Gee!

Tuesday, November 09, 2021 (November’s fullest moon [“Beaver”] rises on the 19th.)

I shouldn’t care if GE is planning to break up into three separate companies, with only one, the engine-manufacturing plant, keeping its tried ‘n true moniker.

These days, I don’t know much about what’s been happening at GE. Plus, I don’t hold its stock.

But, and this feels like a biggie, GE has seemed one of the few unchanging threads in my life, always having “been there”. My main associations are electricity and light bulbs. Years ago, while working in the aerospace industry, I learned that GE produces aircraft engines which rank with the best.

Actually, as I’m writing and giving this more thought, memories are popping up.

Way back, right after high school when I was a teenager, I landed a job at a GE branch, the one dealing with finance. I vaguely recall sitting on a tall stool and arranging pieces of paper. I was beginning to face a problem though: I wasn’t a high school graduate.

High school is another story, but quickly, I didn’t graduate. I flunked gym and home economics. Truly, I hated both courses, was an uncooperative student.

GE was my first job out of high school. A week after being hired, someone brought a paper for my signature authorizing the high school to release proof of my graduation, a typical formality for new hires. I became worried, expected the worst, and in a few days simply didn’t return to that job.

Boy, memories are flooding back!

Lack of a high school diploma dogged me through several job starts and got me fired a time or two. Eventually, I took remedial courses at a night school and received that diploma. What’s odd is that, with a diploma in my hand, going forward, no employers ever asked to see it.

Anyway, I digress. Why GE’s breakup is impacting me is that it’s a long-time thread. Today, cultures and business seem to be less steady than when I grew up. Nonetheless, memories aren’t accurate. Some serious research surely would reveal many errors in my casual perceptions.

Dear Friends: Back then, high school was a tough gig for a child, angry, rebellious, and broken. Diana