From: Jay Swartzendruber

Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 11:04:31 -0600

To: ALL CCM

Subject: How Was Lunch?

Dear Colleagues,

How was your lunch yesterday? If you are someone who didn't enjoy your lunch break, or more specifically, had a very bad lunch break, there's a good chance I owe you an apology...

Here's the deal: Yesterday morning my lovely wife Jamie told me she was throwing together some leftovers for me to take to work for lunch. Hey, that always works for me. As I left, I snatched the bagged lunch she had thoughtfully prepared, noting that it was larger than usual (2 perhaps 3 containers), and then was off to work. Arriving at the office, I placed my plastic bag of goodies in our lunch room fridge and went about business as usual.

Skip ahead 3 or 4 hours. It's lunch time. I go to the fridge, pull out my bag, curious to see what I'll be microwaving for lunch. (Jamie's got great taste, so it's never "risky.") As I open two containers and a third plastic-wrapped item, I discover a fish sandwich wrap which I then assume was leftover from Jamie's own lunch the previous day. In the second container I find some sort of meat sauce--didn't look familiar--not like something we'd had recently. No worries, though--Jamie works out of her home office and has all sorts of her own home-cooked meals...I was merely benefiting from her leftovers. And the the third item? Wrapped in plastic was a large cracker and a piece of thick, sliced cheddar cheese.

I heated my leftovers as planned and then proceeded to enjoy my lunch in the company of several friendly coworkers...

Skip ahead six hours...I arrive at home, kiss my bride hello, and then proceed to open my plastic bag of containers to place them in the dishwasher. Jamie, watching, noticing, says, "Um...that's not our container."

Say WHAT?

So comrades, one of you reading this email knows exactly what happened. And to that person--to you--I owe a major apology. Whoever you are, I am SO sorry... I stole your lunch!!! Thus, I OWE you a lunch! (And while I threw away your disposable plastic container yesterday, your white Sterlite container with the blue top will be waiting for you on the kitchen counter...)

Color me shamed,

Jay

P.S. For most of you, this account no doubt holds significant entertainment value. And that's okay, I have no room to be defensive. That's because you, of course, remember the time about 18 months ago when I sent an apologetic company-wide email out about how I had accidentally lunch-jacked someone's frozen burritos from our office refrigerator because I had mistaken them for mine... So, my question is this, does two occurrences indicate a character flaw?

-------End Message

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