Crump and the Charming Ops Manager

On yesterday’s Chicken-fat’s post I told about the clerk Billy who sorted parcels in the basement of the Federal Annex in Atlanta. Billy was one of about two dozen employees under a supervisor name Crump. Crump was a short bald headed chunky man who did not bother his employees. He let them talk and carry on – the job was getting done, that was the bottom line.

Crump had an hour radio show on Saturday mornings on a little am radio station in East Point. I think the show was mainly interviewing veterans. I never heard it, it was too far away to pick up on my radio.

One of Crump’s clerks died. He didn’t die while working but home sick. The funeral was something like 1:00pm. His crew reported at 5am and did not get off until 1:30. He thought they should go to the funeral of their fellow co-worker and gave them a couple of hours administrative leave at the end of their shift to go home and clean up and to the funeral.

A day later when the head of operations found out about the administrative leave he had a shit-fit. A plain and simple shit-fit. There was then, a type of Administrative Leave to “Attend a Veteran’s Funeral” which is what Crump issued out. I think it was meant to mourn high ranking generals. But it did not specify that. I still get the giggles when I imagine the look of the operation manager’s face when he was told about it.*

*The operation manager was so explosive and excitable anyway, I'm sure the news just added to his charm.