Stories

The Officer / By Shelia Forder

For nine months I worked in the Gun Record Section. One of the most amusing events of my career occurred a few months after I was hired. I worked in the back of a very long office, which was separated by file cabinets, the officers being in the front of the office, and the clerks in the back.

My job was to file any papers pertaining to guns on ships all over the world, where sailors were fighting for our freedom during World War II. I was filing my usual stack of papers, and had gone around to the 'officer's side' of the room. As I was filing, I noticed an officer approach the desk of the lieutenant nearest the file cabinets.

I really didn't pay any attention to where he sat; just assuming he would sit in front of the desk. However, he had placed his chair right at the corner of the desk nearest the file cabinets. As I stepped back to open a lower drawer, I landed directly in the officer's lap. It was a swivel chair, so as I landed, the chair tipped back, and my feet flew up into the air.

What made this so much more embarrassing was that during that time, women (and girls) never wore slacks, only dresses or skirts. Hurriedly, I pulled my dress down, scrambled up as gracefully as I could and retreated to my desk, staying in the back of the office until it was time to go home.

I'm not sure which of us was the most embarrassed, or whose face was redder, but my misadventure brought tears of laughter to the eyes of everyone else. It took me a long time to live that one down!