as I was pulling through a parking lot
a paper shredding service truck
was parked in front of a school
not an unusual sight at the end of a year.
what was unusual
was when the two young men
who were the mobile ‘shredders’
suddenly began frantically chasing
huge swaths of paper
all over the parking lot
the wind had picked up
just as they were carrying out
these giant piles of paper
to feed into their shredder
in an instant
they were running around
grabbing and gathering up
all the paper
caught up in the swirl
I was driving
not able to catch an action photo
but wow, were they moving fast
like on those old game shows
where you just had a short time
to grab as much cash as you could.
soon they were back by the truck
with armloads
but I thought about
how ironic it was
they had one job
they came to shred papers
for security reasons
but had almost lost many of them
to a blustery wind
with the potential of them
heading to parts unknown
all around the city
good thing they were young and athletic
soon walking back to their truck
with armloads of paper.
getting back to the work of shredding
security restored
perhaps that’s one of the job requirements
for just this very situation
the people doing the job must be secure
or at least respond in a very secure way.
—
“when you work with someone who is not insecure, that makes you confident. “
-shweta tripathi”
—
Here is their company motto on their website:
“***** Document Destruction is a professional shredding service based in ### MI, specializing in secure and confidential document disposal. With a focus on protecting sensitive information, **** Document Destruction offers reliable and efficient shredding solutions for businesses and individuals.”
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We had a famous incident here where a senior officer in National Security left his briefcase on top of a car and drove off, forgetting it was there. It was found, and the sensitive papers inside were sent to a national newspaper. They didn’t print them, but carried the story of how they were lost. We never found out if the man involved lost his job.
Best wishes, Pete.
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so crazy, and don’t forget, we had our head of pentagon and national security officers recently share military attack plans on an unsecured group chat with a major magazine writer
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Oh, to be so young and agile
These days, I’m brittle and fragile
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yes, it was lucky it was this team )
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It’s very ironical.
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indeed!
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🥲
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That is so ironic and kudos to them for being able to pick up all the pieces!
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the funny thing was I happened to be there watching it all play out in real time and it all happened so fast that I would not have even been able to help them –
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Which I do not doubt you would have!
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it was like an episode of mr. bean, and I didn’t list their company name because I felt for them and they resolved it )
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Hahaha! Now, I can really see it. And you are kind, Beth.
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Wow! I never thought about this sort of problem, but obviously it is a problem. Less so when well handled.
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What was that line from Hair? “We face a dying nation of moving paper fantasies.”
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I vote insecure by shredding all my own documents.
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Great catch, Beth. And great catch by that team.
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Good work, young chasers/catchers, and Beth, for your capture of the moment. All that was needed in your brain was that soundtrack music of our past that often accompanied frantic scurrying in cartoons and TV shows!
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Right!
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The Chaos Theory at work! Who could have foreseen a strong wind appearing at the same moment they walk out with the paper? And now, did they get it all? What consequence will that lead to? I definitely say insecure. I love what you see, Beth (even with your glasses off.) 😊
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We will never know for sure)
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Not a sliver of a chance. 😊
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I, too, was wondering if they caught it all. It figures that if even one page got away, it was the one with the most critical, private bit of information.
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I can imagine the scene!
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It was almost like a Mr. Bean or Monty Python scene, and they handled it perfectly.
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“or at least respond in a very secure way” – paired with your quote, it really hits this post home, Beth. Love how you captured the unintentional ways that our security sometimes goes wrong.
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Thanks, and they were just the right young men for the job
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Responsible young people make me smile
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They could’ve easily let them go, but they really jumped right on it and gathered them up. It was very cool to watch. The whole thing happened in real time.
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And you were there. Awesome. 👏🏽 telling us about it creates ripples —thanks.
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it was just amazing timing
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Sounds like an I Love Lucy episode.
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Totally, like the one when they were working in the chocolate factory on the production line )
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A bad version of the kid’s game “Duck Duck goose” or some kind of chase game. Grab all the papers now!!!! If I was the workers, I would stop at some point and ask if I was being “punked.” Ha ha.
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Yes!!!
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Poor guys but it must have been entertaining to watch.
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I felt for them and it was really just like a performance art experience on my end. perfect timing
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Yes I can imagine
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fun and games in this one, Beth :)
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and, their job, too, but luckily it all worked out
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They must have been terrified the papers would get away. Wind is like that, it can try and ruin a perfectly good day.
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an early career test for them perhaps
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And they passed.
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Haha a ‘paper chase’ moment 😜😂
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yes, perfectly said
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if there were any teacher files in those papers, the answers were blowing in the wind… :)
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yessss……)
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This is what I would call an oopsie moment. 😂 But I can also empathize with the frantic state of mind these young workers must’ve been in too!
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yes, and yes –
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That’s hilarious! Ooof! Those men nearly got fired. :P
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So close!
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