len tender_square lately, there’s been whispers around the office that len’s useless. he leaves work early nearly every single day, with some invented excuse about needing to be there for his teenage kids, to drive them here, to pick them up there. no one really understands his purpose or what he does as an “estimator.” he can’t sit still in his office chair; he sneaks out to sip liquor, they say. he’s a liability to a company like this, on sites like this. at this morning’s bridge meeting, i knew it was him before we’d been introduced: his skin was red and pallid, like seeing sunburn on a terminally ill person. his blue eyes were bloodshot and darting, unable to rest on anyone’s face for too long before fluttering off. he made an off-colour joke no one understood about his mother-in-law in response to an unrelated job problem; the awkwardness rippled through the rest of us around the table like an uncomfortable stadium wave. len was so pickled at 8 a.m. his shame radiated. he smiled as though he was convincing us otherwise. “he’s a body, and we need a body,” upper management reportedly said. at what point does len expect his employer to step in, his wife to step in, his kids, to say enough’s enough, you have a problem? nine years ago, i waited for someone to speak that concern so i would stop. the appeal never came. 230817 what's it to you? who go blather from