Powerful People

Today while I was pulling into the bank I saw my old boss, C, from that past life when I was an Agricultural Biologist. This man was a mentor, and very nearly a demi-god to me in my early career. He was incredibly competent, no-nonsense, and he listened to me and let me take ridiculous risks that could have reflected badly on him if they'd gone sour. I had to work my ass of for C though, and prove that there was a good reason to try this or that idea. This was how he shot to the top in his field; combining his education and vision to try new approaches to farming. He made unbelievable advances in just a short time, such that he was well respected and well known up and down the west coast and in the vegetable industry in general by the time he was 30.

After 8 years I got frustrated with my limited options in the area and decided to go back to school. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do instead, and when it wasn't agriculture I think I disappointed him terribly. He remained polite, but the relationship was clearly different.

Through most of those years my husband worked with him too, as an independent contractor doing computer work. Together they developed an amazing program that saved the company millions of dollars and allowed C to do three times the work he was doing in half the time. He eventually became an owner in the company, but he was only one of 6 and often they wanted AR to do other things that he found pointless and frustrating. C tried to back him up, but in the end, when it really counted he didn't come through for AR and he left with a very bitter taste in his mouth. I was very let down that our hard work and loyalty wasn't returned in kind when it meant the most.

Still, today I found that after our brief meeting my heart was pounding and I was wondering if I made a good impression. When I told AR I'd seen C and he'd asked how we were, AR said he wanted to go see him and say hi. He too still has a sense of awe about the man.

It's interesting how much power we give certain people in our lives. I still admire C and appreciate his influence as a mentor during that period of my life. I think though that it must be quite a burden to be that sort of symbol for so many people. He looked old and stooped and he was limping. It's hard to be larger than life all the time, everywhere you go. I hope he finds some peace somewhere during his days.