Every office has that generous guy who’s got a stash of candy for everyone to enjoy.  At my old company, I worked with a little Italian guy from the Bronx.  Let’s call him Cosimo.  Cosimo was that guy.  His cubicle was brimming with Snickers bars, Chips Ahoy cookies, Twizzlers, Animal Crackers, etc.  If you could name it, Cosimo would have it at the ready.

Cosimo would also spring for Italian heroes from a catering place that he knew.  He’d always ask me to join him, but I would always decline, citing my perpetual need to lose weight.  But I did indulge in the junk food at his cubicle from time to time.  He never asked for donations to keep the cupboards full, and never expected any.  Needless to say, Cosimo’s selflessness was returned exponentially by his many friends.

But don’t mistake his generosity as the sign of a sucker.  When an office cheapskate started stealing lunches from the common refrigerator (the lowest form of stealing), Cosimo doled out a harsh form of justice that only he could dream up.  He set a trap for the sandwich thief by coating the inside of his bread with Wite-Out.  Yes, you read that right.  The guy got so sick that I actually felt sorry for him.  He must have tasted Liquid Paper for a week.

Beware Lunch Thieves!

My current company used to employ a similar character.  I say used to, because he was one of the victims of our recent layoff.  Patrick was of Irish descent, but he was definitely a soul brother of Cosimo.  Their generosity was a common trait.  Patrick didn’t have a mean bone in his body.

Guys like Cosimo and Patrick take the edge off of the job.  Patrick also had a candy stash, but his major contribution to office mirth was his weekly organization of the Chinese food order.  He would collect the money from everyone, phone in the order, and pick it up at the next town over.  If the restaurant messed up the order, Patrick would make another trip to pick up any omitted items.  He did this all with a smile on his face.

I bring up Cosimo and Patrick because I realize that I’ve taken them for granted.  There haven’t been any volunteers to order the Chinese food, and it looks like the weekly Chinese food routine has left with Patrick.  His absence makes the job suck much worse.

• Some Are More Equal Than Others "All animals are equal.  But some animals are more equal than others." - The revised 7th Commandment from George Orwell's Animal Farm We'd like to think that we're all playing on a level field.  That we all have the same chance at success.  That fairness will triumph over favoritism. Yeah,......
• Dangerous Professions Photo by oskay I read an article about former NFL football players, and how they are being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease at a rate that's 19 times higher than the general population of men aged 30 to 49.  Holy smoke!  I'm glad that I was too small (at the......
• To Freelance, or Not to Freelance? CNNMoney had an article on the growth of freelance hiring.  Freelance professionals now make up 26% of the workforce, up from 19% in 2006. "As the economy contracts, there are not only more people looking for new ways of earning money, there are also more companies looking to make their......

• Tiger Woods Targets Masters for Return Tiger Woods has announced that he is feeling very confident that he is going to be competing in the Masters tournament in April 2009, even though he has not yet been given a date by his doctors regarding when he can begin playing again following a knee injury and subsequent......
• Advice For Making Healthier Fast Food Choices We're all guilty of it. Time is short. You just got off of work and you don't feel like cooking. You don't feel like going to the grocery store. There's dozens of reasons why we resort to fast food. Even the most healthy minded of us all partake in the......
• Kolcraft: Playing With Wally Wonderbug As a "Kolcraft Mom" I get updates regularly about new products that Kolcraft will soon be offering. The most recent update was for a great little activity center that they like to call Wally Wonderbug ($69.99)! Not only did I get to hear about this product, but Kolcraft was......