Best laid plans
Today you find me on Fifth Avenue in New York. People who arrive in offices in this neck of the woods have arrived. The subject of today’s interview is Margaret. She is working her way steadily up the executive ranks and there is no sign of the glass ceiling yet. But life has not always been so kind to Margaret. “The acne came on when I was in 5th grade and grew steadily worse. By the time I got to high school, I’d seen so many dermatologists I lost track. My parents did their best. It’s not like we were poor or anything, but there was only so much we could afford.” We paused for a moment to look at the family photographs lined up on her desk. Her parents were solid and dependable. In New York terms, she was from blue collar stock.
“I used to stay home as much as possible. Neighbors used to feel sorry for me and give me all their glossy magazines to read. I had a steady supply of perfect faces to look at. Some people have no sense. But it did give me an idea. All these ads for expensive cleansers. These models with their perfect faces. I could never afford to buy any of them. So to get rid of my acne, all I had to do was get one of these top companies to hire me. That way I’d get free samples of all their products and my acne would be gone.”
We were more gossiping than running an interview. It was refreshing to find someone so obviously comfortable with herself. With an effort, I pushed her forward a little in time.
“Work at college? My GPA shot up like I was reborn. I had escape velocity to a postgraduate course in business. Guess what? I was hired by one of THE companies.” She smiled and waved her arms around the office in mock triumph. “A back-office job, of course. You can’t send someone like me out into the field to sell a skin product.” A sad smile went with that. “So I moved cities, found a new home, joined the local church and went to work.”
I could see her winding up to do a short advertisement. “It’s a great job.” That was it, of course. And the plan? “I got free samples of all their lotions and creams.” So everything worked out? She shook her head and whispered. “They all make my skin worse. I never wear any makeup now.” Surprisingly, we fell about laughing. A secretary appeared and produced mugs of coffee (nothing fancy for her). “I’m married to someone I met at my local church who saw me and not the pimples. So my life is on a good track. Never give up. It was God’s plan to see me through to find my place in this world. Praise the Lord!”