Shannon’s Perspective:
“What would I do without your smart mouth?”
I mean any song that starts with that lyric has my attention immediately. But the $64,000 question is which one of us has the smart mouth? I think those who know us know that it’s both of us, or do they?
While typing that last sentence I had a funny memory come flooding back about how people “who know us” actually perceive us. Larry and I worked for the same company the whole time we lived in Ohio, because it was such a large company sometimes, we weren’t even in the same building, but when we were it was always so much fun.
A few things to note before I finish this story…
1. By this point in his career Larry was very much a tow the company line serious as hell about his job manager. Not that he wasn’t fun, just serious.
2. I was not serious and could be somewhat of a pain in the ass to said management. I will call out the time I baa’d like a sheep during an all hands on deck meeting because, well doesn’t really matter I had my reasons and they were valid.
3. It was not unusual for people that we both worked with to not put together that we were married, our building alone had over 400 people.
So, it was during one of these times that we were in the same building and on the same shift and worked with a guy named Ryan who knew us as separate individuals. He knew Larry as management and me as a peon, so he knew professional Larry and smart mouth Shannon. Well, during one of our company outings to Kings Island I saw Larry talking with Ryan in the gift shop and I made my way over to them to say hello. When I got there, I believe I said something about “my better” half and the look on Ryan’s face when he realized that Management Larry and Smartass Shannon were married was priceless. Larry and I still laugh about that even though it has been over a decade ago.
Back to the song, again when I thought this project was “just” about slow dancing this song seemed like a perfect fit and even when I realized how much more this project was going to be I still feel like it’s a perfect fit...
“What’s going on in that beautiful mind?”
“You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind"
“You’re my end and my beginning.”
Larry’s Perspective:
Tonight was a brand new song for me - I've never heard it before. But it is a song that Shannon wanted to slow dance to one night. Again, her original understanding based on my poor leadership communication skills, was that 2024 was all about slow dance songs. Which it is not.
DISLAIMER
Shannon and I are writing the majority of these entries in real-time. We do our dances, and then sit down together on our laptops to write these entries.
I didn't have a lot to say about this song, because I don't know it. As Shannon was sharing what she was writing, I think we can all agree on this, I'm the the one stating: "What would I do without your smart mouth?"
For those not aware, an all-hands meeting is where the fantastic leadership team, which included yours truly, would gather all the hourly associates and share great earnings news, record breaking company performance, that part-time associates were losing health insurance and not getting raises, etc. (All of these statements are 100% true).
There were always some associates in the audience that would have questions, and for the most part, rile up the crowd - as in they were pissed about something and wanted to kick off a riot.
Shannon and I spent a lot of time working opposite shifts due to wanting to raise our sons without child-care, but there were a few occasions where I would have to present information to her shift. And I could always count on her to support me...feeling like a jackass.
P.S. Please go to YouTube and look up feloniousfalafel - any one of his videos about leadership/associate relations is 1000% accurate. And I don't use the number 1000% lightly.
Ghost of a Chance 