pprof’s 2008 website

The main intersection near the hospital was a mess this morning. A guy in a pair of tux pants and a turquoise colored shirt (don’t ask me why) told someone on the phone: “Can’t make it. I just f–ed up X’s car.” Behind him were two cars, both badly damaged in the front. One of them, with the driver airbag popped up, had obviously crashed into the traffic light post.

The meeting had to be canceled. Or whatever it was that the drivers of both cars had been up to. When you’re in a traffic accident, people all of a sudden understand there are more important things than work. But what if a mother of two said to her boss, “Sorry, can’t be at today’s meeting. My kid has a Mother’s Day thing at school.” Or if a husband called in to say he’s staying with his sick wife.

I really wonder what it takes for us to put first things first. Should we be looked down on because we care about our families? Should bosses think of their employees less? Or is it just deaths and traffic accidents that matter?