DannyBoyinExile

After spending over three years working in the hallway here (in between firings, that is), I am bold enough to feel that I’m a natural at it. (The hallway, I mean, not getting fired!) :-}
It takes a certain type of personality to last out there. Your people skills, and problem-solving skills, must be first rate. I see everyone on the unit in the hallway, every single day. That means the people I like, the people I don’t like – and even the people who don’t like ME. (The good, the bad, and the ugly, in other words.)
I see not only every inmate, but every guard as well. If you think of the most strict, tyrannical, inflexible guards here – I interact with them every day. And not only do I have to give them whatever assistance they need, I have to be polite about it as well. When you work for the Major, the way you work (and the way you act, in general) isn’t just a reflection of you, but on the Major as well. The last thing I want is someone asking, “What idiot hired THIS guy?”
I like having a job where I’m EXPECTED to be polite, and helpful to people, because that suits me. I’m not one of those inmates who is too tough to say Sir or Ma’am – and I do so, every day. I keep the hallway as clean as I possibly can, and I go out of my way to be nice to people. I will not walk by a piece of trash on the floor without picking it up, and I will not watch a person carrying boxes, bags, or pushing a cart, without offering to help them. That’s not kissing ass. That’s just being me.
I’ve had inmates see me in action and sarcastically say, “What are you, a Good Samaritan or something?”
I always reply, “No. I’m just a good dude.”
Other guys may get bored and lean on their brooms, or chat with the guards, but not me. I’ll get bored and start wiping down windows, or bars, or even scrubbing scuff marks off the walls, from people’s boots. I keep the place looking good, which makes the Major look good (for hiring me) and just may even make ME look good, as well.
Just the other day, my boss complimented me on how good the halls smell now. I told him, “That’s not just Pine-Sol, that’s my blood, sweat, and tears you’re smelling out there!” 🙂
Every day I try to be a good worker. Not to impress anyone – not even the Major – but because that’s just part of being a good dude, so I can’t do any less. So says DannyBoy.