“Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination.” ~ Albert Einstein
I went to a retirement party for our IT guy this afternoon. I have known Norbert for at least a decade. He seemed to be a quiet, socially shy kind of guy—the stereotypical computer geek personality. Once though when a group of us were up North, he flew up for a day and I saw a glimpse of another side of him. I got him talking about music because I knew he was a musician.
Today he admitted that he was not someone that stirred people’s imaginations or interest unless of course, he was rescuing their lost data on computers. Only then did people hang on his every word (though truthfully not many of us understood them).
Bert has no immediate plans, having retired a week ago. In a couple of months, he may go skiing in Alberta but is just unwinding. He seemed super happy today. A roomful of people turned out to wish him well so even though he thought that he was not someone who attracted people’s attention he was appreciated today.
Now, as if to say, he was really a cool guy if you’d bother to get to know him, he chose to sing his speech. I knew he was a drummer but I did not know that he also played guitar, sang and wrote songs. Today he wrote two hilarious songs about his workdays and retiring. He shone brightly and everyone stood around smiling and hanging on his every word. Not too shabby, Mr. IT Guy. You went out with a bang! Let it be a lesson for all of us who do not look beyond the obvious. Sometimes there is a gem worth scratching the surface for.
Peace,
Suzanne
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