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No longer mesmerized by the news, I searched for a television series that might interest me, something I have literally not done for months.
Can’t say I missed it, but there used to be programs I enjoyed, so I scrolled through the many dozens…
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Surprisingly, I found an old British program that I enjoyed oh, so long ago, which aired from 1970 – 1972.
It is dated now, yet I still find it interesting:
“A Family at War” followed the experiences of a Liverpool family through World War 2.
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Arriving, as I did in London, not long after The War, I was keenly aware of the occurrence, but people who endured it weren’t much given to reminiscing, which is perhaps why I was always interested in war stories and films.
A Family at War also gave a look at British social strata as it was then.
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When not watching war stories, I have had other things to fill my time, one of those being filling out extensive questionnaires for my healthcare provider.
It appears that several major providers here have joined forces, or have at least decided to pool their information.
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Consequently, there is a new computer program which has gathered information from the past ten years and tossed it all into one file.
Nevertheless, it was necessary for me to compile all the same information again, separately.
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All very well if you see a doctor once a year or have only the occasional ailment.
My records are…extensive!
This was necessary because I paid a visit yesterday morning to my primary care giver with a list of probably minor but annoying complaints.
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It proved to be a good way to ruin someone’s Monday morning, but it wasn’t entirely my fault.
It was the initiation of the new computer program which was clearly problematic.
As the lady struggled with the system, I was carried back to my days at Kennedy Airport.
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BOAC – as it was then – introduced computerised check-in not long after I joined the company in 1969. Departure Control it was called: DCS.
To obtain seat numbers and compile information for the weight and balance, we were obliged to memorize basic codes. I shall doubtless remember them till my dying day.
DCS lasted for quite a few years although most of the systems that worked in conjunction underwent constant upgrades.
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We were forever being re-trained and it seemed never quite satisfactorily.
We had separate systems for catering, cargo, baggage tracing, operations, ticketing, etc, etc.
And then there were the systems that controlled public information screens. I detested those perishing things.
When a flight had just run out of seats, you really didn’t want a sign advertising that it was open for check-in but you could count on the system to fail at such a point.
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Us old-timers had the DCS check-in system down pat about the time the company decided to put an interface on it, to make it easier.
Easier for new staff, perhaps. Many of us resisted, refusing to use it. When I transferred to Seattle in 2000 I finally had to confront the damn thing as their computers only worked with the interface.
It was quite simple, once you got the hang of it, but I still preferred DCS.
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In addition, we eventually acquired email and the internet and mice.
There has never been a single printer I could master and I have had more than a few tiresome mice.
One in particular gave me problems and promises of a replacement did not materialise, so finally one day I couldn’t take it anymore and hurled the thing at the nearest wall, then then presented the pieces to my manager.
A woman of action, you see.
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Not really. I was mostly very controlled.
We all had our moments.
My worst sin was to lose my temper with an obnoxious passenger and tell him to take his ticket and move on out of there. Or something like that.
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He was not a BA passenger. We had contracted to handle a company that owned one tiny aircraft that was supposed to shuttle to and from but it was always delayed or cancelled.
Having my time wasted by a person whose ticket cost twopence halfpenny shouting at me about rules that didn’t apply put me over the edge.
Still, one shouldn’t lose one’s cool and other than that I don’t think I ever did.
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Though there was an irritating Englishman in Seattle one day when the flight was delayed. He told me that his sister worked for the company in London, so he proposed to tell me what I should do.
What happened in London did not necessarily happen elsewhere and there was naught I could do but the man continued haranguing me.
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Getting nowhere he finally retorted:
“I suppose you are going to accuse me of harassing you!”
“You don’t have to. You’re British!” I declared.
I’ve never been exactly sure what I meant, but it had the right effect. He shut up and went away!
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What I think I was implying was that British men of a certain type were by nature intimidating to me.
It was completely the wrong job for me as I hated confrontation which we dealt with all day, everyday.
To end this boring reminiscence,
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A QUIZ:
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What is this?
Grant picked it up from the ground at a gas station.
Mickey Mouse maybe, but what?
It is magnetized.
Answers please!
No idea what the found magnetic ‘thingy’ is, but you had my interest with ‘Family At War’. I remember watching it all, and it launched a few careers for actors and actresses at the time. As far as I know, it has never been re-run here, but I would watch it if it was.
Best wishes, Pete.
I dread to think!
Never boring! And that is some weird doodad. Maybe it’s the original thingy-me-bob.
It seems that Software Engineers just cannot leave things alone when they are working perfectly well!
I’ve never seen A Family at War but will ask my English partner.
Although it’s not professional to lose your cool with customers/clients, sometimes it can’t be helped, especially when someone such as a male is condescending.
I get this a lot when organising tradesmen, but when they discover I know something of what I’m talking about, their tune changes; basically, I push them back into their box! It helps that I built a boat in my early 20s. 😉
I love your photos of the pink fluffy sky – I’d rather look at that all day than work with entitled people (I’ve had more than enough of that during my years in customer service). I know what that ‘thing’ is that Grant picked up … it’s obviously a Thingamajig (and they come in different shapes and sizes and there are plenty of these in Berto’s toolbox) 😁.