Thank You, Oswaldo!

     There are notable days in one’s life. When you are a kid, it is your birthday, the first day of school, the last day of school each year, Christmas Day, and special moments in sports games, school concerts or plays, and family vacation. Later on, there more adult special days such ones graduations, first day of a real job, engagement day, wedding day, birth of one’s children, bonus days, special birthdays that end in zero or five, graduation of one’s children, their marriages, the days one’s grandchildren are born, every birthday of one’s children and grandchildren, one’s wedding anniversaries and those of parents and children, special birthdays of one’s parents, and the list goes on and on. 

     Then, of course, there are random special and notable days. For me an example of this would be when a professor of voice in the school of music at Wayne State University told me, in front of Ara Topouzian, that she really liked how I sang. Another was the first time that I was right about a nuance of a certain major requirement to the University and my esteemed colleague Professor Ann Hicks was not. I still have the calendar page, January 2018, on my wall with the day, the 20th, circled in red. 

     Today I had another such experience. While the Ara and Ann memories tickle the funny bone, this one tugged more at the heartstrings. My good friend Oswaldo Arias mentioned me in a comment he made to an article posted on LinkedIn.
     The article is Don’t Pick a Job. Pick a Boss. - A GOOD BOSS is better than a good companyby Brigette Hyacinth. Oswaldo posted:

Mark Gavoor this is you, a Great Mentor…

I read only the title of the article and Oswaldo’s comment, as I was on my phone. I responded as follows:

Oswaldo, thank you so much for this. I never really thought you reported to me as much as we worked together as a great team... which we were.

Oswaldo then responded:

Mark your comment reflects exactly what the article talks about...

     Well that thoughtful and memorable exchange sure made my day.
     Generally, you do not become good friends or even friends with everyone you work with or for. Usually, there are a handful of folks that we value to stay in touch with no matter what. There is a larger group were the staying in touch is much more occasional. The vast majority of folks we worked with simply are acquaintances that slowly drift towards the ends of our memory. Lastly, there are a few SOBs for which never seeing or hearing from them again is preferable.
     Oswaldo is in the first category of dear friends. For the record, I would have loved to have one-hundred more Oswaldo’s working with me. As colleagues go, he is smart, hardworking, and gets results. He is all about the assignments and almost nothing about the politics. To get an affirmation and compliment like this from a respected friend and colleague like Oswaldo, well, that not only made my day, but also my week, summer, and perhaps year. Thanks good friend.