From the Desk of Beth James, Part 2

If cleanliness is next to godliness, Beth’s office would be the reception desk to Heaven.  Everything was in its place and everything had a place.

On days that the clutter was the worst, she would proclaim, “I can’t work in this environment!” and the cleaning would begin.

Nothing was safe.  Germs and dust didn’t stand a chance.  Everything would be sprayed and wiped down.  And if it didn’t smell clean, it wasn’t clean.  Pine-Sol was her favorite scent.  If she could have figured out a way to put a wick in a bottle of that stuff, it would have been the eternal flame in her office.

Legend has it the rest of the staff knew that Beth had a lot to accomplish because she was cleaning her office.  The waft of Lysol hanging in the hall was her declaration, “If you want to sit down and small talk, find another day.  I’ve got corn to shuck.”  She was a woman on a mission and if you sit still too long, she will draft you into battle.  This was war and clutter was the enemy.  No time to consider the collateral damage.  You will be disinfected.

So it was no surprise to me when I found these bottles in her office.  I imagined her using them to get her office just the way she wanted it.  Clean and ready for action.  There is an old joke that says, “A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind.”

That joke never was really funny.