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Apr. 7th, 2008 04:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogWe have someone at work who's name is Eric. When he emails us, it's usually to ask about some kind of hardware problem, or to request more hardware. He also signs is emails not with a couple of hard returns in front of his name, or by prefacing his name with a couple of dashes, or even putting his name down as a separate concrete thought after the end of his last sentence.
No, he just gets to the end of whatever thought he's chosen to end his missive with and then types a simple comma, a space, and his first name. Like this, Eric. The last sentance of his email, were he asking for a laptop carrying case, might be something like "...so I need a replacement laptop bag, Eric."
Now, the first thing that always pops into my head is that he must be naming his laptop case. That's what that slight pause followed by a name tells me; the name just spoken is directly related to the previous concept. And then, of course, being the good Monty-Pythonite that I am, the very next thing that comes to mind is the Fish License skit and the accompanying 'Eric the Half a Bee' song.
And, having dealt with this Eric a few times, and seeing that his communication follows the same pattern, every single time, I have inextricably associated him with Eric Idle prancing about, giving voice to odd philosophical speculation about what really constitutes a bee anyway, various multitudes of animals all named Eric, and singing about an unassuming winged insect who struggles heroically on in the face of a terrible accident.
Oh, how I wish I could explain this to the Eric in my life here at work. But he's a sales guy. Sales guys just don't understand these things....
Oh! We also have someone working for us whose name, though I won't say what it is in the interest of privacy and job security, is exactly the same as an actor who played a major character in an iconic sci-fi television show. He must have had quite a time growing up. Well, unless he's older than said TV show I suppose....
No, he just gets to the end of whatever thought he's chosen to end his missive with and then types a simple comma, a space, and his first name. Like this, Eric. The last sentance of his email, were he asking for a laptop carrying case, might be something like "...so I need a replacement laptop bag, Eric."
Now, the first thing that always pops into my head is that he must be naming his laptop case. That's what that slight pause followed by a name tells me; the name just spoken is directly related to the previous concept. And then, of course, being the good Monty-Pythonite that I am, the very next thing that comes to mind is the Fish License skit and the accompanying 'Eric the Half a Bee' song.
And, having dealt with this Eric a few times, and seeing that his communication follows the same pattern, every single time, I have inextricably associated him with Eric Idle prancing about, giving voice to odd philosophical speculation about what really constitutes a bee anyway, various multitudes of animals all named Eric, and singing about an unassuming winged insect who struggles heroically on in the face of a terrible accident.
Oh, how I wish I could explain this to the Eric in my life here at work. But he's a sales guy. Sales guys just don't understand these things....
Oh! We also have someone working for us whose name, though I won't say what it is in the interest of privacy and job security, is exactly the same as an actor who played a major character in an iconic sci-fi television show. He must have had quite a time growing up. Well, unless he's older than said TV show I suppose....
