So you know you’re getting old when you get random emails telling you a former co-worker has passed on. I’ll add him to the list. We all get old – life etc. Of course I’m telling everyone the obvious.
So my former life at TVA was a mixed bag. I hate politics. I hate red tape. Those two single things made me a complete pain when I worked at TVA. There were two GIS shops in TVA – one in Chattanooga and one in Norris TN. Of course the one in Chattanooga was better – since that was the one I worked in…or at least that’s what I believed. The other shop in Norris was headed up by Charlie Smart. Charlie never was one to get excited about red tape or politics – I would sit through a meeting and would almost immediately go “this is bullsh*t” because – well – see the previous few sentences. The only time both shops were together was news of a re-organization. Charlie would almost always sit there smiling and go “well – that was a good meeting”. Charlie had been doing this a lot longer than I had – and he was used to the ebb and the flow. It was something I could never get used to when I worked there. I guess you could say I’m better at it now. Somewhat.
Charlie was doing GIS at TVA back in the 70’s. Who knows if it was “GIS” at that point. Science so new people are most likely going “This will never work”. When I came along he was probably 30 years into his career. He also was into shooting high powered rifles at a gun club. People would tell me to speak up when talking to him.
Anyway – I never had a chance to work with the man enough. He retired shortly after I left.
So Joyce, Bruce, Scott,..now Charlie….The list goes on.
There are weeks like the last two were I think I’ve been doing this way too long.
