The name Alan Garrels popped up back in 1984 while we were searching for an O&M person for the summer at the Orientation and Training Center. I had just been relieved of my duties as Braille and Armpit 101 Instructor, and lifted to the lofty position of OTC Supervisor.
Alan was working for the Shoreline School District...I think, but it was an awful situation. He was forced to take summers off leaving him at loose ends wandering aimlessly around his neighborhood, scaring little fuzzy dogs and small women. Well, the long version of the short story is that we lured Alan away by offering him full 12 months a year work for just about the same money as he was making in 9 months.
This led some folks to believe that Alan was a little light between the ears, while others whispered that he had a dream of becoming an under paid, civil service martyr. All of them were wrong. It turned out that Alan was just your run of the mill workaholic.
That was a side of Alan that he never saw in himself. I recall doing his first performance evaluation and falling all over myself praising his high level of service and standards, Alan was rather upset. He felt he was simply doing his job.
And what a job Alan did. Along with his side kick Mary Lorenz, they gave Laurel and Hardy a run for their money, finding time during their busy teaching schedule to keep staff and students howling with laughter.
My most favorite example of the Alan and Mary Show was the story of the blind man in the attic.
It seems that Keith Daniels, the maintenance guy, had been crawling about in the space above the OTC classrooms. Keith, being a bit of a klutz, stepped through a ceiling panel instead of on a cross beam.
The hole was directly above the O&M classroom. Since their job description did not allow either Mary or Alan to repair the hole in the tile, and since Keith seemed disposed to be elsewhere, they took matters in their own hands.
One morning as I strolled toward the safety of my office I heard a crowd shouting with laughter. There, coming down out of the hole in the ceiling was a long leg with a boot on the end of it and a long white cane protruding as if in search of the next step.
I could go on talking about Alan for hours...if folks will throw money at me, but suffice it to say, Alan Garrels has earned ten fold all of the praise and kind words heaped upon him. Working with Alan was more than fun, it was a real privilege.
Carl Jarvis, retired but still working.
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