The Gay Old Days
I’ve been at my company for ten years now, surviving bouts of chaotic upheaval and viral growth from an intimate staff of 30 to a booming 250, where we don’t even know each other’s names.
Now, studies with rats have shown that there’s a tendency toward a higher percentage of homosexual activity under conditions of over-population. But it was just the opposite with us. The more populous the company became, the less gay we were.
At the time when I started, we had a flamboyant HR man, who was active in the Big D’s big gay church. He recruited and hired through his connections in the gay community, and even people who found us through other channels were recognized and hired as “family.”
If a new hire was gay, it didn’t take long for the HR man to coerce him into “coming out” at the office. Granted, this was probably a law suit waiting to happen, but it sure made things interesting. We all flirted and talked about gay issues and speculated on people’s sexual preferences.
“Do you think he’s family?”
“I don’t know. He’s married.”
“Like that means anything.”
“Did he just say he was a cheerleader in high school?”
“Totally.”
Those days are long gone. After my friend left, we hired an HR director with an MBA in CYA, a woman so afraid of sex, she’s probably never even slept in the same bed with her husband. As for people being out at the office, we don’t really talk about it anymore. And the gay old days only exist in the memories of a very select few.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Woo-hoo — and how gay those days were! (And by the way, the ad that pops up to the right side of this page is a Fitness For Men site called Real Jock, with a photo of a real jock! Love that technology.) Ah, yes, as I recall when i was there, there were at least four gay men out of a total staff of maybe 30. Just doing our part to keep the percentage real. Thanks for the mem’ries!
March 1st, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Interesting perspective. I also recall that some of the employees who were not gay wished they had been. Seems the perception was that we were having more fun than they were. And where did you get four, Gino? I counted seven, and that didn’t include the lipstick lesbian who couldn’t make up her mind.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I do love these Google ads. There are hot bare-chested men strutting their stuff on my site now. Jimbo, I didn’t have to wish I was gay. All my friends were, and you’re right, we were having more fun. As for the lipstick lesbian, I think she finally did make up her mind. The last I heard from her, she sent me photos of her Hawaii wedding to a beautiful female opera singer.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Of course all of my friends were gay or had played both sides. Meaning they were a little wild at some point..:-) I miss the good old days. My department was the best!
March 1st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I think that corporate culture starts at the top…and I think that a certain individual wished he were gay…and that’s why so many gay men were hired. I won’t ever forget when this individual referred to Public Sex Environments and men who prefer anonymous sex in parks during a speech. The look on our advisors faces was priceless…especially the ones that actually got what he was talking about
March 1st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Hmmm. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that one, D. You could be on to something. I also didn’t know you were blogging. I am adding you to my links. I love what you have listed on your profile under interests: “wheels and hairy things.” I think this calls for a new tale about the gay old days. Hairy things, indeed.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
wheels and hairy things INDEED!