Future note: The following entry was from an “incident” that happened in November 2009. It was nighttime. A plumber was walking backstage, and I was driving to pick up some people. When I got close to him, I could see him slowing down and looking at me. As I passed him, he screamed, “Five miles per hour!” The posted speed limit was 5 mph, and I was going over that speed because I was late. Thinking the incident was over, I went to the location of the pickup. I found out from my lead the people were at a different location. Looking to drive away, I saw headlights facing me. I backed up to go around the headlights and the plumber was standing in front of me, blocking my way. He put his hands on my hood and was yelling at me. I have no idea what he was yelling. I just knew I needed to get away from him.
Trying to get around him, I backed up and pulled forward to get by him. He yelled, “Are you going to hit me?” I told him I was just trying to get around him. I eventually got by him. As I passed him, he reached for the driver’s seat. I think he was trying to grab me, but he punched me in the arm instead. When I was past him, I stopped my vehicle and yelled back at him several choice swear words for hitting me. A week after the incident, I still had a bruise on my arm. He was a big guy. I drove off, picked up my people, and took them to their destination. As I was driving, I could hear my leads and their leads being called on the radio. I was called back to the scene of the crime. Explaining my part in an incident report, I was sent home. I was off the rest of the week. They called me back in to tell me I was being let go. One of the managers said I could appeal the decision, so I emailed him with my appeal. They agreed to meet with me on January 6, 2010.
January 6, 2010
I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for my appeal meeting with Disney. Patti wanted me to prepare for the meeting, but I told her I have been preparing for this meeting for two months now. I have been going over the events of the “incident” every day and every night. I just need to get them to see what happened from my point of view. That this was my first major incident in six years helped me. (Future note: They saw my point of view in the meeting and hired me back. On March 23, 2010, I was waiting for Disney again, but for a different reason.)
March 23, 2010
Well, I’m waiting for Disney again. The employee I had the incident with is awaiting his fate. I hope his outcome differs from mine. I am back to work now and have been so for about two months. The other employee looks different from when I saw him last. He’s wearing a suit now and not attacking me. An Entertainment lead and I are sitting in two very Disney looking chairs and there is a large wizard Mickie Mouse about 15 feet from me. He’s taller than me with his hat on. There are also plaques of appreciation to Disneyland on the wall. The two lawyers are talking. The Disney lawyer just talked to me, saying they tried to negotiate something, but that was a no go. She said I will testify in about 45 minutes. I’m glad I ate this morning. I’m also glad I brought a water bottle with me. The water is all gone, though. The “judge” (at least that’s who I’m assuming he is) is an interesting older gentleman. He is very talkative. He seems to have the art of shooting the breeze down. There is also a stenographer who is also a talker. I’m a good talker when I’m around familiar people. Even then I’m better one on one.
My part is over, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to find out the outcome. The employee’s lawyer was trying to get me to admit to things I didn’t do. After the third time he tried, I told him I will not say what he wants me to say because it’s not true. Several people in the room were amused by what I said, including the judge. (Future note: I found out later that the plumber was fired. This was not his first incident. Hopefully, it was his last. By the way, I can still remember his name all these years later. I will only tell you his name was a combination of two people my mom worked with. I only hope he was sent to anger management classes at some point.)
Thoughts from Life 
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