-Only the good file young-

I have heard many a retiree decide, after six unsuccessful pulls of a slot machine lever, to move to an adjacent unit that might be luckier. Other Blue-hairs who took the same bus into Atlantic City that morning have a diametrically opposed gambling policy; the type that refuse to budge, believing that the next successful pull could occur at any position, anytime, perhaps in the moment of seat shifting.

Of course, neither is fully right or wrong, but I imagine the happiest are the ones who believe they made the right decision.

No one is entirely certain what happened behind the closed door of the negotiation room, not even her closest friends with the company. What is certain is that her tenure with the College - six years - ended inside.

In true corporate fashion, the College whisked her out of the building before any of her friends knew what happened. She was able to send out a mass email later to several of her friends' college e-mail addresses, and it was interesting to peruse the recipient list and see who qualified as a ally, and who, by their absence, fell in the foe category.

I don't believe my boss qualified as a foe, but she wasn't listed, and I foolishly mentioned the e-mail before I had perused the list. I told her it appeared to have been assembled in a hurry; sometimes names and e-mail addresses were included, sometimes just the addresses, so the omission was most likely an oversight.

Not sure she bought it.

In any case, a card went around the office the next day, and I made sure I would be one of the last people signing it. Like the e-mail recipient list, there were some notable omissions. And from a few people who were not given the email, but also were not the reason for the girl's dismissal - like my boss - some rather tepid sentiments.