To say it has been a strange day is probably putting it mildly. Despite being Thursday in Music City USA. Despite being unseasonally warm in Nashville, TN. Despite a dense morning fog on the commute into town; the day seemed to be oddly normal. Obviously, I was going to be late, so I opted to be comfortable too. I stopped at Hardees and got my two favorite sandwiches for the slow ride into to town I saw over the horizon.
Three hours into work, something was wrong. The next thing I knew we were being told to evacuate the building! There was some sort of gas leak that smelled pretty serious. I grabbed a bottled water from my desk and headed downstairs to the exit. The smell was really strong downstairs! Deciding that this could take a while, I immediately proceeded to my vehicle parked across the street. I asked a coworker if he minded passing a little football. Of course he said of course not. Among other things, I typically pack a nerf football for just such a moment. Within minutes, we were joined by at least four other coworkers. Despite the warm temperature and odd circumstance, the football took center stage. We are fortunate to all like each other and our coworkers. The football allowed us to laugh together as we coordinated who to pass to next. We shared our strengths and weakness concerning this funny-shaped projectile being tossed from one to the other. It was very relaxing. We learned things about each other as we played. Even those watching us had fun taking note of our connected discourse. We had a blast without there actually being a blast. Almost thirty-five minutes later, our situation had been downgraded and we were free to reenter the building.
We didn't know why we hadn't done this sort of thing sooner; but we agreed not only to the fun of the moment, but also the relief it provided mentally and emotionally. One of us was closing on a house, another working two jobs, one rebuilding from a tornado and others who just needed a rescue from the mundane. Folks under estimate the need to blow off a little steam. For creatives, its essential to have some outlet to life's snares and bogs. We were certainly much happier after tossing the ole football around. I don't know if it was so manly or just the exercise together or the outbursts of laughter; but the evacuation was a success in more ways than one. It would serve others well to get out of the office on occassion and do something completely unrelated together.
