Surprises

At work, at the visitors centre desk is where you get the nut jobs, ok so they're not really nut jobs they're frustrated with something or another and they either aren't getting any answers at all or they certainly aren't the answers they want or think they deserve. So they shout and demand answers that I simply do not have. Because it's very rarely anything that we actually deal with, it's their council tax, a parking fine, local bus stops have been moved up hill and there are alot of old people that live on my estate, that kind of thing. Today an older gentleman came up to the desk with a blue badge in his hand asking me what he can do with this, because no information came with it when he got it through the post on Saturday. Oh, here we go thinks I "We don't have that information here, but I can get you a number to call" I start tapping away looking for the TfL disability line. "I don't have a phone, can you get me an address I can actually go to?" So I make the calls, get the address and print off the maps so that he knows how to get there, anything to stop a kick off, I haven't had my second coffee yet and I don't think I could take it. So I've done everything he's asked, but he's still standing there. He starts talking about the congestion charge, I go on to auto pilot and give default answers, "I know, I understand, we're not actually connected to...." Well he goes on to tell me, and I'm not sure how he changed subjects so seamlessly because I wasn't fully listening, about his youth-he joined the Army during WWII 18 months befor ehe was supposed to, this man was 16 and a half and was sent out to fight for King and country! He was in the para-squad something, I don't remember exactly what he said, but he ended up being an instructor and had 1200 jumps under his belt and his last jump was 5 years ago on the 60th anniversary of his first jump in Holland, after having a triple heart bypass to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Now I want to talk to him all day long. He's witty, interesting and seems to enjoy telling these stories, how his sergent found out he wasn't old enough to be in the Army, or even to drive for that matter, so he gave him a crane to drive, and the parachute instructors on his last jump being more than a little upset when they found out about his surgery-he hadn't told them that either!

It's not too bad working with the public, every now and then you get a little gem like him that makes all the nut jobs fade away. God bless you old man, I hope you get to jump again on the 70th anniversary!