Ken & Marla

     Ken sat in a coffee shop staring down at his sandwich. He didn't have an appetite, but he knew he had to eat. This had been the worst month of his life. He had been fired from his stock brokerage job when his new boss swept the office clean of slow producers. Ken had been in a slump, but during fifteen years of ups and downs he had shown that he could always bounce back eventually. The new boss wasn't willing to wait.

     Ken sipped his coffee. The cafe was nearly empty. Marla, the waitress, came over and poured more coffee into Ken's cup. Marla had been serving Ken for ten years, and they knew about each other's lives. Now, as he walked the streets looking for work, he came in every day as if nothing had changed.

     Ken had always felt secure, thinking that if he was ever fired, he could make a few phone calls and have another job within a few hours. Now he was shocked at how quickly his friends had cast him off. How sharp was the modem dagger of simply not returning a phone call.

     Ken had spent his career making deals on the phone, and now he could not even get a single person to call him. His self-esteem had never been lower in his life.

     He bit into his sandwich. Maybe he was just too old. The brokerage houses all wanted inexperienced, cheap, new hires. How they could employ people who had no idea what they were doing baffled Ken, but it seemed to be the trend.

     Marla came over to him. "Ken, go sit at that table over there with those two men. I think I just got you a job.

     " Ken stared at her incredulously. "Are you joking?" he asked.

     Marla replied, "No, I overheard them say that these new brokers don't know what they're doing, and that they need someone who really knows how to manage people to come in and take charge."

     Ken cracked a smile. "So you thought of me? I've never managed people in my life. I wouldn't even know where to begin!"

     "Look Ken. All I know is, for ten years, you've always said kind things to me. You are the only one who asks me how I am, and you're the only one who ever asked to see a picture of my daughter. If there's anyone who knows how to treat people, it's you. I told Jimmy that, too; he's been a cus-tomer of mine for years."

     Ken looked at her with surprise and appreciation. He glanced at the men in the far booth and realized they were waiting for him. "Jimmy" happened to be James Barron, the head of the largest brokerage firm in town. That day Ken started a whole new career as the firm's manager.