Shift Coverage
Published Dec 11, 2002
At the large bookstore where my son works, the clerks tend to watch out for one another, trading shifts and covering for each other in emergencies. Recently a disagreement between two clerks escalated into a fistfight. One of them ended up going to the hospital, leaving my son to cover for him.
The store manager, who had missed the whole episode, came looking for the injured clerk. "Where's Jack?" he asked.
My son didn't miss a beat. "Oh," he said, "he punched out early."
Originally published December 12, 2002.
