>One of the things I used to like about the holidays was visiting my dad’s office. This is the week when most people start to take vacation until the New Year begins, so the buildings filled with various corporate entities are usually pretty quiet.
It was a great way for a kid to see corporate culture up close first hand. It was an informal take your kid to work day.
Because my dad commuted pretty far, we would have to wake up early, early in the morning. I still remember being sleepy in the dark mornings, the scent of my dad’s coffee wafting on the breeze of the heater. The drone of the AM radio (usually Paul Harvey) lulling me back to dreamland.
By the time the sun started to rise, we would arrive at some byzantine office complex. Through the maze of cubicles we would wander to my dad’s area of the company. I would marvel at the computers, the pens, the reams of paper sitting in various niches waiting to be used. I remember seeing an Apple Lisa. I have no idea what it did or why my dad’s company had it, but the memory of that machine is stuck in my brain. I remember watching the daisy wheel printer spit out a picture of Snoopy in various alphanumeric characters. I remember playing some random computer game on the green screen. The “graphics” were so 1984.
Then there was lunch! Going out to lunch was such a treat. It didn’t matter if we went to McDonald’s or some cool nearby local Mexican restaurant. It was all terrific to me. Plus it was fun to spend time with my dad who usually traveled for work.
I just love it when I see kids come into my office at this time of year. It reminds me of bonding with my dad. The looks on their little faces as they stare in wonderment at the routine of my daily life brings a smile to my face.