Marcia Kept Things Running

Marcia used to keep things running. Her face was behind the counter in the mornings. Her voice was on the phone. Her hands were behind the filing system. And her wrath came down hard on anyone who messed with the engineers who relied on her.

I relied on Marcia a lot. From little help me figure out how to fill out this form problems. To big help me figure out why the company's withholding child support but not sending it to the county problems. I relied on her a lot.

I suppose people like Marcia are one of the casualties of the great rise in American "worker productivity" we hear so much about. No need for a smiling face at the counter -- just put a security guard there instead. No need for a helpful voice on the phone -- who uses those things, anyway? No need for hands in the filing system -- the office of today is paperless, they say. No need for a secretary to look after the engineers -- they should look after themselves.

Yes, Marcia used to keep things running. But they let her go a year ago or so. And I understand that the office is mostly empty now.

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