tracy (who at this point I am convinced is evil) would drive me to the hospital. The hospital is about 35 miles from the Woodlands. Gee, I could give birth on the way there if traffic is bad. With this plan, Tracy may deliver my child. I was pregnant with my first child, and let’s face it, I was beyond emotional. I freaked out at the idea of this guy that I could not stand driving me to the hospital to deliver my child. My husband worked on the other side of town and he spent a lot of time away in Stephenville. There was a high probability that I would go into labor and need a ride to the hospital.
I called George; I was sobbing. Now, that I am a manager myself, I can only imagine what this call must have been like for George. Between sobs and completely irrational outbursts, I explained that I did not want Tracy to drive me to the hospital. George was so kind. He assured me that he would make absolutely sure that this would not happened. I knew when he spoke his words of reassurance that if he had to rush there himself, that he would. Once George assured me that it would all be okay; I never worried about it again.
I never went into labor, so no one ever drove me any where while was in labor. The doctor’s induced labor, and Brainy Bird was perfect. George and Linda were there to see both of us at the hospital, and it meant everything.
Time marched on. George and I would both leave the company that we worked at together, but we would never loose touch. George and Linda were there in the worst of days when my father passed away suddenly. I remember the feeling of comfort that I had when they walked into the service for my father. They had made the three hour drive from Houston during the work week to be there. I walked passed the line of people there in front of me, and everyone wondered who George and Linda were. My cousin would tell me later that she is so happy that I have people like this in my life. My cousin is much older than me, and she knew so much more about life and a career in corporate America. As the years unfolded, I grew a deeper and deeper understanding of how much George and Linda meant to me.
Women face challenges in their careers that men do not appreciate. For George, the number one thing in life was Linda. Linda is one to be very humble about her career. She found her way in a man’s world. I think that watching Linda over the years provided George with a great perspective of challenges that we face as women, add that to George’s principles of people and integrity first, and I simply could not have asked for more in my first mentor.
I remember an incident in my young fiery days as a computer programmer. There was an individual that worked on our project that was acting without integrity. The individual’s mission was for our project to fail, and for our team to be blamed. Around every turn, this individual made our project difficult. There was a day when the man revoked all of our access to the database, including the service accounts and all of our processes (all of which I had written/developed) failed. I looked like an incompetent idiot that day. Yet, I had done nothing wrong, and this man was guilty of sabotage.
I uncovered what happened, and I was ready to march to this man’s desk and let him have it. George stopped me. I mean he literally had to physically stand in my way. I respected George too much to physically shove my way past him, so I sat back down at my desk. I was so mad. My anger turned to George. I thought that he did not understand.
George addressed me gently by my name and he went on to say, “There are times to stand your ground and fight, and there are times where you can either be right or you can be happy. Some people and situations are not worth your time and energy, and they are only going to take you down with them. In these situations, you can be right or you can be happy.”
At the time, this made me crazy. Today, I often reflect on these words, and I choose my battles carefully. In time, management saw through the individual that tried to sabotage us, and they let him go. I have no doubt that George knew that this would eventually be the outcome.
As the years marched on, I had a second child and George and Linda were there again. This time, I remember the comfort that they brought to my mother. My mother was terminally ill when my second child was born. They spent a great deal of time with her that day. Like my cousin, it meant everything to Mom that I have people like George and Linda in my life.
George and Linda have long been hits at my parties. I love that they are usually first to arrive, never fashionably late, rather truly there to spend time with me. I always look forward to the stories of their travels, and my diverse group of friends all love them. I have lost count of the number of times that George arrived for a party and lit up the room with positive energy with Linda by his side. I am going to miss these times the most.
Learning of George’s passing, broke my heart. It is taking time to accept this. The night before George’s funeral, I had two thoughts. First, George has to leave this world before Linda. I can’t imagine George without Linda. Second, of all things that I know about George, his conviction in his belief for Christ was unwavering. George believes in our Lord and Savior, and he is a humble man before God, so as we grieve here on Earth, let me remind you of this my friends, now and forever more – George is both right and happy – right in his faith in our Lord and happy in our Lord’s comfort.
Until we meet again my friend; I will always hold you and your values in my heart – people and integrity first and above all our belief in our Lord and Savior. Godspeed my dear friend. Godspeed.