Local lore has it that the only constants in Cleveland are the lake and the losing; anything and everything else can pass out of fashion– even something as grand as a street full of mansions.
Euclid Avenue was once known as Millionaire’s Row, full of beautiful brick mansions constructed by families with last names like Wade, Hays, and Rockefeller. Yet over time families moved, great houses were subdivided into apartments, and the construction of a freeway cut the once majestic neighborhood off from the city its former residents had built. Eventually, the institutions they’d supported with donations and bequests in the early 1900’s grew to take over the area by the end of that century. The ornate gables, elegant stonework, and sprawling porches of the mansions made way for the classroom buildings and medical offices the modern community demanded. Students, patients, and workers walked from their cars to their destinations thinking it was so nice to live somewhere with resources like this, never remembering that they’d displaced the homes of the very people who made those resources possible.
Or so thought Phil, as he stumbled up the steps of the Mather Mansion. Inside his desk was cluttered with spare computer parts and stained coffee mugs, but he liked the familiarity of this place he’d been working in since he was a student himself. His boss stopped by to chat about a software upgrade coming later that week, then Phil got down to work prioritizing the help requests that had been submitted. He took care of the first two remotely, calling the faculty members who needed assistance and fixing their problems while sitting at his own desk. The third issue was vagus on the details, so Phil called the user in question to get more information.
“Hey Phil,” Marilyn chirped into her phone, “thanks for taking care of Dr. Klein’s email issue earlier.”
“No problem. I’m calling about your ticket though. Could you tell me more about the problem you’re having?”
“It’s probably best if you come look at it in person. I mean, I did the best I could in the help request. If you don’t understand it, imagine how much less I understand it” Marilyn giggled and then breathed a short sigh into the phone.
“Okay. Do you have time now?”
“I have time if you do.”
With that, Phil hung up, grabbed his brown coat and made the chilly walk across campus. Marilyn worked in one of the newer academic buildings, down a long hallway full of florescent lights and inoffensive low-pile carpet. Phil waved an awkward hello to the receptionist in Marilyn’s office suite, then made his way back to her office. Marilyn did some sort of work overseeing student employment on campus. Her office walls were covered with large posters full of small type explaining various policies and procedures.
“Hey”, Phil ducked inside Marilyn’s door, “You ready for me?”
“I most certainly am,” Marilyn said while sliding out of her chair.
She continues, “So, the thing is, sometimes when I’m working I just need to put my head down and focus, you know? And when it helps to just shut out the world. I can close my door, but I’ve found that it really helps me to listen to music,to really put distance between me and all the distractions.”
The two of them stand there silently for a beat, then Phil asks, “Are you having trouble getting your computer to play music?”
“Oh, yeah” Marilyn flips her long, brown hair over her shoulder, “I like to listen with my headphones,” she gestures to a purple set of a headphones with a rhinestone “M” on the side. But ever since I got in this morning my computer will only play music through my speakers, much to the dismay of the guy who works next door. ”
The framed poster hanging on the wall to Phil’s left vibrates a little as Marilyn’s neighbor pounds the wall in agreement .
“Okay, well, let’s take a look,” Phil says as he walks to around behind Marilyn’s desk. “I know this sounds silly, but the first place to start is the most obvious. Are you headphones plugged in?”
He reaches down to grab the cord and pulls it up to show it dangling freely. He plugs it in to Marilyn’s computer as she blushes.
“This is so embarrassing” Marilyn says while stepping aside so Phil can leave her office.
“No worries,” Phil says while typing away at her computer. I just want to make sure it all works now that it’s plugged in. He hands the headphones to Marilyn and pulls up a video of the school’s a capella singing group. Marilyn nods and pulls off the headphones after a few seconds.
“It works. Thanks.”
“Anytime. And don’t feel silly. I have handled tickets much more embarrassing than this.” Phil says in an attempt to comfort Marilyn as he walks out the door.
A guy wearing an outfit that included cufflinks, a tie tack with an ivy league logo joined him the doorway. “You ready, boss?”
Marilyn sighed, “Yep. Thanks for the help, Phil.” She waved goodbye as her employee closed the door behind him.
Phil made his way out of the office suite feeling like he’d just narrowly avoided something.