IMMORTALIZING THE TRIVIAL

by Minnie Infelise

Captain Durette was the Assistant Post Engineer. He was quiet and reserved; a man of few words. So few, that he never even bothered to say "Good Morning" when he came to work. He never removed his hat and I never saw him without a pipe in his mouth. Whenever he was consulted for estimates on budgets, contracts, or any other project, he never used a pencil or paper to make his computations. He stared into space, puffed on his pipe for a while, then tossed out a number, with his standard remark, "That's a good round figure that comes to my mind at the moment."

When Captain Durette received a new assignment, his replacement was Captain Mershon, a friendly, talkative Kentuckian. Fond of talking animal cartoons, he took special delight in placing them on my desk, knowing how much I considered them stupid and humorless. Whenever I discussed office matters with him, he listened attentively and then gave his usual answer, "Minnie, if it makes you happy, it tickles the hell out of me."

Rufus Gott, the carpenter, was an unforgettable character. A widower, he lived alone. He and I were two of the five passengers who car pooled to work together. Rufus was the good humor man, always ready to share a corny joke or observation. He had perfected his Saturday routine. He was the first one to be dropped off.

As the driver pulled up to the curb, Rufus opened the rear door. He picked up his badly scarred black lunch pail. With his hat shoved back from his forehead, blue eyes twinkling, and a lopsided grin which revealed a chipped front tooth, he glanced around at all the passengers. He slowly backed out the door and in his strong Oklahoma accent, he quipped, "Well, its Saturday night and I gotta go out and get drunk and boy, do I dread it." He waited for the appreciative laugh he always got, slammed the door and walked to his apartment. Rufus remains an unforgettable character.

Recently, my granddaughter stopped by for a breezy visit. Brown eyes twinkling, she said, Grandma, we had a guessing contest at work today. Guessing how many M and M's were in a jar. I guessed eighty three." Asked by her coworkers how she arrived at that number, she said, "That was a good round figure that came to mind at the moment." And so, Captain Durette lives on!