MetaChat - This is a weird story to tell, and I'm not sure I even have the right to, but...

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18 December 2006

This is a weird story to tell, and I'm not sure I even have the right to, but... →[More:]

You know those three climbers who are missing on Mt. Hood? My brother worked with one of them. (And I can't help but use the past tense here.)

And that's weird enough.

But the really sucky thing -- and this is what I feel weird telling, since it's 3rd hand -- is that the guy's boss (whom my brother also works with) has apparently been really, really pissed with him for not returning phone calls during the past week. So much so that he fired him in abstentia and offered his job to a colleague.

But the boss is apparently a bit of an asshole anyway. And hasn't expressed any regret for his tirades to the rest of the crew. (Yet.)

It just makes a sucky story even suckier.

And hopefully I haven't included any information here that would identify which lost climber I'm talking about, nor his boss

post by: mudpuppie at: 02:50 | 8 comments

Just seems strange. Hopefully that won't screw with any death benefits, or there could be a lawsuit.

posted by stilicho 18 December | 03:07

After re-doing the math, I realize that it's second-hand info, not third-hand, so I guess that feels a little better.

posted by mudpuppie 18 December | 03:15

This may be a ridiculous question, but does the boss know that he's missing on a mountain? There's just such a weird emotional disconnect going on there.

Being pissed off that he's doing something as minor as "not returning phone calls", and expressing this frustration to the other staff... it seems like something straight out of one of those comedy sketches where one character is oblivious to something that everyone else knows, and proceeds to talk themselves into a more and more awkward situation.

posted by chrismear 18 December | 04:21

You have a good point, chrismear. I asked the same question, and I don't actually know the answer. From here, on the West Coast, it seems that the boss should have known -- their names and pictures are all over the national news. I expect that's doubly true in his hometown, that his boss might have noticed. But obviously (we assume) he didn't.

So yeah, maybe it's just a big misunderstanding, perhaps comical (if they don't end up dead, that is). And I guess that's the scenario I was implying. Bitching for a week about how a certain employee doesn't return phone calls -- well, it's justified. Sure.

But dude, maybe the guy is dead on a mountain.

So what now?

I have no answers, and I'm not implying otherwise. This might have been a bad conversation to initiate.

I'll just leave it at the surreality of knowing thses bizarre tidbit of information about one of these guys -- that his boss is mad at him for not staying in touch, and that he may have lost his job, had he returned.

Because, ouch.

posted by mudpuppie 18 December | 04:36

That is a very strange story.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 18 December | 11:46

I've been in a bit of a self-imposed news exile for a while now, and I certainly couldn't tell you who the climbers were. But it seems *really* odd that no one in the office corrected him, or mentioned it, or... anything.

posted by occhiblu 18 December | 13:07

Weird is right. I hope it comes down to a simple lack of communication (boss doesn't know it's his employee that's lost).

posted by deborah 18 December | 17:29

Maybe the boss is too self absorbed to put the names together. I hope he feels like a jerk when he learns the truth.

posted by redvixen 18 December | 20:29

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