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May 1, 2008
Tell the Waitress I'll Come Back to Zanzibar
Well, it's over now, the contract and all in Scranton, and while I'll never be very far out of touch with these nurses, the intense period of my involvement is done. I am relieved but I am sad too. I am so attached to some of these nurses, more attached than I've gotten in years. Was it because they had lost twice and come back, against all odds and their better judgement, to win? Was it because their administration had taken away so much that they had to fight to get back? Was it just Anna (blog name Anna, that is, though I have gotten quite close to the real Anna) and her own moving story? Or was it a time and place when I had been on the verge of serious burnout and these folks convinced me to walk out on the wire again?
The last night of negotiations, I ate quite a few pieces of cheese. I usually solemnly swear not to take a bite from the cheese plate, because once you have one bite, it's hard to resist the others. But realizing that it was the last time I'd have the option for a long time, I decided to indulge. It was actually rather delicious. I put cheese on fruit instead of crackers. Stilton on honeydew... try it.
We won't be seeing Robert C. Ufberg, Attorney at Law, for a couple of years now. The contract is for 2.5 years. I think he will miss us. Negotiating with Edward, who is probably the only person he meets who is as smart as he is, must be simultaneously frustrating and fun for him. Bob Ufberg has been called a lot of things, but never a tower of cheese.
I am already fighting the next war. The next campaigns, the next things I have to do. I am already, mentally, fighting the next contract. I've been organizing, talking to workers every day, doing the real work on the front lines, since 1996. Yikes. No wonder I look old. If it weren't for CR, I'd look a lot worse. I've become emotionally involved with these Scranton nurses in a way that is now unusal for me. Of course I'm always emotionally involved, but it's usually more with the fight, the struggle for nurse empowerment, than with the particular people (though there's always one or two I get close to.) Here there are quite a few I am very close to. At first I thought it was just that Anna, and her story, were a symbol for me of all my and my mother's struggles, but as she got more involved and I got to know her personally, I realized that no, it's really Anna. And Diana. And Dana. And Rachel. And all of them.
So there will be another Scranton, more Scranton, Scranton Take Two, V2. Mission Impossible, rendered possible through the heroic efforts of some of the most amazing nurses who ever lived.
But for now, I need to re-group, re-focus, heal up the wounds that these campaigns make no matter how battle-hardened you are, focus on CR. I am lucky that my partner is totally fine with me being on the road, so he is happy to see me but not mad that I've been gone. I still have some weight to lose and some calories to cut. Scranton 2010 will no doubt find me older, thinner, a little crazier, with longer hair that I refuse to cut. I'm sure we will have fun. I can't believe how much I feel like I will miss Scranton for now. Soon I know I'll be immersed in a campaign that takes my mind off it. But for now it's lonely, the way my mother describes how she felt when she was no longer pregnant with me. You carry them around and they're such good company... and it hurts like hell, but suddenly they're their own independent person, and you don't have them as a part of you anymore.
We're having a victory party on May 16. The one year anniversary of the win at the older of the twins. It's a Friday night this year.
It won't be long before I'll be back in Scranton. I have a certain amount of time to prepare for it, and I am very good with deadlines. I love the way "deadline" includes the word "dead." Nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of death. Ask any nurse, or any CR practitioner.
Billy Joel pipes in from my Ipod:
Tell the waitress I'll come back to Zanzibar
I'll be hiding in the darkness with my beer...
I've got the old man's car
And I got a jazz guitar
I got a tab at Zanzibar, tonight
It's where I'll be.
Posted by april at May 1, 2008 7:06 PM
Comments
Good for you April! Glad to hear of your successes. Grow out your hair and get some rest!
Posted by: Stepha at May 3, 2008 5:52 PM
I had never heard this Billy Joel song before, so listened to it on YouTube. LOVE the trumpet solo! Wow. When you're that good, you get to draw from the best studio musicians and that guy is fantastic. :-)
Posted by: Judith at May 5, 2008 6:06 AM