So, about a week ago, a person I know and I had a bit of a spat. We didn't see eye to eye on a matter. The thing is, we are two very different people, and at first glance, you'd see her from a 30,000-foot point of view and think she's harmless, she's normal, average, basic enough, but when the rubber hit the pavement, as it were, her true colors began to show; and that's when mine did.
There are many ways to say this, but I'll say it the way I know best: directly. She's a follower, a very good follower, and does exactly what she is told. She has no imagination, no creativity, no spontaneity, and she's perfectly incapable of making a decision on the fly. If she were forced to do so, she would collapse. I, on the other hand, due to years, even decades, of falling flat and realizing where the mines are buried, have been capable and willing to make split-second decisions as well as to take on the full responsibility of those decisions should they fail.
There was a spat. She did something she shouldn't have done (no, she did 4 or 5 things she shouldn't have done), and others called her out on it both in a general meeting and privately when we spoke to her. Her reaction, apparently, was to retaliate; to me, that's a coward's choice. You do the math. To make a long story short, I decided to take the high road and to let it go without escalating it. I decided to let her fall on her face a second and even third time without assisting her, so she could see exactly how much more she needs my assistance, and how very little I need hers. Petty? Maybe, but I didn't do anything - I simply didn't do anything.
Others banded with me, not with her, and in fact, they have been actively seeking her removal, while I have remained somewhat neutral on the matter. I believe she is working hard and doing the best she can, but if what she needs to do is outside her scope of capabilities, then I'll have to let the natural course of things take its place. I am not in charge of it; I won't add to or remove from it. She will have to fight that particular battle alone, as I am not going to help her in any way; not now.
Several of us spoke in the evening on a conference call; we can do that, you know, we're American. We came up with scenarios, and we decided that each of us has a unique personality and many traits that relate to or could be compared to various military weapons and/or vehicles, if you want to call flying craft vehicles. It was immediately clear that my personality, experience, age, and demeanor resemble the AC10 Warthog. I wasn't sure how I thought about that until I did a bit of research, and I have to say, I am a Warthog at heart!
I'll let Google tell you about it: The A-10 Warthog (officially the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II) is widely considered one of the most dangerous and feared close air support aircraft in history due to its unmatched combination of devastating firepower, extreme low-altitude maneuverability, and legendary "flying tank" durability. It was designed with a single, aggressive purpose: to loiter low over the battlefield and obliterate heavily armored ground targets.
So, there you have it. This Scorpion-born, Year of the Ox, stubborn, head-strong, thinking machine is, in fact, an AC10 Warthog when it comes to making decisions. I'm a low-flying craft; you see me coming. I want you to see me coming. I want you to hear me. I expect to be heard, and then when the time is right, if you force me to use my weapons, I will. I'll not only use them, but I'll also obliterate what's in front of me even if it means I have to make future plans for myself. I won't let anyone micromanage me, second-guess me, strong-arm me, or put the kind of pressure on me that too many people have tried in the past -- I will obliterate. I have earned every damn stripe I have.
The others also decided the person in question was more or less a Chinook helicopter. Big, bulky, lumbering, slow, strong, and has use, but she is incapable of actual combat because she depends on everyone else; she can't move forward at any rate of speed, choosing rather to hover, stagnate, keep everything churning above her head, and this causes bottlenecks that the rest of us just can't afford or live with -- we break through. We show our teeth when this happens. Luckily for me, I didn't have to do much obliterating - the F16, B2 Bomber, and other crafts stepped up and did it for me. The Chinook has been stationed.
One of the others, I won't say who, has self-described himself as the C-130 Hercules (One of Lockheed's best). He said he was there to carry us where we needed to go. He was big enough to be imposing, and he knew where to go, when to go, and how to get us into position to do whatever we needed to do to get the job done. I love that. He is a true leader, not a follower. He knows who brings the money home. He has the right attitude, mindset, and ideas. Ego has nothing to do with it - he got where he is by being the best at what he does.
So, this little Warthog is moving forward. I'm fully loaded, but if I don't have to use my munitions, I won't. I'll keep my smirky-toothy grin on my face and my head down with my eyes fully open. I'll work and play hard. I'll do what I'm supposed to do, but I won't be pulled back out of commission by a wind-sucking easy target with heavy maintenance issues. I can't be pulled back; I have a job to do. I've been at the top of my game for years; why would I stop or even slow down so someone with less experience can think about something before moving forward - nope!
Photo Credit: Popular Mechanics
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